Oxford University Cave Club

Pozu Jultayu (2/7)

IWWI Streamway

Sean Houlihane and David Monaghan spent some time looking at IWWI streamway on the side of Heathrow.

In Tony's Back Passage, climb down into the inlet to the head of a pitch which can be rigged with a 25m rope from a good thread belay round a boulder low down on one side and a long wire to a spike high on the other. 2m down the rope is deviated with a very short tape round a convenient spike to land on a drippy ledge. A rebelay from a wire round a spike on the left below the ledge gives an acceptable hang down onto a second ledge. Facing the rope, the way on is to the left, where a crawl behind a boulder leads to a narrowing of the rift and a free-climbable route down to a small stream. Upstream can be followed tortuously for some 250m along a progressively narrowing passage with some fine flowstone, helictites and miniature cave pearls until the collapse of one wall makes the passage too tight. At the end there are several climbs, one of which leads to a draughting aven. Downstream the stream meanders for some 50m into a chamber with a 4m waterfall down into a pot. Traversing round the top of the pot on the left side leads to a climbable rift to the bottom. It is imperative to climb down the rift as early as possible, because it continues over the top of a 5m diameter circular shaft with a 3 second free drop that awaits exploration.

David Monaghan