Garlic - Garlic Cave Set up + First Nights
Nadia
After doing a big bounce carry yesterday, we now had sufficient supplies to spend the night and begin the proper set up of camp.
Philip set up the solar panels the day before(hopefully he writes that up) and we started with bolting practice to prevent the solar panels from blowing away in the wind. We used 4 bolts and tied them on with blue string. Meanwhile Jono was digging steps into the entrance of the bivy.
Our next priority was the water tarp. Sarah and Janis had previously filled our water tub with snow and left it out in the sun. This melt water was our source for the initial camp. We added two bolts to the back of the cave for the back points. One bolt to the right side (looking in) and used a small thread for the 4th corner. we didn't get to test it in a storm but drips were collecting overnight. The current plan is to just home the bucket under and scoop water out.
Ground was leveled for 5 bed spaced 'comfortably'. Sarah arrived at 2am and slept on the plateau. Good thing because we didn't have space for her. A few drips in the night but no problem in the bivy bags.
We did a little prospecting the next day (but i'll let someone else write about that) but not before leveling out the outdoor kitchen area, Jono improving the stairs and contemplating a new way into the big hole. We worked on making the climb down on the far side less sketchy by filling in the floor under the climb and raising the level to make the climb shorter. Currently the way around the snow plug needs filling in before visiting it and crossing the swiftly depleting snow plug is easier. The way around the back include waking close to a 12m cliff which we feel will eventually cause an accident by a sleepy caver. Also the climb down the back is not ideal.
We then started on the tarp setup (after being delivered a generous supply of currys, food and metal work by Maddie and Evelyn). We dragged a big block to the right side of the cave and Jono placed a bolt high in the right wall. We noticed big holes in the ceiling so we chose to do a tent sloping in 2 directions so that the majority of the water does not drip into the sleeping area. We rigged a rope across from the front water tarp bolt to the new bolt for the peak of the tent. We then inserted a choke stone and a natural for the lower corners & the sleeping area. We tied the back to the right back water tarp bolt and we put a new bolt low on the left wall under the water tarp. We added an X of rope under the tarp on the sleeping side we put a parallel rope down the middle held to the top rope and a block in the floor. Currently we are only using the tarp in a half folded position.
Sleeping was good but needs to be tested in a storm. Felt damp from condensation. Much colder in the cave than outside.
Jana and Oaken worked hard on steps into the outdoor kitchen area. The ground was grassy so the frequent trips were making it muddy and slippery.
Still need to find a grike.
