Depth through thought

Editorial

Mendip Madness

Later, in Read's Cavern, after huge quantities of beer and burgers, fireworks and frolicking, OUCC songbooks appear mysteriously (thanks Harvey) and The Evil One squeeze by squeeze through cavers' old favourites, and new songs alike. The Bradford seemed very much at home in this squalor, and as I tottered off out into the night about 3.30, and others still danced themselves into the ground, I looked back over heaped bodies and pall of rocket fallout and thought... my head will hurt. Good party.
Tim

Carno, OFD, DYO

OFD and DYO
Meanwhile, The rest of us, some excellent newcomers included, were romping down one of Tim's obscure tackle-hungry routes into the OFD streamway. Will, John, and Rob did particularly well I thought, and a thoroughly invigorating trip was had: much better than carrying bottles for Tony.... Back at the Westminster Hut, Sasha had carried too many bottles of quite another sort. A stonking pre-prandial cold vodka, pickles and fish all the way from Russia, led inevitably downslope into deep slump. Though not before one WSG member had been forced to sleep in his car, Urs had been kicked in the face during an unprotected table traverse, and tens of hangover seeds had been sewn in heads around the room. Too short a night's sleep saw morning, and a series of burnt breakfasts, flourish into a blossom of headaches and dry horrors. Even Sasha was punished.
All was cured, however, by a brilliant splashy (well, swimmy) trip down DYO (thanks to Martin Laverty), once we finally managed to get going, and once Urs owned up to stealing Jim's car keys. Others by report had fun a second day in OFD, but Sasha, Urs, Tony, Martin, Jim and me marched off through the dinosaur park and show cave to greet the cold water of river carrying far too many scaffolding poles and wooden planks for Nig Rogers, heading for a dig site in the depths of DYO ("Suicide Alley").

Tony, in dry suit, stopped and helped Nig on a climb, but the rest of us bimbled on through the long crawl and down into the lower system. Past the washing machine, and into the huge phreatic boreholes, scallops glistening, punctuated by deep pools and showerbaths from the high roof: the area that makes up Bakerloo and other bits. This really is an incredible piece of cave. People were volunteering left, right and centre to come on a photographic trip here sometime. Actually we got to know it rather well, as Martin, true to his name, took us on a variety of loops up and down the same passages until eventually we found the route through to the Abyss. Here we dumped the gear, and splapped our way up the hideous little roped climb up to the grand ledge overlooking the Abyss itself. Hideous little climb. Then time to put on rubber rings, and hug empty drums, to swim the bitingly cold Green Canals: what a hoot! Thanks for the lift, Jim. Ever seen a Russian swim?

As if this wasn't enough, we then entered Cloud Chamber, and Flabbergasm Passage, where the straws plunging in long thickets from the high ceiling would have had Stal-Smasher Gavin apoplectic. Incredible. Then out. Well, not before a quick detour to push a small inlet passage 15ft or so to a rather easy looking dig... What more could you want of a day? Oh yes, having to get up at 5am next morning to get to Heathrow.
Tim Guilford

Under Down Under

Non-caving in Bungonia Gorge
Canberra Caving Club as well as caving also do quite a lot of non-caving for the "more mature caver". We joined two members of CCS, Carol and Neil, last weekend on one such trip to Bungonia Gorge. Bungonia Gorge is a popular caving and climbing area about two thirds of the way from Sydney to Canberra. The caves tend to be dry and below a certain level they are full of carbon dioxide. Cavers light matches at regular intervals in the caves and stop when the matches don't burn any more (or alternatively they stop when members of the party who have lung diseases start acting completely bonkers). Sydney cavers have been exploring the lower reaches of these caves using oxygen bottles (just like cave diving without the crap vis!). There's reasonable depth potential (600+m) but so far caves have just ended in mud and rubble far short of this depth. Anyway we didn't go to Bungonia to see caves (not this Lime anyway), but to see the gorge. One of the first things I saw just after we arrived was a dinosaur!!! Aiee! It's a small alligator! I screamed.  It  turned  out,  much  to  my embarrassment, to be a goanna, a 3 ft lizard that lives in trees. After staring in the face of the scaly monster we set off down the gorge. The walk consisted of walk down the very steep side of gorge, walk along gorge, walk up the very steep side of gorge. The views were spectacular and there were loads of Jurassic park type trees which should have died out aeons ago. The walls of the gorge have lots of desperate looking climbs. Carol and Neil did a lot of remote climbing, following the bits of tat and bolts up the routes with their binoculars as far up as they could. The routes look amazing, several pitches up huge walls that seem blank to me. After our long slog out of the gorge in the heat (probably pleasantly cool by Aussie standards) we drove to the OLDEST BREWERY IN AUSTRALIA, built in 1832 (told you isn't quite the same over here). However they did brew something approximating to British bitter, although they serve it too cold, it was still the best Aussie beer I've had. Australia is a wonderful country but on the whole the beer is shite. Just as well you can buy Brown Dog really.

Aussie caving politics
You know those folks who emerge every year at the BCRA with two flow charts, identical to the uninitiated, entitled "Current Structure of British caving" and "Proposed structure of British caving". The same folk who never knowingly go down caves and keep trying to get us to vote on things. Well imagine they had BRED and EVOLVED.... The Australian Caving Federation seems to be run by such people. Australian caving is already considerably more restricted than British caving due to conservation concerns, but following some caving deaths, the "something must be done" lobby are bringing in a caver accreditation scheme. This means that every club caving trip must have at least one member with some kind of recognised cave leader certificate awarded by an ASF approved body. The odd thing is that while this applies to caving club cavers, it does not apply to teachers taking school kids, or scouts, or training courses all of which have managed to kill people by the dozen in caves. You have been warned... Don't let the BCRA get this bad!
Sherry Mayo

From the librarian

New Bolt strengths
This came with the CCC H'book. The CNCC tested some of these nasty new stainless steel in epoxy hangers. They all failed at about 4 tons load, even ones put into badly drilled and wet holes. So I guess that means they're safe. I still don't like the look of them but then I was ever an atavistic old sod. Suit yersens.

Access to the library
If you want something specific out of the library, ask Steve and he will fish it out for you. If you're not sure what you want, ask. Next week: a list of books in the library! Coming real soon now, a library on open shelves. When the plumber fixes the heating, we can put the floor down in the back room, move the desks out of the front room, and put the library in it! Oh joy. Oh bliss. We can also stop tripping over the great pile of planks in the living room and kitchen. 
Steve Roberts

10946th morning after