Surface stuff
Jenny Black
It had rained most of the night and was still raining. Therefore we suspected 76 would not have got any drier ... We were pretty keen, but didn't want to drown, so decided we might as well do surface stuff. Wandered around in the general direction of 99-0B-02 and investigated some holes. The only ones of any significance at all (ie more than a meter) will be 2006-73. This has two entrances, though the connection is mostly choked. The main entrance is down a very large snow plug into a chamber, on the top RH corner the other (small) entrance enters. There is a cool big ice curtain at the bottom, but also a rock wall not miles of train tunnel passage. However, there was a draughting tube descending on the left to investigate with a rope in the future. Continued on and found (nearish to 2005-43) 99-0B-02 finally! It didn't look very promising, so I scrambled down to look and basically it is a short, wet, cold, unpleasant cave that doesn't go. So I surveyed it and it is now "ticked off" cos use surface survey from it to 2005-93 [hard to read date, could be 2003-93?] and from 103 to 101a to 1998-01 to 2005-9something to 10B to 2005-99. Surface surveying in the rain sucks, I got colder than I have been on this expo yet, and we had to retreat at half time to warm up with hot chocolate at the bivi. 1998-X01 isn't far (and on the same level as) 10h and is only marked with a "+" - we will hope to tag it later.
PS In the halfway point in Follow Through Shaft I saw a scorpion type creature, it looked like this: [sketch of 1cm length insect with 2 longer legs] and it was red. It seemed aware of (and unhappy with) my light if I got close to it.