MEXICAN PASSAGE EXTENSION 17.04.2010


Petie Barry, Artur Kozlowski




Sitting in the Hoo back in the last weekend of March Artur and I were discussing what to do the next when we both expressed an interest in looking at Legnabrocky passage, especially the final choke. The next day a party consisting of Una Donoghue, Tony Corcoran, Neil Tobin, Artur Kozlowski and myself visited the passage, guided by Neil who’d been there a few times before. The choke at the end of the final inlet was pretty unpromising, but what turned out to be much more interesting was Mexican Passage. A climb out of the main passage after the Giants Hall led to a muddy Super Fun Happy Slide and a large fossil passage inhabited by a tiny trickle in the floor. A large slippery black flowstone mound some 6 meters high had to be climbed and beyond it the passage ended in a chamber carved out of glacial fill. In the northern corner however was a sharp constricted crawl, ending after 30 painful meters in a tiny chamber with a continuation visible through a horizontal slot. Neil and Tony ventured in after us armed with a hammer and chisel and found the bottom half of the slot to be made of calcite. They returned, Neil singing Enrique Iglesias’s Hero as he went. Singing Passage was born.

POLLNAGOSSAN - 11 SUMPS AND COUNTING...


It was one of those sites described in the Irish Sump Index from 1988, along with Pollatoomary and Fergus River Cave that I dreamt profusely about for last three years with dark, wet dreams of deep and long penetration.

I wasn't the only one. Back in 2008 Chris Jewell together with Simon Cornhill and Hilary Greaves and again in 2009 with Dave Garman tried to reach already mythical sump 10. In 2008 after 80-90m m in sump 2 the old Martyn's line “run into the rock”.  Chris returned in 2009 with Dave Garman and made a bypass around that obvious line trap. Regaining Martyn's line behind the obstacle Chris continued along a steeply ascending gravel slope finding the line partially buried. There was a few centimetres slot below the ceiling a similar situation encountered by Martyn Farr in 1979. Chris started digging his way up while one of his regs developed a freeeflow and he decided to turn the dive. But the sump was almost passed, it seemed that one more trip and the treasures of Pollnagossan hidden behind the 10th sump would be reached ...

MONASTIR SINK - UPPER CRADLE CONNECTED


I'm very pleased to announce that another important connection in Great Marble Arch System has been made, ending an exploration saga that started in 1958 when M. Boon free dived short 0.5m long sumped section at the upstream end of Upper Cradle Hole to a bigger sump chamber (look here  Discovery of Northern Way for some historical background and our previous exploration)

8.04.2010
Divers: Chris Jewell, Artur Kozlowski

After an epic previous day trip to Shannon Cave we needed a solid rest so we didn’t arrive to the Monastir Cliff untill the early evening. The weather was dry but the Aghinrawn River was still above its average level. We reached the second sump in no time and then Chris went off.