Tuesday 31st December 2024

Sam Hill, Alex Randall and Mike Kushy. Took 2 drills and HE kit in. SH attacked the boulder in the floor at the face, whilst MK hauled and AR fed him buckets. After an hour or so MK got tired. SH then did some hauling with MK bucket filling, meanwhile AR had a go at the front. This lasted another hour or so and all the stacked top dam was cleared. AR had to pop out for half hour or so, MK and SH rebuilt the dam and filled it right up again. When AR got back MK went hauling, with AR bucket filling and SH at the front. MK came down and he and AR rebuilt and refilled the dam once more. All the pf work done, MK went to drill for charge. Meanwhile SH did more hauling, with AR filling buckets. 5 holes drilled @600, assisted SH and AR on set up. Filled and fired fine. Fresh at the bottom all session. The current stacking area is getting a bit overwhelmed. There's loads more that can go up there, but someone will have to go to the other side of the Tooth Dig loop and rake the stacked spoil right back. It's no longer possible to drop down from The Boulder Rift Chamber to the current dig site...unless of course you come from the Tooth Dig way 😬!  No photos, we were too busy enjoying ourselves getting covered in gloop and listening to Sam's German Propaganda music. Hard to describe the bottom, a rumble of rock was heard after the initial shock wave. 5 hours, Mike.

N/S survey overlay.

Happy New Year, from all us Conglomerates.

Monday 30th December 2024

Mike Kushy, solo. Took in drill and set to reducing the 'too big' rocks. 1 & 1/2 batteries used before the crawl. The dam is now about twice as high as yesterday and is filled up with mud and rocks from the bottom - be careful not to tip it! Would be nice to build a permanent dam once all is cleared and set up a dam/hose wash system. Went to the face and jiggled the 2nd dam a little to allow more mud to come out and allow the boulder in the floor more movement. The next 1 & 1/2 batteries were used on said boulder. Being very fractured it splits up really nicely, but there's a lot of it. The dig has become 'self digging' and there's a little black hole about 2 inches wide that the stream flows off into. Big clearance next, only 2 needed. 3 hours, Mike.

The top dam and spoil.
The retaining wall is just over a foot high. Photo MK.

Drainage hole. Photo MK.

Boulder in the floor at the dig face. Photo MK.

Sunday 29th December 2024

Mike Kushy and Callum Simmonds. MK arrived just before 10.30 armed with drill (although it never got used). Went down and assessed the stability of the dig face after the last charge. All looked good and there was a lot of rock to move. The bedding chunk was completely shattered and unable to see the puddles. Built a little wall higher up and emptied some spoil behind it. CS then arrived around 11. With him hauling all the buckets and temporarily stacked spoil was cleared. CS then went to the very dig face and passed many buckets and rocks back. This is now littered all over the place and buckets poured behind the ever increasing temporary wall (do we make it permanent?). CS had to leave around 1.30. MK stayed on for another hour and worked on clearing the floor and opening some drainage. A big block in the floor moves and can be broken up later. A good clearance session needed with 4 people, 2 sessions for 2. It looks good and feels very fresh, Bang On! 4 hours for me, Mike.

MK's YouTube Video from today

Debris at dig face. Photo MK.

Debris at dig face. Photo MK.
Both photos looking straight on, horizontally

Monday 23rd December 2024

 Mike Kushy. Drilled 5 holes @600, all filled and fired fine, should be messy. 2 hours. MK 

Red holes drilled side on into the bedding slab.
Blue holes vertically down through the eroded solid floor. Photo MK.

Saturday 21st December 2024

Mike Kushy, solo. Took the drill in with the aim of moving rocks and breaking them down. That wasn't happening, everything is too big! Filled up buckets and moved a few rocks back. Spent the rest of the time widening the puddles in the floor ahead. Quite a stream coming in today, but floor draining away somewhere. Built some walls and put the spoil behind them. Draught seems to be coming from under a boulder on the right hand side. Easily enough spoil for another team clearing session. Then we may have to look at popping the rh boulder. Whilst looking for a drain hole with the long crowbar, in the puddle on the left, I was hit with a strong smell of oil/diesel and a thick band of grey clay. Towards the end I built a temporary dam and filled it up with gritty mud as much as possible, hopefully this will help to clean up a bit. 4 hours.

MK's YouTube video from today

Dig face. Photo MK.

Puddle on left. Photo MK.

Puddle on right. Photo MK.

Wednesday 18th December 2024

Sam Hill, Ed Ford, Kat Rosier and Callum Simmonds. Good session with lots removed. Started by moving all the rocks then dug the floor down. Large rocks to break up in the floor now and was getting rather wet with water pooling. Interesting sediment layers met as digging down and the draft seemed to ebb and flow as well. 2hrs. Sam.
We found a few bits which may be bone. Left by the black case. Ed.

Current dig face. Photo SH.

Closer view. Photo SH.

Tuesday 17th December 2024

Mike Kushy, solo. Breaking up rock and filling buckets ready for Wednesday. Loads to clear. Being a very mild morning the draught was present but not as strong as it has been. A growing puddle at the bottom. 3 hours, Mike.

A view from higher up of the dig face. Photo MK.

The dig face. Photo MK.

Sunday 15th December 2024

Mike Kushy, Ed Ford and Trevor Hughes.

MK went in just after 11 armed with drill. Lots of big rocks to break up. Filled the bags and buckets and moved all the spoil up cave a bit. Ed arrived just after lunchtime and we cleared everything back to the main chamber. Me and Ed then both squeezed through the recent (3rd) connection to the dig face and looked at the prospect of bringing spoil out this way. MK then went into the new 'chamber' and raked the floor, chucking all the spoil into the bouldery side. This revealed a very nice looking waterworn trench, the floor is composed of alot of sandstone and grit. EF in the meantime was losing what he could on the other side and filling the buckets up. Then with MK above the 3rd connection EF handed him buckets up. After a while we opted to go get the rope and krab and this was a lot more efficient. TH then arrived (est' 2pm), we left TH to prise rock and pf the stuff down to size. MK and EF meanwhile hauled a lot up. Rocks were strategically placed to prop up rock and build walls. There's a lot more space to fill up there yet and with a 4th person it would have been possible to pass stuff through the window towards the Tooth Dig loop. Batteries spent we all left, very cold from the draught. Loads of room at the bottom and it's now possible to clear the floor without going into the 'chamber'. 5 1/2 hours for me. MK 

MKs youtube video from today

Dig face after clearance. Photo MK.

Trevor at the dig face, then Ed, then Mike. Photo MK.

Hard to see on camera but this is stacked calcite layers right above the dig. Photo MK.

Dig face before clearing. Photo MK.

Thursday 12th December 2024

Mike Kushy. 5 holes drilled @600mm, all filled fine and fired fine. 3 holes on the right hand wall/floor and 2 in the floor just before the new squeeze. 1 1/2 hours. Mike.

Wednesday 11th December 2024

Mike Kushy, Callum Simmonds, Sam Hill and Mike Wise.

MK went in early to fill up bags and buckets and with drill. By the time all the bags and buckets were filled SH arrived and started moving them up cave. When MW arrived he and SH moved up cave to empty stuff into the Boulder Rift Chamber. Meanwhile MK started reducing bigger rocks with pfs. CS arrived at some point and took rocks and bags from MK and started ferrying them up cave. A large rock moved from the floor and blocked the ability to fill and more buckets, so whilst MK set to on this the others moved stuff as far up cave as they could. Big rock dealt with, more bags and buckets filled until the hole in the floor looked passable. MK wiggled on through, a flat out horizontal squeeze through the bedding ceiling into an erratic boulder 'chamber'. All the boulders were very big and well calcified up, so it didn't feel too dodgy. In the chamber it is possible to stand up and climb around a little, there's plenty of space to pack spoil into. Being in the 'chamber' the draught was not obvious anymore. Looking back towards the squeeze (out) everything on the left looks very clean washed, everything on the right is uninformed and erratic, the floor of the chamber was also bone dry! It is possible to squeeze through head first, turn around and come out head first too. The floor could be dug more when in the chamber, the floor leading up to the squeeze is solid bedding. Next step I think is to try and take away some of the wall and floor and get back to the line that heads into the "cliff". SH came down at the end of the session to have a look/take photos and squeezed through into the chamber too. 3 1/2 hours for me. Mike.

Mike in the new chamber, scraping the floor back. Photo SH.

Mike coming out of the new chamber. Photo SH.

 

Sam with his legs in the squeeze that lead to the chamber. Photo SH.

The current face. Photo SH.

Closer view. Photo SH.

Mike going through the squeeze. Photo SH.

Sunday 8th December 2024

Mike Kushy and Adrian Miles. 

AM went ahead with drill and started on holes whilst MK moved the bang wire further down cave. 5 hopes drilled and MK assisted AM on the set up. 2m of 40 used and fired, all went off well. The shock wave felt a lot greater this charge than any previous, even though we didn't use much material. 1 1/2 hours. Mike.

AM drilling at the dig face. Photo MK.

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.