CUCC Expeditions to Austria: 1976 - 2024

T/U 8

Team keen up at 6.30 which meant all of Top Camp was up & around by 7.30 & I was the last to leave Top Camp at 9.30 or so.

What is CUCC coming to ? We three beat William + Andrew down 136 + headed off down the wet (Original) Route [ to be called Wet Dreams, and passing through Fhantasy Phreatics level ?] to continue the survey down. I rigged until I'd finished the 100m rope (which had started at the Y-hang of the traverse, where the Eyehole Route splits off). This is 2 pitches off bolts, one off naturals & then 3 more rebelays off increasingly dodgy bolts. No shortage of 83/84 bolts - often two within a metre of each other, but some impressively lousy placements, bolts sticking out miles, wet hangs, etc. etc. Still, it must have been miserable rigging it in the first place. The Wet Route is smaller than the shaft series above the traverse, & apart from the piddly phreatics, it is down, down, with spray + a series of ledges ~10m apart. Finished the survey (a resurvey from the Y-hang would be worth it, if the wet route ever goes anywhere!) & then we derigged the 100m (which was the point of all the above) & went down the Eye-Hole route & rigged the 100m into the Big Chamber. I did the traverse & had a look at the drop.

[ sketch showing location of a QM near connection point ]

QM SHOULD BE DONE, GOOD POTENTIAL + drop of ?20m into rifty passage from the bridge before the final ~6m pitch to the Forbidden World connection.

However, I didn't have a bolting kit + the rock was really chossy so I went back. People in the chamber look _really_ tiny from 45m up on the traverse. Down to the Big Chamber to meet the others, a jolly free hang. Julian had drilled his way up the mud/rock to get to a hole at the south end of the chamber, but it went nowhere. He left the rope on it.

[sketch plan ]

I looked around the chamber q. carefully. The only lead I could find was through (down) the boulder climb (q. stable, big rocks) q. a long way (10-20m) to a q. strongly drafting rift/pitch which would need a bit of hammering to go (or maybe you could get into it from another spot through the boulders). Back out, de-rigged the 100m (again!) + left it on the top of the traverse (well, it might be useful there!) + the drill (see previous excuse) & ambled on out. My last trip! Anthony's knee now thoroughly knackered.