Ogof Daren Cilau Dweebland trip 16/02/2018 to 18/02/2018
Unless otherwise stated, camera, setups, lighting, edits and gallery effects by Tarquin. Modelling at various points will be Pete Bolt, Roz Simmonds, Mandy Voysey, Matt Voysey, Matt Chinner, Chris Tomlin, Adrian Fawcett and Tarquin.
Ogof Daren Cilau is one of the major British caves, renowned for its long and arduous entrance series, massive passages, superb formations, and some of the most luxurious underground camps that a caver could hope for. The cave's entrance is so demanding that it actually has dedicated tackle bags (the Daren bag) and perfectly sized storage containers (Daren drums) designed to fit through it. This trip was an attempt to get to "the far end", joining one of the regular camps, and ending up with most of the other campers joining us. The eastern branch of the cave was visited on a later trip instead.
The Calcite Squeezes, near the end of the 550 metre entrance series. These are a memorably bad part of the entrance, but they are certainly not alone, as there are plenty of other parts where a low wallow in the water is required. For about half of the entrance, it is possible to walk or stoop, but often so narrow that sideways progress is the only option, and a bag full of camping kit makes it so much worse when it snags on everything; an anchor tied to your belt. I am extremely grateful to Pete for putting up with my request for this shot, stopping in the stream and waiting for the picture, then being forced to sit in it for a couple of minutes while I packed everything away in a standing space so tiny that I couldn't properly turn around to reach the bag. And yes, this was taken on the way out.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Preliminary Passage, a huge passage which almost immediately chokes, requiring a 20 metre flexible ladder climb. It doesn't help that the ladder was rigged with the segments upside down, making it quite uncomfortable to climb. This passage is too narrow to light properly with caving lamps and a phone camera, so the picture is made from a vertical panorama of 5 images.
Modelling by Roz, lighting by Tarquin, Roz and Pete
The ladder ascends the first part of the pitch vertically, then diagonally sideways over a sloping ledge, before ascending the upper section into Higher Things. When ascending, I listened to the mistaken advice of the veteran, and tried to climb with my bag on. Had to dismount onto a large, suspended boulder at the ledge, and carefully dekit and tie the bag to the hauling line before continuing. Flexible ladders and bags do not mix. Use the hauling line.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
White deposits in White Passage. These are possibly formed by water saturated with calcite or gypsum within the boulder, being evaporated by airflow (wicking).
Arriving at the Source Of Time, the beginning of the Time Machine. This is the start of the largest passage in Britain, 31 metres wide, but less than 10 metres high at its point of entry.
Modelling by Roz and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Roz and Pete
Incredibly detailed deposits of calcite and gypsum in the Time Machine.
Growths in the Time Machine.
The Time Machine. At its largest, it is 25 metres wide and 20 metres high. These dimensions then swap over, so as seen here, it is 20 metres wide and 25 metres high, a simply enormous empty space in the mountain. The distracting reflectors are not really needed here - they are something seen in larger caves in other countries where there is a real risk of losing your sense of direction when you cannot see the walls. This space is big, but the walls are still close enough to see.
Modelling by Roz and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Roz and Pete
Helictites above Bonsai Streamway.
Lighting by Roz
Helictites in Bonsai Streamway.
10 cm selenite needles in Bonsai Streamway.
Large helictites in Bonsai Streamway.
And finally The Bonsai Tree, which gives the passage its name.
Lighting by Pete
At Crystal Inlet, we stop to collect water, since the stream we have been caving in all the way from the entrance is the only other source of water before the camp. About 5 litres per person is enough for a long weekend. Someone has actually paid for a road sign to be made, giving the correct distances to the two permanent camps. Almost all other humorous signs in the cave were obtained by less legitimate means.
Lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Formations in lower Bonsai Streamway.
White powder on the rocks in lower Bonsai Streamway. This may be decomposing gypsum crystals, or more evaporation deposits.
The stream then abruptly ends, marking the "facilities" for the camp. The rock on the left is the washing up area (there is a regular washing up bowl for the purpose). The pool to its left is the rinsing-off area. The pool to the right is the hand washing sink.
The outlet slot is the squat toilet, with the rock platforms for your feet, and a fast stream that quickly washes away any waste. It's a very effective toilet, and has never had any problems with clogging or backing up, despite frequent use for 30 years.
At the start of Kings Road, a platform above the stream contains a graveyard where Daren drums go to die. OK, it's actually the storage area for the camp. Frequent users of the camp have their own Daren drums with their various supplies in them; dry clothing, shoes, sleeping bags, torches and anything else they might need. In the middle, the bags contain sleeping bags that may be used by visitors like Roz and me, and there are also various shoes that can be borrowed too.
The Hard Rock Cafe is the most major underground camp in South Wales (or perhaps all of Britain), and almost certainly one of the oldest that is still in regular use, having been set up in March 1986. On the left is the kitchen counter top with plastic crockery, mugs, wine glasses (yes, really), cutlery, pots, utensils, stoves. The Daren drums contain nonperishable food like cooking tomatoes, rice, pasta, olives and freeze-dried vegetables - fresh food has to be brought in each trip. The slot in the floor is the sink for disposing of liquids. On the right are our tackle bags and the fresh water, with an empty water bottle by the camera. In the distance are the benches for relaxing, and raised platforms for sleeping, more stoves, and paraffin. On the distant left is the cocktail bar, and the camp's stereo system - yes, this place has music, with personal music players brought in by the regulars, and the main floor used for dancing. In the far distance are the changing area and washing lines for pretending to dry wet caving gear. The main sleeping area is to the right of the picture, down an oxbow. Beneath the camera is more storage. The stoves and paraffin lamps are personal kit, not intended for general use, so they are kept hidden.
Modelling by Pete, Matt Chinner, Mandy, Matt Voysey and Chris, Lighting by Pete, Matt, Mandy, Matt and Chris
The flower garden (and mole).
The cocktail bar. The evening entertainment normally consists of drinks and music. Drinks are mixed by anyone, then handed around for people to decide if they like the outcome. Alcohol was normally forbidden at the other camp while it was in regular use, at the wishes of one of the main campers, presumably because of their desire for a quiet night. Because of the dangers of drinking at a camp where significant climbs are needed to reach the beds and toilet, it was probably a good idea there. Here, drinking is part of the fun; just try to remember that caving with a hangover is definitely not so much fun.
Lighting by Tarquin and Pete
That would be quite an achievement. This set is 2 years old, celebrating a simultaneous 40th and 60th birthday of two of the regulars. The balloons just seem to last forever here - even after 5 years, the balloons can still remain inflated.
Matt Voysey preparing the awesome evening meal of seafood curry, while others dine on the olive starter.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, Pete, Mandy, Matt Chinner and Chris's legs, Lighting by Matt, Pete, Mandy, Matt and Chris
Adrian then joined the camp, and completed the cooking ... by spilling it over the cooking area. A spade and a drag tray, and some fresh sand later, and it was almost as good as new, though it remains to be seen whether it will turn into a mould farm.
Modelling by Adrian, lighting by Tarquin and Adrian
After a fried breakfast (exactly what you expect underground), we changed back into our disgustingly wet caving gear, and began our trip through The Ovaltinees - a series of enlargements separated by digs. This soon becomes the more lengthy walk of Rock Steady Cruise, followed by High Flier, without any obvious separation.
Modelling by Pete, Roz and Chris, lighting by Tarquin, Pete, Roz and Chris
The cryostal begins immediately, overshadowed by the piles of gypsum around it.
Cryostal, neither on fluffy/bobbly mud nor on breakdown rocks, but on sand.
Tiny beads of cryostal formed in and around gypsum crystals.
Brazil chamber contains some of the best cryostal we would see on the trip. By this stage, most others were rather unimpressed and confused as to why I was photographing dirt, but they seemed to recognise the beauty of this set.
Cryostal in Brazil, including twiglet shapes.
Cryostal in Brazil.
Beautiful gypsum waterfall-like formation in Acupuncture.
Gypsum in Acupuncture.
Grotto above The Micron, at the end of Acupuncture.
Formations in New Boots And Panties.
Formations in New Boots And Panties.
Very impressive helictite formation in New Boots And Panties.
Formations in New Boots And Panties.
Modelling by Matt Moysey
Gypsum formations in New Boots And Panties.
A narrow slot then drops into Ankle Grinder Bypass, a very awkward, snatchy passage that is much harder when you are carrying a tackle bag, which I was on the way in. After much further than it looks on the survey, the passage ends with a stooping height duck. Thankfully for us, the water was at its normal low level, so we only got wet up to our waists.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, lighting by Tarquin and Matt
Formations beyond the duck.
Formations beyond the duck.
Formations beyond the duck.
A brief bit of nicely decorated passage then leads to the 7 metre ladder climb. Down a rope climb below, a stream appears with the water rushing into a narrow slot, which serves as the toilet for the nearby camp. Upstream along a difficult thrutchy rift reaches the 7th Hour Sump.
The ladder leads to another couple of boulder scrambles into La Plaza, and the site of the Restaurant At The End Of The Universe camp, the second major camp, and the second oldest, originally set up in 1987. On the left side is the traverse along the wall to the old sleeping area, with the current sleeping area in alcoves to the right. Again, there is a seating area with a dining/cooking table (how posh!). The storage area again contains nonperishable food, but with the camp no longer in frequent use, it may not be trustworthy. Stoves, crockery, cutlery and utensils are all available. However, the toilet is very difficult to get to when tired, so a Daren drum is used as a night-time toilet, and cleaned out in the morning; not as nice as the other camp.
Modelling by Roz, Pete, Chris and Matt Chinner, lighting by Tarquin, Roz, Pete, Chris and Matt
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Anthodites in the old sleeping area.
Anthodites in the old sleeping area.
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Modelling by Matt Voysey
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Stumpy stalactites in the old sleeping area, looking like spider egg sacs.
Flowstone and helictites in the old sleeping area.
Modelling by Matt Voysey
Green-tinted helictites in the old sleeping area.
Blue-tinted helictites in the old sleeping area. Nearby are the Blue Greenies, but we were beyond tired by the time we had returned to this spot (the pictures were taken on our way out), and we could not face the short crawl needed to reach them. They can wait for another trip.
Formations in Cordillera Blanca Chamber.
Formations in Cordillera Blanca Chamber.
A large crystal in the mud.
Gypsum in the passage beyond Cordillera Blanca Chamber.
The 10 metre pitch into Big Chamber.
Modelling by Roz and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Pete, Roz and Matt Voysey
Crystals being trampled underfoot on the floor of the chamber. These appear to be decomposing gypsum, with an occasional lump of probable cryostal.
The early part of Inca Trail, which is mostly crawling or stooping, with an occasional standing section. Sadly, my phone's camera really suffered along this section, producing a number of blurry shots due to condensation on the lens.
Modelling by Pete
A rather larger continuation of Inca Trail, which makes up for the trouble up to that point.
Modelling by Pete, Roz, Chris, Mandy, Matt Chinner and Matt Voysey, Lighting by Tarquin, Pete, Roz, Chris, Mandy, Matt and Matt
All the way from Inca Trail, through Matchu Pitchu, to Trowser Filler, the piles of gypsum crystals on the floor also contain small amounts of cryostal, seen here as yellow lumps near the bottom.
Cryostal hiding in the gypsum.
Very obvious cryostal.
Lighting by Tarquin and Matt Chinner (I think)
Cryostal.
At some point, the passage gets renamed to Matchu Pitchu, but it is basically the same passage.
Modelling by Pete
Very thin flakes of cryostal, like calcite rafts, but without a crystal pool.
An odd, large lump of gypsum with crystals inside it, like a geode.
Very large cryostal plate.
Another very large cryostal plate.
Bobbly/fluffy mud, an obvious sign of frost action, and a good sign that cryostal may be found. This particular set has taller towers of mud that appear to have dribbled from above.
Lighting by Pete
A series of very long sand swims (flat out crawls over sand, which gets stuck in your gloves and any other openings in your clothing) brought us to the very large passage of Friday The Thirteenth. For some reason, I failed to photograph it when anyone was standing in it, so this picture is awful, but the passage is surprisingly tall, with phreatic domes and oxbows in the ceiling. The picture was actually taken just to record the location of ...
A large pile of cryostal in Friday the Thirteenth.
Cryostal in Friday the Thirteenth.
Cryostal in Friday the Thirteenth.
Very large selenite needles.
The largest selenite needle, at 23 cm (9 inches).
More large selenite needles.
The entire team, minus me, at the end of Friday The Thirteenth: Mandy, Matt Chinner, Roz, Pete, Matt Voysey and Chris (seated). Chris had only planned to get this far, and the trip was already epic enough. Mandy had already been beyond here, so would return with Chris. Roz and Matt Chinner were in two minds as to whether to carry on, since it would be a lot more caving (over 2 hours more just to reach the end), and they wanted to see some of the pretties that we had avoided on the way. Pete and Matt Voysey were going to go to the end, but the Another Bloody Valentine squeeze just up ahead turned out to be far too intimidating for Pete. With Pete now turning back, and Matt Chinner and Roz realising that pretties were more important, that left only Matt Voysey and me to continue to the end. The squeeze was indeed pretty intimidating.
After a small and quite uninspiring passage, we continued through a series of increasingly tight squeezes. Finally, one was too much for my comfort levels, and I announced that I did not want to continue. Matt pushed ahead through 3 even tighter squeezes, and confirmed our suspicions that we had missed the way on, when he reached a terminal dig. A scratch mark on the ceiling showed that we had instead entered Bad Bat Passage. Go back, through the eyehole, and crawl past the mannequin's hand rising from the sand, holding a plastic car. Obviously.
Still Warthogs After All These Years turned out to be relatively comfortable, but still lacking the grandure of the earlier passages.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, lighting by Tarquin and Matt
Cryostal in Still Warthogs After All These Years.
A very impressive side passage on the right ended almost immediately at Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (DADES, pronounced "Daddy's") Choke, my original intended destination when planning this trip several months before. This is one of the major sites that nearly connects to Agen Allwedd, but in spite of recent rumours, all the digs remained intact, and the choke has not been passed. Depending on the accuracy of the survey, they could be 6-20 metres apart, but with a vertical gap of between 4 and 14 metres. A connection would be hard won, since the choke is likely to extend all the way to Mother Of All Battles in Aggy's Sick Parrot Extensions, and is severely collapsed at both ends.
Modelling by Tarquin, camera, setup and lighting by Matt
Beyond, Still Warthogs After All These Years (often "Still Warthogs" or just "Warthogs") becomes relatively large and temporarily comfortable.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, lighting by Tarquin and Matt
More cryostal in Warthogs.
Nearing the end of Still Warthogs, and still walking!
Lighting by Tarquin and Matt Voysey
Rather elaborate cryostal.
Cryostal.
A tight squeeze with a very awkward corner then brought us into Dweebland (named after the sweets), with its distinctively etched phreatic chambers, reminiscent of Life On Mars in Draenen. This is Updweeb, where it is possible to stand, once you get past all the squeezing and crawling bits. Other parts of the series are known as Downdweeb, Inbetweeb (the best of the names) and Archies.
Rumours of a recent connection with Aggy had prompted us to check out this area. There are a lot of possible digs, but we systematically checked out everything we could see, pushing to the end of each passage in turn. This is nearing the end of Updweeb.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, lighting by Tarquin and Matt
Scaffolding and digs at the end. We searched all of Updweeb, Archies, Downdweeb and Inbetweeb, with Archies having a dig longer than marked on the public survey (but surveyed if you check the unpublished copy). That particular dig, and a couple of others, proved so tight that I had to leave it to Matt to find the bitter ends. There was no connection here, and it would appear - as many of us suspected - that the rumours were just rumours. Having now checked out both sides, we are fairly confident that the rumours were just a joke, or distraction tactic. If such a major connection had actually been achieved, the diggers would have been shouting about it from the rooftops, not spreading it as a part-baked rumour.
Choked aven at the bitter, bitter end of Updweeb. While we were searching stupid digs for 2 hours, the rest of the team had left us drinks in Friday The Thirteenth, then stopped at The Restaurant for some tea and photography of the Blue Greenies. When we arrived back at The Restaurant with me quite dehydrated and us both famished, we were overjoyed to find that we had been left food and yet more drinks. Wonderful humans! Leaving the Blue Greenies for another trip, we returned at a re-energised pace back to Hard Rock.
In spite of a couple more detours (La Plaza helictites, New Boots and Panties), we arrived back at Hard Rock just an hour after the rest of the team, about 11 hours day trip, and were treated to a three course dinner; olives and white stilton, pasta bolognaise, and ginger cake for desert. Accompanied by disco lights, more partying, and more cocktails.
With many of the earlier pictures taken on the way out, Pete, Roz and I finally emerged into daylight after 43 hours and 10 minutes, my longest trip to date.
Modelling by Roz, lighting by Roz and the Sun
The new Gateway Bridge being constructed at Brynmawr as part of the A465 dualling works. Two days before, only half of the arch had been put in place.
The Calcite Squeezes, near the end of the 550 metre entrance series. These are a memorably bad part of the entrance, but they are certainly not alone, as there are plenty of other parts where a low wallow in the water is required. For about half of the entrance, it is possible to walk or stoop, but often so narrow that sideways progress is the only option, and a bag full of camping kit makes it so much worse when it snags on everything; an anchor tied to your belt. I am extremely grateful to Pete for putting up with my request for this shot, stopping in the stream and waiting for the picture, then being forced to sit in it for a couple of minutes while I packed everything away in a standing space so tiny that I couldn't properly turn around to reach the bag. And yes, this was taken on the way out.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Preliminary Passage, a huge passage which almost immediately chokes, requiring a 20 metre flexible ladder climb. It doesn't help that the ladder was rigged with the segments upside down, making it quite uncomfortable to climb. This passage is too narrow to light properly with caving lamps and a phone camera, so the picture is made from a vertical panorama of 5 images.
Modelling by Roz, lighting by Tarquin, Roz and Pete
The ladder ascends the first part of the pitch vertically, then diagonally sideways over a sloping ledge, before ascending the upper section into Higher Things. When ascending, I listened to the mistaken advice of the veteran, and tried to climb with my bag on. Had to dismount onto a large, suspended boulder at the ledge, and carefully dekit and tie the bag to the hauling line before continuing. Flexible ladders and bags do not mix. Use the hauling line.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
White deposits in White Passage. These are possibly formed by water saturated with calcite or gypsum within the boulder, being evaporated by airflow (wicking).
Arriving at the Source Of Time, the beginning of the Time Machine. This is the start of the largest passage in Britain, 31 metres wide, but less than 10 metres high at its point of entry.
Modelling by Roz and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Roz and Pete
Incredibly detailed deposits of calcite and gypsum in the Time Machine.
Growths in the Time Machine.
The Time Machine. At its largest, it is 25 metres wide and 20 metres high. These dimensions then swap over, so as seen here, it is 20 metres wide and 25 metres high, a simply enormous empty space in the mountain. The distracting reflectors are not really needed here - they are something seen in larger caves in other countries where there is a real risk of losing your sense of direction when you cannot see the walls. This space is big, but the walls are still close enough to see.
Modelling by Roz and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Roz and Pete
Helictites above Bonsai Streamway.
Lighting by Roz
Helictites in Bonsai Streamway.
10 cm selenite needles in Bonsai Streamway.
Large helictites in Bonsai Streamway.
And finally The Bonsai Tree, which gives the passage its name.
Lighting by Pete
At Crystal Inlet, we stop to collect water, since the stream we have been caving in all the way from the entrance is the only other source of water before the camp. About 5 litres per person is enough for a long weekend. Someone has actually paid for a road sign to be made, giving the correct distances to the two permanent camps. Almost all other humorous signs in the cave were obtained by less legitimate means.
Lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Formations in lower Bonsai Streamway.
White powder on the rocks in lower Bonsai Streamway. This may be decomposing gypsum crystals, or more evaporation deposits.
The stream then abruptly ends, marking the "facilities" for the camp. The rock on the left is the washing up area (there is a regular washing up bowl for the purpose). The pool to its left is the rinsing-off area. The pool to the right is the hand washing sink.
The outlet slot is the squat toilet, with the rock platforms for your feet, and a fast stream that quickly washes away any waste. It's a very effective toilet, and has never had any problems with clogging or backing up, despite frequent use for 30 years.
At the start of Kings Road, a platform above the stream contains a graveyard where Daren drums go to die. OK, it's actually the storage area for the camp. Frequent users of the camp have their own Daren drums with their various supplies in them; dry clothing, shoes, sleeping bags, torches and anything else they might need. In the middle, the bags contain sleeping bags that may be used by visitors like Roz and me, and there are also various shoes that can be borrowed too.
The Hard Rock Cafe is the most major underground camp in South Wales (or perhaps all of Britain), and almost certainly one of the oldest that is still in regular use, having been set up in March 1986. On the left is the kitchen counter top with plastic crockery, mugs, wine glasses (yes, really), cutlery, pots, utensils, stoves. The Daren drums contain nonperishable food like cooking tomatoes, rice, pasta, olives and freeze-dried vegetables - fresh food has to be brought in each trip. The slot in the floor is the sink for disposing of liquids. On the right are our tackle bags and the fresh water, with an empty water bottle by the camera. In the distance are the benches for relaxing, and raised platforms for sleeping, more stoves, and paraffin. On the distant left is the cocktail bar, and the camp's stereo system - yes, this place has music, with personal music players brought in by the regulars, and the main floor used for dancing. In the far distance are the changing area and washing lines for pretending to dry wet caving gear. The main sleeping area is to the right of the picture, down an oxbow. Beneath the camera is more storage. The stoves and paraffin lamps are personal kit, not intended for general use, so they are kept hidden.
Modelling by Pete, Matt Chinner, Mandy, Matt Voysey and Chris, Lighting by Pete, Matt, Mandy, Matt and Chris
The flower garden (and mole).
The cocktail bar. The evening entertainment normally consists of drinks and music. Drinks are mixed by anyone, then handed around for people to decide if they like the outcome. Alcohol was normally forbidden at the other camp while it was in regular use, at the wishes of one of the main campers, presumably because of their desire for a quiet night. Because of the dangers of drinking at a camp where significant climbs are needed to reach the beds and toilet, it was probably a good idea there. Here, drinking is part of the fun; just try to remember that caving with a hangover is definitely not so much fun.
Lighting by Tarquin and Pete
That would be quite an achievement. This set is 2 years old, celebrating a simultaneous 40th and 60th birthday of two of the regulars. The balloons just seem to last forever here - even after 5 years, the balloons can still remain inflated.
Matt Voysey preparing the awesome evening meal of seafood curry, while others dine on the olive starter.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, Pete, Mandy, Matt Chinner and Chris's legs, Lighting by Matt, Pete, Mandy, Matt and Chris
Adrian then joined the camp, and completed the cooking ... by spilling it over the cooking area. A spade and a drag tray, and some fresh sand later, and it was almost as good as new, though it remains to be seen whether it will turn into a mould farm.
Modelling by Adrian, lighting by Tarquin and Adrian
After a fried breakfast (exactly what you expect underground), we changed back into our disgustingly wet caving gear, and began our trip through The Ovaltinees - a series of enlargements separated by digs. This soon becomes the more lengthy walk of Rock Steady Cruise, followed by High Flier, without any obvious separation.
Modelling by Pete, Roz and Chris, lighting by Tarquin, Pete, Roz and Chris
The cryostal begins immediately, overshadowed by the piles of gypsum around it.
Cryostal, neither on fluffy/bobbly mud nor on breakdown rocks, but on sand.
Tiny beads of cryostal formed in and around gypsum crystals.
Brazil chamber contains some of the best cryostal we would see on the trip. By this stage, most others were rather unimpressed and confused as to why I was photographing dirt, but they seemed to recognise the beauty of this set.
Cryostal in Brazil, including twiglet shapes.
Cryostal in Brazil.
Beautiful gypsum waterfall-like formation in Acupuncture.
Gypsum in Acupuncture.
Grotto above The Micron, at the end of Acupuncture.
Formations in New Boots And Panties.
Formations in New Boots And Panties.
Very impressive helictite formation in New Boots And Panties.
Formations in New Boots And Panties.
Modelling by Matt Moysey
Gypsum formations in New Boots And Panties.
A narrow slot then drops into Ankle Grinder Bypass, a very awkward, snatchy passage that is much harder when you are carrying a tackle bag, which I was on the way in. After much further than it looks on the survey, the passage ends with a stooping height duck. Thankfully for us, the water was at its normal low level, so we only got wet up to our waists.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, lighting by Tarquin and Matt
Formations beyond the duck.
Formations beyond the duck.
Formations beyond the duck.
A brief bit of nicely decorated passage then leads to the 7 metre ladder climb. Down a rope climb below, a stream appears with the water rushing into a narrow slot, which serves as the toilet for the nearby camp. Upstream along a difficult thrutchy rift reaches the 7th Hour Sump.
The ladder leads to another couple of boulder scrambles into La Plaza, and the site of the Restaurant At The End Of The Universe camp, the second major camp, and the second oldest, originally set up in 1987. On the left side is the traverse along the wall to the old sleeping area, with the current sleeping area in alcoves to the right. Again, there is a seating area with a dining/cooking table (how posh!). The storage area again contains nonperishable food, but with the camp no longer in frequent use, it may not be trustworthy. Stoves, crockery, cutlery and utensils are all available. However, the toilet is very difficult to get to when tired, so a Daren drum is used as a night-time toilet, and cleaned out in the morning; not as nice as the other camp.
Modelling by Roz, Pete, Chris and Matt Chinner, lighting by Tarquin, Roz, Pete, Chris and Matt
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Anthodites in the old sleeping area.
Anthodites in the old sleeping area.
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Modelling by Matt Voysey
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Helictites in the old sleeping area.
Stumpy stalactites in the old sleeping area, looking like spider egg sacs.
Flowstone and helictites in the old sleeping area.
Modelling by Matt Voysey
Green-tinted helictites in the old sleeping area.
Blue-tinted helictites in the old sleeping area. Nearby are the Blue Greenies, but we were beyond tired by the time we had returned to this spot (the pictures were taken on our way out), and we could not face the short crawl needed to reach them. They can wait for another trip.
Formations in Cordillera Blanca Chamber.
Formations in Cordillera Blanca Chamber.
A large crystal in the mud.
Gypsum in the passage beyond Cordillera Blanca Chamber.
The 10 metre pitch into Big Chamber.
Modelling by Roz and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Pete, Roz and Matt Voysey
Crystals being trampled underfoot on the floor of the chamber. These appear to be decomposing gypsum, with an occasional lump of probable cryostal.
The early part of Inca Trail, which is mostly crawling or stooping, with an occasional standing section. Sadly, my phone's camera really suffered along this section, producing a number of blurry shots due to condensation on the lens.
Modelling by Pete
A rather larger continuation of Inca Trail, which makes up for the trouble up to that point.
Modelling by Pete, Roz, Chris, Mandy, Matt Chinner and Matt Voysey, Lighting by Tarquin, Pete, Roz, Chris, Mandy, Matt and Matt
All the way from Inca Trail, through Matchu Pitchu, to Trowser Filler, the piles of gypsum crystals on the floor also contain small amounts of cryostal, seen here as yellow lumps near the bottom.
Cryostal hiding in the gypsum.
Very obvious cryostal.
Lighting by Tarquin and Matt Chinner (I think)
Cryostal.
At some point, the passage gets renamed to Matchu Pitchu, but it is basically the same passage.
Modelling by Pete
Very thin flakes of cryostal, like calcite rafts, but without a crystal pool.
An odd, large lump of gypsum with crystals inside it, like a geode.
Very large cryostal plate.
Another very large cryostal plate.
Bobbly/fluffy mud, an obvious sign of frost action, and a good sign that cryostal may be found. This particular set has taller towers of mud that appear to have dribbled from above.
Lighting by Pete
A series of very long sand swims (flat out crawls over sand, which gets stuck in your gloves and any other openings in your clothing) brought us to the very large passage of Friday The Thirteenth. For some reason, I failed to photograph it when anyone was standing in it, so this picture is awful, but the passage is surprisingly tall, with phreatic domes and oxbows in the ceiling. The picture was actually taken just to record the location of ...
A large pile of cryostal in Friday the Thirteenth.
Cryostal in Friday the Thirteenth.
Cryostal in Friday the Thirteenth.
Very large selenite needles.
The largest selenite needle, at 23 cm (9 inches).
More large selenite needles.
The entire team, minus me, at the end of Friday The Thirteenth: Mandy, Matt Chinner, Roz, Pete, Matt Voysey and Chris (seated). Chris had only planned to get this far, and the trip was already epic enough. Mandy had already been beyond here, so would return with Chris. Roz and Matt Chinner were in two minds as to whether to carry on, since it would be a lot more caving (over 2 hours more just to reach the end), and they wanted to see some of the pretties that we had avoided on the way. Pete and Matt Voysey were going to go to the end, but the Another Bloody Valentine squeeze just up ahead turned out to be far too intimidating for Pete. With Pete now turning back, and Matt Chinner and Roz realising that pretties were more important, that left only Matt Voysey and me to continue to the end. The squeeze was indeed pretty intimidating.
After a small and quite uninspiring passage, we continued through a series of increasingly tight squeezes. Finally, one was too much for my comfort levels, and I announced that I did not want to continue. Matt pushed ahead through 3 even tighter squeezes, and confirmed our suspicions that we had missed the way on, when he reached a terminal dig. A scratch mark on the ceiling showed that we had instead entered Bad Bat Passage. Go back, through the eyehole, and crawl past the mannequin's hand rising from the sand, holding a plastic car. Obviously.
Still Warthogs After All These Years turned out to be relatively comfortable, but still lacking the grandure of the earlier passages.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, lighting by Tarquin and Matt
Cryostal in Still Warthogs After All These Years.
A very impressive side passage on the right ended almost immediately at Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (DADES, pronounced "Daddy's") Choke, my original intended destination when planning this trip several months before. This is one of the major sites that nearly connects to Agen Allwedd, but in spite of recent rumours, all the digs remained intact, and the choke has not been passed. Depending on the accuracy of the survey, they could be 6-20 metres apart, but with a vertical gap of between 4 and 14 metres. A connection would be hard won, since the choke is likely to extend all the way to Mother Of All Battles in Aggy's Sick Parrot Extensions, and is severely collapsed at both ends.
Modelling by Tarquin, camera, setup and lighting by Matt
Beyond, Still Warthogs After All These Years (often "Still Warthogs" or just "Warthogs") becomes relatively large and temporarily comfortable.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, lighting by Tarquin and Matt
More cryostal in Warthogs.
Nearing the end of Still Warthogs, and still walking!
Lighting by Tarquin and Matt Voysey
Rather elaborate cryostal.
Cryostal.
A tight squeeze with a very awkward corner then brought us into Dweebland (named after the sweets), with its distinctively etched phreatic chambers, reminiscent of Life On Mars in Draenen. This is Updweeb, where it is possible to stand, once you get past all the squeezing and crawling bits. Other parts of the series are known as Downdweeb, Inbetweeb (the best of the names) and Archies.
Rumours of a recent connection with Aggy had prompted us to check out this area. There are a lot of possible digs, but we systematically checked out everything we could see, pushing to the end of each passage in turn. This is nearing the end of Updweeb.
Modelling by Matt Voysey, lighting by Tarquin and Matt
Scaffolding and digs at the end. We searched all of Updweeb, Archies, Downdweeb and Inbetweeb, with Archies having a dig longer than marked on the public survey (but surveyed if you check the unpublished copy). That particular dig, and a couple of others, proved so tight that I had to leave it to Matt to find the bitter ends. There was no connection here, and it would appear - as many of us suspected - that the rumours were just rumours. Having now checked out both sides, we are fairly confident that the rumours were just a joke, or distraction tactic. If such a major connection had actually been achieved, the diggers would have been shouting about it from the rooftops, not spreading it as a part-baked rumour.
Choked aven at the bitter, bitter end of Updweeb. While we were searching stupid digs for 2 hours, the rest of the team had left us drinks in Friday The Thirteenth, then stopped at The Restaurant for some tea and photography of the Blue Greenies. When we arrived back at The Restaurant with me quite dehydrated and us both famished, we were overjoyed to find that we had been left food and yet more drinks. Wonderful humans! Leaving the Blue Greenies for another trip, we returned at a re-energised pace back to Hard Rock.
In spite of a couple more detours (La Plaza helictites, New Boots and Panties), we arrived back at Hard Rock just an hour after the rest of the team, about 11 hours day trip, and were treated to a three course dinner; olives and white stilton, pasta bolognaise, and ginger cake for desert. Accompanied by disco lights, more partying, and more cocktails.
With many of the earlier pictures taken on the way out, Pete, Roz and I finally emerged into daylight after 43 hours and 10 minutes, my longest trip to date.
Modelling by Roz, lighting by Roz and the Sun
The new Gateway Bridge being constructed at Brynmawr as part of the A465 dualling works. Two days before, only half of the arch had been put in place.