Sunday 27th July 2025

AM - Mike Kushy, David, Louise and Jackson Morrison. 

MK and DM continued with building the well whilst LM and JM filled the trailer with unusable rocks. After a while LM and JM went off for a walk. Pretty much done and ready for earth to be backfilled around the well and landscape the ground. Mike.

Entrance photos by DM.

PM - Sam Hill and Mike Kushy

 

Met Kushy and Tuska at the dig at 3pm and had a quick chinwag whilst admiring their handywork on the entrance. Kushy and myself then set off underground armed with the drill box and a drum of sand and a BDH of ready mixed cement between us. Once at the dig I made my way down and through the new stuff with Kushy staying up in the safe (ish) area. Once in TP chamber Kushy and myself got the light connection through the better looking approach to the chamber and I had a look around, marvelling at the new stuff. Kushy cleared the topside of this whilst I came back up and then he grabbed the drill box. With the large crowbar I went down to the lower side of this and pulled down what I could. One very large oven sized boulder came down and then took two more similar sized ones with it as is crashed down the chamber with a extremely loud racket which Kushy wasn't expecting. Having got what I could from the bottom I tried from the top but everything was too loose and unpredictable so a retreat was made up through the very snug squeeze into the horizontal stuff. I then joined Kushy as he was bringing down the second batch of cement to stabilise the way through the boulders. A very impressive find with a lot of stabilising work to be done. 2hrs for both of us. Sam.

Looking horizontally Eastwards. Photo SH.
 The dig through to Tea Party Chamber is down to the right.

 

 

Saturday 26th July 2025

Mike Kushy, Ed Ford and John Cooper. MK to begin (10am) with drill, pried more rock at the dig face and downsized it. Prepped a ladder and belay line when EF arrived around 10.30. MK had another go at pushing the slope but the last little bit was just too tight. EF cleared some backlog whilst MK opened up the squeeze some more. MK finally got through with helmet off and could see it's well worth opening up more to get others in today. EF then had a go at the front for a while whilst MK filled buckets to be taken up. EF and MK then swapped places and it was looking so much easier. After MK finished there was enough room to pass through the squeeze 2 cavers abreast. Went on to explore leaving JC on the outside of the squeezes. Numerous squeezes along the bedding to the west and a few hairy boulder chokes before we eventually arrived at a chamber roughly 30m x 15m with a height of at least a few metres. Estimated 60m of horizontal passage today. Lots of cryogenic stal' in the chamber to tape off and formations. Obvious way on following the slope floor down but this will be another day and we have loads of stabilsing to do, it's only a matter of time before traffic in there gets someone really hurt. The chamber shall be called Tea Party Chamber (I suspect quite a few mugs will get drunk here). 6 hours, Mike.

MK's Youtube video for today.

Tea Party Chamber, EF in photo. Photo MK.

MK in the initial breakthrough point after widening. Photo EF.