Post date: Jun 20, 2010 7:49:15 PM

21st May 2010

Spent about 2.5 hours “digging”. Al drilled a series of holes in the chert lump in the roof which failed to weaken it much. I had a go and bent a drill bit. Al went drilling again while I widened the crawl up to the dig by beating the chert floor, removing the annoying squeeze in the process. The crawl, once roomier turned out to be 7 meters long to the dig, and not 12 as previously though when making torturous progress to and from the dig face. Failed to destroy the chert.

22nd May 2010

We struggled into the cave, hungover, dehydrated, and sweaty in the sordid summer heat. Al started drilling the oles with a larger 18mm drill bit and got through two batteries before starting to feel sick. Some of the chert fell off while he was drilling giving us hope of breaking through. I put in some time at the digface, drilling initially and then with a lunp hammer and got a few fist sized lumps of chert off. Half of the chert remained, the right hand bit stubbornly clingin to the roof. Helmet off I had a go at the squeeze and got my left arm and head through, my right shoulder snagging. A full six inches of progress with five hours digging. Wow. Al not up to further hammering and me not seeing the point of living anymore we left the cave, hitting a wall of hot sweaty air at the exit.

5th June 2010

After an epically lazy change into our gear we halfheartedly shuffled into Tullyholvin Ravine and began the what Al christened the Tullyholvin Wonderful Amateur Trigonometric Survey Project. We did the Reyfad passage first, then polished off the Shannon Passage. Digging began, our new and advanced technique being to hit the chert with a selection of chisels. Al was up first, modeling a short black number, hoping to insert the chisel into the hole and beat the chert off (that's what she.... never mind). Success not forthcoming I had a go with a long yellow chisel (quiet at the back) and was marginally more successful, taking off a piece of chert half the size of my fist. This was as much as we could do, the cramped conditions meaning you run out of hammering strength quite quickly. I had a go at the squeeze again, the small bit of chert making it possible to squeeze further than previously. This time, exhaling with each push, I got as far as my waist and may have been able to push on through, however returning through the devilishly tight gap would be a different story altogether and I called it quits. Al cleared a mound of mud from the passage just beyond the squeeze with his legs allowing me to go back and see that he passage continues about five meters into the distance, curling into the darkness, draughting all the while. More sensitive techniques will be required to break this dig*

*i.e. explosives

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