Tatham Wife Hole - 10 Mar 2007

Saturday March 10th 2007

Members present: Chris Ward,  Josh Vale,  Natasha Durham

Bastard of a walk up to this cave, and I do mean up... 200 metres of bloody up. Took a while to find it, due to ignoring the directions saying that the cave is in a large shakehole. We spent a while checking every scrotty little depression we could find. The shakehole is easily 15 metres across! First thing to do upon arriving: repack the first tacklesack cos I'd put the first rope at the bottom. :s

More rigging practice for me, with the first 2.5 pitches rigged. A bit nerve racking rigging a cave I'd never done before, as I didn't know when I was about to come across the next pitch. P hangers are alot harder to spot than 10.5 mm rope! I faffed a bit with the rigging, worrying about non-existant rope rub, and having trouble finding the natural deviation points. I guess spotting those comes with experience. Couldn't find the natural rock column half way down the third pitch (where the pitch becomes a free climbable diagonal shaft, and the rope becomes a hand line), so Tash came down and took over the rigging.

Past the third pitch the cave really opens out and gets rather pretty and nice, all the way up to the duck, which was v. cold and aggravating. Immeadiately after the duck,we had a bit of a problem progressing, as we couldn't find an easy way down to the streambed, but we eventually decided to slide through a narrow chimney. This would have been a right problem to get back up, probably involving a human pyramid, but luckily we found an easier way up on the way back.

By the time we reached the bottom of the final pitch, 'twas time to make our exit, so no exploring the final passageways. Tash derigged, while I discovered just how much downward freeclimbing I'd done on the way in. It's been said before, but it needs saying again: tacklesacks are the work of his infernal majesty. Hail Belial, Hail Lucifer, Hail Leviathan, Hail Satan; why press your vile creation upon your faithful follower?

It was dark by the time we got out,and the route back was really one disjointed slide downhill. The change wasn't too bad, and shanking the ropes at the car park made for short work at the container.