136 - 136
Simon Flower
Date given as "[1999.08.08 from survey data, Webeditor]"
Return to 136 to push far end. This time made it down to far end. Intent on climbing the Avens Becka had described as a possible lead. This turned out to require multipitch climbing on moonmilk using static cord & thread belays around rock that wobbled and broke off. Chickened out at ½ way through my lead due to lack of dodgy threads but the roof was drafting. Jon T later chimneyed up solo at a narrower point (nutter) only to find that it just continues up & up. Surveyed the aven to Undershoot survey already done. Next continued further down watershoot to another aven, but this sadly turning into a downward trend & rejoined the winding passage to carpetworld at the end of watershoot. Didn't seem much point surveying this. There was, however, a side rift, but this, according to andy's unpleasurable experience, tended downwards & became tighter. The sounds that were emerging from the slot where he disappeared were testimony as to how much of a bitch it was to reverse.
Finally, it was my turn to do the nasty cold wet Darren Cilau entrance crawl. I had been down it before & noticed a passage on the right & it was this I had come back to see. (The end of the crawl incidentally appeared to just fragment into tighter, sharper, more closed down streamway - altogether I think that there would be no way through). The side passage though, was much more promising. It opened up into a rift which seemed to be coming from the waterfall at the start of the crawl (blocked) & going in the same line as the passage before it, ie. towards Stellerweg. It may, therefore be the continuation of the dry cave (but there is no obvious draft). Further progress in the rift was stopped by the need for a short traverse over a big hole, a passage continues at my level on the other side of the hole, at the top of the rift. Worth a look anyway.