Balcony - The Kraken Wakes 3
Anthony Day
[This blog is dated 4 August 2016. /the-kraken-wakes/]
Eventually, the end of the expedition loomed and we had to get a substantial amount of rope out of the cave. The last camping party made a start by removing some of the ropes below camp and the final pitch, leaving a substantial pile behind for the next derigging party, of which I was a member.
What we needed was a paella. As we proceeded, all the ropes we collected were fastened together to make one continuous length that was hauled up the pitches (aka Pull An Extremely Long Length Altogether). By the time we had finished the pile was four times bigger than at the start (about 1200m in total) which disappeared into ten bags and was spirited out of the cave.
So that was it for another year. Camp Kraken was an unqualified success and definitely made for efficient exploration of the deep levels of the cave. Altogether there were seven camping trips involving eighteen different people, and between us we found and explored over 3.5km of passages. That represents a better return than I could ever have hoped for, and I feel justified in promoting the original lead from which it was all found as a good place to look for new cave.
Same again next year?
PS: My camera didn’t make it underground this year – so thanks go to Chris Densham, Becka Lawson and Fleur Loveridge for permission to use their photos.