Ogof Draenen Realm of Baron von Carno trip 22/07/2021
Unless otherwise stated, camera, setups, lighting, edits and gallery effects by Tarquin. Modelling and lighting at various points will be Pete Bolt and Josh Henry.
This was another educational trip to this extensive series, learning more of the major and minor routes, for the purpose of writing the description. We therefore visited a lot of side passages that you would ignore on a normal caving trip. Our visit was at the end of a week-long heat wave, and this was our first chance to get natural 8°C air conditioning, something we had all been desperate for.
The start of the first major side passage in The Stream Of Running Commentary, which can be used as a shortcut to the route to The Red Baron. Last time, we had visited in flood conditions, and this passage carried a stream. This time, we visited in drought conditions, and it was dry.
At a T-junction, the southwards passage is a dry crawl.
This direction then lowers and swings towards Passendale, but there is no connection. This passage ends under an alcove of a chamber in The Realm Of Baron Von Carno.
Near the start of the crawl, a very small archway on one side gets even closer to connecting with Passendale, but the passage is blocked beneath the same chamber in The Realm Of Baron Von Carno. Passendale is accessed from a different part of the series instead, and is not really worthy of any effort to add connections.
In the northern (right) direction from the T-junction, the passage is a walking sized rift with an inlet, which ends at a junction in the main route to The Red Baron.
The main route to The Red Baron is the next passage along The Stream Of Running Commentary. It starts as a keyhole, but quickly turns into a mis-shapen rift with a load of boulder obstacles.
This quickly reaches the junction where you choose which way you want to get to The Red Baron. Down to the left is the end of the shortcut. To the right is the low crawling route to The Red Baron, and ahead is the main "four squeeze" route to Red Baron and Passendale.
The four squeeze route is mostly walking or stooping, seen here after it turns right in a chamber.
The low crawling route starts quite big, and looks very promising, but unfortunately the way on is that hole at floor level.
The route is mostly just a regular low crawl. Part of it is stooping, and it does have only one tighter section, but it is tedious, so it is not the usual route into The Red Baron.
Our main destination was The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage (yes, the same name as the series). This climb up a rubble bank is the way into the passage from The Stream Of Running Commentary, and enters the floor of a chamber.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Cryostal in the chamber.
Cryostal in the chamber.
Mud formations in the chamber.
Mud formations in the chamber.
The western branch of The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage, which is a dead end.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Cryostal in the western branch.
Cryostal in the western branch.
Decomposing calcite in the western branch.
The first chamber in the western branch. In the ceiling is a rope that accesses a short series of roof passages. The rope is rigged as a climb rather than a pitch, but it really looks insane, and deserves to be treated as a pitch. On the survey, the roof passages appear underneath the chamber, which seems to be a mistake.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
The way on from the chamber is a short crawl between formations. This requires a lot of care, as there is not much space between them.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
The second chamber is even more impressive, and one of the largest in the series. It also has an aven connecting to the roof passages. Passendale ends under the floor of this chamber, and the two passages from the Red Baron shortcut end under it too. There is a stub of passage through boulders on the left, but it closes down.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Stal covered wall of the chamber. There is not much stal in this part of the series, and this is the largest single patch of it.
Lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Gypsum pile covering a large part of the chamber floor. This needs taping.
The second chamber.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
The passage leading off from the chamber has a floor made from that distinctively bobbly/fluffy mud, which is formed by ice age permafrost.
The passage then ends abruptly at a mud-filled arch. There is no real point in digging here, as the passage would only connect to the route into Nevill Hall, so the mud has been preserved.
The northern branch of The Realm Of Baron Von Carno is the more major route.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Cryostal in the northern branch.
Cryostal in the northern branch. This is a really unusually shaped piece, like a piece of tissue with beads stuck to it.
Very comfortable passage dimensions.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Cryostal in the mud.
Even in drought conditions, there is a small amount of dribbling water here, but this is the only water we saw in this area.
Briefly narrow section.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Large passage regained.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
The passage then drops down a steep rubble slope into this enormous chamber. This is the largest of the chambers in The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage, equal in area to one of the halves of Nevill Hall, but substantially taller. That impressive height makes it probably the largest chamber by volume in the series, and yet it has no name. The taped route branches to show that there is a side passage to the left, but it is very short and uncomfortably tight.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Drip pockets in the chamber.
Large cryostal pieces on a ledge.
Very large and elaborate piece of cryostal.
More elaboroate pieces of cryostal.
A slab of fallen rock, showing the green shale threading between the limestone.
Ladder up to the roof tubes in the chamber. The ladder has rusted beyond use, but there is a lifeline, which might be useful as a climbing aid. We did not check the belays at the top, however.
An alcove on the side labelled as a grotto on the survey. This is a rather meagre amount of stal.
The passage narrows back down again.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
A junction with taped off cryostal on the floor. The passage ahead looks like the obvious way on, but it is blind. The real way on is to the right.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Cryostal at the junction.
The narrow passage ahead at the junction, which has a small amount of stal, and some tape to remind you not to go that way.
An enlargement in the rift, with a small amount of stal.
Calcite dripped onto the mud.
The rift then becomes really narrow and thrutchy, and was deemed unworthy of visiting the end, which pinches out after 25 metres. It would almost certainly reconnect to another part of the series.
Continuing on the main route, the next junction is an obviously bulged chamber, where the large passage finally ends. From here, there are two ways on. To the left is the slanting rift which leads to Aces High. To the right is the way on along The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage, now reduced to a narrower rift.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Deeply etched striations, almost like you might see in wind-blown sandstone.
Crawling beneath a toppled stack of boulders.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Oddly shaped nodular fossils on the boulder stack. The composition of these is not known, but they are likely to be chert - fossilised sea cucumbers. Alternatively, they might be the imprint of a shell, but there are other shapes elsewhere in the passage that are less likely to be shells. The patterns on the rock are quite standard for this area, looking almost like elephant skin.
Exiting from behind the boulder stack.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
The passage has lost its grandure, and the boulders seem a lot less stable. This area is not visited often.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Cryostal on the walls which has managed to survive the minimal traffic.
Another nodular fossil.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
These fossils are more unusually shaped, and are likely to be sea cucumbers.
Modelling by Josh's digits, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
The passage ends at a choke, but a climb in the roof just before the last patch of fossils reaches a roof tube.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
The roof tube soon also ends at a choke above the lower passage's choke.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
A crawl under the wall reaches the top of a very tight climb down, into the end of The Stream Of Running Commentary. It is possible to climb up this, if you are persistent enough, but it did not look fun when we visited it from the bottom on a previous trip, and only one person in our team had actually done so. In this direction, it would be easier, since gravity is helping. However, it still looks quite daunting.
Start of the slanting rift into Aces High.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Elephant skin textured rock in the rift. This appears to be a type of boxwork, and a sediment intrusion.
First junction along the route to Aces High. The way on is to the left.
Old stal in the dead end right branch.
Lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Second junction on the way to Aces High, where the way on is to the right.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
The left branch starts very tight, but is larger for its last 25 metres.
And when I say tight, I mean tight.
Modelling by Tarquin
The right branch reaches a dig where Aces High - originally discovered via an aven in The Red Baron - was connected to The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage, providing the normal route into Aces High.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Emerging from the dig into Aces High. There is a second low crawl shortly afterwards. However, the weather had taken its toll, and realising that my sweating, headache, tunnel vision and nausia were due to heat exhaustion, we had to cancel the rest of the trip, and make a very slow exit, trying to keep my body temperature down. A dunking in Hearts Of Olden Glory certainly helped, but in future, electrolyes are part of the emergency kit!
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Old Illtydian's Chamber, the large chamber at the end of Gilwern Passage. The route into Galeria Garimpeiros series passes through the boulder floor of this chamber.
Modelling by Josh and Josh, lighting by Tarquin, Josh, Josh and Josh
Stal-covered wall of the chamber.
Lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Jagged ceiling of the chamber, clearly created by the fault that controls the passages below.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
We surfaced back into the sweltering heat. Some salt, bananas, and another dowsing in chilled water later, and I had returned to my version of normal. We headed home with the sunset.
The start of the first major side passage in The Stream Of Running Commentary, which can be used as a shortcut to the route to The Red Baron. Last time, we had visited in flood conditions, and this passage carried a stream. This time, we visited in drought conditions, and it was dry.
At a T-junction, the southwards passage is a dry crawl.
This direction then lowers and swings towards Passendale, but there is no connection. This passage ends under an alcove of a chamber in The Realm Of Baron Von Carno.
Near the start of the crawl, a very small archway on one side gets even closer to connecting with Passendale, but the passage is blocked beneath the same chamber in The Realm Of Baron Von Carno. Passendale is accessed from a different part of the series instead, and is not really worthy of any effort to add connections.
In the northern (right) direction from the T-junction, the passage is a walking sized rift with an inlet, which ends at a junction in the main route to The Red Baron.
The main route to The Red Baron is the next passage along The Stream Of Running Commentary. It starts as a keyhole, but quickly turns into a mis-shapen rift with a load of boulder obstacles.
This quickly reaches the junction where you choose which way you want to get to The Red Baron. Down to the left is the end of the shortcut. To the right is the low crawling route to The Red Baron, and ahead is the main "four squeeze" route to Red Baron and Passendale.
The four squeeze route is mostly walking or stooping, seen here after it turns right in a chamber.
The low crawling route starts quite big, and looks very promising, but unfortunately the way on is that hole at floor level.
The route is mostly just a regular low crawl. Part of it is stooping, and it does have only one tighter section, but it is tedious, so it is not the usual route into The Red Baron.
Our main destination was The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage (yes, the same name as the series). This climb up a rubble bank is the way into the passage from The Stream Of Running Commentary, and enters the floor of a chamber.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Cryostal in the chamber.
Cryostal in the chamber.
Mud formations in the chamber.
Mud formations in the chamber.
The western branch of The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage, which is a dead end.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Cryostal in the western branch.
Cryostal in the western branch.
Decomposing calcite in the western branch.
The first chamber in the western branch. In the ceiling is a rope that accesses a short series of roof passages. The rope is rigged as a climb rather than a pitch, but it really looks insane, and deserves to be treated as a pitch. On the survey, the roof passages appear underneath the chamber, which seems to be a mistake.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
The way on from the chamber is a short crawl between formations. This requires a lot of care, as there is not much space between them.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
The second chamber is even more impressive, and one of the largest in the series. It also has an aven connecting to the roof passages. Passendale ends under the floor of this chamber, and the two passages from the Red Baron shortcut end under it too. There is a stub of passage through boulders on the left, but it closes down.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Stal covered wall of the chamber. There is not much stal in this part of the series, and this is the largest single patch of it.
Lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Gypsum pile covering a large part of the chamber floor. This needs taping.
The second chamber.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
The passage leading off from the chamber has a floor made from that distinctively bobbly/fluffy mud, which is formed by ice age permafrost.
The passage then ends abruptly at a mud-filled arch. There is no real point in digging here, as the passage would only connect to the route into Nevill Hall, so the mud has been preserved.
The northern branch of The Realm Of Baron Von Carno is the more major route.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Cryostal in the northern branch.
Cryostal in the northern branch. This is a really unusually shaped piece, like a piece of tissue with beads stuck to it.
Very comfortable passage dimensions.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Cryostal in the mud.
Even in drought conditions, there is a small amount of dribbling water here, but this is the only water we saw in this area.
Briefly narrow section.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Large passage regained.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
The passage then drops down a steep rubble slope into this enormous chamber. This is the largest of the chambers in The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage, equal in area to one of the halves of Nevill Hall, but substantially taller. That impressive height makes it probably the largest chamber by volume in the series, and yet it has no name. The taped route branches to show that there is a side passage to the left, but it is very short and uncomfortably tight.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Drip pockets in the chamber.
Large cryostal pieces on a ledge.
Very large and elaborate piece of cryostal.
More elaboroate pieces of cryostal.
A slab of fallen rock, showing the green shale threading between the limestone.
Ladder up to the roof tubes in the chamber. The ladder has rusted beyond use, but there is a lifeline, which might be useful as a climbing aid. We did not check the belays at the top, however.
An alcove on the side labelled as a grotto on the survey. This is a rather meagre amount of stal.
The passage narrows back down again.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
A junction with taped off cryostal on the floor. The passage ahead looks like the obvious way on, but it is blind. The real way on is to the right.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Cryostal at the junction.
The narrow passage ahead at the junction, which has a small amount of stal, and some tape to remind you not to go that way.
An enlargement in the rift, with a small amount of stal.
Calcite dripped onto the mud.
The rift then becomes really narrow and thrutchy, and was deemed unworthy of visiting the end, which pinches out after 25 metres. It would almost certainly reconnect to another part of the series.
Continuing on the main route, the next junction is an obviously bulged chamber, where the large passage finally ends. From here, there are two ways on. To the left is the slanting rift which leads to Aces High. To the right is the way on along The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage, now reduced to a narrower rift.
Modelling by Josh and Pete, lighting by Tarquin, Josh and Pete
Deeply etched striations, almost like you might see in wind-blown sandstone.
Crawling beneath a toppled stack of boulders.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Oddly shaped nodular fossils on the boulder stack. The composition of these is not known, but they are likely to be chert - fossilised sea cucumbers. Alternatively, they might be the imprint of a shell, but there are other shapes elsewhere in the passage that are less likely to be shells. The patterns on the rock are quite standard for this area, looking almost like elephant skin.
Exiting from behind the boulder stack.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
The passage has lost its grandure, and the boulders seem a lot less stable. This area is not visited often.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Cryostal on the walls which has managed to survive the minimal traffic.
Another nodular fossil.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
These fossils are more unusually shaped, and are likely to be sea cucumbers.
Modelling by Josh's digits, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
The passage ends at a choke, but a climb in the roof just before the last patch of fossils reaches a roof tube.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
The roof tube soon also ends at a choke above the lower passage's choke.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
A crawl under the wall reaches the top of a very tight climb down, into the end of The Stream Of Running Commentary. It is possible to climb up this, if you are persistent enough, but it did not look fun when we visited it from the bottom on a previous trip, and only one person in our team had actually done so. In this direction, it would be easier, since gravity is helping. However, it still looks quite daunting.
Start of the slanting rift into Aces High.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Elephant skin textured rock in the rift. This appears to be a type of boxwork, and a sediment intrusion.
First junction along the route to Aces High. The way on is to the left.
Old stal in the dead end right branch.
Lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Second junction on the way to Aces High, where the way on is to the right.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
The left branch starts very tight, but is larger for its last 25 metres.
And when I say tight, I mean tight.
Modelling by Tarquin
The right branch reaches a dig where Aces High - originally discovered via an aven in The Red Baron - was connected to The Realm Of Baron Von Carno passage, providing the normal route into Aces High.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Emerging from the dig into Aces High. There is a second low crawl shortly afterwards. However, the weather had taken its toll, and realising that my sweating, headache, tunnel vision and nausia were due to heat exhaustion, we had to cancel the rest of the trip, and make a very slow exit, trying to keep my body temperature down. A dunking in Hearts Of Olden Glory certainly helped, but in future, electrolyes are part of the emergency kit!
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
Old Illtydian's Chamber, the large chamber at the end of Gilwern Passage. The route into Galeria Garimpeiros series passes through the boulder floor of this chamber.
Modelling by Josh and Josh, lighting by Tarquin, Josh, Josh and Josh
Stal-covered wall of the chamber.
Lighting by Tarquin and Josh
Jagged ceiling of the chamber, clearly created by the fault that controls the passages below.
Modelling by Josh, lighting by Tarquin and Josh
We surfaced back into the sweltering heat. Some salt, bananas, and another dowsing in chilled water later, and I had returned to my version of normal. We headed home with the sunset.