161 - Bounce Rift - 161d
Becka Lawson
Begged Sam for a nice easy lead, and he obliged! Off down Puerile Humour, past Five Ways, along Shaft Mine. Got to a 3/5m climb down that Sam + Lummat had clambered (+ surveyed down). We rigged down it on a single boulder.
[Highly schematic depiction of Bounce Rift in here]
An obvious passage continued across the other side of the climb down. We looked at it, some. After a preliminary slither decided to loop the rope over a lump on the climb up. I whimpered my way to the top - easy climb, but the top was a load of chossy rock + mud + the "protection" (loop of rope) was below me, so sod all use. Rigged tail end of rope to another dodgy natural. Off we trundled, whee! Short passage to big section of hading rift. Anthony wanted to do that rather than the lovely walking size phreatic tube, so we trundled up. Rather airy + loose in bits. Poked around at the top - some holes up there, but all seem to close down. Then up the phreatic tube, stomp, stomp. Ended when it choked with cobbles + boulders. Anthony ready to start surveying, but I wanted to have a quick dig. Scrabbled a bit & got a couple of metres pretty easily & a strong draft. Anthony then had a go for a bit, choke now heading uphill quite steeply. I had another go & squeezed into a little chamber - & "DAYLIGHT - WE'VE GOT AN ENTRANCE!!!" Squawk, squawk for another minute or two. Anthony thrashed his way up too & we set off digging the final four metres. Got it quite big & Anthony went for the glory push.... & backed out. Dug some more. "If you can't get through that, Anthony, you're a fat bastard." Anthony backs out again. I slithered up - quite tight then. Wriggled shoulders pushed, then squeezed through & then through another 8" slot in mus - & screamed. Out in the sunlight looking at the shepherd's huts! Spent ten more minutes trying to extract Anthony, finally got him out - hence the Yorkshire Pudding entrance (161E). Then heard a noise - "Hello." Ye Gods! Sam, Lummat & Craig appear just round the corner - they've got an entrance too! We squabble about who got out first then wander over to a big boulder to try to decide where we are. Then, because we're good little boys + girls, we all survey out. Bloody cold surveying the entrance squeeze with the draft from hell & of course the compass has decided to mist up. Try a carbide assist on it - no go. Have to cuddle it inside my furry instead. Survey goes OK until the final sodding leg back over the climb up + down. Compass _completely_ fogged. Anthony's light has wilted to a dismal orange glow. Takes ten minutes to get one compass reading - I take five on top, so we can average it then, just as I'm about to give up it defogs & I get a decent reading. Bog off out at last - Anthony has no carbide or electric. Good trip!
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