Tom's Blog
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2019
Entrance:
15219 15224 15660 16760
Tom Hudson
Roger, Juan Carlos, Iris, John, Carol and I all met up at the 5th Pine for todays trip. As we enjoyed our Coffees and chatted Juan Carlos showed me that, on his phone, he had loaded the English translations of a large number of Spanish Caving phrases. They were all spot on. That would be useful homework for me as my knowledge of Spanish is as limited as Juan Carlos's knowledge of English. The previous Saturday Roger, Juan Carlos and I had been out on the Karst with the Working Group of Sorbas (GTS) and we had been asked to help with Surveying the Lapo System. As the Monday Cavers had recently been exploring there it seemed a good idea for todays trip. There were 3 Tasks: Firstly; Try to find the Chimney that is somewhere in the System and that, years before, had been marked by having a thin rope suspended from it. Secondly; Sima 15660 has a Fig Tree growing out of it that obscures the ability to see how accessible the Sima is. Our task was to cut it back and, if possible, descend into the Sima. Thirdly; There is a group of Simas knpwn as the Tres Ninias, the Three Girls. We had been given a sketch which showed that the 3 Simas were linked together and that inside, to one side, there was a Pozo, Our task was to confirm that this was correct and to investigate if these Simas connected to the Lapo System. As Juan Carlos hadn't been with us when we had previously visited the Lapo System, he was keen to enter it by the crawl in entrance,15219. The rest of us would descend from the nearby Sima, 15224. We would then meet up at the base of 15224 and begin our first task of trying to locate the Chimney with its thin rope identifier. In our previous trips to Lapo we had been in a Chimney, at the approximate location to where GTS expected the rope to be. We hadn't seen a rope then but went into it again today. Roger had his Survey Meter with him and I used it to measure the chimneys height as over 15 metres. There was no rope to be seen in this or, as we made our way along the passages of the System, the other two or three Chimneys we carefully inspected. We therefore returned to the base of 15224, ascended out, cleared our equipment and made our way to 15660. The Fig tree that was growing out of the Sima wasn't tall but it was very dense. It took a lot of effort to cut a path through to the middle. Even when this was achieved there was a mass of twisted stems blocking the view down to the base of the Sima. The Sima was long enough, approx. 3 metres, but slim, only about 50 cm. It narrowed further as it went down to its dirt clogged bottom, at a max. depth of 3 metres. There was no chance of getting down it so we went off to our third task. The entrances to all three Simas were blocked by Tumbleweeds but these were easily removed by using the Rake that Roger had brought with him. Once this was done it was easy to see that the bolted entrance to Sima 16760 would have given good access to the system. However it was decided that we didn't have enough time left to complete this task. Therefore it would have to wait until another time. Meanwhile Juan Carlos had been busy with his Smart Phone. He held it up and it gave us, in perfect English, the translation of the fact that he had to leave to pick up his wife and children in Almeria. The wonders of Modern Technology! The rest of us did have enough time for me to check out another Sima, 15225. This one is in about the right direction and distance from 15224 to be connected to one of the Chimneys. The Sima is in depression that is grass covered. At its base a small hole goes off to one side. To investigate it I tied a follow through figure eight to my D ring and, with Roger feeding out rope, crawled inside. There wasn't much headroom but it widened out into a chamber about 2 metres diameter. At the far end, a narrow passage led off. I tried to pass through it but there were too many rocky projections sticking out from the sides. I can see another project coming on to clear a path through and investigate what lies beyond. In the meantime it was time to load all our gear back into the Land Rover and make our way back to the 5th Pine to celebrate another great day out. Todays trip was my last one until I return after Christmas. I very much look forward to rejoining my fellow Cavers when I get back.
2019
Entrance:
15131 15132 15133 15796
Tom Hudson
There were four of us meeting up at The 5th Pine. Our new, Spanish Caver, Juan Carlos was already waiting when Iris and I drove up. Roger soon joined us for our pre Caving Coffees. Last week we had been in the Lapo System and for this week we had planned to investigate other Simas that may have connected to this System. However as, during the week, I had managed to clear a route that made it possible to get down to the bottom of a Sima (15796), which is in the Cambion System, it was decided to start there first. I had Bolted the Entrance to this Sima prior to our Monday Cavers trip on 14th October but couldn't get passed a pinch point at 6 metres. It was this pinch point that I had spent the week opening out. I had been alone whilst opening the remainder of the access shaft to 15796, so,when it was wide enough to pass, I hadn't gone down to its base. Therefore I couldn't know if it went anywhere. My hope had been to find a route that would lead to the nearby Sima, 15132. That Sima, over its entire depth, is far too narrow to enter from the surface but as it is only about 4 metres from 15796, I was hoping it would provide a link to the route that leads to Simas 15131 and 15133. I was the first one down and, while I waited for the next Caver, I set off in the direction to 15132. I had to climb up a short Yeso slope, which passed a horizontal, small, smooth walled tube approx. 35 cm in diameter. This, after a distance of a metre, wound off, out of sight, to the left. Apart from being too small to access there were also a few, beautifully delicate, stalactites protecting its entrance. Having made my way passed this tube I followed the narrow, but high, passage round to the left. The passage sloped downwards and opened out into the bottom of a Pozo, approx. 2 metres diameter. This had various narrow shafts going upwards and looking up through one of them I could see daylight. I took a photo of it on my Phones Camera. I must have now been at the bottom of 15132. The passage didn't lead on so it became obvious that 15132 wasn't a primary Sima. It was a feeder into the Cambion System. It fed into, and passed through, 15796. I therefore returned to 15796. By now Juan Carlos had descended the 6 metres to where I had opened out the pinch point. However he couldn't manoeuvre himself passed it so Roger came down to join me. In the meantime I had gone on to explore another route. This went off in the opposite direction from 15132 as it led away from 15796. To follow this route it required crawling along a low, smooth, water worn channel. The roof to this channel was the flat base of a Marl block. After approx. 2 metres the channel fed into a smooth walled sump, approx. a metre and a half deep. The Passage that it was contained in was now large enough to easily walk through. I followed it for approx. 6 metres where it turned left. I continued for approx. 5 more metres, through a smooth crawl which opened out into a large Passage that went off in both directions. One way, to the right, led to a long and deep Pozo which would have made progress awkward. To the left the passage was straighter. I followed it a short distance and saw footprints in the muddy floor. This was obviously an accessible passage, probably from 15133. I marked where I had come from and then returned to see what the others wanted to do. It was decided to all go out. Iris was still on the surface, having not entered the Sima. Roger then made his way all the way up to the surface. I then ascended to join Juan Carlos at the midpoint where he then ascended up to the top. Once he was out I followed. We then de-rigged the Sima and made our way to our next project, exploring a Sima of the Lapo System. We had seen this one last Monday. It didn't have any Belay points but there was a Large Pine Tree next to it which we could use. Juan Carlos put a follow through figure of eight around the tree, and added a plastic sheet that would protect the rope and the tree. The Plate number was 15652 and, unsurprisingly, its name is Sima del Pino. The Sorbas Caving Book says that it is "a closed well at 10 metres". This may have been measured from the top of the Doline it was in as it didn't seem that deep. Roger went down first and sent up the first of three, large Tumbleweed bushes that had blown into it. The Book was correct about it being a closed pozo. The only passage, sideways, was far too narrow to follow. However by clambering passed the branches of the Fig tree, which was growing out of its base, it was possible to get to another vertical shaft. Although this shaft was wide, it was possible to chimney climb out. Juan Carlos and I did this while Iris and Roger came back up using the rope. By now it was 13-30 and as Juan had to leave by 14-30 we didn't have time to rig and check any other Simas. We had also wanted to investigate another Sima we had previously seen. This was the one, near to where the top of the 20 metre Chimney came. We wanted to see if they were connected, but it would have to wait for another time. So we packed our gear away and went back to Los Martinez for our post Caving Drinks and Tapas.
2019
Entrance:
15224
Tom Hudson
Our newest Caver, Juan, was due to join us today but couldn't get away until 15-00 hours so it was just myself, Iris and Roger who met up at the 5th Pine for our morning Coffees. Hopefully Juan will be able to join us for one of our days out very soon. As mentioned in last weeks Blog we went back to 15224, rigged it, including a Deviation Line, and all descended to its base. Sure enough it was the same Sima that Iris and I had gazed skywards from last Monday. An option we now had was to turn right and make our way back out, via 15129, but the unanimous vote was to turn left and continue on, passed where I had got to last week. As we weren't expecting to need our SRT gear we left it at the base of the Sima and made our way into the darkness of the Cave. It proved to be an amazing Cave: Firstly, there was the regularity of the direction of the route. It was always in an approximate 130 degree, Northerly direction. Certainly, it did deviate from this, particularly when we first left the base of the Sima. The route, for just those first few metres, went in an almost westerly direction before turning sharply left for just a few more metres. It then settled into its gently sinuous,130 degree, meanderings. Secondly, there was the regular pattern of the route. It was a continuous series of short, awkward to pass through passages that then led us into much larger Cavities. In these Cavities there could be several ways to progress to the far side. In some the route was over, or under, or around the jumble of Blocks that littered the floor. In others it was by clambering up and over large dirt covered slopes. Finally, there was the gently downward sloping surface. That's not to say it was smooth or easy to pass over, far from it. Some parts did have a smooth, dirt floor but in others, a lot of others (!) we were crawling or clambering over rocks; from ones that were small enough to easily fit into the palm of your hand, to huge blocks that had been dislodged from the walls and ceiling, but, always, the overall gradient was a gradual, gentle descent. We didn't reach the end of the Cave. I estimate that we only travelled somewhere between 200 to 300 metres before we turned back, but in all that distance, we never came across a pozo or long, deep trench that would have impeded our progress and needed our SRT gear to continue. What did impede our progress were the short, awkward passages that linked the much larger Cavities. They may have only been a few, short, metres in length but some of them were very small. It was a case of wriggling through them until they suddenly opened out into the next, large Cavity. There was a large amount of fine dirt in the Cave. When we were there the dirt was damp so there was no problem with dust. Of course, after just two short explorations in the System, I can't know if it ever completely dries out. Towards the end of our trip a few drops of water were beginning to drip from the roof and we began to come across small, shallow puddles. However, what was noticeable was the large amounts of dirt piled up, in slopes of 45 degrees, against the side walls. It seemed that these had been washed in from above but, although I looked for entrance tubes I didn't find any. I did try to climb to the top of at least one of the slopes but the surface was too steep and unstable to risk going on. I did wonder if any dirt entrances that did exist had become buried under their own piles of dirt? One thing that we did find was a Chimney. We had only gone about 30 metres from the Sima when Iris noticed, to her right, a high but short and narrow entrance which led to the base of a Chimney. Its base was two or three metres across and it soared upwards for about 20 metres. We turned our lights off to check if we could see any daylight, but couldn't. After we had come out of the Cave we followed the bearings and distance to where we thought the top of the chimney could be and there was a Sima at that location. That is definitely something that would be worth spending more time checking out. One of the Cavities differed from the others. This one was as far as I had gone on the previous Monday. It had two routes onwards. The route we took went to the right. It was another rock strewn tunnel that carried on at the usual, gentle, downward slope into further, awkward passages that opened out into more, large Cavities. However, on our return trip, as I was leading, and while I waited for the others to emerge from another one of the awkwardly small passages, I took the opportunity to explore the left hand route. It was a wide passage that sloped gradually upwards, over boulders that were covered in a smooth layer of dirt. I was expecting that it might meet up with the Right hand route but it continued its upward slope. As it did so it also did a long, slow turn to the right. After 30 metres or so the cavity rapidly narrowed into what seemed to be a one metre diameter tube. This carried on with the upwardly, gently curving. slope. I didn't go on as by then I could hear that the others had exited from the narrow passage. It seemed to me that this route had taken me above the lower, right hand route and that by now i was directly above my fellow Cavers. I returned to join them but that left hand route would be a very good one to investigate further, We didn't come across many stalactites. There may have been more but in one small area we did see a small group of them, which were no more than 25 cm long. The cave surfaces were mostly a variety of types of bare rock. Yeso of course, in all its forms, but also, in places, a multitude of the colours of other minerals. I also came across a single, small, sleeping Bat which was hanging from its perch. Once we were back at Sima 15224 we put on our SRT gear and ascended back out. After de-rigging the Pitch we put our gear back in the Land Rover and went off to explore the surface above our route. As I previously mentioned we found a Sima that could lead to the top of the chimney. It went down a couple of metres to a base that, today, had muddy puddle in it. There were at least three more Simas that could connect into the Lapo System. One of them had a single Belay point, one didn't have any and the third one had a nearby, solid Pine tree from which a bomb proof descent rope could be rigged. It is our intention to go back next Monday and enjoy carrying on with our exploration of the Lapo System.
2019
Entrance:
15129 16218
Tom Hudson
Just Iris and myself where available for this weeks trip. Without the use of the off road ability of Rogers Land Rover and only my Ford Focus to rely on, we again used the Avellanas zone. The parking here is conveniently right alongside the N-340a road. It was also convenient as, before we began, Iris wanted to recheck the nearby locations of the Roman Caves. Once we had returned from there it was a matter of choosing one of the many nearby Caves. We had last visited this area on 13th March. Then, Iris, Rich and I had descended into 16218. As then and today too, we didn't have a specific Cave in mind, there are so many to chose from. Not many of them have Belay Points but, as I had my Battery Drill etc. with me, we could have installed some if we wanted to. However it didn't prove necessary as the first Cave we came to, 15129, was a walk in Cave. The Sorbas Caving Book says this is part of the Lapo System (17016) which consists of 8 or 9 Simas, of which 15129 has the title of Principle Entrance. The large Doline it is situated in was very pretty. The majority of its sides were covered in grass and small bushes. A well worn, narrow and sloping Yeso path, which curved across the sides, took us around and back to finish at the base of a tall Pine tree which was growing out of the bottom of the Doline. The steep ground around the base of the Pine was covered in loose soil and pine needles which meant the last few feet was tricky to get passed. Once this had been accomplished we were at the smallish rocky opening into the Cave. For such a large Doline the actual entrance was quite small, not difficult to pass through, but not a stand up and walk-in. We didn't have to go more than 4 metres before we could see daylight. This was coming down from a nearby Sima, 15220, It may have connected to 15129 but was far too narrow to pass through. We made our way through a mixture of passages of various sizes. Some of them needed crawling through but they would then enter a larger cavity where it was easy to stand up. This went on, with the general direction always approx. 130 degrees off North. After approx. 100 metres we entered another Cavity and this time, off to our left, could see daylight. Making our way across to it we could look up to the top of another, large vertical Sima, about 15 meters above us. It would have been too difficult and dangerous to try and climb out. By now Iris, who was still suffering from at least one sore Rib from Sailing, decided to stay here while I carried on. I did so for another 15 minutes or so and, after another series of narrow and then larger Cavities, entered another large Cavity. I could have gone on but decided it was time to return and rejoin Iris. We then made our way back out and, following a compass bearing of 130 degrees, went to find the vertical Sima we had seen. This appeared to be 15224. It had been already been rigged with two abseiling points plus a deviation point. As time was getting on it was decided to call it a day but 15224 seemed an excellent candidate from which to start next Mondays Caving Trip.
2019
Entrance:
15796
Tom Hudson
Roger, Iris, John, Carol and I all met up at Los Martinez for this weeks session of the Monday Cavers. Todays project was to descend into part of the Camion System. Iris and I had explored one of its Simas back in March. This had been 15133. We had taken survey points and, after Roger had plotted the route we had taken, we could see that we had almost reached 15132. Unfortunately this Sima hadn't been Bolted so it hadn't been possible to descend into that Sima to try and complete the route For this Caving Season, when I drove over from England, I had bought a Battery Drill, various Masonry drill bits,10 Rawl Bolts and some Bolt Hangers with me. I had intended to Bolt either 15131 or 15132 the previous Friday, 11th October, but neither of these two entrances looked large enough to be able to easily descend into. However very near to 15132 there was another Sima, 15796. This hadn't been bolted either but it had a good sized entrance which, when I tried the Dropped Stone test appeared to be about 15 metres deep. It took quite a while to secure two 130mm bolts into the rock, these were probably much longer than necessary but I wanted to be sure that we had secure Abseil points. Today, as I had installed the bolts, it only seemed right that I should be the first to put my trust in them! It turned out that the Simas descent was in two stages. Initially it went down, vertically, about 6 metres, then another 6 metres but at an angle of approx. 70 degrees. This second stage was narrow but it looked as if it may have been just possible to be able to descend down to the bottom. As I had time while I waited for the next person, Iris, to descend I decided to try it. However almost immediately it had a slight bulge in one wall that proved just too big to get passed. By the time Iris had joined me I was stuck at its narrowest point. It took some time to extricate myself as the equipment attached to my D ring was jamming me against the wall. After I had managed to unscrew the D ring and moved the equipment to one side I could pull myself upwards the short distance and rejoin Iris. We therefore ascended back up to rejoin the others. It was then decided that we would rig 15133 and explore that Sima further. We all went down the first 17 metre pitch, then the 6 metre pitch that followed. As I had done back in March we took the same right hand turn passed a 13 metre deep Pozo and reached the narrow, still water filled, low crawl. This was as far as I had got in March but this time we went on. The narrow passage soon opened out and we could continue onwards. While the others were getting passed the low crawl I went on. Eventually I turned a left hand corner into a chamber about 3 metres across. I thought I saw some movement on the far wall. Sure enough it seemed to be two large Mice, about 10 cm long, not including the tail. They froze at the sudden appearance of my Light giving me plenty of time to to watch them. As I made my way onwards they ran off, back the way I had come. I continued on until I came to a ledge that I would have had to clamber up. I decide that I had gone far enough and returned to join the others. Only John and I then went back to the ledge. On the way we passed where the Mice had been. When we investigated we saw that on the narrow shelf, where I had first seen them, and just about at our head height, they had fashioned a simple nest. Inside it was another, smaller Mouse. This one was the size as an typical English Mouse. I suppose it was a young one. It looked at us for a few seconds and then also scurried off. We continued up to the ledge, which we climbed and then carried on for another 10 or so metres until the passage became a narrow tube, which would have meant slowly crawling through. By how we had gone maybe 50 or more metres further than I had done in March, well past where the Topo. Survey I had done at that time had said Sima 15132 should have been. Indeed, on the way back we saw other, narrow, side passages that led off from this main one. Any of them could have led up to other Simas, including 15131 & 15132. All five of us were reunited when we got to the bottom of the 6 metre pitch. Roger went up first, followed by Iris and Carol. Unfortunately, even with the help of Iris, Carol couldn't release her chest ascender. Eventually, by standing on Johns back, I managed to get up to the first of a series of shelves that bypassed the 6 metre pitch. The final shelf brought me out at Carol and Iris's level. I could see that Carols chest ascender was still under tension but by moving Carol a little towards the Y hang we gained the slack necessary to release the Chest Ascender and all of us could continue upwards. By then Roger had completed the final 17 metre ascent and rigged a Deviation Line so that the Rope, which had been rubbing on an outcrop some 8 metres down from the surface, now had an unobstructed line all the way to the top. At the end of a long, day it was an effort to ascend out but we all did it without too much trouble. I was the last one out and as I approached the top, even while I was still in the Caves shade, I could feel the Suns heat gradually increasing. As always it was a pleasure to be back in the sunshine and looking forward to returning to the Fifth Pine for our usual drinks and tapas.
2019
Entrance:
15880
Tom Hudson
Our first trip of this Winters season. I picked Iris up and drove us to the Sorbas Caving Centre to meet Roger. At this time of year the weather definitely didn't have a Wintery feel to it. The temperature was in the mid to high 20s. We needed to take cool drinks as we were going to do a lot of surface walking. Roger had downloaded various Cave locations in the area of the disused Quarry. As he has been back in Spain for some time he had found a way of getting the LR right up to where they should have been. The known location of the caves, and the various plates, were old so we couldn't be sure of being able to easily find any of them. The idea of the trip was that we would explore any caves that we found, make rough notes of what we found, put new Plates on and Roger would more accurately Log their positions. It was quite a journey to the Old Quarry. Roger had done well to find any sort of track to use. We certainly needed his LR to get there. My car may have made it to the area but it wouldn't have been in any fit state to make it back! The area where the caves were was on the slope of a hill. Not too far away, across the valley, was the unmistakable shape of the El Cerron, "Bens Nose" Because there were so many caves and they were grouped in a small area we soon found some. The area we were in was Heuli, named after one of the local hills. The caves here were unlike the ones found in other areas on the main Karst, like Gep or Yesares, Because these were on a slope there were long fissure lines. In places these had become deep enough to become cave like depressions. Most of the ones I went into were no more than Pits. They may have gone deeper but any potential passages were filled with rocks of all sizes and often, they were topped off with an accumulation of fine dust which covered everything. A number of Plated caves did have a series of small entrances which led off from the main chamber. I went into a number of these but soon stopped when it would have needed full commitment e.g. going in head first, or when there was a particularly narrow section to pass. While Iris and Roger were looking for other Caves I did spend a relatively long time exploring a couple of caves. The first one, and one that I also made rough survey notes on, was 15880. Iris had gone in with me and she made a sketch of the area near its surface, but not too far in there was a narrow pit approx. 4 metres deep and 4 metres long. I managed to get passed it and carried on, checking out the various passages that led off. Most of these ended, after a few metres, in a closed chamber, but after having spent some time clearing another passage I managed to get by a blockage and carried on into a chamber, approx. two metres across. This had an interesting looking exit that went upwards at about 45 degrees. I didn't go on as it was quite narrow and it was time to get back to the others. Similarly there was also another passage leading off from the chamber. This one led downwards, it also needed clearing before it could be explored. After I got back to the others we found another Pit. This one was too steep to climb into but seemed to have a passage that angled up towards the nearby slope of the hillside. As I walked down the slope, looking for a possible entrance, the ground I stepped on gave way and my leg disappeared into a hole. As it did so I must have rasped Rogers arm. I only had a few scratches on my leg but the skin on Rogers arm was torn and bleeding. He had a First Aid Kit in the LR and after Iris had put a Bandage on his arm we carried on exploring the area. We spent some time looking for a cave that, according to the co-ordinates, was in the middle of the track we had driven over! Needless to say it wasn't there. We gradually explored the surrounding area but never found the Plate. Further away I did find another one that wasn't on Rogers list. This was basically a large Pit, but an interesting one. I spent some time exploring it and another one nearby which turned out to connect to the first one. By now it was getting time for us to get back to the Caving Centre so we packed up and left. Our choice of cold drinks and Tapas was slightly different today. Iris had noticed that they sold Smoothies so, instead of my usual Tubo, I had an Ice cold Tropical Mix one. Very nice. Despite the Poofy glass and Straw that can with it I could easily have enjoyed another one.
2019
Entrance:
15112 15114
Tom Hudson
As I was beginning my journey home the next day this was to be my last Caving trip of the season with Rich and Roger. Today we were going back to use the ropes that had been installed by GTS in the Covadura system. The rains that had fallen over the Semana Santa weekend had worked their way into the caves making them wetter than usual. There was no flooding or deep water to navigate through but, in the lower depths of the cave, the slippery surfaces and deeper puddles made the going much more difficult. It was so wet and slippery that, even I, someone who had always managed to keep dry feet, ended our trip with my left foot soaked up to the ankle and both shoes and socks smothered in sticky mud. Not only was the cave wet but the surface of the access track to it had been reduced to an equally slippery state. As we were due to meet up with Angie at the Caving Centre afterwards, both Roger and I drove our vehicles the short distance, from our meeting place at the 5th Pine, to our parking area at the White Hut. Roger led the way and, once we had turned onto the Karst, his 4 wheel drive Land Rover left us trailing in its wake as it easily coped with the slippery conditions, meanwhile my front wheel drive Ford slithered about, struggling for grip over the uneven and muddy surface. By the time Rich and I arrived at the Hut Roger had parked up and was out of the L. R. Both our vehicles had a thick layer of mud imbedded over the tread of all 4 tyres. The mud had also managed to get a large way up the sidewalls. That made my journey to the Caving Centre at the end of our day a slow one as, even at 25 mph, lumps of mud were being thrown off, to land, with a thud, against the inner wheel wells. It took most of the journey to the Centre before the mud had all been hurled off and I could increase my speed to more like its normal pace. The mud on the surface of the track getting to the Hut and in the deeper reaches of the Cave may have been bad but the rain had hardly affected the rest of the cave. We entered it via 15112, one of the entrances we had used the previous week, As last week, we made our way down to the large chamber where GTS had rigged two descent ropes. Last week we hadn't had time to use them but the objective this week was to do just that. Roger went down first, which involved doing a change over from the initial descent loop. Rich took a couple of nice photos of him as he began his descent. The loop would take us the short distance from one side of the Pozo across to the other side. The descent loop terminated here at a belay point which was also being used, along with a second one, as one of the fixed points for a Y hang. The rope which formed the lower part of the Y disappeared in the dark down to the bottom of the pozo. Having clipped the long leg of our Cow Tail to the belay point on our side of the pozo, it was a fairly simple process to also attach our Petzl Stop to the Loop, make our way, the short distance, down to a small ledge, and, having checked the action of the Stop, remove the Cows Tail and make our way across until we were below the Y hang. Once there we could reattach the cow tail to the Y hang, descend further until it was taking the load, then remove the Stop from the Descent loop and reattach it to the descent rope of the Y hang. Having once again checked its correct action we could then disconnect the Cows Tail and make our way to the bottom of the pozo. As this was to be Rich's first technical change-over he had elected to have a back up Safety Line. While Roger was making his descent I rigged one end of this to a fourth belay point which was behind us, a couple of metres away from our starting position. My idea was for me to then attach my Stop to the safety line such that I could pay out the line attached to Rich. In this way I wouldn't be in the system. However trying to do it this way took me too long and was too complicated for me to set up so, with Roger now at the bottom of the pozo, and asking what was happening, I disconnected the safety line from the fourth belay point and went back to our normal system of having myself connected into the system. I would still like to be able to use the system where the the Belayer isn't in the system but I obviously have a lot more to learn about SRT before I can do so. With Rich now connected to the safety line I could help by talking him through making the change over as he made his way down to join Roger. As he descended I took some photos of his progress. When he was down I joined them and we continued with our exploration. Once again Roger asked if I remembered being here before and, as usual, I didn't. It is a good thing that Roger keeps records of all our Caving trips. As we progressed he kept asking if I remembered the various sections we passed through but each time I didn't. However there was one, memorable section, that I, and I suspect, Rich won't forget in a hurry. That was a very narrow, and it seemed never ending, section. It wasn't low. In fact it was a high, narrow slit that meandered its way for what was probably only ten metres or so but seemed much longer. I took a couple of photos of Roger as he squeezed his way along it. For someone of my height it was relatively easy to pick the widest parts of the gap to pass through but Rich, being much taller had more of a struggle getting to where it finally opened out. Not unnaturally he was concerned about getting through it and, once it had opened out, getting back again. However we all made it through ok. We then made our way further into the cave until we came to a point that Roger said was as far as the two of us had come last time. We did go on a little further but soon began our return trip. The return through the narrow gap seemed to be easier and we were soon back at the base of the main pozo. Roger went up first, followed by Rich. It was a long, tiring ascent of about 20 metres. With the change over still to do when we got to the top we all needed a to take a rest on the way up. Eventually we were all back together and ready to make our way out. As last week we decided to leave via exit 15114, which mean't that our exit from the large chamber would start by us using the traverse line at the Balcony. I went first and took some photos of Rich and Roger as they made their way across it. As we had taken lots of photos of this route the week before I didn't take any new ones. In any case, with todays overcast sky, when we got to the two overhead openings there were no beams of sunlight shining through them for us to enjoy. After I had enjoyed my last Drink and Tapa at the Caving Centre and said my goodbyes to Roger and Angie it was time to drop Rich off, then take my car to the Jet wash to blast all the mud off it and my Caving shoes. I didn't bother about my mucky boiler suit. It wouldn't have had time to dry before I left the next morning and it was suffering the wear and tear from two seasons of clambering around the Caves so it got a ceremonial goodbye in the Car wash rubbish bin.
2019
Entrance:
15112 15114 15117
Tom Hudson
The previous Saturday, in preparation for this weeks Semana Santa, GTS Caving Convention, I had helped rig the Covadura System. This meant that any Cave we entered today would already have been rigged. I had been to so many cave entrances on Saturday that I couldn't remember the Plate number of the one we had rigged. However I did remember where it was located. When Rich and I met up with Roger at the 5th Pine it was decided that we would start with that one. It turned out that it was Plate 15117, Entrada Higuera Superior, (the Superior Fig Tree Entrance). I am not sure if the Fig tree thinks it is superior but using it to climb down into the cave wasn't easy. There were two different ways to get down it and both of them would have easier and safer with a descent rope. That is unusual. Normally a tree give you plenty of good holds to chose from but not this one. It had been just the same on Saturday. That had been a tiring day. Then, the first pitch we rigged went down 18 metres, the second 27 and the third 22 metres. The second pitch was complicated by needing a change-over abseil to complete the descent. Today we all completed the 18 metre pitch and it was decided that I would lead the second pitch with Rich watching as I described my change-over. However part way through me doing this all three of us agreed that it wouldn't be wise for Rich to attempt doing this. I think I am correct in saying say that he had never done a change-over before so doing his first one, in the dark, while hanging over the top of a 27 metre pitch wasn't a good idea. I therefore ascended back out and we made our way back out and went to another Cave, 15112. This one has the name of Principal Entrance. Rogers records showed that I had done this one with him a couple of years before, not that I remembered it, until that is we got to our first descent point. The layout of that was a 2 metre drop to a large shelf followed by a further descent. I did remember us doing that. The change-over from there could be done easily while you stood on the shelf. From there we made our way through various large cavities. There were no spectacular stalactites or stalagmites to admire this week but shining specs, of Fools Gold, covered the ceilings. As well as these the super cones that had formed over the ceilings had lines of white crystals running over their surface and the large blocks of marl that covered the floor gave us enough to admire as we made our way forward. Eventually we reached a Cavity that I recognised from a GTS recognisance of the week before last. Then we had reached it via a different entrance to the one we had come into today. Roger and I had been here before too. The other GTS group had been busy last Saturday as, on our recognisance of two weeks ago, there had only been one ceiling rope fitted. Now there were about four more long pitches rigged, all with brand new ropes and Carabiners. We didn't have time to go down any of the pitches but Roger suggested that I ask GTS to leave them roped for us to use next Monday. As the Semana Santa event doesn't finish until late on Sunday evening I think they will be pleased for us to de-rig it for them after we have used the ropes the following day. We then made our way towards our new exit, 15114, Entrada las Nieves por la Higuera, (Entrance to the Snows by the Fig Tree). This turned out to be a much easier tree to climb than the other one. The first part of our exit route was to use a traverse line which started at the aptly name Balcony, a large block of Gypsum that a line of Cavers can lean over for a view across the Cavity. Once we had passed that and crawled under a short passage we could begin our ascent. The bottom of this Pozo was about 2 metres across but it narrowed to a width that made climbing out a matter of just sitting on the rim and standing up. I took photos of Rich and Roger as they made their way up and out of it. Once we were all up it was only a couple of minutes walk to a false exit. This was a good size hole in the roof which gave a view to the outside. The sunshine was pouring in through it but it wasn't rigged and was too high above to we reachable. After another couple minutes of easy walking we came to a second false exit. This one had a fig tree growing at the bottom of it which gave us some nice photos before we again set off to the real exit. A last few photos of Rich climbing out and a final one of Roger letting Angie know we were all out and it was time to walk back to our cars and go to meet Angie at the Sorbas caving Centre for our drinks and Tapa.
2019
Entrance:
15133
Tom Hudson
This week it was the same 3 Cavers as last week who enjoyed their pre Caving Coffees at the 5th Pine. It was to be Tonys last Caving day before he leaves for France. Today we went to one of the Caves in Covadura, 15116. Known as Entrada Galeria Bosque, or in English: Entrance of the Forest Gallery. This Dolina is unusual in that the entire circumference of the more than one metre thick Yeso, that makes up its' surface, has collapsed inwards. Thus, to get to the cave entrance it is necessary to find somewhere in the vertical face of the Yeso to climb down. Someone had carved a few crude steps into one part of the Yeso but having used them it was still necessary to jump down the last few feet. When I had got down Rich took a photo of me. Then I took a photo of Tony at the top of the Dolina, together with Rich as he was making his way down. Getting down was doubly difficult because the base of the Yeso had formed an overhang. It was underneath this that we made our way into the Cave. A sloping, dirt covered face, led us to the belay points. These were only a couple of metres inside the entrance. Access to these, and therefore the six metre descent, was through a smallish opening. The strange thing was that next to it, cut into the slope, was a channel which gave easier access to the same pitch. We couldn't find any fixed or natural belay points which would have enabled us to use this channel so we fixed our Y hang to the existing belay points, squeezed our way through the gap and made our way down. I took 3 photos of Tony as he made his way down to join me. In the first one you can see him just after he has squeezed through the small opening and begun his descent. The second photo shows him half way down and also gives a clearer view of the channel that would have made our decent easier if we had been able to rig it. The third photo shows Tony at the bottom of the Pitch. My next photo was taken from the bottom of the pitch looking directly upwards, out of the Dolina to the sky above. This shows that there are three large rocks that partially block the centre of the Dolina. Once we had finished todays trip and had climbed out I carefully walked around the base of the Dolina looking for this area. It wasn't easy to find. There was so much vegetation covering them that the holes were barely noticeable. I didn't get too close as I wasn't tied on and didn't know how secure those jammed-in rocks were. Once we were all at the bottom of the pitch we could walk a short way down a rock strewn slope which led to a good sized cavidad. There were two ways we could go. To the left a passage headed off but we went almost straight on, to where I knew the main interest in this Cave lay. Almost immediately we could see the Forest. An extraordinary collection of delicate stalagmites that covered the floor of the passage as it wound its way ahead of us. We wandered through this wonderland, both Rich and I taking lots of photos. I also took a 2 minute video as I walked from the start of the Forest, to where these amazing crystal structures eventually finished. In an effort to give the Forest a degree of protection a low fence line had been set out to guide people through. The video I took is too large to add here but if you use Dropbox and would like a copy let me know and I will post it on Dropbox to you. Some of the photos Rich took of the stalagmites were illuminated by my headlight. These show the translucence of the structure. Others show that many of the structures are hollow. As well as the stalagmites there were also stalactites and the contours of the Yeso ceiling to appreciate. Once we had finished admiring this stunning galley we continued on. The head height gradually decreased as the cavidad became smaller and smaller. Eventually I got to a point where, if I had gone on, I didn't know if I would have had the space to be able to turn around. So I came back and we made our way to the second passage. This one went on for about 75 metres. On the way we passed a large Chimney that had been formed through the Yeso. It wound its way upwards toward the surface. There was no sign of daylight coming back down it so if it reached the surface it ends as a small hole or is too twisting a path for daylight to get to the bottom, or possibly, a combination of both of those. We also passed a small cavity that was at the top of a slope that formed the right hand side of the passage. Where the passage ended there was a large pozo. Later, after looking at a map of the Covadura System, it seems the pozo may have connected to another passage which would have led us to one of the other two entrances in the Bosque sequence. Since we couldn't go any further we made our way back to the small cavity we had seen. This turned out to be a delightful Grotto. We were all enchanted by it and had our pictures taken in it before we made our way back to begin our ascents. This time I took photos of both Rich and Tony as they made their ways back up the rope. My final Caving photo was of Tony as he emerged out from the overhanging Yeso onto the base of the Dolina. Once we had made our way back to the car and had driven back to Los Martinez we saw that the buds on the Cactus, opposite the 5th Pine had finally burst into flower. A final visual delight to end another great day of Caving.
2019
Entrance:
15111 15133
Tom Hudson
Three of us were Caving today. On my way to pick Rich up for the start of todays trip, it was a pleasure to also be picking Tony up. Val had dropped him off at our rendezvous, outside the Continental Hotel. It had been too long since we had enjoyed his quick wit and Irish humour on a Caving day. As he is still not fully fit, todays Cave was to be to the Walk-In one I had been Surveying with the GTS Group the previous Saturday, 15111. This had the lovely title of, Cueva de las Nievas, Cave of the Snows. It is located in the Avellanas area, just off the 340a Sorbas road and is less than half a mile along a reasonably car friendly track. The Dolina it is located in is situated directly alongside the track and it is entered via a curving, earth slope, which winds its way under the branches of a large Fig tree, which is half hidden at the centre of the dolina. With the dappled Sunlight shining through the leaf laden branches above us it was the first of this caves pleasures to be making our way inside. Someone had cut small steps into the earth bank which, after the rains of the previous day, made our entry easier. I had been interested to see how Sundays rain had affected the cave but apart from a little water sitting at the bottom of one or two of the shallow channels which are located at the base of the entrance there was no other sign of yesterdays non stop rain. There are two passages at the base of the entrance. The main one headed, at a slight downward slope, due south into darkness but before we took that one we went to the right hand one. A gentle clockwise arc, with plenty of headroom and at a constant depth, led us, 180 degrees, around the base of the Fig tree. Sunlight poured through three more possible entrances above us. There was no need to turn our lights on. The second delight of this Cave, and we had only just started. Returning back to the main passage and having switched our Lamps on, we made our way southwards. A narrow channel wound its way down the middle of the passage. Any rainwater that had come into the cave would have flowed along this, the bottom of it did look wet, but any flow had long since ceased. We could make our way along the dry earth slopes that ran on either side of this channel. After less than 50 metres we came to the pit that the channel drained into. There was no water in it and, as we had left our SRT gear back at the car and it hadn't been our intention to do any descents in this cave, we carried on into the cave. Just after passing the pit the passage split. One carried on downwards but the other one turned almost back on itself and followed an upward slope back the way we had come. Indeed, there were various connections of different sizes, some of them big enough to crawl through, between the two passages. This passage, although about 4 metres wide, gradually reduced in height until it became too low to make further progress. In places the roof of it was covered in the glistening tendril roots of the trees above. Since the field above the cave is an Almond tree plantation it is possible that it was the hair like roots of these that we were seeing. It is amazing that such delicate structures can make their way through what looks like solid rock. The glistening we could see was caused by water droplets hanging from the tips of these tiny roots. We took some photos to try and capture the images but I don't think they could do it justice. Having gone as far up this passage as possible we returned to the southerly passage. A few metres further down it we came across a group of large Stalagmites. I took some photos of Rich and Tony as they carefully made their way between them. What unique conditions were occurring in that short section of the cave that was allowing such large crystals to form in just that one location? The cave is not a long one, only a couple of hundred metres or so. Soon after passing the Stalagmites we reached a second pit which was almost the width of the passage. We could see that the cave did continue on passed this but, as there was no easy way to get around the pit, we made our way back out. We had only been underground for less than 90 minutes and Rich was keen to try out his new SRT gear; Harness, Chest ascender etc. Tony was happy to wait in the Sun on the surface while Rich and I went in and out of a cave so we drove the short distance to 15133. Iris and I had explored it at the beginning of March. I knew it had good belay points and we soon had a Y hang rigged. I went down first and, with Tony giving Rich the benefit of all the years of his Caving experience, Rich soon joined me. We didn't go any further down and after a short rest Rich, then I, made our way back out. After de-rigging and packing our gear away we drove back to the 5th Pine for our usual Beer and Tapas. As always a great way to end another successful and enjoyable days Caving.
2019
Entrance:
16560
Tom Hudson
As I was getting ready to pick Tony up I had a call from him this morning. He didn't feel fit enough yet for what would probably an arduous days Caving so, with John also not fit enough to join us, it was just Rich and I who drove to meet Roger at the 5th Pine. We set of in the Land Rover to drive, via the Rambla Marchalico and the Rio Aguas river beds to El Nacimiento (The Birth). As its name suggests this is the area where the the Rio Aguas Spring first appears above ground, as a small trickle. However our destination was before that point so we had a completely dry, but as some of Richs' photos show, not straight forward, drive to our start point. The previous time, about a year ago, that Roger and I had been to this area the river bed had been full of thick, sticky mud so we had to leave the Land Rover about a Kilometre away and walk across the hillside the rest of the way. This time we only had large rocks, shrub and a very undulating surface to contend with. Even with the off road capability of the LR we needed to make detours before we finally parked up alongside the Barranco del Mal Pasillo, which contained the Caves of System 17035. Known as Cuevas de la Vieja, the Caves of the Old. The System is only about 250 metres long but a combination of the Barrancos very steep sides, an overgrown and bramble filled base plus the usual problems trying to locate individual Plates in such difficult terrain meant that it took a couple of hours before we had reached the far end. For our outward trip up the ravine we hadn't kitted up with our SRT gear. The intention was that after we had reached the end of the System we would explore some of the easily accessible Cave entrances as we made our way back to the LR, kit up and then return to descend into at least one interesting looking Cave. As it turned out, on our way back we did explore some of the caves but by the time we had got back to our start point it was too hot and late in the day to do any SRT work. However the photos we took do help to show what we did do during our trip so an explanation of them follows: The picture of Rich with the Land Rover parked some 20 metres below was taken at the start of the Ravine where we found the first few Cave openings and Plates. Next to one of these entrances was what in the GTS book is called an espigas de yeso, a fan shaped set of crystal spikes, which was very beautiful. The picture of it, with Rich alongside, shows that it is outside of any of the Caves. In fact the GTS Book comments on the lack of crystal structures inside the Caves. A second photos taken here was of Roger crouching down to record the location of one of the cave entrance plates. About 50 metres further up the Ravine, outside one of the cave entrances, was a memorial plaque dedicated to a founding member of GTS, Juan Cecilio. A dedicated and well loved Caver who died of what appears to have been a Heart attack on 3rd January 2014 and who is remembered with a memoriam on page 294 of the GTS Book. I took the photo of Roger and Rich as we were exploring the interior of the furthest cave in the System, 16560. Strangely, although this linked to cave 16561, which is listed as being in the System, 16560 isn't listed as one of the 17 caves that make up the System. Once I had exited from 16561 I re-entered the System via one of the other Caves and it was possible to keep making progress, passing other Cave exit points, all the way back to the middle of the System. By then it was getting late so we made our way back above ground, took the final few Plate locations, which were high up on the upper level of the Ravine, and drove back the the 5th Pine for our very welcome drinks and Tapa.
2019
Entrance:
15282
Tom Hudson
Iris was flying back to Germany today so this week it was just Rich and I who drove to the 5th Pine. We were to meet up with Roger who had returned, complete with a newer, longer Land Rover. Just what we needed for our growing Group! John and Carol had also returned to Spain but as John had injured himself they weren't due to be coming. However as Rich and I arrived at the 5th Pine we were met by them. They weren't going Caving, but had driven down to join us for our pre trip Coffees and Tostadas. Once we had caught up with all the news and finished our food, which John and Carol generously paid the bill for, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Hopefully it wont be too long before they are back to join us as we continue to explore this amazing Karst System. As Rich hadn't done SO-21 before, that was our route for today. We entered it from the Sima at 15282, which is set in the main body of the Karst. After I had set up a Y hang for the descent and gone down Rich and then Roger joined me. Before we set off for the main part of the route we showed Rich the short, approx. 100 metre, but delightful side Cavidad that leads off to a sand and water filled sump, then it was off the short distance to tackle the Traverse line that led to where the Cuevas de Agua intersects with our route. After this it was another short distance before we reached the lowest part of the route, a narrow, but short, squeeze, that today was made easier by not only having a smooth floor to squirm over but a floor that was dry. No mud to cope with today :) The remainder of the 800 or so, metre journey was then through a series of large and smaller chambers, all the time coming across an ever changing, vast array of different shapes and arrangements of the Crystals that have formed over all four sides of the Yeso Cavidad. Rich had been kept busy, as had Iris last week, capturing all this with his camera. After an hour or so of making our way through this wonderland we reached the T junction that indicated we were almost at the end of our journey. We followed the channel off to the right and after clambering up the first of a series of blocks got our first glimpse of daylight above. In preparation for their forthcoming Sixth Exploration and Topography Conference, GTS had set up an assist rope which we could use to help us as we made our way up and over the remainder of the blocks until, finally, having got passed the last awkward bend, we were out into the sunshine and able to enjoy the fantastic views down, passed the abandoned village of Marchalico Vinicas, and beyond, far below us, to the A7 motorway. A marvellous way to end one of the best routes in the Karst. It was only a few metres walk back up to the top of the Karst where, before we made our way back to de-rig our gear, we took a few GPS locations of some of the nearby Simas. Then it was back to 15282, over the top of the Karst, all the time aware that just beneath our feet, was the Cavidad we had been travelling along. Not only that but that many of the other Simas we were passing would have led down into the same Cavidad. Another project to add to the ever growing list of potential days out in this gorgeous area.
2019
Entrance:
15654 15655 15660 16218
Tom Hudson
I had returned the previous evening from my couple of days Skiing in Sierra Nevada. This had been on blindingly bright, white snow, at an altitude of 3000 metres, with fantastic views all around, as well as all the way down to Granada. Now it was time to get back to being beneath ground level, in tiny spaces and in complete darkness.... This week, as last time, I was also Caving with Rich and Iris. As Roger, and his go-anywhere Land Rover, was still away, the rest of us are limited to how far we can drive our puny road cars over the unforgiving surface of the Karst. This problem was eased somewhat as Iris wanted to visit the Roman Mines, which are located directly alongside the Karst access track. Thus it was that after we had enjoyed our usual drinks and Tostadas at our meeting point, the 5th Pine. Here I must digress and thank Iris for putting me right on the name; You were quite right, our meeting point is at the 5th Pine, not the 5th Palm. Pino, in English, is Pine, not Palm. I put it down to the stylised way the Sign Writer had produced the lettering. That "o" does look like an "a", although that is no excuse as the English translation of Pina is Pineapple, not Palm. Hmm, I think I am digging a bigger hole for myself. Better get back to the Caving type of Holes... The Roman Mines are well worth a visit. We were blessed with The Sun being in almost an ideal position as its rays were virtually in a perfect line to highlight the line of workings. This illuminated the vertical seams of the large Crystals, setting them off to their best effect. From there, we moved the small distance onto the Avellanas Zone. I had loaded the locations of 7 nearby Caves, that all had Belay Points, onto my Mobile phone. One or more of these would give us the opportunity to descend into, and explore, Caves that were new to all of us. I had also made notes about each of them from the GTS Caving Book. The first one we went to was 15654, Sima del Pino. The Book said this only went down 2m and was then "impenetrable". At the bottom there was a small cavity that appeared to be leading to another Sima (15660), about 4m away and also 2m deep. This had a small Fig tree growing out of it. The base of 15660 was filled with loose dirt which could easily be moved aside by my foot to reveal a hollow beneath it. As the others didn't express enthusiasm for exploring either of these shallow Simas we moved the short distance to another Sima, 16759. This one went down approx 5m where, as in the first Sima, a small cavity sloped its way upwards towards another Sima, 15655. Even though this Sima was deeper than the first it was decided to move on to the third Sima,`. The entrance to this Sima was only about 1m diameter. Apart from its name, which said it was part of the System Falsa Magda, there was no information in the GTS Book about it. Iris rigged a Y hang so that I could go down into it. As I descended the Sima gradually got bigger until, when I reached the bottom 8 metres down, it was 2m metres across. On either side there was a cavity leading off. After I had quickly started to explore one of them and seen daylight coming down from a nearby Sima, I went back up to the others and, after a discussion, first Rich and then Iris went down. I followed, taking Survey points as I went. Meanwhile, as I was doing this, Rich had also made his way around and seen up to the surface. While I took more survey points of both cavities, Iris returned to the surface, followed by Rich. Having taken as many survey points as possible in the time available I then came out too. With the hot afternoon Sun making being above ground more and more uncomfortable, we cleared the area of our gear, made our way back to the car and loaded up, ready for our very welcome drive back to the 5th Pine and our cool refreshments. The end to another great day out in this Karst wonderland. Unfortunately it was Iris's last Caving trip of the season as she is returning home in the next few days. We look forward to enjoying more days out with her when she returns.
2019
Entrance:
15133 15132 15131 15106
Tom Hudson
With various people not available it was just myself and Iris who made the journey to the 5th Palm for todays customary, pre Caving beverages. As Iris didn't want to risk stressing her knees by crawling too far and, after talking with Roger, he suggested we investigate the Sima del Camion. I had been in the area on Saturday while surveying a nearby cave with the GTS working Group and when we had finished had walked across to check that there were good belaying points. As it turned out it was only one Sima that had the necessary set up. This was Sima 15133. In the GTS Caving book there is a limited amount of information about the Camion System. This does include a small drawing of a survey that was done in 1999. which showed that Simas 133, 132 and 131 were all linked. As I still had the Laser Surveying Meter. Roger had also suggested doing an up to date survey of our trip. At the top of 15133 Iris set up a Y hang on the two belay points. I went down first to check the distance and difficulty of the Sima. If you have seen the Photos of the trip Iris has Posted in Dropbox you can see me, in Photo 1, starting the descent. Photo 2 shows me at the second survey point. This was where I am looking down to the bottom of the pitch and, in my left hand, using the Laser measure to record the depth, which was 15 metres. Photo 3 shows that, once at the bottom of the first pitch there was second, 6 metre pitch which lead to a 8 metre long cavity. This cavity was easily high enough to walk about in. By then Iris had joined me and taken photo 4, which is the view looking back up to the top of the first pitch. Photo 5 seems to show two ropes. They are actually the same rope. The one further away, on the right, is being used to descend the second, 6 meter, pitch. To do this plenty of slack was taken from the length of rope remaining in the bag and second Y hang was made. This was clipped into two more belay points, rusty but with plenty of reserves of strength left in them. These had previously been installed, possibly by the team that did the survey in 1999. Iris decided not to continue down so no more photos were taken in that cave. However I did carry on and, using the Laser device, took a total of 14 survey points as the cavity wound its way towards Sima 15132. I was stopped from continuing for three reasons: Firstly the cavity suddenly got smaller in height and width. Not too much of a problem as it was large enough to easily crawl through, with a nice smooth floor. Secondly: Unfortunately the floor was smoothed and rounded by the water that was now filling the puddles that ran along its length. I didn't want to get soaked so early in the day, and, Thirdly: I had kept Iris waiting long enough. I therefore took the 14th reading by crouching down and measuring the distance to where the next bend took the cavity out of sight. Once Roger had analysed the results it turned out I had only been about 10 metres away from reaching 15132. Definitely a System to return to. Having rejoined Iris we climbed out of 15133 and after clearing our gear from the area we made our way across to the Campamento System. The entrance we used, 15106, is an easy walk in, passed a Fig Tree. The cave has a gradual descent and it is not until you are 100 metres or more inside that a slight turn to the right causes you to lose sight of the daylight illuminated entrance. On the way to our destination there was one tight, but thankfully short, squeeze to get passed plus a second, keyhole shaped, one that could be completed more easily. As photos 6, 7 and 9 show there were some lovely Crystals to admire on the way. However most of the route looks like Photo 8 with large slabs to be negotiated. Our destination was a possible cavity we had seen during our GTS survey on Saturday. This was high up on the left hand wall but it was too dangerous to reach as it would have involved crossing a very steep, dirt slope. We needed to set up a safety line but didn't have a rope on Saturday, but Iris and I had carried one with us. Unfortunately it wasn't clipped on, came loose and rolled down a slope that was underneath a series of slabs. Luckily it stopped before it was unretrievable but it cost us time while I found a way to climb in and retrieve it. I think photo 10 shows where I left my bag as I was retrieving the rope. Photo 11 shows the start of the steep dirt slope. This could be climbed fairly safely, and easily, up to the large rock shown at the top. What you can't see is that before this a natural belay point, i.e. another large rock. This had been used to tie a follow through figure 8 and my Petzl stop was connected to this blue safety line, shown in photos 12 and, more clearly, in photo 13. This enabled me to, having climbed to the rock shown in photo 13, to dig, with my hands, a narrow shelf that I could lay on. I could then make my way very, very carefully, by crawling the last few meters away from the rock, at the very top of the slope, towards what looked like a rocky ledge. All the time also gradually paying out more line through my Stop. If the soft dirt slope had collapsed under my weight it is likely I would slide off with it and would have pivoted around the bolder until I was far enough below the bolder for the safety line to take my weight and bring me to a stop. As a further safe guard Iris had hold of the other side of the safety line and, if I had slid off, she would have pulled any slack in to give me a Firemans Brake onto my Stop. Needless to say there was a lot of conversation between us as all this was going on. Particularly as we couldn't see each other. Thankfully all this effort was rewarded with the fact that there was indeed a large cavity at the top of the slope. I could easily stand up and move about in it. It was in fact the base of a chimney that, using the Laser measure, came out as, at least. 8metres high. Having taken the measurement I retraced my crawl over the dirt shelf, this time with the safety line clipped into my chest ascender. A much easier and quicker return journey. Once we had removed the safety line we made our way back out, but not before Iris had taken photos 14 and 15 of me crawling back through that very narrow squeeze. Her final, lovely, photo 16, is one that it is always good to see. Light at the end of the Tunnel and the promise of a cool drink back at the 5th Palm.