Vince, Tav, Jake and Jon.
Me first reeling in the wire, followed by Tav, Jake and then Jon who, nursing a tennis elbow, opted for the more spacious and now dry “lake” chamber.
There was a bang to clear and a very good job it had done too. Some of the loose gravel and cobble-sized fragments were bagged up before getting to work on the large slab of rock that had been detached from the roof. A few hefty blows with a lump hammer and then used a bar to prise apart the fractured slab the resultant lumps of rock were rolled back to Tav. A few of the lumps were further reduced before being dispatched by Jake to Jon in the “lake” chamber where the debris was temporarily being stored. Then we returned to removing the remaining gravel and cobble-sized fragments.
All the debris cleared, a brief visit to the aven with Tav and a short discussion about prospects and the next step – another application of IRS to ease access into the aven and improve the route for the removal of spoil in the future. There is a low, possibly phreatic, arch just to the right-side of the squeeze into the aven that might be an option for some further attention.
Then all back to clear out the “lake” chamber and get the spoil to the surface. Thirty bags were hauled out but, as time was getting on, about twenty skip loads of rock were left at the bottom of the entrance for another day. Good session!
