Team: SamP and RobE
With a nouveau Team Average off pushing Bagshawe tonight, it was up to me n Sam to try make some decent progress down our old fave. I missed out on the Cussey action last week so was raring to go, armed with the new Eldon drill and plenty of snappers. Trip was off to a bad start when I realised my pre-beer had punctured and leaked all over my gear, and the remaining half can was certainly not the satisfaction I’m used to.
At Inglorious Sam went in first as he knew what the crack was from last week. This first involved using the new drill to retrieve a stuck drill bit! He then opened up that hole with our new 8.5mm bit and loaded her up. When he returned to Inglorious he woke me up and we fired the beast, giving a very satisfying kaboom.
I went in next and was pleasantly pleased with the destruction. After clearing the debris the way on was a small gap over a solid wall of calcite and rock. After too much deliberating on a hole location I put one in on the left and returned to a cold Sam in Inglorious. The passage Black Draught is truly gross to work in, covering you head to toe in heat-zapping sludge. Thankfully the dig face itself isn’t too bad, but nevertheless we were both now fully marinaded. Even with very little stemming my hole fired very well and it was Sam’s turn to head back in, although his enthusiasm was elsewhere at the time. I did a quick time check, 20:36, so plenty time to get busy still. When he got to the face the report back was good and that he might be able to get through. Thankfully he chose the wiser option of drilling another hole, this time in the righthand side of the face. By the time he was back in Inglorious it was 21:22, it’s crazy how time flies when having fun!
The kaboom was a pleasing one, giving me enough enthusiasm to dive back into the crawl for more wallowing glory. Indeed there was destruction all over so I cleared the mess into the last remaining stacking holes and went for it. The hole was very tight an awkward, with my right arm totally in the wrong place no matter where I put it, so I just pushed hard at it. I eventually got my torso through into the void beyond which give a great view to the left of 3-4m of body sized passage, all nicely decorated with stal (for now). This we believe is heading straight for Race Against Time so is great news. Unfortunately the view behind me was that the roof was in fact a precarious looking, fridge sized boulder. I quickly yet carefully slither back, making sure not to push on the roof this time!
I gather the tools and retreat back to Sam who’s already with SRT kit on, just waiting for the drill before heading up the rope to some warmth. As Sam had the bag (again) I loved the trip out, feeling at one with every useful foothold and handhold, and even managed to do Coconut Airways without needing a one arm pullup for a change. We were greeted on the surface by torrential rain so we skipped any Saltpan washing and changed quickly, heading straight to the Mechanics Institute for a pleasant pint and snacks. Surprised we hadn’t tried this place before, cheapest pint in Eyam and spitting distance from Cussey.
Now we need to formulate a plan of attack for next week…