Cavers Steve Bus, Steve Muh, Aileen B, Eoghan M and Barry Montague (manimal)
We had a later start than last month; a 10 am meet @ Fowleys Falls, close to Rossinver.
With 4 people assembled in 3 cars we turned left up the grassy muddy lane. There was much inundation and I followed the other cars as they went deep into a long ‘river puddle’ which looked to be close to the exhaust. When going up steeper after the 2nd gate the lead car sidled off to a left track as the wheels could no longer get purchase. The middle car got through to the top and the third car got a bit past & then reversed slid and turned to park along the track facing downhill.
Once we were all kitted up, we headed for the pot. Bus made an attempt to rig following ‘Les’s’ Petzl Permanent line down the pitch, but once got over the lip, the rope needed more protection over the edge and, further down after the rebelay, the progression rope would have hung directly in the middle of three water shoots.
Muh then took point and rigged from a tree to the left (of the open pitch) which he had rigged before on a summer trip. This was a much better line and would avoid rub points. After a bit of discussion he bolted a new line off to the left of Les’s line deviating his rope from the original rebelay 6M down. He traversed further left and down to a lower rebelay and further into a rift. Here he rigged a Y hang that would avoid most of the water. Bus followed then I with the first rope.
Barry showed up at this stage and both he and Aileen followed us. I returned back up the ropes (to make sure there was no rub and possibly get my bag). We were all inside the cave by 12.30 ; it was much warmer than on the surface.
The narrow rift opened out part way down the shaft into a large chamber. The rope landed on what I thought was a floor but on further investigation was just massive blocks stuck in the middle of the main Ramson’s shaft. The way ahead was off up the left, over some boulders and into a continuing rift. Climbing up easily for 3-4 metres lead to the top of an impressive dry chamber.
Bus drilled and rigged his way down (most likely ICC chamber). After a 6-metre drop a traverse is followed to a further 12m drop to a series of clambers to the bottom. SRT gear was removed and the way on was down through a corkscrew (dribbly) open squeeze. The squeeze opened out into a standing sized chamber before a puddle duck into a parallel metre wide crawl going left to a dig and right to a chamber of 3 by 4 meter dimensions. I went right to chamber where I poked around the floor to a possible dig.
Bus Edit: The left dig was followed down through a series of progressively narrower squeezes to a dig.
I returned up through the dribbly corkscrew first as the diggers (who had gone right after the puddle duck) were reversing out. Back in the big ICC chamber on the LHS (facing the rope) there was a low, meter-wide crawl with a howling draft. I crawled through it until it opened into a sitting chamber. The way on from there was down a slope requiring some digging. At the bottom of the slope I was able to turn around so that I could go head first up another chute (This was a bit too wide to be called a U-bend more of a V-bend). At the top of this chute the crawl continued along the same direction, but I had to move to one side to get through to a metre high, 40 cm wide cylindrical chamber. The way on from here would require some easy rock pushing and pulling, or maybe some hammer smashing to what looks like a bigger bit of black seemingly to a drop. All told around 12m of a crawl was pushed. It appears this passage hadn’t been entered before and at the pointy end is still drafting.
Out we all went with Bus and Aileen derigging. I waited until Aileen had exited the cave around 4pm. By 4.30 I was dressed and the two other lads left to wash the first rope in the raging Fowleys Falls. I waited with Claire Cake (lemon drizzle) for the last car to turn up and pass me out. We again all meet up at the top of the falls and then went home from there. I tried to wash some of my personal gear before leaving at 5.30.
Eoghan Mullan