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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf8" />
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<title>Kaninchenhöhle: Chile</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../css/main2.css" />
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</head>
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<body>
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<p><center><a href="161.html"><img alt="Overview "
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src="ovview.png" width=40 height=40></a>
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<a href="pixrh.htm"><img alt=" Photos "
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src="vtour.png" width=40 height=40></a>
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<img alt="Rigging" src="rigbut.png" width=40 height=40>
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<a href="names.htm"><img alt=" Glossary "
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src="idx161.png" width=40 height=40></a>
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<a href="../index.html#id161"><img alt=" Desc "
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src="desc.png" width=40 height=40></a>
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<a href="../../index.htm"><img alt=" Expo "
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src="ausbut.png" width=40 height=40></a>
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<a href="../../infodx.htm"><img alt=" Topics "
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src="index.png" width=40 height=40></a>
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<a href="../../indxal.htm"><img alt=" Index "
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src="indxal.png" width=40 height=40></a>
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<a href="../../../index.htm"><img alt=" CUCC"
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src="cucc.png" width=40 height=40></a></center>
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<p>This is a work-in-progress, as yet incomplete.
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Last updated: <? echo Date("Y.m.d", getLastMod()) > <br><b>Here's what there is:</b>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="136.htm#footlight">Footlights, & Exit stage left
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alterations</a> by Julian H, Wadders and Wookey
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<li><a href="#oatso">Oatso Simple</a> by Julian H and Wookey
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<LI><a href="#oshoot">Overshoot</a> (pt II) by Wookey and Becka:<br>
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Brian, AndyA to check
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<LI><a href="#ushoot">Undershoot</a> by Wookey:<br>
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Brian, to check
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<LI><a href="#breezeb">Breeze Block</a> by Wookey:<br>
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AndyA to check
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<LI><a href="#lost1">Lost in Space I</a> and <a href="#lost2">II</a> by Wookey and Becka<br>
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To check: Julian, Brian, Earl,
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Andy, Jon, Andy
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<LI><a href="#lost2left">Left Route</a> by Becka<br>
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To check: Brian, Earl, Jon
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<LI><a href="#lost3">Lost in Space III</a> down to Totality by Becka<br>
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To check: Brian, Jon, Andy
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</ul>
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<b><a name="breezet">Also known</a> to exist but not yet uploaded:</b>
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<ul>
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<LI>Pit of Damnation by JulianH
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<LI>Breeze Through by JulianH
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="start">Entry</a> from Steinschlagschacht</h2>
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<p>At the rock bridge 18m down <a href="136.htm#plughole">Plughole Pitch</a>
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in Steinschlagschacht, ignore further descents and cross the rock bridge.
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Over a few boulders and through a smallish slot, is a short (5m) pitch.
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<h3><a name="oatso">Oatso Simple</a></h3>
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<p>At the foot of the 5m pitch is a fair sized chamber with a large
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selection of holes in the floor, all of which have audible (and falling
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rock) connections with the chamber at the bottom of the final Footlights
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pitch or the adjacent aven. None has been descended - it is conceivable,
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although perhaps not very likely, that other interesting routes may
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connect part way down these holes. A muddy slope/climb down leads from
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the nearest corner of the chamber, which after about 10m or so intersects
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a rift. Unfortunately the rift itself is too tight to the left and full
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of mud to the right. Just back from the connection to the rift, high up
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on the right hand wall of the climb down, is a steep upward mud slope to
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a small unexplored tube with no draught [C1999-136-xx C].
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<p>Back in the chamber, the way on is a lined traverse across large and
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loose boulders to the opposite corner, where there is a large horizontal
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tube with a mud floor.
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<!-- Wookey -->
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<p>This passage is very cold due to the sizeable gale blowing down it, (which
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seems to come out the last hole in the floor (end of the traverse), as there
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is much less wind in the earlier passage). Easy walking for 20m soon
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degenerates into hading rift with a very irregular floor. The awkward parts
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are lined. The annoying 3m hole in the floor is rigged as a pitch with a
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pendulum on and a pendulum off! At this point the floor drops away steeply to
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the left down ~25m (only partially descended) to the northern tip of
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<a href="#oshoot">the Overshoot.</a> Oatso Simple continues with an easy
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lined traverse along the right hand wall for 20m then a 30 degree mud/boulder
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slope beyond to the top of a 7m inclined face. The obvious way on down this
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7m pitch reaches <b>Windy Bottom.</b> However the main way on is a climb down
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on the left (somewhat unobvious) for 3m, then ducking under a low roof to
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emerge in <b>The OverShoot</b> - the huge passage visible from the traverse
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above.
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<h3><a name="windyb">Windy Bottom</a></h3>
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<!-- JulianH -->
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<p>The 7m pitch to the right lands in a fairly large and pretty chamber with
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mostly clean walls and a smooth mud floor. Continuing around to the right
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leads to a 3m pitch into the bottom of a very wet (when raining) aven,
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<b>Windy Bottom.</b> Above the head of this pitch are cauliflower-like
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formations. It's also very cold! This aven is enormous - a 10W light is
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insufficient to see the top. The foot of the aven is around 8m in
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diameter with the walls rising approximately vertically, clean washed.
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There are no ways out at the bottom, except for the all too familiar
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small too-tight slot through which an unfeasible amount of water
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disappears.
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<h3><a name="oshoot">The Overshoot</a></h3>
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<P>High ~8-10m wide hading fault/joint-controlled passage going directly SW.
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There is a taped route along here making much of this description
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superfluous 'follow the tape to an eyehole into Lost in Space' would
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suffice for most trips :-)
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<p>From the duckunder at the end of Oatso Simple, a large hading rift is
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entered, with a couple of massive boulders in the middle. NE the passage
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goes back to the foot of the pitch down from Oatso Simple, but the main
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way lies to the SW, starting with a 4m 'slippery slope'. 35m on (just
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before the passage opens out) is a 10m climb up to the left [C1999-136-xx B
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overshoot.1.9], which also seems to connect (lights shone through) with a
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similar 8m climb after it opens out, [overshoot.1.11].
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<!-- Overshoot pt II, Wookey + Becka -->
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<P>The passage widens to about 15m for a bit to create a large, high, open
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area with a rising pile of boulders ahead. The route on is up by the left
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hand wall. Behind the biggest rocks on the right hand side at the foot of the
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boulder pile wall is a B grade question mark [C1999-136-xx, overshoot.2.5] that is
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likely to just go through interstices in the boulders - but someone needs to
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check. High on the right wall is an inaccessible passage [C1999-136-xx C (or maybe
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aven?), overshoot.2.5]
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<P>Over the boulder pile, the descent is on the right hand side. The obvious
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way on ahead on the right hand side dead-ends at the foot of a 4m wall in the
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passage. To avoid this, climb up a sandy slope left immediately and climb the
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wall at a cleft by the left hand wall. Just here on the left is the entry to
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<b>Breeze Through.</b> Easy progress for 20m reaches a 2m climb where a large
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block interrupts the passage. Going down below it (on the right) leads into
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<a href="#ushoot">Undershoot.</a> About 10m beyond on the left is the climb
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into <b>Breeze Block.</b> At this point you can also climb down under the big
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slab that is the passage floor to reach Undershoot again.
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<P><a name="bullseye">Ahead, the</a> route climbs steeply up a large boulder
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pile/run-in (there is a possible QM at he top of an exposed 5m climb on the
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left), until the roof is reached as it levels off. 15m of stooping progress
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leads to the stunning eyehole view into <a href="#lost1">Lost in Space.</a>
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The eyehole is called <b>Bull's Eye.</b> You can climb through boulders up to
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the left here, which leads to a bridge dropping into a small chamber with a
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further small chamber immediately connected. In this area, there are several
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airy avens above, but no obvious way on at floor level.
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<h3><a name="ushoot">The Undershoot</a></h3>
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<!-- by Wookey -->
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<p>Climbing under one of the boulders in The Overshoot reaches an awkward,
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sloping 10m pitch, reminiscent of <a href="rhr.htm#poxyp">Bungalow</a> (2
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bolts on right, one rebelay bolt on boulder on left at -4m). At the foot is a
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largely flat area with rocks sloping up to the left wall. There are some nice
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mud formations here. To the right (across the mud) is a crack in the wall
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(from which a tiny dribble issues) and a slope up to a window into an active
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wet inlet. The water falls from the usual tight streamway above and goes down
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a crack in the floor.
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<P>Ahead, (SW) there is a deep hole through boulders hidden behind a block on
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the right hand side [C1999-136-W2 B]. At the end, the passage is choked
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although 5m more progress can be made via a slot in the floor below. This is
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probably all part of the same huge run-in you climb over above in the
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Overshoot to reach the top of Lost in Space.
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<h3><a name="breezeb">Breeze Block</a></h3>
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<!-- by Wookey -->
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<p>A 7m climb up the left hand wall of The Overshoot just opposite the start
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of the Undershoot leads into a narrow crossrift with a strong breeze coming
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out of it. Some of the draught appears to come out of a narrow, largely
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inaccessible, slot in the roof. 12m along the crossrift another rift parallel
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to The Overshoot is reached. A 13m pitch descends here. (Huge thread back in
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cross-rift, Bolt right hand side). Climbing up steeply to the left (NE)
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reaches apparently continuing passage totally blocked by glacial infill.
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Downwards the passage narrows and continues through a 'point crawl' to where
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the rift goes straight down, now only 0.5m wide. The first few metres are
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easily freeclimbable, but in fact this is the top of a 32m pitch, which jigs
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back under the way you came 10m down (bolt rebelay) for a nice 22m hang in
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wide rift. Breeze Through comes out 10m off the floor at the NE end of of
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this rift, although no-one has actually passed from one to the other - it
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probably needs a pitch rigging from the Breeze Through end.
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<P>At the bottom you can go about 10m Northish over a sand-pile to where an
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occasional (maybe now defunct?) stream disappears down a crack. The rest of
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Breeze Through is the other way. A c3 leads through a narrow point to the
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next 'section' of rift, also connected by a window 10m above. A very small
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inlet (too tight after 5m) comes in on the NW wall here. Next is a difficult
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c4 up onto a large boulder (the nose of a pile). The rift widens considerably
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into a sizeable chamber, <b>Breeze Block Central</b>, with a pair of very
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high avens going off (30m+, one main, wide, one and a parallel narrow one
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(~2m)). The floor is boulders sloping up to the SW, with a 'sand bar'
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dividing it into 2 halves. There are 3 ways out. A narrow rift in the top
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left hand corner, another rift at the top of the sand bar, and a window lower
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in the right hand corner, behind the sand bar. The second two of these lead
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to the same place. The narrow aven can also only be seen from near the middle
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'sandbar' exit.
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<P>The narrow rift exit is a tricky 6m climb down (stick near the roof for
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the lower half) to look out into the foot of another large, wet aven with
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a very flat floor (silty pool and some rocks). The draught comes from here.
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Another tricky c4 round a column and down to the right gains the floor. The
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stream here disappears down typical person-sized immature streamway (explored
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for half a body length :-) ) The water and draught comes in ~30m above.
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<P>Back in Breeze Block Central the eyehole exit looks out on a 15m pitch
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(bolt in roof and another on far side of flake opposite). The middle Breeze
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Block Central rift comes in 4m higher on the left and the rift continues up
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to the right - possibly climbable. This may then become the narrow rift
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visible from Breeze Block Central, but it's hard to tell. At the foot of the
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pitch it is choked.
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<h3><a name="lost1">Lost in Space I</a>: The main chamber</h3>
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<!-- by Wookey and Becka -->
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<h4>Summary</h4>
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<p>A very large chamber developed on the same fault/joint as the Overshoot.
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At the top it is possible to see the 4m or so of choss still in the
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'gap'. It contains 3 huge holes in the floor, several smaller pitches and
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the main way on is over the top of the boulder pile which forms its
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southern end.
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<h4>Trade route</h4>
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<p>From the eyehole entry, Bull's Eye, descend steeply, keeping near the
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RH wall by following the taped path heading down and to the right of the
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eyehole. This avoids the shit slope leading ~30m into a deep hole
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directly ahead of the eyehole. Towards the foot of this slope you can get
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near the edge of the pair of large oval (6m x 10m) holes on the L [C1999-136-xx
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B,lostinspace.1.3; C1999-136-xx B, lostinspace.1.4]. The first hole has a small
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stream falling from the roof some 20m above. The holes are surrounded by
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sloping choss so it is difficult to see what is at the bottom.
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<P>The way on following the taped path heads downslope through boulders
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and reaches a 'soil col'. To the left are large blocks with a hole
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between them, descending 10-20m, possibly just into the bottom of the
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boulders. [C1999-136-xx B, lostinspace.1.5]. Beyond that, in the far wall of the
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chamber, is a funnelling rectangular pitch, 3m x 2m of maybe 15m [C1999-136-xx
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B, lostinspace.1.6].
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<P>Beyond the soil col, the floor and roof both descend with the hade at
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about 30 degrees to the bottom of the chamber. Ahead to the SW is a huge
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complex boulder pile.
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<P>The best way on (to avoid traipsing to the bottom where the taped route
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ends, then climbing back up out again), is to cross the chamber to the
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far wall by walking along the top of a soil ridge which leads off left
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from a boulder on the taped route with the slope down to the base of the
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chamber on the right (the taped route goes down this slope) and a pitch
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on the left. At the end of the soil ridge, traverse mainly along and a
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little up around some large boulders to go between two large boulders
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along the wall of the chamber (about the third pair of boulders you come
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to as you traverse) to reach a small 'chamber' entirely made up of large
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wedged boulders. [If you start going between tight or loose boulders or
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you are high off the floor you are wrong! There is a straightforward,
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stable and quite roomy route through, with no need for climbing]. Now see
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<a href="#lost2">Lost in Space II.</a>
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<h4>Lower half/Original route</h4>
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<p>The original route descended the soil slope (taped) as far as the toe of
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one of the largest boulders, then climbed upslope to the left behind
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this, then over some more rocks (passing the Pit of Damnation below to
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the right) to a point where another 14m long block forms a 4m high wall ahead
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with an obvious walk-in hole underneath. From here the way on is upslope
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and through this hole into the 'chamber' of wedged boulders described
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above. You can also climb steeply down to the right to reach the lower
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'lobe' of Lost in Space heading 30m on to the SW.
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<P>From the foot of the soil slope, the huge Pit of Damnation (surrounded by
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hanging death on soil) opens up on the left. You can walk round to the right
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of it to reach a 4m climb up clean-washed boulders towards the sound of
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water. There is a small damp pitch on the R here [C1999-136-xx B,
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lostinspace.1.8], and just beyond you realise you are now on jammed
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boulders over a big wet rift - almost certainly the same rift reached via
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Pit of Damnation.
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<P>The lower lobe parallels 'Lost in Space II' above, for ~30m until it
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apparently chokes. In fact, a horrible 4m chossy climb behind you leads
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into the middle of the Lost in Space boulder pile, overlooking the huge
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pitch/space inside the pile. Traversing to the right and more climbing
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comes out at the top of the pile in Lost In Space II.
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<h4><a name="lostbp">The Lost in Space boulder pile</a></h4>
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<p>The routes through the 'boulder pile' to Lost in Space II are many and
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varied - the original explorers spent hours shouting "where are you?" and
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"how did you get there?" at each other from various points within and
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around it. There is the one easy walking route that comes out on the top,
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described above (via two different approaches) and in 'Lost in Space II',
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below, and another that involves a bit of a squeeze. There are several
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that involve traversing past horrible sloping drops. Some of the
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'boulders' jammed in the passage are so huge that roomy chambers and deep
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pitches are formed beneath and between them, the most obvious being a
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pitch about 20m deep and 10m wide, accessible from several points in the
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pile, leading to a boulder-walled chamber with no draft and no obvious
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way on. It is possible to reach the far end of Lost in Space II avoiding
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the upclimb altogether by dint of devious and chossy climbs, both at this
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top level, and from below.
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<h3><a name="lost2">Lost in Space II:</a> The continuation</h3>
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<p>Go down and up to the far side of the small 'chamber' entirely made up of
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large wedged boulders reached by whatever means from Lost in Space I. Duck
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under the boulder roof, and you emerge into a large passageway (almost as
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large as the Overshoot) with a solid roof and walls but a wedged boulder
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floor. This is the SW end of Lost in Space. The way on to the deeper areas of
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Chile is up a short (around 4m) and awkward sloping climb over a large,
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steeply inclined boulder (a short rope with two slings was left rigged;
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various attempts at improving this rig failed). Before the 3m up-climb, at
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the NE end of the top of the rock pile is a damp-sounding pitch in LH wall
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[C1999-136-xx B]. After the up-climb, climb down between two boulders (care the
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undescended drop on the left; [C1999-136-xx C, lostinspace.2.6] and follow the
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large passage until it abruptly ends, around 25m after the up-climb.
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There are two ways on from this point.
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<h3><a name="lost2left">The Left Route</a></h3>
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<!-- by Becka -->
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<p>From the end of the large passage, a small drop of around 4m in the far
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left corner (rigged off a spit on the end wall of the main passage and a
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deviation off the left wall) leads to a 3m wide walking passage which
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turns left (the hole high in the left wall just before the corner rejoins
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the passage around the corner, though there is a possibility of a further
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passage leading off from it. [C1999-136-xx C] and shortly reaches a large,
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draughting, steeply sloping aven. A further short drop (around 4m, with a
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natural backup and at least 2 pitch-head spits) lands on a wedged
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boulder. It is possible to descend further here by squeezing between
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these boulders but it is easier and safer to follow the route described
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here, which goes to the same point. The rope from the pitch can be used
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to rig a traverse line (not essential) for the horizontal traverse ahead
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on the right for about 5m (use the natural on the right wall).
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<p>The best route is then to use the left hole above waist height to
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descend. This is more constricted but less exposed than the route down
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the ramp straight ahead. Again, a handline is nice but not necessary.
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More naturals are available at the 'bridge' at the bottom of the left
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ramp (around 5m down). Straight ahead of the bridge and at the same
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level, a small and very muddy inlet comes in from around 4m up the wall.
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This is likely to be choked but the steep and slippy mud banks meant that
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it was not checked [C1999-136-xx C]. To the right of the bridge, a window
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looks into a deep shaft. This is the same shaft as is bottomed by
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continuing down the ramp, by descending to the left from the bridge
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(using a rope rigged off naturals) and then taking the left tube (steeply
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sloping, a rope is very useful). [The right drop at the base of the ramp
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leads down to a small chamber which is choked]. The left tube goes to the
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base of a large shaft which is roomy, clean-washed, sharp and wet. Some
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tight and unpromising rifts lead off right at the bottom [C1999-136-xx C].
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<h3><a name="lost3">Lost in Space III:</a> Andy's pitch to Steady Aim pitch</h3>
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<!-- by Becka -->
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<p>From the right wall of Lost in Space II, around 3m before it ends, a
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short, 10m pitch is rigged from two pitch-head spits followed by a
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rebelay spit and then a deviation spit
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[<a href="../../years/1999/log.htm#log6img">logbook sketch</a> shows two
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pitch-head spits, then a 5m drop to a rebelay, passing an unused bolt
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partway. Comments suggest using the bolt partway, then using the next bolt as
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a deviation. A further drop is guesstimated at 20m]. This lands on a steeply
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sloping, bouldered floor in a reasonably large chamber. Head down the slope
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of the chamber. [About halfway down, a traverse up and to the left leads to a
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small, short section of walking passage on the left and then a pitch. This
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was not descended but was Grade 1 surveyed and almost certainly links in to
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the shafts at the bottom of the Left Route]. Towards the bottom of the
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chamber is a large boulder (survey station on top). Go to the left of it and
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to the bottom of the chamber. Here, a 30m pitch, <b>Steady Aim,</b> is rigged
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off a boulder natural and two pitch-head spits followed by a drilled
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deviation [bolted deviation shown in log sketch] around 5m down. This lands
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in a high passage heading left. This is narrower than the preceding Lost in
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Space passage - around 5m.
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<p>Ahead, on the far wall, water drops down between the boulders with a
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possible way on. Heading left down the passage, which has a wedged
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boulder floor, the passage drops quite steeply and soon comes to a large
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boulder wedged around 4m above the passage floor. Climb down to the floor
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by bridging down by the left wall, just back from the edge of this final
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wedged boulder (carbide arrow on the wall) then doubling back under
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yourself (care, loose rocks) to emerge by another carbide arrow pointing
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the way back up. The climb is not tight but the upper part is awkward and
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airy with tackle and the lower part is loose. The passage continues,
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dropping down, then the main way follows down around the left corner.
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<p>Ahead, the passage rises up steeply. The hole in the left wall is a
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shallow alcove and the passage high and to the right ends in a mud choke.
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The way on is an awkward clamber either on the left or ahead, then
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traverse left (more exposed but more solid than the direct left route).
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This leads to the bottom of a very steep rift. The lower section is
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easily free-climbable. There is a spit protecting the crux section and a
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fixed rope left rigged from a point around 25m up the rift, rigged off
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two spits. The rift continues up as two roof tubes (probably
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interconnected), with a strong draught blowing out of the tubes and some
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lovely white helictites on the left wall. This needs a drill and dynamic
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rope to push, but is an interesting site [C1999-136-xx B].
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<p>The main way on follows the passage down around the left turn as it
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continues to drop down steeply for a further 20m. At the base of this
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ramp, the passage closes down considerably, but narrow rift passage can
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be seen continuing at the base of the ramp. To reach this rift passage,
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go to the right of the ramp then double back to the left - it is tight,
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awkward and loose to go straight ahead. It is fairly tight and loose to
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the right! (An unascended ramp leads off and up to the right from the
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base of the ramp, with loose boulders perched in it [C1999-136-xx C]). The
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rift passage is fairly narrow and sharp with loose rocks in it. Initially
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it continues to drop down. A muddy tube leads off to the left, rapidly
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becoming very muddy and ends in a squeeze through to a mud sump,
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difficult to reverse! The main passage soon comes to a T-junction with a
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largely horizontal passage running to the left and right. There is a
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strong draught throughout these lower passages.
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<h3><a name="runnyb">Runny Bottom</a></h3>
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<p>The passage on the right continues to drop down, but now rather gently,
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with a very strong draught. Small pools of water appear in the floor. After
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around 30m a small waterfall comes in from an aven on the right, which has
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been ascended part way (about 6m - nothing obviously of interest). The narrow
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rift passage continues straight until it becomes blocked by rocks. The
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blockage is tightly packed sand and gravel. The passage appears to continue
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over the top of this, say 4m up. At this point a low crawl with 10cm of water
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in the bottom leads off at the base of the left wall. The crawl goes on quite
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a distance, gradually becoming less pleasant [C1999-136-xx C]. However, shortly
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after the crawl starts you can climb up and out to the right, to get back
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into the rift passage which you have just left, but now on the other side of
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the infill. This is possibly a traverse which probably needs a rope. There is
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some draught at this point [C1999-136-xx B].
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<h3><a name="carpet">Carpetworld</a> leading to Totality</h3>
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<p>The passage on the left is a beautifully shaped phreatic tube, which
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heads upwards gently. It is easy walking with mud and pebble banks in the
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floor and a clear draught, though not as strong as in Runny Bottom. The
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roof fossils are particularly large, protruding and well-formed, hence
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Carpetworld.
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<p><a name="pdash">After 30m,</a> the tube opens on a lovely, solid, spacious
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30m pitch, <b>Pebble Dash,</b> rigged via a traverse line to a ledge on the
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far side of the pitch (several bolts) and then two pitch head bolts. This is
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the last large pitch, and is followed by a series of short, dry pitches which
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drop down a dry canyon at the base of a high, fairly narrow rift. The first
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pitch, <b>Utterly Butterly,</b> is around 5m and is rigged off the right wall
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(only around 3m to the floor down the slot on the left side). Three further
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pitches follow, first 7m, the second, <b>Shakedown Street,</b> being 5m,
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tight and awkward, with an unavoidable rope rub. these are rigged on spits
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backed up to the previous rope. The last of these pitches, of 10m, rigged
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from a spit and a sling, lands in a medium-sized spray-filled chamber.
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<p><a name="natborns">A quite tight</a> and sharp rift leads off from the
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opposite side of the chamber. This is straightforward if negotiated at the
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right height (not on the floor). The floor eventually drops down and the last
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pitch, <b>Natural Born Slingers,</b> was rigged from a boulder back-up and a
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dodgy natural, over a boulder jammed in the rift. This drops a final 5m, to
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land in attractive walking passage with a stream (small, but definitely a
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proper, flowing stream - something like Simpsons?) entering from the roof
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after 10m. The stream passage continues for a further 30m and ends in a dark
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and sinister sump pool. This was a flooded shaft around 3m diameter, with no
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obvious passage continuing above the surface. The sump is <b>Totality</b>, at
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-435m.
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