Wednesday 5th December 2024

Mike Kushy, Mike Wise, Sam Hill, Oli Hill, Trevor Hughes, Mike Moxon, Jake Baynes, Adrian Miles and Ed Ford.

MK went in just after 5 armed with drill. Broke up a big loose rock then filled up bags and buckets and stashed ready for the others. I then managed to move a big chunk of the bedding floor and this was downsized, allowing a lot more room at the bottom.

Around 6.30ish everyone started to arrive and all the filled bags and buckets were cleared right back. Lots and lots of bags and buckets cleared and many large rocks pulled out of the muddy floor. At some point a decent sized opening appeared in the dig face floor, between the corner and the hole at the far left. An incredible and very icy draught emitted from this, very clear that this is our direction. Lower down it looks to cut back right towards the corner and also there's signs of water carving its way down vertically through the bedding. It got difficult to clear any more without taking another large chunk of the floor away, which is best done with a charge. All the rocks are cleared though so hopefully some rain will wash alot of the remaining mud through. A very active stream and a good soaking at the point position. It was very clear to see the streamway pick up and it was easy to tell that it had started raining heavier outside, a very reactive streamway! 3 1/2 hours for me, just over 2 for the others. Pint and food at the hunters afterwards. Mike.

See comments below. Photo SH.

Didn't have camera, but here's a pic from last session. Photo is taken sat at the corner looking left across the bedding.

Red is the hole to the far left, green is all the loose bedding floor removed this session, pink is where the new hole in the floor is and blue represents the corner.

Saturday 30th November 2024

Sam Hill, Mike Kushy, Callum Simmonds, Ben Ashley and Mysti Ommer met for half ten, underground by 10:45. SH cleared bang debris and then broke up a few larger chunks with PF. CS then took over digging and cleared out a lot of mud and some large boulders. Ben and Mysti were ferrying up to the connection where Kushy was stacking. Ben and Mysti then dug a few buckets out and we called it a day after 4hrs. Good draft coming out the left hand hole this time. Lots more mud and rock to come out of the floor. Sam.

Before clearing. Photo SH.

After clearing. Photo SH.

After clearing. Photo SH.

Friday 29th November 2024

Mike Kushy, solo. Drilled 5 holes, 3 @600 and 2@400. All went off fine. 1 1/2 hours. MK.

Wednesday 27th November 2024

Mike Kushy, John Cooper, Sam Hill, Mike Wise, Trevor Hughes, Ed Ford and Jake Baynes. MK, JC and SH in a bit earlier. Started by moving the stashed rocks up cave, others arrived randomly and eventually rocks were daisy chained straight to the Boulder Rift. Once MK at the front had moved rocks up to JC from the face he then squeezed through the latest connection (3rd) to Boulder Rift to help JB moving rocks further away. *note: the squeezes through the 3rd connection are not easy, unable to do on your front..and there's 2 like that*. Once bags started being filled with clatch everyone moved down one position. Then MK joined JC at the dig face so bags were getting filled twice as quick. It got to a point where reaching the floor for spoil became difficult again, a large rock sticking out the floor needs banging to progress. Draughty black hole appeared in the floor and takes all the stream water (about an inch). Est' 50 bags and 25 rocks moved this evening. Sterling work by everyone. 2 1/2 hours for me. MK.

Sunday 24th November 2024

Mike Kushy and Geoff Newton. Geoff's first time into the new dig area, think he was impressed by how far it went. Very wet in the cave, an impressive stream flowing towards the dig once you pass the 1st connection point. Sounds of water below us somewhere and all the water seems to sink straight ahead rather than heading off left. Anyway, MK reduced the slab down to size whilst GN ferried some rocks to the connection point. After rock reduced MK then joined GN and they passed a few large rocks through into the stacking area. 2 hours. MK.

Thursday 21st November 2024

Mike Kushy, solo. Took in drill to reduce boulders down with pfs. All went well, even managed to take some big bits off the bedding floor. At the end I tried to take a corner off to allow me to get in further, but a big slab peeled off which will need more battery power to reduce. Strongest draught coming from straight down rather than off to the left. 3 hours. MK 

MK's youtube video from today

Big slab that peeled off and a view of off to the left at the bottom. Photo MK.

Wednesday 20th November 2024

John Cooper, Sam Hill, Mike Wise and Mike Kushy. MK and JC started by clearing the stack of bags and rocks. JC then went to the sharp end, followed by SH, then MW with MK in the chamber. Many rocks and bags moved. MK moved rocks further back and finished off building the big retaining wall. Didn't use bang as there's a lot of rock to be broken up and will probably get into the next bit with plug and feathers. 3 hours. Mike.

Dig face. Photo MK.

Wednesday 13th November 2024

Mike Kushy and Sam Hill. MK to start with. Unwound bang wire and pulled some slack through to the front as its been getting a bit tight lately. Went to the sharp end and started moving rock and bags of spoil up cave. SH arrived not long after and he transferred everything to the stacking chamber. Meanwhile another round of bags were being filled. More rock, a couple of large rocks needed plug and feathering. Being hard work with just 2 we decided to drill and set charge early, even though there was a lot more spoil to come out. 3 holes all filled nicely, everything went off fine. Will want a team of at least 4 to have a big clear out. 3 hours for me. Mike.

Sunday 10th November 2024

Mike Kushy and Trevor Hughes. Started around 3ish. TH went to the sharp end to fill bags and move rock. These were moved up to the connection point by MK. When everything was filled MK went through the connection and received bags and rocks from TH. After this holes were drilled by TH. All set and charge went off fine. 2 hours. MK 

TH drilling at the sharp end. Photo MK.

Friday 8th November 2024.

Mike Kushy, Sam Hill and Tom Jackson. MK to start with  filling bags and moving rocks. SH and TJ arrived just as they were full. They moved the spoil back to the chamber. Several more bags were filled and moved. 4 holes were drilled, 1@1m, 3@600mm. Set and fired all fine. MK managed to squeeze down the rift at the front and managed to connect to the Tooth Dig loop. 3 hours for me. MK.

Wednesday 6th November 2024

Mike Kushy and Mike Wise. MK to start with, filling up bags and moving rocks. A lot of spoil has gone ahead and is unreachable. MW arrived just as the bags were full. These were moved up to the connection  then with MW in the stacking chamber everything was cleared. 4 holes drilled and set. All went off well. 3 hours for me. MK.

Tuesday 5th November 2024

Mike Kushy, Sam Hill and Alex Randall.

MK to start with, filled up bags and moved rocks up cave. Hammer and chiseled for a while. AR and SH arrived and moved the spoil to the stacking chamber. 4 holes drilled  2@750 and 2@600. Good holes. All went off well. 3 hours for me. MK 

Spoil. Photo MK.

Sunday 3rd November 2024

Mike Kushy, Sam Hill and Joseph Mccomb. MK started around 11am. Took in drills and charge materials and left John's drill at the base of the entrance shaft. Set to work taking the point off the pointy boulder that's causing a nuisance with the hauling. Sketchy work but removed the proud bit and a lot of the face. After this I set to filling up bags and removing rock from the end. All the bags filled just as SH and JM arrived with John's drill. They started transporting the bags and rocks into the Boulder Rift Chamber. Meanwhile MK started drilling holes ready for the charge. 5 holes drilled but only 4 usable, 1 1m hole packed, 2 600mm and one about 350mm. Very very cold at the end, struggled handling the cable ties. Hard to describe the end currently and I forgot to take a photo. SH lowered the cable and JM then brought it to me. All went off fine. 3 1/2 hours for me.MK 

The pointy rock, no more. Photo MK.

Friday 1st November 2024

John Cooper. Three holes drilled in left hand floor. Met Mike Kushy coming in at Boulder Chamber as I was going out. 1½ hours. John.

Mike Kushy. Met JC on his way out after drilling. 3 good holes packed, just over 2m of 40gm. All went off well. MK.

Wednesday 30th October 2024

Chris George, Sam Hill, Stuart Jellis, Geoff Marchant, Milo Marchant, Adrian Miles and Simon Wedgewood. SH got to the dig for just after 6. Made a start clearing bang debris, filled 6 bags and shifted larger rocks back to the connection. Then joined by AM and more bags were filled and shifted. Kept clearing until 8 with 5 others turning up to help clear. Decent water worn tube in the right hand floor but more enlargement will be needed around area of previous bang. Two body  lengths down it looks like the floor levels out and cuts in right. Good cool draught. Finished by showing the others the rest of the cave. 2.5 hrs for me. Sam.

Before clearing. Photo SH.

After clearing. Photo SH.

Sunday 27th October 2024

Mike Kushy, Tim Rose and Sam Hill.

MK and TR to start with. Took in the materials and two drills. Left bang wire in situ and MK freed it from below the awkward climb, TR then coiled it up and left it in Boulder Chamber above. With the coast clear we took all the tools down cave. TR went to the sharp end and started sending rocks up and a couple of bags. With stacking looking dodgy MK then went through the connection and TR handed the rocks and bags through to him. SH then arrived. MK stayed where he was, TR sat at the top of the rope pull and SH went to the dig face. Many bags and rocks cleared. Over an hour of clearing and SH said it was about ready for drilling/banging. MK went to the front and cleared a few more bags and several rocks. In the mean time SH and TR cleared rocks further back in the Boulder Rift chamber. All hands on deck to pass drills and materials to the dig face. Couldn't drill any more than 600mm deep without hitting mud. 5 holes drilled, only 4 of these got used. 3 holes with 600mm of 40gm and 1 with about 400mm. TR headed out with drills and unwound the cable down the awkward climb. Charge went off fine. The draught at the dig face got stronger the more that was cleared. The Boulder Rift connection now draughts the opposite direction to when we first found it. Deep trench beyond a calcite ledge at the sharp end. 1-2 inch crack in the ceiling full of calcite heading off to the right. It's looking really wide at the end now, just need some working height. 4 1/2 hours for me. MK

Current dig face after clearing. Photo MK.

Skeleton in Boulder Rift. Photo SH.

Skeleton in Boulder Rift. Photo SH.

Saturday 26th October 2024

Mike Kushy, solo. Setting up charge in John's holes. 2 holes at full length of 1m bit. Another hole about 300mm deep. 600mm drill bit left at dig site now. Need to sort something to store drill bits in. Fired charge from base of entrance shaft, could smell fumes within seconds. 1 1/2 hours. MK.

Friday 25th October 2024

John Cooper. Three holes drilled in left hand wall. Problem with nearer left one. 1½ hours. John.

Wednesday 23rd October 2024

Sam Hill and Mike Wise met at 6pm, took the drill in and used P&F to reduce those 2 large rocks. Trevor Hughes,  Adrian Miles and Jake Baynes arrived. 5 being the perfect number, we cleared all the bang debris and other material that became accessible.  Rocks stashed higher in the passage were also cleared out and the access hole expanded slightly. Everything was carried through towards the Boulder Rift. Some very large rocks came out of the dig face. Ahead now is the remaining part of the blockage, just out of practical reach of the long crowbar. Either side of it, though, open spaces are visible. Sam went into Tooth Dig again to confirm we could see his light. Sitting in the dig, he seemed very close just above us and to the left on his approach. The more material we took out, the more obvious was the draught.

Kushy, suggest the next bang trip puts a couple of long holes in the obvious floor bulge on the left and maybe a shorter one above in the wall somewhere.  Also, please take a few more inches off that keystone rock we trimmed a few weeks ago - it's a pain in the neck when you try and bring rocks out.  One or two further sacks bit the dust. Finally,  you will find a muddy P&F set stashed with the key. It somehow got scooped out of the floor and into my wellie. It has an O ring on it, so it isn't one of those we used tonight. Work time approx 2.5 hours followed by a visit to The Hunters'. Mike.

Tuesday 22nd October 2024

John Cooper. Surveying. Started by pulling Trevor’s wire up to Boulder Chamber. Then surveyed round the Lower Boulder Chamber Loop. Then surveyed on down to the end dig. Finally surveyed the connection through to Boulder Rift. Brought Trevor’s wire out and it is now in the tool chest. There was a cold outward draught at the dig. 2½ hours. John.

Sunday 20th October 2024

am. John Cooper. Drilled a couple of holes. The lower one kept blocking up halfway down despite reaming out several times. 1 1/2 hours. John.

pm. Trevor Hughes and Adrian Miles. John’s blocked shot hole proved impossible to clear so 1 and 1/2 holes were fired successfully. An easy trip for my last day as a 60 something caver. Trevor.

Saturday 19th October 2024

Mike Wise, Lee Hawkswell and Mike Kushy.

Arrived around noon. MW went in first, followed by LH and then MK. MK went through the new connection and from that side he received the full bags of clatch from LH. Meanwhile MW was filling up more bags at the sharp end. LH was at first using his belay belt to pull bags up from the bottom, the strops were utilised and very effective. After many bags were cleared LH and MW swapped places. MK then retrieved some rope from the Boulder Rift Chamber and the rope with strops works perfectly, take a krab in. All of the spoil cleared today filled up some of the immediate holes in the floor but will take a few more sacks to fill. The draught was very cold today, so only a short session. MK had a look at the dig face in the end. 5 bags filled up ready to be cleared. 2 decent sized rocks put under the new connection point. These will want to be broken down in size (be careful). The way on looks interesting, can't see anything obvious but the draught is significant. 2 holes on the left to square the passage and we won't be far off the furthest visible point. Everyone got a good ass wetting today! Just over 2 hours. Mike K.

Current dig face. Photo MK.

Sunday 13th October 2024

Mike Kushy, solo. Took a drill in and set about clearing the bang spoil. The effect of the bang was perfect. With everything cleared as much as possible from the dig face side I then put the drill, hammer and pfs into the connection and went back up cave to the higher boulder rift connection. From the other side I grabbed the tools and cleared rock from there. A little pf work to get rid of a couple of larger rocks. I then squeezed through the newly opened connection with drill. The new connection could be made bigger, but I don't think it needs it. It would also be good to get some cement work to each side. After this I filled up several sacks of clatch and put them near the new  connection. There's a heck of a lot of spoil to clear at the dig face. This could be done with 2 people but would be most suited to a team of 3-4. The ledge needs clearing of loose rock near the new connection also. 1 1/2 hours. MK 

MK's YouTube video from today

Bang debris in the new connection. Photo MK.

New connection all cleared. Photo MK.

Current dig face. Photo MK.

Friday 11th October 2024

John Cooper and Mike Kousiounis. Initial panic when the wire could not be found in the chest nor at the bottom of the entrance shaft. Quick call to the Wednesday team who said it was down at the bottom. Bag with drill and bag with cord etc taken in. One extra hole drilled to take the back of the rock off rather than deepening the existing holes. 1m of 20gm shared between the holes and 1m of 5gm connecting cord just sufficient.  Wire taken out after use. 1 hour. John.

Wednesday 9th October 2024

Sam Hill and Trevor Hughes. SH underground at 1815. Started clearing larger rocks from the bang debris. Then filled 6 bags and started shifting everything up until Trevor arrived. He then drilled 2 holes into the slab by the new connection point. Bags then emptied and all rocks moved to chamber above 10ft. A lot of loose stuff in the end to get out but will need a bigger team. Definitely worth enlarging the connection first to make clearing easier. Out by 2100. Sam.

I only drilled two holes (to the absolute full length of the 400mm drill bit): this should suffice to destroy the slab blocking the connection, especially if lengthened to 600mm; I don’t think it’s an area that you want to hit too hard so I would suggest 20g is used. The two holes are about 450mm apart so only 1 m of 5g will be needed. There is a huge amount of small spoil at the dig face that will be easy enough to shift once this connection is opened. There was also a really arse wetting stream flowing last night but in a way this is a good sign. Trevor.

Dig Face. Photo SH.

Dig Face. Photo SH.

 

Proposed connection. Photo SH.

Sunday 6th October 2024

Mike Kushy and Jake Baynes. Mike went down with both drills first then realised he'd left the batteries for one drill in the car, so left one at the base of the shaft. Went to the dig face and started drilling. Jake arrived not long after with materials and the other drill in hand. Whilst Mike continued drilling Jake took the surplus drill back to surface and retrieved the wire that MK had hidden in a bucket. By the time Jake got back I had just finished drilling. With charge laid Jake headed out with the used drill. 1 hole at 1m on the left and one hole just under 1m on the left. One 1m hole on the right. MK then continued the set up and reeled out to the base of the shaft. Charge set off from there. Could feel the pressure quite substantially. Took the wire up a little higher and tied onto ladder. Arrived on surface to some very wet weather and JB had headed home. 1 1/2 hours. MK.

Friday 4th October 2024

John Cooper and Mike Kousiounis. MK went down to free up wire which JC coiled on surface. Then MK loaded rocks which JC hauled to the surface. 21 loads later drill sent down to MK who went off to dig face. JC moved the rocks onto the walls before departing. 1½ hours. John.

As above, then MK took the drill down to the dig face. The bang had done a really good job (sorry forgot to get photos). Cleared as much as possible then managed to pry some large slabs off the walls. These were broken down with pfs. Sam Hill arrived around 6ish. SH cleared bags of clatch and rocks back up cave. After a while MK left SH to have a go at removing more rock. MK went round to Boulder Rift to look at the place he and JC saw each other through (see report of 28th September 2024). MK also squeezed down into the lowest point of the Boulder Rift chamber (a wide but narrow gap in bedding). SH shone his light straight ahead at the dig face and MK could see it roughly 10ft away. Back in the Boulder Rift chamber MK did some draught testing. No draught from Tooth Dig, but a strong draught coming up into the BR chamber from the lowest point, strong outwards draught coming out of the dig face too...signifies there's something between the current dig face and Tooth Dig going on. The current view at the dig face looks like the ceiling rises some 10ft ahead. Next step is 45° 1m long drill holes to work our way ahead. About 4 1/2 hours for me. MK.

Current end. Photo SH.

Wednesday 2nd October 2024

John Cooper, Sam Hill and Mike Wise. JC arrived first and started moving rocks from the shelf to the bottom of the entrance shaft. When SH arrived he started moving rocks along Boulder Chamber. When JC had moved all the rocks from the shelf to the bottom of the entrance shaft he collected SH and together they hauled 12 loads to the surface. MW’s arrival interrupted them. SH and MW went down to the dig face and SH assisted MW with reaming out the holes and setting the charge. Meanwhile JC continued moving rocks from the Boulder Chamber to the base of the entrance shaft. Once completed he went down and assisted with carrying out the drill etc. All went OK. At present the wire is down the entrance shaft and there is an unstable pile of boulders at the base awaiting removal to the surface. 3¼ hours for JC. John.

Arrived at 1810 and staggered through the gates carrying 3 bags and 2 boxes to meet John at the surface hauling rocks with Sam below.  Underground at 18.20 hours. Sam helped carry the kit to the face and also held the kit I didn't need from time to time because there are no usable flat surfaces to put things in reach. Looking down cave, first hole on left needed 50mm of crap drilled out, but the others were OK. Blowpipe used to blow out as much gritty water as possible.  Brought 3m of 40g and also 3m of 5g. Front 4 holes charged to their bottoms, back 2 holes charged with what we had left over. Needed at least 2.5m of 5g. On the way out the rock pile below the ladder collapsed under me, with 4 rocks moving. One big one fell down missing the wire. I held the other 3. One was stashed back in a more stable spot but the other two went up and over into the old entry passage. Fired from surface.  Back at the cars at 20.05 hours. Mike.

Tuesday 1st October 2024

John Cooper. Deepening and reaming out the 6 holes for Mike Wise to use tomorrow. Problems with water and mud flowing down into the holes so not sure how much useable depth they will have. Used the 600mm bit so a possible 500mm. 1½ hours. John.

Saturday 28th September 2024

Mike Kushy and John Cooper.

MK went in ahead freeing up the bang wire, which JC reeled in, and took the drill to the bottom. Then cleared loose rocks up the slope back to the base of the awkward climb. When JC arrived the pair cleared the rocks at the base of the climb back to Boulder Chamber. JC then set to moving rocks up cave whilst MK went to the sharp end to clear the bang spoil, mostly gravel. I believe a lot had been washed forwards with the rain. A good couple of slabs peeled off from the right hand wall and these broke up with a hammer. Once suitably cleared MK then headed up cave to join JC. JC then headed to surface to mix some cement while MK continued clearing rocks back to the bedding slope higher up. The big shelf is pretty much full. MK met JC on surface and the mix was poured into 3 buckets. MK took 1 to the dig face to use whilst JC made his way in with the other 2. A wall was built on the left of the dig face and clatch put behind. MK used the 2nd bucket cementing steps into the floor and patching up some of the walls. JC used the 3rd bucket in Boulder Chamber. JC went round into the old cave to check if we could get a light connection to the hole on the left where we think a chamber is. It turns out JC could get into the chamber from the Boulder Rift area. This could be opened up better from the Boulder Rift side and would allow a lot of spoilt to go that way rather than up the steep slope. JC then left and MK drilled 6 holes, 12mm x 400mm, 3 on the floor on the left and 3 on the floor on the right. 4 1/2 hours for me. Mike.

Before clearing. Photo MK.

After clearing. Photo MK.

Thursday 19th September 2024

John Cooper and Mike Wise. MW charged the 4 holes drilled by JC yesterday. JC advised some of them might be longer than expected, so with only 2m of 40g, we prioritised the two holes on the left and the upcave hole on the right and packed them to the brim. The remaining 250mm or so of 40g went into the 4th hole. JC kindly took the bang bag out while MW connected the det and brought the cable back out to the surface. Fired satisfactorily. MW bang wire remains in place. 1.5 hours. Electrical tape was used in the top of the first hole, but subsequently, 4" cable ties were used because the slimy, wet conditions stopped the tape sticking. Mike.

Wednesday 18th September 2024

John Cooper. Drilled 4 holes for Mike Wise to use tomorrow. All 12mm with a top 100mm of 14mm. Two furthest in 400mm deep and nearer ones 600mm deep. 1½ hours. John.

Sunday 15th September 2024

Mike Kushy and Nicky Pearce. 

Made a 2 bucket mix and me and NP took a bucket in each. NP used the 1st bucket up on the right hand wall, whilst MK had a go at the boulders ahead. Managed to take enough off to allow access to the floor. The 2nd bucket was used by MK to build a retaining wall on the left and cement in the boulders in the ceiling, NP had left during this. MK then cleared as much out of the floor as physically possible and put it behind the new wall. The floor needs drilling and banging to allow progress ahead. 4 hours. MK 

A view under the boulders ahead, I'm about 2 body lengths in. Photo MK.

The dig face. Photo MK.

Friday 13th September 2024

Mike Kushy and Mike Wise.

We cleared some rock back and stashed a load in the Boulder Rift connection. Mike had a camera rig which we poked into the chamber to the left. We then cleared the mid week bang spoil back. 2 big rocks in the ceiling denying us the ability to dig out the floor. Nice view ahead of a solid bedding ceiling. 4 hours. MK.

View ahead. Photo MK.

After clearing . Photo MK.

Wednesday 11th September 2024

Trtevor Hughes and Adrian Miles. All holes drilled out where needed and fired. The top right hole was left because the flake it is in is so thin that the whole thing could be beaten to death with a decent hammer ( I tend to use a short handled 7lb sledge).
Good luck for the weekend.
The rock pile at the base of the climb down before the final slope could really do with being moved up and out of the way. 1 1/2 hours. Trevor.

Sunday 8th September 2024

Mike Kushy, Mike Wise, John Cooper, Monica Bollani, Courtenay James and Trevor Hughes.

MK to start with. Arrived at site around 10.15am and then got about making a mix. 2 buckets filled up and carried to the dig face, used these supporting the ceiling blocks and building a wall on the left. The filled sacks were then tipped behind the newly built wall. Headed out with empty buckets and returned to the face with the drill. Drilled 5x12mm holes to a depth of 400mm. Feeling done in from the weekend's activities I was looking forward to exiting and leaving the rest of the cement work to another day...seems JC had other plans in mind. On return to the surface JC and MW were using the last of the materials to do yet another mix, fortunately I had MW to assist with the bucket carrying this time. I think MW was surprised on how long it took to get to the face, having not been down the new route yet. MW used 1 of the buckets to build more rock in around the Boulder Rift connection, whilst I used my bucket finishing off the wall on the left and filling in any other gaps around. CJ and MB came to see our progress, both having a look at the sharp end. On their way out CJ, MB and MW moved some rock from the pile in the chamber to the shelf higher up. TH arrived around 2.30'ish. I stayed down the bottom and pointed out what rocks could be broken up more and where had been cemented, TH seems very enthusiastic about the view beyond. I headed out and left him to it. 5 hours for me. MK.

Current end with drill holes. Photo MK.

What a huge amount of work that has been done down WR over the weekend. Joining as tail end Charlie on today’s trip I was given the task of boulder reduction - this was done and the resulting debris was moved back up-cave to the base of the climb. (take care when passing these).

We should get a bang in on Wednesday - this will get us very close to the interesting black spaces ahead. Trevor.

There is now enough sand and cement on site for another couple of mixes. John.

Saturday 7th September 2024

Mike Kushy, solo. Went in about 7.15pm. Took the drill in to downsize the big boulders ahead. Need to break rock down some more, but all the bigger stuff has now been moved back. Filled up some sacks of clatch. The chamber to the left looks really interesting and I think we should cement a way into this. Down in the floor it looks caveable beyond the next boulders. 3 hours.

Current dig face. Photo MK.

Friday 6th September 2024

Mike Kushy, Jason Hares, John and Danny Arnold.

First we started by clearing the rocks at the bottom of the 10ft climb back to the chamber. Then we all moved down cave and cleared the over stock of rocks from the bottom. These all ended up in the chamber eventually. MK then went to the front and filled sacks, these got tipped into the pit at the Boulder Rift connection. After the front was cleared sufficiently there were bigger rocks to plug and feather. MK set about this and the others all took turns to look at the front. When the others were gone a few rocks were felled but not enough battery to break them all up. There's a couple of small streams below us somewhere. Draught okay today. 4 1/2 hours for me. MK.

Mk's YouTube video from today

Bang spoil. Photo MK.

After clearing. Photo MK.

Wednesday 4th September 2024

John Cooper and Trevor Hughes. John in at 18.00 to add a bit to the survey of Boulder Rift. Came out 19.00 to meet Trevor then both in to bang yesterday’s holes. All went OK. Wire left just below lid. 2 hours for me. John.

A good firing- as per your picture. Maybe not a breakthrough but certainly a vast pile of rocks to clear. A lot of small(ish) rocks ahead, a good stacking/removal policy is needed. Having said that it does, indeed, look very promising. Trevor.

Tuesday 3rd September 2024

John Cooper. Drilled holes ready for banging. 2 in first boulder (vertical) and 1 in second boulder (horizontal). 1 hour. John.

Holes drilled 12mm top 100mm then 10mm: red 500mm deep, blue 300mm deep.
Red vertically downwards, blue horizontal.
Red boulder is only about 300mm thick.

Friday 30th August 2024

Mike Kushy. Cementing.

Arrived about 10.30. Mixed up and took 2 heavy buckets of cement to the dig face. Used this on the right hand, fractured wall. Then got back to surface about 1.15pm and set to making another 2 buckets of mix. JC arrived just as I had lowered the buckets, he kindly cleaned up the tools whilst I went back down. Used one bucket ahead and the other bucket building steps and losing rocks in gaps. Got to surface about 3pm. Too tired to drill or run cable. 4 1/2 hours. MK.

A royal welcome to the dig this morning . Photo MK.

Thursday 29th August 2024

Mike Kushy. Went in at 4pm. Retrieved bang wire and stated clearing debris. Bit fumey in the boulder chamber, but below this the air was okay. Bang did just as needed. Cleared back as much as possible and broke up the easy to pick rock. Lots of cement work to be done before attacking the next boulder ahead. A view beyond this boulder shows the floor dropping away more steeply. A cross section where fault and bedding passage meet ahead and what looks to be a significant hole at the bottom. Draught present, but not obvious. 3 hours. MK

MK's YouTube video from today

Bang debris. Photo MK.

After clearing. Photo MK.

Wednesday 28th August 2024

John Cooper and Trevor Hughes. John arrived at 18.00 and went to in to deepen the holes already drilled. Did the two on the right and the one in the floor but didn’t touch the ones on the left. Brought drill out and Trevor arrived about 19.00. Charge set up but holes not cooperating as wished for. Out by 20.00 leaving reel at top of ladder to be removed next time. 2 hours for me. John.

There are now 3 bags of sand, 2 of dust and a new bag of cement on site. Plus 25L water container topped up.

Monday 26th August 2024

John Arnold, John Cooper and Mike Kousiounis. Mike went in first to free up bang wire used Sunday which I hauled up to surface and wound onto drum. Then JA followed him in whilst JC did a cement mix, 1 bag of sand, ¼ bag of dust and same of cement. JA returned and lowered this down to JC in 3 buckets. JC ferried the first and second down to the shelf before collecting the third. At the 10ft climb JA went down and JC lowered a bucket of cement down which was stashed away whilst Mike cleared the dig face. JC collected the other 2 and ferried them down to the 10ft climb. One was taken on down by JC and used cementing boulders at the climb into the Boulder Rift connection. JC then used up the second one continuing the work and also losing boulders by cementing them into the floor. The third bucket was delivered to Mike who asked for another mix. JC took out the two empty buckets and did another mix of the same size (collected water from cattle trough). JA arrived with the third bucket, now empty, so when the mix was ready the same procedure as before was followed. Two of the buckets were used by Mike at the face whilst JC used a bit more on the floor. Once 2 buckets were empty JC took them out and cleared up on the surface before returning to Upper Pitts for tea and cake. JA and Mike continued for another hour. Need all cement supplies replenishing now. 3½ hours for me. John C.

The bang did as expected. Cleared rocks back and passed bags of shrapnel back to JA to lose behind the sloping block. JC arrived with 3 buckets of cement and set to building walls higher up cave. I used the 3rd bucket at the dig face. Another 3 buckets came in and I used 2 of these at the dig face again. Propping up large rocks and building a wall to the left and across the ceiling. Hopefully stable enough now to bang without much movement. Used the drill to make 5 holes. 4 1/2 hours. MK
 

Bang debris. Photo MK.

After clearing, with 5 holes drilled ready for bang. Photo MK.

Sunday 25th August 2024

 Mike Kushy, solo. Setting up charge, all went well. 1 1/2 hours. MK.

Wednesday 21st August 2024

Mike Kushy and John Cooper. 

MK got to the dig around 10am. Took drills in and downsized the rocks at the dig face. Cleared clatch behind the sloping block on the right. Drilled 2 12x400mm holes in the floor. Moved rocks up cave and got to surface just before 1pm. Started making a mix and JC showed up just after 1pm. JC and I took a bucket of muck down to the face each. When the first bucket was used JC headed out with it to make another mix whilst MK carried on cementing, JC remarked on the noticeable draught when he came down the 10ft. 2nd bucket used up MK headed out and caught JC coming in. They transferred buckets and JC headed up to grab the last bit of mix whilst MK went to use the 3rd bucket up. A sizeable pillar has been built up to the roof on the left and the gap in the ceiling has been cemented up, also some more cement around the boulder ahead. The cement left over was used to build steps onto the steep slope to ease passage, JC also used some cement around the boulder rift connection area. Cool, strong draught. All ready for a charge Sunday. 5 1/2 hours for me. Mike.

After clearing rock. Photo MK.

Cement work. Photo MK.

Saturday 17th August 2024

Mike Kushy, solo.

It doesn't always go to plan

Started by taking 2 buckets of cement mix in. Used up the first one on the right hand block. Lost a lot of clatch behind this once cementing was done. Started on preparing the LH wall for cement work, then a large boulder started shifting towards me. Moved back to a safe space until it had settled, then used a long crowbar to shift it into a breaking position. Another large rock then followed behind it. With rock now completely in the way I used the second bucket of mix further up cave and headed out to grab the drill. Lots of PF work until the batteries ran out. Still more rock to break up...but enough room now to start cementing. Headed out to surface and made another decent sized mix, again 2 buckets brought to the face. Built up from the floor up to a large boulder on the left. One cement bucket is still stuck at the dig face under a large rock.

A look over the large boulder on the left  through a 6 inch gap gives a view of what looks a decent sized vertical 'inlet' heading towards what ever is in front of us. Straight ahead is a view through boulders of 10ft or so. Stones falling quite far when chucked ahead. Draught seems to be picking up also.

Next step is break up and clear rock  and get more cement in on the left hand side wall/ceiling.

5 1/2 hours, Mike.

First boulder that dropped out of the LH wall. Photo MK.

Breaking first boulder, second boulder that dropped out behind. Photo MK.

Dig face face at the end of session. Photo MK.

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Vertical 'inlet'. Photo MK.

MK's YouTube video from today

Wednesday 7th August 2024

John Cooper. One mix of cement taken in, 2 buckets. Continued on supporting the boulder on the right-hand side. Will need lots more, as well as the wall on the left-hand side. Just finishing off as the next team arrived. 2 hours. John.

Mike Moxon, Adrian Miles and Trevor Hughes joined John (mortaring up the right hand side at the end). Adrian drilled 3 long holes - Kushy’s red dots - which, with 40g, will suffice to demolish the boulder and these were capped with tagged spiles to keep out debris. Mike and Trevor built a rock retaining wall back up passage, below the link to the higher passages, to store future spoil. As John said on site, a lot more pointing up needs to be done before the next charges can be fired. Of note: one of the shot holes penetrated right through the boulder, the other two not so. It will be an easy removal in due course. 1 1/2 hours for us. Trevor.

Yellow -draught, Red - next holes, Green - cement. Photo MK.

Tuesday 6th August 2024

John Cooper. One mix of cement taken in, 2 buckets, and made a start on supporting the boulder on the right-hand side. Will need lots more as well as the wall on the left-hand side. 2 hours. John.

Saturday 3rd August 2024

Mike Kushy and Trevor Hughes.

MK got the the cave about 10.45. A large boulder had fallen out from the bang, this was downsized and moved up cave. The bang had done alot of damage. Cleared the face a bit and Trevot arrived about 13.30. We filled bags with small clatch and found holes around to lose a lot of loose stuff into. TH had a go at the front, breaking up loose rock and crowbarring what he could safely. The end is going to need some stabilising before another bang, mainly the big sloping boulder on the right needs trapping in place. It would be nice not to have this one move as it's a lot of rock to deal with. Some rocks stacked around as walls, a good load at the bottom of the awkward climb to send higher up. Finished at 16.30. Mike.

Before clearing. Photo MK.

During clearing. Photo MK.

After. Photo MK.