expoweb/years/2025/log_entries/2025-07-29b.json

{
 "date": "2025-07-29",
 "title": "Topcamp - Derig of Kaninchenj\u00e4gerh\u00f6hle & Anf\u00e4ngergl\u00fcckh\u00f6hle",
 "place": "Topcamp",
 "other_people": "",
 "text": "<p>Following 3 days of rain and intensive nerding (Actually writing up stuff), we popped up to top camp utilising a convenient weather window.\nWent to bed listening to James Waite planning to get up at six and execute a fiendish plan to derig two caves before the rain started again. I didn't actually believe he'd get up at six... bugger.\n<p>\nThe usual half asleep fumble-start ensued, complicated by the night arrivers putting their stuff on top of my stuff\u2026 The best bit was James waking Wookey up and asking where are Frank's wellies are? \nIt was raining drizzling, so did not avoid the rain buy getting up early, who'd of thought, it rains at night too.\n<p/>\n<h1>Kaninchenj\u00e4gerh\u00f6hle\u2026 (Rabbit Hunter) derig started 07:15!</h1>\nDerig Frank Tully with Janis Huns.\nEntrance pitch needs re-rigging, basically it's a bitch to get onto. The hang is nice but too much of a pushing rig.\nTraverse in from the other side then re-belay 12m down to get the good hang.\nThe next pitch off the boulder is nice.\nThe third wet pitch was just drippy \u2013 not wet. It was drizzling outside so I expect it will get wetter in heavy rain but not impassible, pretty sure the eater is not coming through an ice plug so its not too cold. I had to jammer down it because the loop of the re-belay hooked on a flake. This pitch really needs gardening,  like for 10 minutes, it's impossible to get on without kicking shit down, the right wall is loose too.\nThe next pitch is OK, \nThe ice flow on the next pitch needs care basically it looks sound at the moment but there is a horizontal crack which has closed at some point as the upper part of the flow has moved! A better option would be to drop the pitch on the left wall avoiding the ice. The hang wouldn't rub as you move across either. \nThe next rigged pitch is a y hang. The Y hang ring hanger could not be removed, the bolt is a spinner and the top thread appears damaged so the nut cannot be removed without more torque than can be applied. \nThe last rigged pitch is a single bolt and a deviation. The single bolt is a spinner and the deviation is drilled off perpendicular and is a spinner with the thread mullered\u2026 It was nice seeing the bolt elastically straighten out when I loosened the nut.\nOtherwise nice rig. :-)\nPaella'd the rope out from the bottom with the assistance of Janice. Then Janis carried all the rope back to top camp in the drizzle, I wandered over to help James.\n<p>\n<h1>Anf\u00e4ngergl\u00fcckh\u00f6hle (Beginners Luck \u2013 The cave formerly known as Popper Hole)</h1>\nDerig James Waite with Frank Tully\nTurning up after all the hard work had been done, I met James at the bottom of the entrance,  he'd managed to derig two and a half bags of mud with some rope in it.  Tipped the bags and started to set up the paella piles, when the shelter in the bottom of the bag made an effective bid for freedom, diving out of the bag and down a small unassuming hole, reappearing in an obvious hurry down the now derigged pitch... I thought about chasing it down the pitch and immediately thought better of it, if shelters want to escape, who am I to stop them. I can see it it\u2019s sitting on a large ledge contemplating its freedom, We need to retrieve it next year.\nDerig went well, paella'd the rope up the entrance pitch to the surface without issue. \nDe-rigged two caves before the crack of noon, a first. Basically pulled 150m out of Cross and 400 out of popper.\n<p>\nGot back to topcamp, as the weather slowly degenerated, only Noah is happy, and he's such a smug cnut.\n<p>\nWe washed the ropes at top cam with the new spiral-brush rope washer and the large blue drums. This was surprisingly effective. The plan is to store the rope in traungold.",
 "slug": "2025-07-29b",
 "time_underground": 6.0,
 "author": {
  "slug": "frank-tully",
  "nickname": "Frank Tully",
  "tu": 6.0
 },
 "trippersons": [
  {
   "slug": "frank-tully",
   "nickname": "Frank Tully",
   "tu": 6.0
  },
  {
   "slug": "james-waite",
   "nickname": "James Waite",
   "tu": 6.0
  },
  {
   "slug": "janis-huns",
   "nickname": "Janis Huns",
   "tu": 6.0
  }
 ],
 "expedition": {
  "year": "2025",
  "name": "CUCC expo 2025"
 }
}