161 - Lost World
Dave Horsley
Wheelchair Access -> Lost World to survey the downstream end
_TU_ Dave H, Mike & Juliette 9 hrs
_TU_ Chris D, Mary 7 hrs
Rather a slow trip, didn't get underground until 1 pm. Even then everything went really slowly, taking almost an hour to get from the entrance to the start of Wheelchair Access. The new route into Wheelchair Access needs surveying, but me and Mike, who'd got bored and gone on ahead didn't have the gear.
We headed on down to Lost World as a group of five, once we got to the big stuff, as it seemed to be taking ages for everyone to get down the last 5m pitch I took Mike for a quick tour of the upstream stuff. On returning, the others had disappeared downstream so we buggered off after them, to catch up in he boulder choke.
At this point Mary and Chris decided to go out as it was getting late & Mary thought she would be slow. This left me , Mike and Juliette to do the survey, and me to have my third ever go at doing book.
We pushed through the boulders, down a climb and eventually found the pitch into the chamber. Got off the pitch part way as soon as we could step into the big chamber, but the pitch continues below. Found the Germans' G find survey mark and survey left as you look into the chamber. This ends at an aven, with water coming in. I then surveyed back underneath what I'd just done, but at stream level ending up roughly back close to the pitch. From here two possible ways go off. To the left a long straight rift taking the small stream. The boulder floor drops and the stream disappears under the right hand wall and the passage is not enterable. The rift continues, but you are now ascending boulders, and soon the roof is seen which descends to meet the floor.
To the right a short piece of rift with water entering down one wall, soon ends in a deep pool (marked a survey station with a cross on the wall at this point - no. 16 on the left hand wall as you face the pool).
Mike waded across the pool, shallowest along the left wall to find an inlet stream. Looking at our survey and Becka's description of her trip with the Germans, I think this inlet is the continuation of the pitch into the chamber - but this needs checking.
There are no other obvious leads except this inlet in the chamber.
As it was now getting rather late we couldn't:
(1) Do some tie up legs I wanted to do
(2) check the continuation of the pitch into the chamber.
(3) Derig.
So we headed out. As we'd bombed down through the boulders really quickly we'd not taken much notice of the way out. At one point, there is an unobvious climb up t the right - which is the way out - however it is much more obvious to climb up through the large spaces in the boulders to the left - this ended in a large rift pitch, which, looking at our survey, may or may not connect back into the left hand rift continuation of the large chamber.
We soon found the real way out and 'cos I'm getting lots of hassle about writing too much I'll just say it took ages to get out.
Things to note when derigging:
There is tackle up a climb on the left, as you go downstream near a rock bridge marked with a tackle bag. This may be interesting as it seems to be heading away from the large chamber.
It also needs surveying.