Post date: Mar 12, 2017 10:30:10 PM

Objective: Surveying and some ICRO do-gooder-ing

Team: Petie Barry, Stephen Brandon.

Time: 9 hours

The original plan for the day was to survey the high-level passages just downstream from the JPC climb, and then travel down to Mistake junction and potter about in the high-level stuff there and assess what needed to be surveyed. However on dropping Stephen Bourke off at the ICRO store for the REC3 course we found a gang putting together a new rescue dump for Cascades and they offered to make one up for Shannon if we’d bring it in. It was just as well we had a daren drum filled with survival gear and bits of medical equipment, since I cut my finger going through Rebirth and the drum was raided for some duct tape to patch me up and stop the blood falling out of my hand.

ICRO duties aside, the main object of the day’s exercise was to survey the high level passages located just downstream of JPC climb. Aside from a brief poke a month ago, these were last looked at back in 2009 by Tony, Al, and Aileen. About 20m downstream from the JPC climb a large aven is met on the left, climbing up ten metres or more. Another 10m downstream you meet an oxbow on the left which brings you up via boulder climbs to a balcony which overlooks the aven about 8m above the stream. The passage doubles back through more boulders to a snaggy muddy squeeze which enters a large section of passage, sweeping down into a broad oxbow to the left and up to the right along a muddy boulder slope. This led back to another balcony looking into the aven at an even higher level, and also a drop into a well-decorated passage containing the curtain-stal that features on the Shannon Logo. We also surveyed muddy bit of rift here for a bonus 20m of passage.

We surveyed the most obvious bits, but re-reading the old report we appear to have missed a passage noted by Tony:

...the cave still continues upwards, above the column and up a slope of fallen mud and debris, eventually reaching even higher levels. Aileen climbed up here to reach an old shelf rich with straws and stals, continuing downstream (possibly navigable with care) and a large, open, muddy continuation heading upstream.

Worth returning to perhaps... Back down in the oxbow the passage leads down to the streamway. Just before reaching the stream a very large and enticing high-level passageway can be seen leading downstream. A short but dodgy and very exposed climb would get you into this. I probed this but balked at the prospect of a smashed pelvis. A bolt or two would be needed for protection.

To avoid returning through the squeeze we scooted our arses along on a ledge about 3m above the streamway and leaped down into a handy patch of gravel. Continuing downstream I kept an eye out for further high-level passage looking up could see a passage about 10-15m above my head the whole way along. To get at this, about 50m before Swingers Corner I decided to climb up a fairly obvious route through boulders at a sharp bend. This led up to a bouldery passage, which led downstream for 10m to a short climb up, entering a chamber in boulders some 15m long. Upstream this choked off, but it might still go downstream. Despite the ease at which I got up there I found no footprints in the mud or traces of previous visits. Anyone know this bit of passage?

An hour later we arrived at Aghnahoo Chamber, and deposited the ICRO dump at the old campsite among some vintage Bernies bags, a large Cadbury’s fruit-and-nut bar, and a rusting enamel cup. To get back to Mistake Junction we decided to stay high, following the impressive Aghnahoo chamber upstream. When this dropped back down to the stream passage we found an unsurveyed high-level crawl which went for about 20m before dropping down again. Just upstream from this you can climb up into a large boulder chamber (c.15-20m long), which leads via a muddy scramble into a second similar-sized chamber, and then a third, before you arrive back at Mistake Junction. There are other high-level passages hereabouts but we didn’t have time to probe them.

A slightly surprising 136m was surveyed, meaning that over 400m has been added to the length of the survey in 2017. And there’s plenty more where that came from! If anyone fancies some surveying, Éabha plans to lead the troops back on the last weekend of March and the first of April.

Also, this section of passage had no name previously attached, I've given it the name of Cephalopod Series, since it kinda sprawls around all over the place on various levels and loops from one side of the streamway to the other like an octopus or some other tentacled creature.

- Petie