Puffball
Wed 10 Jul 1991
Juliette Kelly
= 10½ hrs
On an overcast day the trip began in the light of, I quote [from previous trip, Ed.] "In a fair rain puffball was wettish, but showed no signs of being dangerous".
Rowdy riggers Kelly and Haines wham in 7 bolts (hand drilled due to technophobia). Haines manages to knock off all but one tooth of the spit using fat bastard lumpling hammer.
Sleazy surveyors Töny Melöné and Del-a logus-legman take on the records bottom of shell pitch. Töny's keen eye and Del-a Microdiagrames bounce on down for 5/6 hrs [small graphic]
At the end of their rope, and still without hearing the 'Sleazers' we decide to tie the ropes together. Lady incomptance suggests this:-
[graphic of two linked figure-8s, total length > 1ft]
(Do _knot_ do this.)
[the Dougherty supervariation is:-
[graphic of a reef knot with two stoppers, and a dirty great "safety loop" on the downward side. allows you to undo it]
After 15 minutes Juliette is down and Julian is tacking - Fat Knot Fruity - with some flow of suitable abuse.
Meanwhile the surveyors can hear us coming back up the rift .... or not .... the thundering increase, even Del knows Juliette's knot that fat .... and are running for the rift, sit and whatch a fountain emerge from the top of pitch.
Having also heard this gradual roaring build, dared not mention it to each other not wishing to induce panic
Julian by calmly proclaiming that he might start going up and Juliette by plastering herself against the wall and preparing for certain death in the form of an Indiana Jones style tidal wave (with rocks) [almost certainly]. It's arrival was in fact a slight anticlimax in comparison to this.
_Advice box_ In this situation have a code of shouts or whistles because once the flood is upon you you will hear precisely fuck all.
Meeting Del and Tony was a relief, especially as Tony had a waterproof oversuit and was made to go last and prussik _in_ the water.
In summary, from the top of 'Traditional Style' pitches to the entrance after 3 hrs torrential rain are possible, the rebelays and deviations are out of the water. But you will be _totally_ soaked.
Below this the water can only _increase_. The mud mark on the rift above Thundering pitch is half way up the rift. So the answer is :- Only go in clear not thundery weather. Rigg _well_ out of the water.
Juliette Kelly
Tony Del [big cartoon] Julian H _Juliette_11 -> 9½
= 10½ hrs
On an overcast day the trip began in the light of, I quote [from previous trip, Ed.] "In a fair rain puffball was wettish, but showed no signs of being dangerous".
Rowdy riggers Kelly and Haines wham in 7 bolts (hand drilled due to technophobia). Haines manages to knock off all but one tooth of the spit using fat bastard lumpling hammer.
Sleazy surveyors Töny Melöné and Del-a logus-legman take on the records bottom of shell pitch. Töny's keen eye and Del-a Microdiagrames bounce on down for 5/6 hrs [small graphic]
At the end of their rope, and still without hearing the 'Sleazers' we decide to tie the ropes together. Lady incomptance suggests this:-
[graphic of two linked figure-8s, total length > 1ft]
(Do _knot_ do this.)
[the Dougherty supervariation is:-
[graphic of a reef knot with two stoppers, and a dirty great "safety loop" on the downward side. allows you to undo it]
After 15 minutes Juliette is down and Julian is tacking - Fat Knot Fruity - with some flow of suitable abuse.
Meanwhile the surveyors can hear us coming back up the rift .... or not .... the thundering increase, even Del knows Juliette's knot that fat .... and are running for the rift, sit and whatch a fountain emerge from the top of pitch.
Having also heard this gradual roaring build, dared not mention it to each other not wishing to induce panic
\|||||/ -PANIC- /|||||\
Julian by calmly proclaiming that he might start going up and Juliette by plastering herself against the wall and preparing for certain death in the form of an Indiana Jones style tidal wave (with rocks) [almost certainly]. It's arrival was in fact a slight anticlimax in comparison to this.
_Advice box_ In this situation have a code of shouts or whistles because once the flood is upon you you will hear precisely fuck all.
Meeting Del and Tony was a relief, especially as Tony had a waterproof oversuit and was made to go last and prussik _in_ the water.
In summary, from the top of 'Traditional Style' pitches to the entrance after 3 hrs torrential rain are possible, the rebelays and deviations are out of the water. But you will be _totally_ soaked.
Below this the water can only _increase_. The mud mark on the rift above Thundering pitch is half way up the rift. So the answer is :- Only go in clear not thundery weather. Rigg _well_ out of the water.