May Bank Holiday
Saturday...Making the most of the day, Artur, Niall, Jan, Julie and i set off early to Mastodon with ladder and tools. First we tried the rift to the Northern Way and i was sent down to make a better effort than before. I traversed across the first false floor until it constricted then dropped down horizontally and inched forwarded. It didn't look easy: the floor disappeared, the rift narrowed and twisted. Removal of a boss of rock might help things, so the drill was lowered with a chisel fitted, but it proved impossible to put any force on the blade one-handed. Our weapon wasn't so potent as first thought... Niall had a go too, but was also defeated. By this time Artur, Jan and Julie had gotten bored and entered Mastodon to look for promising leads. One rift in boulders seemed to offer a possible connection, drafting strongly and heading in the right direction, but needed digging. Niall, Jan and Julie set off for Noone's Hole and Artur and i dragged our tools into the rift and started digging in shifts. We took a break at 1 pm and walked back to 'Hoo for some food, but Artur needed an afternoon nap so it wasn't until later in the afternoon that we resumed work. Digging fever had passed though. The rock was incredibly hard, and the drill made virtually no impression on it (we had used two batteries in 15 minutes during the morning, before deciding that hammer and chisel was more efficient). We had cleared out the rift fill as much as we could and i tried to see how far in i could squeeze, but it got too tight. Some rock would have to go. I started to chisel away again, but soon the rift started to fill with smoke - i turned to see Artur reclining comfortably and smoking a 'scientific' cigarette to observe the direction of the draft.
After 40 minutes of hammering i decided i was defeated and we needed caps. Artur took three taps and decided the same and we called it quits. After i took another look at the lowest part of the Northern Way rift (it looked no more promising in the bright light of Sten) we returned to the 'Hoo by a rather circular route to see if we could find anything else interesting on the surface. The sun turned to rain...
Sunday...A very slow start found Artur still wrapped up in his sleeping bag when Steve Muh and Tony arrived to try their waist size out on the Northern Way connection. This spurred Artur to get dressed and we carried our bottles and harnesses to Upper Cradle Hole to dive the Monastir Way. As we were leaving the 'Hoo again with drysuits and an ali 80 for Artur, Tony re-appeared - Steve had managed to squeeze the rift and enter the Northern Way. He needed a hammer and chisel to widen it for himself though. As we returned to Upper Cradle Artur berated me for not pushing hard enough... oh well. We thought about diving through to join them. Artur carried his bottles (2x 7L, 1x 80cf) in two relays to the sump, i walked up wearing sidemounts. Just before we dived Artur canned the idea of diving to the Northern Way, so we hurried through to the Monastir Way. It took me a little longer than Artur's record breaking time as i pondered the significance of his missing junction marker and had to repair my own clothes peg as it disintegrated when i deployed it (it was one of Artur's...) From the foamy sump pool we hiked up the cascades in sidemounts. There was more water but it was definitely easier with both hands free rather than having to carry the bottles as previously. After a breather we dived sump 2. Artur entered first and was just submerging when he jumped up and made funny noises. It sounded serious and i hurried to help, but it turned out his zip had opened a little during the climb. As i submerged i realised i had holed my left drysuit leg and hurried through the sump emerging soggily at the end. I dekitted and joined Artur at sump 3. The kit was taking a battering. We had started out with one broken compass each, hoping that diving would refill them and start them working again! Artur discovered he had lost his so took mine, which had now lost more fluid than it had gained during diving. Gas was pissing out from one of his regulators from three places. I couldn't survey the passage without a compass so after having a look around the passage up to the final sump i sat and waited for Artur to finish his 30 minute dive. 45 minutes later had still not returned... I decided to give him a full hour before kitting up and having a look for him then going to raise cave rescue... He came back after 57 minutes. From his previous EOL he progressed in a squeeze for a body length before being stopped by high flow and flood debris. On his return he heard bubbles surfacing and entered a small pool in a chamber with some length of passage visible. Climbing out was difficult as the sides of the pool were banked with loose slabs which threatened to collapse in and block his way back. The passage did not go anywhere though. Back in the passage we discussed options. My compass now had packed in completely and surveying was worthless. Artur climbed a white aven to a possible high level passage, and i joined him. We pushed 100+ m of rifty, sandy passages, almost connecting to the section of Monastir Way between sumps 1 and 2 - we could hear the stream loudly in several places but boulders always blocked the way. Then we entered a spectacular white chamber, and the disappointment that we hadn't made the surface connection with the Northern Way faded! 'I am happy again' said Artur. We tip-toed over moon-milk covered boulders, gour pools, between stalacmites and a forest of straw stalactites and pillars. It was stunningly beautiful. After two hours exploring we returned to our bottles and re-kitted, descending the Monastir Way as fast as possible (the cascades were fun!), our drysuits leaking badly. We exited the cave 2230, after 6 1/2 hours underground. It was a relief to dekit and dry out in the 'Hoo and rehydrate...
Al Kennedy
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