Following a spell of surface digs and easy trips, me and Joe were keen for something a bit more involved. Looking through the TA list of objectives, a tasty option was to survey the discovery at the end of Elastic Passage in Doom which we forged back in March. Easy decision made.
Pre-beers in the sunny Cussey carpark set the beautifully familiar scene. Donned once again in our tatty wetsuits we raced off. The 3 months since our last trip had not impacted our muscle memory and we arrived in Inglorious in under 7 minutes.
We packed my SRT kit only into the rope bag and headed off along Loper Lust, which was not quite as dry as I expected, making it a gloopy, mud-fest. Wetsuits definitely a good choice here as an oversuit would have picked up twice as much filth.
A few minutes later we were in Doom at the entrance to Elastic Passage and we stash our gear and setup the survey instruments. Joe is always keen to do “book” but I felt I had to vetoed him this time, only because it was on my (only) phone and we were going to a pretty wet place. We then discuss logistics a bit to try get into the right order, then climb up the waterfall and head in.
We start surveying about 3 legs back from the sump/breakthrough-point so that we could tie the new data onto the existing map. Thankfully the water levels were even lower than March so only a bit of re-digging got Joe through the duck quickly and we were even able to send the disto shot through surprisingly easily. He managed to turn around for this next bit so we could fire face to face for a few legs until we got back to the larger passages again. 13 legs in total got us to the upstream “sump” [more a pool full of pebbles and mud] giving us a total of 31.4m of new passage (survey available here). I’m hopeful that we’ll win the DCA Exploration Award again this year, but I really hope it’s not for this measly portion! Come on all you diggers!
Joe by the final sump in Elastic Passage
Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpWcJ3X8w58
We got back to our gear in Doom and set off to take a look at the next project. Back in 2012 when Doom was found the water from Elastic Passage cascaded down a 20m pitch at the southern side of the main passage. We repaired an old launder channel in the floor which redirected the water further along the main passage and into a natural choke, never to be seen again (yes, that’s another project on the list!). This allowed us then to descend the pitch, albeit on some of the poorest rigging I’ve ever seen (and that’s saying a lot as I’ve seen all of my own!). At the bottom of the pitch a partially flooded level heading east and west. Here some leads were marked which were never returned to.
Tonight we planned to go take a look. However, the old throughbolts were unfortunately heavily corroded and we struggled to remove the nuts. We managed to get one off but decided it was probably a poor idea to descend off one, old bolt. How boring we have become! We agree to return with drill and bolts soon.
Dave Harley looking down the pitch in 2012
Plan C for tonight’s entertainment was to search for a long lost level from a flooded chamber at the end of the Wet West Level in Glebe. We’ve visited this area a few times in the last few years, especially since forming the Rat Hole connection through to SMMC from here, but I’ve never really stopped for a good look about. Doug Nash’s old notes include a letter from a Roger Ridgeway dated 1992, which describes a trip he had back in 1964 whilst he was doing some work for Glebe. He describes stumbling into a pair of old man levels heading off from this chamber which loop around to meet each other after roughly 200m! He included a sketch which John Beck subsequently added to his main catchment survey, even though nobody else is known to have entered these passages. Maybe they don’t even exist?!
I was hoping that the lower water levels might allow us to finally end this elusive period so we left our gear at Loper Lust and headed lightweight to the chamber. Indeed the normally waist deep chamber was almost totally dry, although the floor in the middle was now a dangerous muddy pool that I nearly got stuck in. Skirting around the edge I got excited to see a small channel in the mud leading towards a low arch in the north-westerly edge of the chamber, exactly where the passages are suggested to head off from. My excitement spreads to Joe and together we crawl through into a walking sized passage heading off! This is it, we’re off.
As we eagerly walk down the passage I explain the importance of this passage, its proximity to SMMC and the Wet West Caverns above, and the hydrological connection to Little Waterfall. Just as I’d finished talking shit the passage ended at a huge choke after only 50m! No ways off, no old man, no loops, no natural, nothing. This is obviously not it, the elusivity continues….
Through this disappointment the first pangs of thirst kick in and we decide to head to the surface and the awaiting Mechanics. Coming out of Cussey to the welcoming warm air was soon made unpleasant by the swarms of flies attracted to our wet, muddy bodies! Hilariously a couple local girls passed asking if we’d been down “that sewer”. I start correcting them about the impressive nature of the cave system and they quickly interrupt me, giggling that they called it “Randy’s Hole” after their mate who lives next door! Amazing, is it too late to change Cussey Pot’s name?
Awesome team, awesome beer