In 1959 Mike Booth and Jim Eyre inaugurated the
Booth-Eyre Crawl, a tortuous passage pushed to about a length of 300
ft. A waterfall was heard and the passage was assumed to connect with
Wisdom Tooth Passage, although a colour test and human connection had
both failed.
This was a nice tidy result but unfortunately a surveying type upon
discovering two widely differing surveys of Wisdom Tooth Passage made
a special effort with two other surveying types to survey the
Booth-Eyre Crawl. Our nice tidy result was shattered - the passages
zig-zag willy nilly into the Promised Land leaving a nice untidy
problem in the Top End..
MAY 1961 - WRETCHED RABBIT
PASSAGE
During topography work, an old high level network over Wretched
Rabbit Passage was again entered after having been almost forgotten
over the years. This was an original Red Rose discovery and the
finding of an old mackintosh belt (my own) brought back nostalgic
memories. This is more work for the surveyors. However, not content
with this, I wandered with notebook and pencil into a 'cheese'
further upstream above the junction. This complicated network of
small passages breaks into boulder chambers as yet unexplored
(shaky), and at one point a heap of snail shells were discovered
below a small aven.
Another forgotten discovery was revisited during further trips up
Wretched Rabbit Passage where the extension to the first major cross
joint beyond the bedding plane section continues in a "ferrets only"
passage. This time I managed to enter (with assistance) a small
chamber above the rockfall' and the continuation beyond is
ridiculously small but ferret Bateson says it goes...This could mean
a continuation beyond the boulder choke which has abruptly cleaved
the major passage below in two. It is worth pushing and could connect
with Trident Roof Passage.
Still in Wretched Rabbit Passage and above the bedding plane section
is Four Ways Chamber entered by accident from Stop Pot. This has now
been surveyed and proves to be a useful escape route should the Main
Drain be impassable. The breakdown which has formed the cavity of
Four Ways Chamber is in close proximity with Carrot Chamber in the
old high level series overhead and this has given rise to theories of
a further fossil network which could extend as far as the gill. A
branch passage from Four Ways Chamber runs beneath Carrot Chamber and
ends at an aven remaining unexplored. However the main importance of
Four Ways Chamber has been in the fixing of a triangulation of
considerable importance with Eureka Jnct. and Stop Pot.
DOUBLE DECKER SERIES
This interesting high level series was gone over again in the hope of
continuing what is in fact part of the main fossil system from beyond
Stop Pot. However; both loose ends have been abruptly cut off by a
major rockfall and apart from some very dicey crawls nothing more was
discovered. "The surveyors were then sent forth into the wilderness
but failed to find that which they were seeking and it came to pass
that an official guide didst take them by the hand and say look
yonder as he didst point at a cleft amongst the rubble from which did
come the smell of virgin passage" and there was much gnashing of
teeth etc. (However a new passage - Dry Dock was entered and
surveyed, and another triangulation came into being fixing Stop Pot
and Holbeck Jnct.) Ed.
MAY 1961 - DEPOT PASSAGE
A major inlet to the system, Depot Passage had defied all efforts to
push and Dave and I had a preliminary run through to see if anything
had been overlooked. Here we found a lonesome figure in an exposure
suit (one of a group of campers we had encountered above Spout Hall).
We acceded to his request to accompany us and we soon had a very hot
bod on our hands as we headed upstream.
Above the rift we traversed back into some small chambers, one with a
swinging rock at the entrance acting like a trap door. Everything
seemed to be choked so we returned to the sandy chamber below the
rift. Fairly high 50 ft., the chamber contains three old inlets at
high level and one at floor level. We decided to return with scaling
tackle and crowbars.
JUNE 1961 - TRIDENT ROOF
PASSAGE
Whilst investigating the high levels at the junction to Pierces
Passage with Trident Passage, I had seen a passage beyond an
overhanging wall of loose rock. Being normal I left it alone and
after climbing down had a look from the other side. From below the
passage was hidden by a threatening mass of rock which was enough to
act as a deterrent and' accordingly I forgot about it. Some years
later a certain Mr.Cornes a newcomer to the sport, told me about a
passage that he had just walked into. For months after every time I
passed Trident passage I looked up and shuddered. However, like
Everest - it was there and accordingly Mike Bateson, D. Marsden and
myself climbed the very shaky rook slope, technically an easy climb,
but owing to the loose nature of the blocks, extreme caution was
exercised. Even by Dave Marsden who dropped a grand piano in the
general direction of Mike Bateson - who had moved fortunately in the
right direction and with alacrity.
The climb was a three fag climb - one whilst weighing it up, one
whilst climbing, thus obscuring all loose rock and the third on top
to restore shattered nerves and worry about getting down again.
An intricate network of small passages and chambers stretched from
here to almost connect with the Upper Trident Series. Separated by a
minor rockfall the network now concludes the complete fossil levels
of Trident Passage and a cross section of this amazingly complex
passage would be interesting to say the least. There is one mystery,
the passage breaks into another larger passage which is blocked
upstream and downstream thus giving no clue to its origin or
destination - perhaps a survey will clarify matters. (Now been
surveyed). Ed.
AUGUST 1961 - DEPOT PASSAGE
Determined to scale the high level inlets a set of ladders were taken
in and an attack launched. The surveyors were off to some obscure
part of the system.
However the ladders were much too short and the lowest inlet was only
reached by holding the ladder upright against the wall with the foot
resting on a bank of sand. This practise was not very sound,
especially with a 15 ft drop below the sand bank. Purely on faith the
final attempt proved the inlet to be a choked blind with the
important inlets across the far side of the chamber hopelessly out of
reach. J. Newton and M. Bateson began digging out the choked bedding
plane at floor level whilst D. Marsden, T. Sharpe and M. Wilkinson
and myself decided to give the high levels another going over.
Trapdoor Chamber was visited and the trapdoor thumped causing great
consternation to Jim and Mike in the low crawl in the chamber below.
Ghostly thumping from they knew not where.. Meanwhile I started to
insert my bony body through a gap in the final choke and entered a
low passage which soon changed to a miniature snake. I called for my
tame ferret (Mel) and together we traversed along to a final choke
beyond some fine helictites and numerous spiders. From a hole amongst
the -rocks a fierce draught made itself felt and after enlarging the
aperture a passage could be seen, but lights were going and a crow
bar would make things easier. I remarked to Mel about the strange
phenomenon of a powerful draught which in Ease Gill, I always
associate with flooding. With this in mind I became vaguely uneasy as
we returned to the others. Before we reached Stop Pot, we could hear
the ominous rumble of swollen waters. The Wet Way was impossible so
everyone had to sweat through the Dry Way dragging aluminium ladders
and other sundries.
Meanwhile the surveying team had been found swimming about in the
Main Drain. Their account was that after seeing several Omo
white-faced bodies gush out from the Wet War (hardy F.M.C.C. souls),
they began to realise the situation; whilst Mick was sat at the end
of Pierce's Passage, water lapping his perch. Poetic Justice was a
maelstrom but Jim Newton, Mike, Ron, and Pete had beaten us to it and
moved the belay. At Spout Hall, the spout shot out like a jet of a
hose pipe 3 ft diameter, the showerbath was torrential, but the
biggest surprise of the day came in Broadway where the climb up to
County Pot was a fierce waterfall. Shouts of water pouring in at the
lid were answered by somebody forget to close it, coming in.. The
climb from Slaughterhouse Sink caused utter confusion, the passage
beyond was shut oft by a miniature Niagara.
Jim Newton turned the wrong way and bashed into the wall with a thud
dropped his electron ladder, rebounded into someone behind whose
scaling ladder section flew off with a terrific crash and
clatter.
Ease Gill was in full flood, but everyone although soaked to the skin
declared it a most exciting trip.
10th SEPTEMBER 1961 - DEPOT
PASSAGE
We dashed up to Depot Passage with a crowbar and opened up the new
passage, but after a few yards it became choked where a collapse had
fallen through to a lower level.
It is obvious that an active stream
passage is below - but which one? We were, however, recompensed for
the lack of passage by the spectacular lace calcite which had formed
over mud deposits, and in several cases the mud had been removed
leaving them clean very fragile.
J. EYRE