Scrotting around at bottom of Fat Cat, now called Cat Flea
Mon 06 Aug 2012
Olaf
Holly was so kind to take us down this year's route via 204a, King Carbide, Brians Phat Shaft and Pussy Prance to Fat Cat. I was a bit slow and had to get used to all this SRT business again, but eventually we were all sat at the top of the Fat Cat pitch and made up a plan. Wookey and Holly wanted to look at a climb up from a ledge most of the way down, and Rob and myself were sent off to some scrotty B-lead at the bottom of the pitch. Or rather at the bottom of a little side-pitch right underneath the ledge, but still quite a way above the real bottom of Fat Cat. The last bit from the ledge to our lead was fairly clean washed white limestone, and after a little deviation, Rob and I climbed up over the boulder named Boris, then through a little squeeze to a small "chamber", where we could almost stand upright. Emma and Holly had left a survey station 7 there, we didn't spot their number 8, though. Also, a small passage that I considered "too tight" went on to an aledged A-lead, but I was only told about this on the way out (I hadn't really paid much attention earlier). Anyway, from the small chamber, a small passage with a little water-filled trench at the bottom was heading back up sharply to the right, and behind some boulders a light-connection to the bottom of the pitch could be made. We ignored that (too tight) and rather went down a bit, then up a slope on the other side to crawl underneath a big boulder. Several holes are going up to the left, but an easier way to their top was found from around the corner at the mud choked end of the passage. We now started climbing up, leaving two holes in the floor behind us. They appeared to join up in a lower level horizontal passage leading further on as a QMB. At our survey station 5, we climbed up through a small window and now made steady vertical progress up a pitch full of rock flakes. After about 5 more metres, we reached a ledge with another mud-choked passage leading off and another window going on further up in a similar climbing manner to another QMB. We put our last survey station 8 on the wall and broke off some more popcorn on the way out. Rob and Wookey decided to put in another bolt at the ledge in Fat Cat, while Holly and I started heading out. When I reached the bottom of Painted Lady, someone suddenly turned on a waterfall coming in from a hole in the ceiling. Rather scary ! Brians Phat Shaft was rather drippy to begin with, quite wet further up, but still nothing but a little tease, compared to the showerbath of King Carbide, the horrors of the upper part of King Carbide, and the floods coming down the entrance pitch. I hate wet caves !
Olaf
T/U: 9.5 hrs
Holly was so kind to take us down this year's route via 204a, King Carbide, Brians Phat Shaft and Pussy Prance to Fat Cat. I was a bit slow and had to get used to all this SRT business again, but eventually we were all sat at the top of the Fat Cat pitch and made up a plan. Wookey and Holly wanted to look at a climb up from a ledge most of the way down, and Rob and myself were sent off to some scrotty B-lead at the bottom of the pitch. Or rather at the bottom of a little side-pitch right underneath the ledge, but still quite a way above the real bottom of Fat Cat. The last bit from the ledge to our lead was fairly clean washed white limestone, and after a little deviation, Rob and I climbed up over the boulder named Boris, then through a little squeeze to a small "chamber", where we could almost stand upright. Emma and Holly had left a survey station 7 there, we didn't spot their number 8, though. Also, a small passage that I considered "too tight" went on to an aledged A-lead, but I was only told about this on the way out (I hadn't really paid much attention earlier). Anyway, from the small chamber, a small passage with a little water-filled trench at the bottom was heading back up sharply to the right, and behind some boulders a light-connection to the bottom of the pitch could be made. We ignored that (too tight) and rather went down a bit, then up a slope on the other side to crawl underneath a big boulder. Several holes are going up to the left, but an easier way to their top was found from around the corner at the mud choked end of the passage. We now started climbing up, leaving two holes in the floor behind us. They appeared to join up in a lower level horizontal passage leading further on as a QMB. At our survey station 5, we climbed up through a small window and now made steady vertical progress up a pitch full of rock flakes. After about 5 more metres, we reached a ledge with another mud-choked passage leading off and another window going on further up in a similar climbing manner to another QMB. We put our last survey station 8 on the wall and broke off some more popcorn on the way out. Rob and Wookey decided to put in another bolt at the ledge in Fat Cat, while Holly and I started heading out. When I reached the bottom of Painted Lady, someone suddenly turned on a waterfall coming in from a hole in the ceiling. Rather scary ! Brians Phat Shaft was rather drippy to begin with, quite wet further up, but still nothing but a little tease, compared to the showerbath of King Carbide, the horrors of the upper part of King Carbide, and the floods coming down the entrance pitch. I hate wet caves !