Ogof Cnwc Price's Prophecy trip 26/11/2020

Unless otherwise stated, camera, setups, lighting, edits and gallery effects by Tarquin. Modelling and lighting at various points will be Kevin Munn.

This was a trip to see all of the side passages in the Price's Prophecy area of Busman's Holiday, which usually get ignored while on a through trip.

I also took this as an opportunity to test what it is like trying to wear a PPE mask while caving, since even though the WHO recommends not wearing one for exercise, there might be times when we need to wear one for emergency purposes. In case you were wondering, the verdict is; sweat and condensation build up quickly given the level of exertion and humidity, so it feels like you are breathing through a wet sponge. Heavy breathing is not comfortable at all. But if you are going to wear one, a rigid type (such as the standard disposable mask) is far better than a fabric one, since fabric ones flop into your mouth with every breath, making it much worse.

1. Inversion over Crickhowell, in front of The Black Mountains. Mynydd Llangorse (515 metres), Mynydd Troed (609 metres), Pen Allt-mawr (719 metres), Pen Cerrig-calch (701 metres), Pen Twyn Mawr (658 metres), Crug Mawr (550 metres), Hatterall Hill (531 metres), the Sugar Loaf (596 metres) and The Skirrid (486 metres).
2. Inversion over Raglan. The Skirrid (486 metres), Ysgyryd Fach (270 metres) and Blorenge (561 metres).
3. Price's Prophecy's southern direction, a large passage that only used to get visited by teams that overshot the Ogof Cnwc connection. Now that there is a signpost for navigationally challenged cavers, it is almost never visited. This picture is blurry thanks to the condensation on my lens, which is rather similar to how the mask feels. Modelling by Kevin, lighting by Tarquin and Kevin
4. Flowstone covered walls.
5. Cryostal in the southern direction.
6. Cryostal covered by flowstone.
7. Cryostal covered by flowstone.
8. Cryostal covered by flowstone.
9. The ceiling becomes more and more unstable further south. These rocks are held up seemingly by friction only. Modelling by Kevin, lighting by Tarquin and Kevin
10. The passage abruptly chokes, and the way on becomes an awkward route between boulders, with some fun contortions. Modelling by Tarquin
11. A small chamber inside the choke.
12. Cryostal in the small chamber.
13. Then it gets narrower again.
14. And awkward.
15. Then it breaks back out into a large chamber Modelling by Tarquin
16. That then gives way to the largest chamber; Stal Boss Chamber. This is a junction. To the left is a low crawl into another chamber. Ahead is a different crawl into a different chamber, and to the right is a large undercut containing a long passage. Modelling by Tarquin
17. The stal boss, apparently. They must have a different definition of the word "boss" from me, because none of these pitiful stalagmites could be classed as a boss.
18. The view from the back of the chamber is much better.
19. Formations at the back of the chamber.
20. Straws in the ceiling.
21. Continuing ahead in Stal Boss Chamber. The taping here is rather arbitrary, since it sacrifices some formations and protects others, without attempting to protect both. It could do with being retaped in a better way.
22. Into the boulder jumble at the back of the chamber.
23. The way onwards is another awkward crawl down the side of massive collapsed slabs, with the ceiling looking increasingly unstable.
24. Some stal in the crawl.
25. This ends in one of the most insane chambers, where the whole roof is made up from blocks floating like ice cubes jumbled at the top of a drink.
26. Gravity-defying insanity.
27. This chamber lies 40 metres below surface, but it is very close to the mountainside. It is deep enough that it could continue southwards, but the quarry faces start just 30 m away, and the chamber seems not to have survived the onslaught.
28. There is nowhere obvious to dig. Someone has tried forging a route ahead, but there is no sign of cave here, just collapse. This point is the southernmost in the passage, and may be related to Craig a Ffynnnon's Fifth Choke. But to continue, it would need to pass under a 15 metre thick cap rock at a place where the mountain side dips inwards, and it probably will not have survived. The passage heads southeast, but Fifth Choke is 680 metres away to the south-southeast and 60 metres lower, so it would need to turn a corner and descend at the normal rate to get there. The end of Promised Land is 160 metres directly south, but 40 metres lower, so it would need to turn a bigger corner and descend at an abnormal rate to get there.
29. In Stal Boss Chamber, the route to the left starts as a bouldery bedding tucked under the left wall.
30. This breaks into a wide bedding, which chokes to the right.
31. To the left is a little larger.
32. Formations in the left side.
33. The bedding opens up and ends immediately. Interestingly, despite being such a heavily shattered area, the ceiling is in its natural state, showing that the passage actually developed at this altitude. There is an aven here, but no hope for further development, as this passage is heading for the quarries on the side of the mountain.
34. The right undercut of Stal Boss Chamber is fairly large, about half the size of the chamber. Like the chamber, it has many stalagmites, but no boss.
35. Drip pockets in the undercut.
36. A passage, by far the most stable of them all, heads off to the right in the undercut. It starts as rift requiring a couple of crawls.
37. Again, this is in its natural state.
38. Mud and calcite formations.
39. A fault crossing the passage.
40. The largest part of the passage. This is getting very promising, like it could maybe be a feeder for Promised Land. Modelling by Tarquin
41. Frosting created by wicking effect on the boulders.
42. The passage then rapidly degenerates and ends at a dig. Hugely disappointing.
43. Heading in the other direction along Price's Prophecy, past some flowstone formations. There is an aven here that forms an oxbow with a later aven.
44. Just after the main chamber is a dip in the floor on the left. Hidden between the boulders is an awkward wriggle down into a lower passage.
45. The route is very muddy, and slopes fairly steeply downhill.
46. This enters a wide passage hidden below the floor. To the right is a crawl into another tiny chamber but the way on is ahead, down to a stream. Modelling by Tarquin
47. Mud banks show that this is not going to be a friendly stream. It clearly backs up in wet weather, and the mud is damp. The only way on is to crawl over the mudbanks.
48. A brief stream rift. Now if only it could stay this way.
49. The passage appears to close down but a very low smear over a mud bank gains another muddy bedding. The way ahead returns to being a rift, that soon gets too tight.
50. Mud formations in the bedding.
51. Mud formations.
52. Mud formations.
53. A little further along the passage is a tall, decorated aven, where visible side passages do not appear to be on the survey.
54. Flowstone below the aven, where water flows in through a small eyehole.
55. Formations at the base of the aven. Here the water flows out into Price's Prophecy, cascades down the wall and promptly disappears into the floor. This then probably becomes the stream seen in the muddy bedding. Interestingly, the bedding starts 35 metres away, but the end of the bedding stream finally gets too tight almost directly below this aven again, so the stream follows a spiral path.
56. Around the next bend, a higher level side passage splits in two. This is the left branch.
57. Water flows in from a flowstone-covered fracture.
58. And falls down into a pool at the top of the previous eyehole.
59. The right branch reaches the next fragment of stream, with a great deal of flowstone.
60. Ahead, this reaches a beatiful flowstone wall, with a too-tight aven at the top.
61. Overhead is a balcony where a small passage emerges. Reaching this requires climbing the formations, but in spite of the mud, the formations are kept clean by the flowing water.
62. Formations at the balcony.
63. Formations at the balcony.
64. Formations at the balcony.
65. The flat out crawling sized tube that leads off from the balcony.
66. This ends at a dig.
67. Somebody was very bored here.
68. Common frog that greeted us outside.