Potentially Lethally Deadly.

(or - Four Men and a Minor Breakthrough in DYO).

by James Cochrane

The lakes in Dan-yr-Ogof were high, not drastic but deep enough to suck the warmth from the body with the chilling speed of an industrial freezer, only damper.  This was my fourth trip into this magnificent cave, and for the first time I was certain of where I was going, more or less. There were four to our team, Joel Corrigan, Tim Lamberton, Ross Dyter and myself.  With us also were Mike Alderton and Rich Bayfield, who intended to get to the 'High and Mighty' series, a trip that depended upon two things.  Mike would be putting up with an arm almost broken the previous evening in a Cardiff wall jumping session; and Rich would have to manage to stay on all of the climbs, something he periodically has trouble doing.  After passing the lakes, Mike and Rich carried on shivering into the distance.

Our team objective was to investigate the Lower Series extension of 'Toad Hall', an aven with a loose boulder crawl in the ceiling.  Poking at loose and dangerous boulder chokes seemed to us an ideal way to pass a Saturday afternoon and Joel had it on good authority from Liam Kealy that the aven was an area of potential. Ross and I were still learning the major routes of the cave, but had no difficulty in reaching the Washing Machine, the Long Crawl having restored warmth.  At this point we found one of Joel's diving tackle sacs on a ledge, retrieved from almost certain drowning by a saintly visitor after recent high water levels.  Full of renewed faith in the human spirit Joel led us on to Toad Hall.  The muddy rope climb up to the extension proved exciting for Joel, who decided to tie in foot loops to help the rest of us who were nonetheless humorously acrobatic.

The aven's base was a few square metres, a mound of breakdown warning of the loose ceiling above. Tim and Joel bridged up the chimney and would garden any immediate loose blocks whilst Ross and I sheltered in safe passage.

'Oh dear,' muttered Tim 'I've lost the skills! Joel, how do you do this, oh I see, I'll tie off here, hold this'.  For about half an hour Tim and Joel released volley after volley of brick sized rocks. Ross bemoaned his cordura suit as heat leaked out of him through inactivity.  'I'd have a nice new TSA if Dudley had one in my size'.  The rest of us were wearing plastic suits of one form or another.  'Let's have one more chap up here to help Tim' called Joel. Ross would soon be working up a sweat extending the boulder crawl up top.  'Jim, stand clear whilst we clear this bit'.  I did so, and rocks whistled down the aven, embedding themselves with dull thuds into the mud and boulder mound, small impact shards ricocheting off the walls. Ross and Tim were making fast progress in the initial crawl.  Given a break in the rockfall, and having cleared the base of many pointed rocks of the potential 'intruder' variety, I bridged up and found shelter in a small alcove. From here I could chat to Joel as he bolted to another potential lead on the right hand side of the aven.  As he hammered, large blocks continued to scream down the left-hand side, as the top passage was emptied into the base of the aven.

Joel's lead was too small, a short and narrow continuation, but his bolt placement allowed a more useful hand-line rig to the top.  As we pulled ourselves into the top passage, Ross and Tim could be heard just ahead at a tight section.  'Nooo, don't move that one!  Have you seen what it's holding up!'  Negotiations with the choke were tentative at first as two ways were worked on.  Ross wriggled back to allow Joel a look, 'I want some action, I want some fun, me me me ....'.  Ross had been enjoying his work, the engineer in him relishing the problem, but if he'd mentioned scaffolding, I'd have left him to it! Tim and Joel's tentative tapping produced one tight way through.  From struggling to the other side Joel was in a position to widen the gap.  Meanwhile, Ross was fashioning a decorative pair of mud breasts.

Tim retreated as Joel prepared to move some boulders that might or might not help the situation. Two thunderous booms were followed by an eerie silence.  'Joel! You ok.... ?'  'Yeah, yeah, just rocks and stuff landing on me' came the reply.  An almighty slab had been toppled into a perfect slot on the left, leaving a hole at that side only big enough for rats with hard hats, whilst the second route was much improved, though still disturbingly loose and unstable. Tim now followed after Joel, dislodging lots of loose choss, then called us further in.  'You've bloody filled up that passage again' complained Ross ‘I’ve just spent ages clearing that!'  'Well you've got to clear it again now,' retorted Tim from the other side, 'because it's our only way out'.  Having forgotten our gloves, Ross and I shredded our hands clearing sharp blocks from the squeeze, filling gaps in the floor and releasing more down the aven, which we'd probably have to dig on the return.

Ross now struggled through the tight 90° upward squeeze, cursing his girth, the rock and his lack of recent caving; a spot christened Uncle Dyter's Stickle brick Cleft.  'Jim, I'd recommend shifting some more of those rocks at the base of the squeeze, you might have trouble with your legs!'  I shovelled out more small rocks, enlarging the bend cautiously, in order to get all 6ft 3 of me through.  Then, mid-way through, Joel asked me to fetch his compass from the head of the aven!  On the second attempt, I found myself sat upright twixt rock and hard place, groping with my right hand for loose handholds above me.  Delicately heaving up, I twisted my legs to get my knees through and out I popped to be faced with an immediate horizontal manoeuvre.  'Just be careful there mate,' encouraged Joel 'it's loose as hell so try not to touch anything.'  Dutifully I obeyed, sliding out onto a rightwards-inclined boulder slope at the base of a bedding chamber.  Now I was excited.

After that narrow passage, the chamber was positively spacious.  The four of us sat at the top of the loose slope taking in the surroundings, all delighted to have broken through into virgin passage with such relative ease.  Several potential ways on could be seen.  At the base of the bedding plane, another small hole opened up in the jumble of boulders. Up-slope on the left a wet crawl of speculative stability vied with the boulders straight above the slope for the title of most delicate engineering project.  Most promising was a lead at the right of the slope where moving a few blocks entered a low mud passage against the ceiling.  Beyond, a parallel, slightly more stable chamber presented itself. Joel was pretty certain this was entering a blank area on the survey, were we about to discover a high level fossil series?  Whilst Ross and Tim carried on along the base of this chamber, I crawled up-slope where a short mud bank led to a small calcite pool with formative cave pearls. Breaking right, a low crawl over a mud-covered choke (in which Tim was nosing about) continued to a small drop at the back of the chamber of about one-and-a-half metres.  With no room to turn, I lowered myself headfirst, finally swinging my legs down.  The small chamber closed down on the right immediately with silt and mud, whilst the walls and roof were very loose to the touch.  Only at the upper left was there a small gap which appeared to enter the base of another aven.

Joel came through and tapped away at the gap with the hammer, a slight touch releasing shards over his head and shoulders.  Delicately he lifted himself through the gap, and then heaved an obstructive boulder to one side.  Tim joined me in the small chamber, and we were then huddled at the centre as both Ross and Joel decided to garden loose blocks from either side.  Once these were clear we all pulled ourselves up into the aven base.  A calcite boulder ceiling abruptly blocked our way only a few metres up with a small shower at the centre.  We congregated here and made sure there was no possible way through.  'At least it’s finished in a nice chamber, with water and a few formations,' offered Ross, 'better than in some squalid little hole!' A return trip would be needed to survey, photograph and investigate the more technical leads.  A compass bearing gave us a trend of NW, and we had gained enough height to take us out of the lower series.  The next digging would be much more arduous.  We estimated a total find of 30-35m with various leads, albeit uninviting ones.

The return through the sticklebrick cleft proved easy, and we slid down the aven rope to find a significantly enlarged mound of rocks.  Back on familiar ground a speedy exit saw us from one dark to another, emerging at 9pm after 7hrs, by which time Rich and Mike had reached the 'Windy Way' and back. At Donald's hut, a quick wash saw us ready to push on to the Copper Beach.

The Team

James Cochrane (BEC), Joel Corrigan (unaffiliated), Ross Dyter (BEe) and Tim Lamberton (BEC). 09/03/02

The return trip a few weeks later by Joel, Tim and friend Gavin produced a survey but alas no photos due to a lack of the necessary equipment!  The leads were investigated, with some boulders moved and the leads determined to be pushable, but extremely arduous and delicate undertakings.  A return trip is planned.

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