115 - Sunday/Monday 8/9th August
Tim Parker
We went in with Paddy and Dave as Sherpas to ferry four tackle bags and a 50m rope to the phreas above the Stellerweg - Purgatory confluence. A camp was established on a moderately flat sandy patch in a side passage with very little draught. Shitting facilities, upwind, in an abandoned vadose groove. Water at the Confluence, a ten minute round trip.
After Rams Bras + Dig Bix we went on a pushing trip. Rerigged ORgasm Chasm, same bolts so enterprisingly installed by Chas + Dave, different rope. Both had lots of fun shuffling ropes and knots and rebelays suspended 200' up the gaping hole. The big pitch ~150', is really great to descend but a nerve wracking slog up, listening for twangs and rubs. Orgasm Chasm finally rigged with a 3m descending traverse line, two ~12m pitches, a 7m, 45mm, round a col, 15m. At the floor of the Chasm, the water runs down a rift in one corner, followed round to a black slit hole. On the opposite side of the Chasm to the final rope, an archway leads into a semi-abandoned passage, with a 6m pitch and then the same black slit as above. Put a bolt on this but didn't descend, sounds about 100' deep - could this be the end ? Don't miss next week's exiting episode. The return trip was dogged by light problems. Four boxes of wet matches, two dud cigarette lighters, a self destructing leaky ammo can led to several anxious moments. Good advert for Timex watches, still running after a 60' drop and two hours immersed in water - not so Casio watches.
Back to camp at 2am, dry clothes, warm pits, soup, spag bol, egg noodles, dig bix, cigarettes and a comfortable kip till midday. Nice not to be woken by the sun, or to know that it had pissed with rain all night. Just as above ground the worst part of camping is getting out of a warm pit into the cold air and then into cold damp caving gear. A grade IV Yorkshire change.
On our way back to the surface we were rather pissed off not to meet the next wave of campers, our camp followers. A little trickle of rain had frightened them away, they sat in Bar Fischer and auctioned off our cassette tapes, hash, etc. Good to have friends. Exit from camp only took 3½ hours, including further extensive stops to get carbides going, Phil having prussiked up his own prussik sling in the dark ! Emerged to daylight, Mike and Andy to meet us, veg curry, beer and the munchies.
CUCC first underground camp.
Deepest CUCC trip ? But how deep.
Time underground 31 hrs.
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