Oxford University Cave Club

Here's a few more bits of news that may have been missed from previous updates.

Last years final upstream push (me and Chris Densham reckoned 500m heading NW), has been surveyed and turned out to be 450m to Viagra Falls heading mainly NNW, then swinging SW just before the Falls.

The putative "C3/C4" or Bare Arse Inlet follows the NNW trend of the main passage for about 250m to a (beautiful) rising sump. The passage is very drafty (surveying was freezing!!) and the drafts seem to be lost about 50m before the sump where there are a number of higher level routes leading upwards. These remain to be explored. Opinion differs as to whether this inlet carries the C3/C4 water as its stream sems a bit too small. The dyetrace (Dye in C4, Detectors at Viagra and the inlet and at Big Ledge) should help solve this. If the inlet is unrelated then it is heading into blank limestone

The expedition's primary aim, to pass Viagra Falls, was achieved after an 8 hour bolting epic by Tim and Lou. The follow-up team, Hilary and Rich Gerrish, pushed and surveyed a further 450m upstream, generally heading SW and ending in a wading/swimming canal with probable (very) high traverses above. It is assumed that this is the same stream as in Sil de Oliseda which ends in a sump about 1.5k distant from the curent LOE.

About 150m was also found at the top of the climb above Coral Corner, which has been left at a partly bolted 8m waterfall with pasage beyond.

Everything that was surveyed up til Thursday of last week has been added to the 2/7 survex data. In all about 600m of stuff from last year has been surveyed and about 1.2k of new stuff in 2/7 alone, which makes the cave over 11k long.

Jonathon Cooper