Homecoming - Homecoming push Derig - Watershed
Sam
After a big (double noodle) breakfast we packed all three of our through-bolts ... and headed down from garlic to Homecoming. Our mission was simple, push a lead in watershed, then derig Waterershed and the top of the entrace series. Our lack of through-bolts did not deter us.
After the uneventful entrance series we gathhered our kit, rope and morale before heading through 'propane nightmares'. Beckka led the ay only occasionally reminding up to "keep up", or that "snails crawl faster"(that second one might just've been in my head...).
turn out that beyond 'Strained by Gravity' is a moderately traumatic rift passage best left to those with reliable life insurance and grippy wellies (preferably both). THis was not my favourite section and our progress through was perhaps subb- optimal.
now slightly behind schedule we arrived at the lead.
Hannah Reports:
We didn't have high hopes for our pushing ventures with onlly 3 thin bolts but as we'd come this far, we felt we should at least try. The first y-hang on the existing rigging at the end of watershet had a spinning bolt but as we were limited in resources we overlooked this(so needs repllacing next year if people go back). I added a deviation on a splashy section as was keen to stay dry on this long trip - 1st blot gone. I then reached the end of the traverse where Harry had previouslly run out of rope. I used our second bolt to finish the y-hang and dropped approx 15m to a ledge. The canyon dropped again off this ledge another ~5m and then disappeared around a corner but looked to be continuing. Our 1 remaing bolt was not gonna get us far down here so we decided to save it for a deviation needed on strain by gravity and turned around. Becka derigged this section.
[I presume Sam takes over again]
On our escape, we discovered several spinning through-bolts on the lower sections of watershed as we de-rigged.(below [...] canyon pitches rigged by Charlotte)
We pulled all rope out of watershed except for one handline heading up into the deathy rift section and a traverse line over a bold step in the same rift series. We stored these ropes near the base of the up-pich into the propane nightmares, just round the corner. (-ie. where Hobnob hallway spits from Second Coming)
We then de-rigged only the top 3 pitches in the entrance series and carried the ropes to Garlic.
We washed all the rope we had in the stream below strained by gravity but most the rope lleft at the base of the up pitches (~600m( is unwashed as it came from the second coming or was strained by gravity +alone)
SUMMARY OF ROPE IN HOMECOMING
entrace pitches below radagast to bottom of entrance series all left rigged
3 ropes in short passage above small pitch abbove radagast, colied
~600m rope some will be old +need junking, most of it dirty, ALL needs checking
NO ROPE on entrance pitches up to end of Radagast
NO METALWARE on any derigged ropes