expoweb/years/2025/log_entries/2025-07-05d.json

{
 "date": "2025-07-05",
 "title": "plateau - How short can shorts get",
 "place": "plateau",
 "other_people": "",
 "text": "After parting ways with a Balcony group, the prospecting team headed west, into what was christened the \u2018Valley of Death\u2019.  Only a few minutes in, holes galore appeared around us. Noting down various dead ended shafts, including three bomb shaped holes in a line named \u2018Bombordino Crocodino\u2019 at [33T 411503 5283163], Lara pointed to a more promising looking entrance, \u2018Oregano Hohle\u2019 [33T 411480 5283183]\n<p>\nA slightly ungraceful survey performed by Buck and Ella followed; including a minor mishap involving a rock, Ella above a loose climb, and Buck\u2019s poor knee. The cave started off as a 5m walk, and then a 3 meter climb down into a crawl going back on itself for another 3 meters before it chokes.\n<p>\nMeanwhile, Lara and Joel began an abseil into a more exciting looking hole nearby [33T 411454 5283151] \u2018Ghast Hohle\u2019, another wide hole with a promising looking section after the obvious bottom. Great frustration followed after Joel sighted evidence of previous bolting, yet no evidence has yet been found referencing this online. \n<p>\nAnd so our journey continued. A \u2018pincer\u2019 approach was adopted for dropping into the next valley, where the team of Joel and Buck followed the left, and Ella, Lara, Hamish traversed towards the right. We met in a valley below, exchanging many tales of immensely draughty holes that lead nowhere found en route.  Three came of note. A snow plugged shaft of about 2 by 2 meters, with an obvious natural above [HW-00, 33T 411166 5283242]. Another Joel found: a strongly outwards drafting shaft with an overhang above, at least 5m deep but snow plug obscures continuation, but does not block the whole shaft [JS-04, 33T 411160 5283056, later named Gruffalo]. \u2018Ella\u2019s draughty hole\u2019 [EM-01, 33T 411159 5283234], a small almost human sized hole with a howling draught, with notable depth determined by dropping rocks.\n<p>\nNow reassembled, the prospecting prophets continued up sweltering hot terrain. Formidably, the plateau didn\u2019t have much mercy on either Ella nor Joel\u2019s shorts. After much-a Bunda bashing, Ella\u2019s resembled something more of denim thongs. Joel\u2019s had also developed a tear, which for-sighted a similar trajectory. \n<p>\nThankfully, the materialisation of holes returned to being in rock, when we stumbled upon yet another possible cave, \u2018Clockwork Orange\u2019 [JS-02, 33T 410756 5282937]. This one had 4 different entrances, congregating in a 6 meter shaft which was dropped but choked.  \n<p>\nWith an ominous overlooking of dark cloud, the final prospect of the day was prompt. We arrived at a long and thin slice, 1m wide and 6 across. This had been found previously but not dropped, named Blitz Baum Schacht [33T 410634 5283186]. Ella descended to the bottom of a 20m rope, another 5m is yet to be dropped with promising draught and possible continuation at the bottom. \n<p>\nThe delightful promise of gnocci with custard powder powered our plateau plod back to top camp. The end.\n<p>[Debut Cave, now renumbered as 2025-LB-01, was discovered on this trip. But it has coordinmates (from New Cave Sheet) of <br>\n47\u00b0 41' 47.80\" N 13\u00b0 48' 58.80\" E <br>\ni.e. 33T 411187.93 5283259.24 or 47.696611 N 13.816333 EPhilipS.]\n<p>\n<img width=60% alt=\"Lara's drawing\" src=\"/years/2025/lara%20drawing.jpg\">\n<p>\n<img width=60% alt =\"Hamish taking photo of Ella's arse\" src=\"/years/2025/ella-arse.jpg\">\n<br />\n[Photo showing hamish taking a photo of ellas arse through her ripped shorts while lara looks on in bemusement]\n<p>\n<!-- photos reduced in resolution and moved into expoweb repo as that is where images in logbooks belong. Philip S. -->\n<p>\n<img width=60% alt=\"obi wan kenobi goes to expo\" src=\"/expofiles/photos/2025/CreshPhotos/prospecting-meme.jpg\">\n<p>\nFrom the <a href=\"/years/2025/mission.html\">2025 Mission</a> page:\n<img width=60% alt=\"archive ents\" src=\"/years/2025/ents.jpg\">\n<p>\n[FOOTNOTE:<br />\nThese UTM coordinates can be converted to lat/long using <a href=\"/expofiles/tools/index.html\">\nhttps://expo.survex.com/expofiles/tools/index.html</a> ]",
 "slug": "2025-07-05d",
 "time_underground": 0.0,
 "author": {
  "slug": "ella-marcovitch",
  "nickname": "Ella",
  "tu": 0.0
 },
 "trippersons": [
  {
   "slug": "ella-marcovitch",
   "nickname": "Ella",
   "tu": 0.0
  },
  {
   "slug": "buck-blake",
   "nickname": "Buck",
   "tu": 0.0
  },
  {
   "slug": "hamish-weir",
   "nickname": "Hamish",
   "tu": 0.0
  },
  {
   "slug": "joel-stobbart",
   "nickname": "Joel",
   "tu": 0.0
  },
  {
   "slug": "lara-bartleet",
   "nickname": "Lara",
   "tu": 0.0
  }
 ],
 "expedition": {
  "year": "2025",
  "name": "CUCC expo 2025"
 }
}