Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club - Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 4
- Aug./Sept. 1969
CRYSTAL
CAVE:- a new extension) ???
Party:- A, Hodder, (N,S.G.) P. Llewellyn, H.
Calvert and D. Baldwin.
Taking advantage of the dry weather a
party of four assembled on the Barbondale
roadside prepared for a long awaited tour of the Crystal Cave. Alan acting as Guide
we proceeded swiftly inward, primarily to avert the carnivorous midges. The
entrance series were first visited much delight being expressed at
the adornment of crystals and stal
forms in the Upper Gallery. With a view to entering the recent discovery we
set off upstream examining all nooks and crannies. The upstream
section beyond Spout Hall had been cut deeply through oblique
jointing, and eroded into sharp projections and likes, which
caught our wet suits mercilessly. The further reaches were
also examined but could we find the discovery....?
A low constricted crawl was eventually
found leading from near the sump. This after a very wet crawl • : and a
low triangular section rose into a roomy chamber. After negotiating a
short climb a bedding plane passage was ‘pushed’ until it became too
low. Here the smell of rotten sheep prevailed, presumably coming from Dog Hole
where a similar bedding crawl can be reached. The return journey proved
traumatic for the Guide. Having got himself jammed in the wet crawl, his head
submerged for an anxious 30 seconds
before freeing himself. A later suggestion that he should have started drinking
stole the evening. Is the passage we explored the
one entered by The Happy Wanderers in 1966 - (Gritstone Journal). Perhaps
when the complete survey is published we will know the answer. P.S.
where is the discovery?
D. Baldwin.