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<title>1991: Cambridge Underground report</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../css/main2.css" />
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<center><font size=-1>CTS 92.1865: Cambridge Underground 1992 pp 18-19</font>
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<h2>Puffball and Icing Sugar Cave (1623/182)</h2>
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<h3>Olly Betts</h3></center>
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<b>Latitude</b>: 47°48'30" N<br>
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<b>Longitude</b>: 13°48'01" E<br>
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<b>Altitude</b>: 1638m
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<p>B.Scharte: 180°, B.Zinken: 210°, HSK: 070°, VSK: 210°
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(Austria '90 survey book pp79-80). Camp is on 144°, +1.5°
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inclination, but cannot actually be seen from entrance.
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<p>The main entrance joins with a secondary, slightly smaller entrance in a
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daylit chamber on top of a snow plug. Sky can be seen through a third
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entrance in the ceiling, which is surrounded by undergrowth on the surface.
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<p>A hole down the back edge of the snow plug leads to a slither down a
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partially iced steep (30°) boulder slope, with a low ceiling which soon
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rises. A large boulder several metres across is jammed across the slope at a
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few metres further down, below which the boulder slope continues. An inlet
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to the left just before an ice formation soon becomes too tight. Carrying
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on, the slope soon gives way to a traverse above a vadose canyon, with a
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laddered climb (20') after about 25m. It is possible to continue along
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the top of the rift for a considerable distance (apparently to above Shell
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Pitch?). From the bottom of the ladder, the passage soon drops down a climb
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of 2m. Then there is a winding, rifty passageway, named "Magic Mushroom
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Passage" due to the peculiar mushroom-like formations on the walls.
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These, together with the white dusty look of the walls in places, give the
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cave its name. After 100m the rift widens, and a traverse develops above a
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narrower rift below. The upper level may be followed to above the first rope
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pitch, but the more usual route is to climb down a rock pile into the lower
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rift (40cm wide), which is known as the "Yorkshire Ripper", due to
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the effect of the sharp, narrow rift on oversuits, and the Yorkshire feel of
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the cave at this point. After 15m, relieved at one point by a small alcove
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with an irritating spray of water, the narrow rift widens, after a final
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flourish, to the head of the first rope pitch (6m). Carrying on from the
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base of the pitch, the tiny rift in the floor deepens, and traversing along
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leads soon to the head of Shell pitch (19m). Descending gives a fine view
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of the chamber, the walls of which contain many large bivalve fossils (hence
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the pitch's name). From this chamber, a short traverse leads to a
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junction.
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<p>Left is an unclimbable aven, whilst to the right is "Piezo de
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Resistance", described below. The main route is currently down
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"Q8" pitch which is broken by a ledge after 16m. After a further
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9m and a rebelay, a pendulum through a window to one side leads on.
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Descending further, the shaft stops after 19m and a further rebelay. There
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are no passable ways on from the bottom ("Strike One"). After the
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pendulum, a vast army of rebelays lies in wait ("Dot to Dot"),
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eventually ending in a larger pitch (25m) the bottom of which, again, has no
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ways on ("Strike Two"). Yet again, a pendulum (at -14m) yields
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more cave ("Bottom Bypass"). A dubious 11m hang leads to a ledge.
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At one end of the ledge, ducking under an arch enters a chamber at the
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bottom of a high shaft ("Lady's Loo"), down which a vast
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torrent pours in wet weather. A further 9m down from the ledge is a floor.
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Progress can be made along the top of a slimy keyhole shaped rift
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("Tarzan's Folly") which is irritating to pass, especially
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with tackle. After 20m, a false floor appears and a few metres further on is
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"The Dark Room", a high chamber with dark, textured walls. A
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waterfall cascades down from unfathomable heights, and pounds onto a ledge
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to the back right of the cavern. Climbing down a slimy slope, (which in an
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ideal world would be lined), the way on is along a rift which exits from the
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rear of the chamber on the left side. The rift has a couple of false floors
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in it. The middle level leads to the head of the next pitch "Natural
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Redundancy" (11m) is reached after about 10m. The rope is belayed to a
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large chock stone at head level, then to a bolt about two inches from a
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beautifully rounded thread, hence the name. "Cyclotron" pitch
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follows immediately, then comes "Quark, Strangeness and Charm", a
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rift passage with many possible traverse levels. In places there are
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flowstone bosses, and near the roof, some odd "tippex" stals can
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be seen. The formations are only notable due to their rarity in the caves of
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this region.
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<p>At the end of QS&C, the passage sweeps round to the left as the floor
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drops away into "Cloud Chamber". The pitch is broken by two
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rebelays. The grade 5 survey stops about 20m back from the pitch head. The
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details of the passage leading to the next pitch are uncertain, although the
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consensus is that it is around 20-30m long, and fairly straight. The lack of
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information lead to the name "Amnesia Alleyway". The next pitch is
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"NDE", an acronym for "Near Death Experience", since a
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party of cavers was flood-pulsed just below this pitch during the initial
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exploration. This incident also named "The Delicate Sound of
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Thunder", another rift passage with a traverse along to a laddered
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pitch ("Traditional Style"), which is the as far as exploration
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has got to date.
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<h3>Piezo de Resistance:</h3>
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<p>From the head of "Q8" pitch, an alternative route may be
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followed. Taking the passage to the right, a traverse develops after 10m.
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Water sinks into a hole in the floor after a further 10m, and beyond this,
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is a 9m pitch, followed after 10m or so by a longer pitch with has been
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descended for about 20m. This point is 60m above the floor of "The Dark
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Room", and the horizontal separation is only a few metres, so it seems
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there is a good chance that there is a bypass for the rebelay forest of
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"Dot to Dot" and the awkward crawl "Tarzan's
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Folly". Note: The pitches at the end of Piezo were rigged from a couple
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of somewhat dubious naturals, and could do with being bolted if this is to
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become the main route.
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<hr />
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<!-- LINKS -->
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<ul>
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<li>Cambridge Underground 1992,
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<a href="../../../jnl/1992/index.htm">Table of Contents</a></li>
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<li>1991 Expedition info:
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<ul>
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<li><a href="index.htm">Index</a> (more detail than in this list)</li>
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<li><a href="report.htm">Austria '91</a> Report</li>
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<li><a href="wash.htm">It's a Washout</a> (flood pulse in Puffball)</li>
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<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
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<li><a href="newbit.htm">161's New Bits 1991</a></li>
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</ul></li>
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<li><a href="../../pubs.htm#pubs1991">Index</a> to all publications</li>
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<li><a href="../../index.htm">Back to Expeditions intro page</a></li>
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<li><a href="../../../index.htm">CUCC Home Page</a>
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</ul>
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