With Jonathon and Alex
A small team again, mostly due to injuries
and work commitments, but still an effective group.
At the top of the rift, I decided to try out
the new cows-tails and shunt on the descent (and, later ascent) but, concluded
that some tweaking is required.
At the bottom, I was digging, Alex and Jon
hauling away the filled skips with occasional rocks and dispersed the contents.
The slope has been terraced to give some stability and space for spoil
dispersal. The spoil comprises sandy, fine to coarse gravel of calcite and some
conglomerate with cobbles and boulders of the same. There is some finer silty
sediment at the farthest extent of the dig. A large obstinate boulder was
getting in the way and required Alex’s assistance to remove it. When it had
succumbed, it was man-handled, with some considerable effort, to a position
where, with some mighty blows with the sledge, Alex could reduce it to more
manageable pieces. Once it was out of the way, a better view of the way forward
was possible. There are some small holes from which air movement was detected,
roof pendants were also noted at the end. There does appear to be a way around
a large stal boss but the floor needs lowering and, at least, one large boulder
removing.
It was, by now, time to make our way out of
the cave. I collected an old skip from the top of the slope, filled it with
tools and took it to the entrance where, there is quite an accumulation of
digging paraphernalia awaiting removal from the cave.