The Newsletter of the University of Technology Sydney Speleological Society Vol 44 Issue 02

Transcription

1 UTSSS The Newsletter of the University of Technology Sydney Speleological Society Vol 44 Issue 02 Vale Cora Kazmirowicz. 2 3 Bowen Creek South Canyon Fortitude & Banks Canyon Dead Log Canyon Davies Canyon Four Dope Canyon Davies Canyon Kanangra contents All photos by Andrew Baker unless otherwise credited Thurat Rift & Spires Wolgan Valley Canyon Pipeline Canyon Empress Canyon Committee Upcoming Events editor s rant Summer may seem a long time ago now, but this edition of Labyrinth is the Summer Canyon Special. The club was busy with heaps of canyoning trips over the warmer months to canyons around Katoomba, the Bungleborri, Bells Line of Road and Kanangra. This edition features trip reports and photos from many of these trips. Since the start of this year we ve also had a very successful beginners caving trip to Wee Jasper and a couple of trips to Jenolan Caves. Several members have also been involved in exercises and training with the NSW Cave Rescue squad, including the recent Navshield navigation/orienteering competition. I m sure reports of these and more events will feature in the next edition of Labyrinth. Early in April we received the sad news that one of our club members, Cora Kazmirowicz, had died in a tragic accident at a local swimming hole. Peter Brady wrote a letter to the family on behalf of the club, and several members of the club attended the funeral at St Mary s cathedral and a remembrance service a week later. An extract from a newspaper article & the letter sent to the family appears later in this edition. The trip list for the coming months contains a variety of events including caving, training and social events. More events will be added after the next general meeting watch the website for the latest news ( We hope to see you at an event soon! Alan Wright, VP/Editor

2 Cora Kazmirowicz ( ) Vale As mentioned on the cover, early in April we received the sad news that one of our members, Cora Kazmirowicz, had died in a tragic accident. The following is an extract from a newspaper article about the accident, and a letter sent to the family by Peter Brady on behalf of UTSSS. (Photo: Jürgen Probst) Ugly death claims a rare, brave beauty The Daily Telegraph, April , by Vikki Campion Reproduced with permission from News Limited Sydney A woman killed when she was impaled on a tree after falling from a rock at a popular swimming hole had been helping a child who was too frightened to jump into the water, her parents said yesterday. Cora Kazmirowicz, 21, a fashion designer, had come to the aid of the boy, who was being teased by other children at Fish Ponds, Berowra Valley Regional Park, on Sunday. Her shattered parents Joanna and Valdemar said their big-hearted daughter was as adventurous as she was artistic. That is how she died, saving a child who was afraid. She wanted to help the child and encourage him -- she couldn t stand him being teased. Mrs Kazmirowicz said. When Cora was not studying fashion or designing for a Sydney costume house, she was training with the army reserves -- scuba diving, kayaking, canoeing or trekking the familiar stretch of bush between her home and Fish Ponds. Her family had walked from their Hornsby home to the waterhole hundreds of times over the past 10 years. They never expected they would hike there at 3am -- to where Cora s body lay. She died at 4pm on Sunday but a helicopter could not airlift her out until 6.30am yesterday. We lay under the stars and waited until the helicopter came down into the canyon Mrs Kazmirowicz said. She said her daughter s death was a tragic waste. I am just privileged to have known her for 21 years she said. Hornsby Girls High School principal Robert Phillips said Cora, an outstanding student and perfectionist, topped the state in Polish and was eighth in NSW in textiles and design in She was inspired by her ancestry -- traditional Polish costume -- and with a HSC of 98, she went on to study fashion at the University of Sydney. Cora spoke Polish and lived in Poland as a child. But Mrs Kazmirowicz said: She was born in Australia, died in Australia and was every bit a proud Australian. 2 UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02

3 was very much Cora: in the outdoors and the bush, showing no fear, free from fences and boundaries, and coming to the aid of a child in trouble. From what we came to know of Cora, this was very much appropriate with the person she was, and it would be hard to imagine her not doing this. I have included a number of photos, courtesy of Jurgen Probst, of Cora on a recent caving trip with us, I hope they are of some use to you, as you, and we, remember her life as she lived it. She lived it to the full. On a more personal note I also spent some time at the gym with Cora over the last few months and she was planning to join a two-person team with me for a 24-hour navigation competition, as well as come along on a few canyoning trips with the club later this month. There is no doubt now that my gym sessions will be a bit quieter for her passing and I will certainly miss her presence. Photo: Jürgen Probst To The Family, I would like to express our deepest condolences on the loss of Cora. This is a terrible tragedy, not just for your family, but for the world for losing such a bright light. Cora had only been caving with us for a short time but we are a small club and she already felt an integral part of our family. She will be sorely missed. I wanted to let you know the impact Cora had on us all. One of our members recollected that when he first met Cora she was one of the first people that came up and had a chat. A few members also recalled a particular game of snap that, after a long day of caving, and perhaps a few drinks, became a little more aggressive than the normal snap. The only thing louder than the shouts of SNAP that night was the almost continual laughter of the group. A number of comments that I have received from other members is that there is really no sense in this at all. We agreed however, that although this is a terrible tragedy, it Photo: Jürgen Probst I was planning to arrange some flowers for the funeral but have decided against that flowers are too transitory and I feel that something more lasting would be appropriate. Later today I will begin the process of collecting for a charitable donation in Cora s name. Do you have a particular charity that you would favour? Otherwise I know of a number of excellent environmental organisations that are always in need of donations. Photo: Jürgen Probst The following people, in particular, wished to be acknowledged and pass on their condolences: Pat and Libby Dallimore, Andrew Baker, Alan Wright, Tessa Robson, Jurgen Probst and Kyu Youn Choi, Gorden Callsen, Justin Morrison and Laura Day, Trond Linjordet, Valerie Pumeralla and Sophie Hennings. I understand that the funeral is scheduled for Wednesday 11th April 10am at St Mary s Cathedral. I will be in attendance and I imagine a number of others will as well. Our thoughts are with you at this sad and difficult time. Regards, Peter Brady For myself, the people mentioned above and UTSSS UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02

4 beginners canyon bowens creek south 4 March 2007 going rather than just plodding along, but we were all able to make it to the abseil point with little trouble. Stu decided that jumping was the way to go, so Baker abseiled down first to check the depth. Having got the all clear Stuart jumped with the usual cry of Geronimo. The rest of us decided to use the rope! The short but cold swim at the bottom was a shock to the system. The two abseils are close together and after the second (slippery) abseil and a few photos, we harnessed off and left packs on a rock ledge before heading up into Corkscrew Canyon for a look. I d heard that the corkscrew formation didn t exist anymore but there sure was a formation in the mud and rock that could have been a cork screw. The water had cut down through almost 3m of mud and turned 180 degrees before disappearing under a fallen slab of rock, only to reappear, after turning back 180 degrees, 50 meters or so downstream. After we got back to the packs we headed off downstream towards the open Coachwood forest and the next enclosed canyon section. On the way we found a small reptile which Stu reckoned was a legless lizard. The rest of us thought it looked suspiciously like a snake, but he grabbed it anyway. The biologists in the group spent a few minutes discussing the reptile and Baker managed to get a few close up photos. Participants: Andrew Baker, Peter Brady, Annette Comerford, David Knight, Phil Lee, Tessa Robson, Johannas Willberg, Rhys Worboys, Alan Wright, Stuart Young. This was to be the UTSSS beginners canyon trip for semester 1, so we planned to do a nice easy canyon. Bowens Creek South Branch met all the requirements: spectacular, easy walk in & out, some abseils, some scrambling and only a few short swims (so a wet suit was not really necessary). I met Rhys, Johannes, Annette and Phil at 7:30am at Hornsby (an ungodly hour given I was at a 30th birthday the night before). Alan and David were travelling together direct from the Hills and Stuart, Baker and Tessa met up at Pennant Hills. We were aiming to meet at Pierces Pass about 9am that is if the electricals in Baker s commodore held up for the trip! Luckily they did and after organising gear and the car shuffle for the exit we headed off into the scrub at about 9:30. We d been in this canyon about a month ago and on that trip the water flow was low to non-existent. Between then and now there had been a lot of rain (50-100mm in a week), so we were hopeful of a different experience and as it turned out, we were not disappointed. The sound of the water in the upper creek, before the canyon proper was all too audible as we scrambled down the scrubby hill. There was enough water running to make you think about where your feet were After the canyon closed back in we come to the short abseil/ climb-down but decided to scramble under the rocks to the left because it was faster and easier than the drop. The increased water flow made this a bit like a Tasmanian cave: wet, cold and tight but exhilarating. After that we continued down into the remainder of the canyon. The climb-downs that had been difficult in the dry were significantly easier this time It s amazing the difference a bit of deeper water makes. It wasn t far to the exit, and some of the group diverted up Range Creek for a look. At the exit (just before the canyon opens up to a large pool) some of the group encountered a vicious lizard while washing the sand out of their socks. We discovered that it liked the taste of human flesh as it ran around in the sand and shallow water chasing after people s feet. Baker sustained a small flesh wound when it latched onto his big toe! We filled up our water bottles, and headed up to a large rock ledge in the sun for a late lunch. The walk up to and along the fire trail was uneventful and after reversing the car shuffle we all headed home. We even make it back to the orchards in time so that Andrew did not get kicked out of home for failing to purchase fresh fruit. Peter Brady 4 UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02

5 Participants: Andrew Baker & Stuart Young. fortitude & banks canyons 23 December 2006 We left Friday night and had a rather uneventful trip up to Newnes Plateau, making the campsite at the end of Waratah Ridge Fire Trail about 11:30 pm. Having learnt our lesson on a previous trip (see Heart Attack Canyon 4/3/06) we had checked the weather forecast and constructed suitable wet weather protection to sleep under (a fly). After a glass of red and some nibbles we hit the sack. We were planning to complete Fortitude and Nosedive canyons in one day so we took push bikes to make the trip a little faster. In the end they saved us about an hour, despite Stuart s seat falling off several times! Having hidden the bikes at the end of the old fire trail we quickly covered the couple of kilometres down to the Bungleboori. The trip up Northeast canyon and down past Banks was straightforward and fast, but some bush-bashing was required to get from Nosedive to Fortitude. We arrived at Fortitude as planned, but decided to head a bit further upstream because we didn t want to drop into this nice-looking bit of canyon and miss any upstream action. The guide book says that it is a relatively dry canyon with a couple of wades. Having been chest deep in water and watching Andrew fall into a pool while trying a very tricky traverse (just one hand hold and a couple of fern fronds to grab onto), we concluded that we had dropped in a little higher than the guide suggests! That said, the upper section is really nice and well worth the extra effort. The canyon then opens up quite a lot before two abseils (both would be really good with water flowing) put you back into a narrow bit of canyon which then spits you out into the Bungleboori. At the bottom of the second abseil was a very deep pool in a narrow section of canyon which looked a bit too much like a cold swim for our liking (given it was meant to be a relatively dry canyon). However when we got down to it we found there was a log 30cm under the water that spanned the length of the pool. A very conveniently placed tree! All in all, Fortitude was a nice canyon and good day out but not quite enough to satisfy us for the day. After lunch at the Bungleboori we headed upstream looking for a way to climb back onto the ridge to shorten the walk back to the start of Nosedive. Unfortunately this didn t happen until we got back to Northeast canyon. We stopped for a short break while we watched a commercial group exit the Bungleboori and pondered where the group we had passed on the way upstream had got to. We headed back up Northeast canyon and into Banks canyon (having decided Nosedive was just a little bit too far for today). We put on our wetsuits this time, and headed down a very nice section of canyon. The first section of canyon is quite narrow you would not want to have an oversized pack (or be oversized) for this part! We climbed down the first abseil but did the next two. The canyon then opens out a bit before the last two abseils, which end close to the Bungleboori. They are both straightforward and quite nice, although they would prove to be tricky without a rope. Head torches are strongly recommended for this canyon, as are wetsuits. We were glad of daylight saving, as it was just after 7pm when we arrived back at the car, 11hrs after leaving. After a quick cuppa and a bite to eat, we packed the car and headed home. It was a quiet and uneventful trip back to Sydney, as Andrew was asleep most of the way. All in all it was a big but good day out. We would probably recommend that a good double would be Hole In The Wall plus a canyon on the opposite ridge such as Nosedive or Banks. Andrew Baker & Stuart Young dead log (tree) canyon 30 December 2006 Present: Andrew Baker Peter Brady & Stuart Young. Just before new year we headed out to the Bungleboori to do Dead Log Canyon. We had actually planned to do Dead Log and Four Dope on the same day but that didn t happen. These two canyons are off the Hole In The Wall car park but receive fewer visitors as the walk in and out is much longer and requires real navigation. We drove out the night before accompanied by a fairly constant electrical storm which didn t have a huge amount of rain in it. The rain picked up as we pulled into the campsite so we set the tent up really quickly. As Andrew and I turned to the car to get our gear, Stu s swag somehow made it into the tent and suddenly a comfortable three man tent became a comfortable one swag / squashed two Thermarest tent. By the way, the Glow Worm Tunnel road is fast becoming a 4WD-only road and I think I ve driven enough dirt to say that. The electrical storm continued most of the night and added some reasonably heavy rain for good measure. At least it had mostly cleared by morning. After a quick breakfast we threw the wet tent in the car and were on the way just before 9am not a great start to the day. To get to Dead Log you head out along the fire trail and stay on the trail after the Hole In The Wall track turns north. We didn t like the odds of finding the suggested entry point from UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02 5

6 Dead Log (Tree) Canyon Continued the eastern ridge so we dropped into the gully high on the northern boundary from the fire trail. The creek was a bit scrubby but not too bad. There were a lot of nice pagodas in the valley floor on the way through. It worked out well that we jumped in early because the highlight of the canyon for me is above the suggested entrance point. Just as the canyon starts to narrow the creek disappears into a slot in the rock that is completely covered by ferns and scrub you have to squeeze, cave style, through the slot to get to a hidden oasis. There is a large pool that the sunlight was reflecting off onto moss covered rock walls which encircle three sides of the pool. Luckily you can drop out of the slot and scramble round to the right without getting more than your ankles wet. We donned wetsuits at this point but this proved to be a mistake as the canyon continued as rainforest/scrub gully for a long way further. In reality it is probably 50/50 as to whether you need a wet suit for this canyon because the swims are short but cold. However a wetsuit is nice for the longer swims in the Bungleboori. As the guide outlines (and the name suggests) there are a LOT of dead logs in the canyon and a lot of them are wet & mossy (no real surprise), sloping down small waterfalls. We were able to scramble down a few of these to reduce the number of abseils necessary, but they were dodgy scrambles. We hit the Bungleboori and continued downstream for a lunch break at the bottom of the exit gully. As we headed off at about 1:30pm we considered ducking back into Four Dope as the entry was on the same ridge we would be walking up. However, as we climbed onto the ridge we started hearing the rumble of thunder not too far away and decided to leave Four Dope for another day. By the time we arrived at the summit and were back at the fire trail the thunder storm was almost upon us. Luckily we only caught the edge of the rain and had about five drops land on us. The rain picked up as we arrived at the car but by then, who cares? We drove out at about 4pm and headed back for the obligatory fruit shopping on Bells Line of Road. Peter Brady davies canyon 6 7 January 2007 Present: Andrew Baker, Peter Brady & Peter Thomas. Early in January we headed out to Davies Canyon for a two day jaunt in a classic Kanangra canyon and it certainly didn t disappoint it would have to be one of the best canyons that I have ever done. It s long, deep, wet, hard and, judging by the log book on Mt Paralyser, infrequently attempted. In short, a real gem. Firstly, a little note on the guides for the canyon. The Jamieson guide is next to useless for the internals of the canyon and is really only useful for the grid coordinates of the first waterfall. A good description of the canyon can be found on OzUltimate.com and if my notes seem a bit like that, then so be it. However, neither of these descriptions (nor this report) are intended to be a complete guide as the canyon is just too big! I ll just give the highlights. If you re planning to do this canyon, get a hold of the Miles Dunphy Gangerang sketch map from the Colong Foundation as it shows the major falls, tracks and ridge access paths in the area. We headed out to Boyd River campsite late on Friday afternoon planning on cooking up some dinner and bivvying for an early start. The campground has a really great camping shelter which we availed ourselves of, picking up some firewood on the way in. When it came to sleep later that night the moon was so bright (being only a day after the full moon) that you almost needed sunglasses to walk around! Andrew resorted to pulling his beanie over his face to hide the light before going to sleep. UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02

7 The plans for an early start evaporated under the intensity of the moon light and we did not arrive at the King Pin fire trail until 8:15am. We headed straight out along the fire trail to Mt Thurat, and the Thurat trig, where we headed north-east along Thurat Ridge. The scrub around the trig is quite thick even after a recent fire, but there are enough rough tracks that the way is relatively easy to find. We followed a 4WD track, probably a fire access track, for the first few hundred meters from the trig. Along Thurat Ridge itself the scrub is relatively open and there is a reasonably well defined foot pad. We were aiming for point AMG (Kanangra map) where we were going to turn north and run down the ridge to arrive at AMG332423, but we overshot. We ended up high on the southern wall looking down onto the top of the second major waterfall. We had to climb back up 30m and traverse north back to the spur that we had meant to be on and finally arrived at the first water fall in time for lunch at about 12:30pm. We spent the next 7 hours travelling through the canyon. There are numerous abseils, as well as lots of rock scrambling, all on incredibly slippery rocks I can t stress enough how slippery the rocks were! We took two 60m ropes, but you could probably get away with two 50m ropes if needed. We went through a lot of tube tape as we cut a lot of the existing anchor tapes out on the way through because they all looked a bit sun damaged. One thing that has really stuck in my mind from the canyon was the smell of death in the air. There were numerous dead wallabies including a memorable bloated one floating in a pool at the bottom of a 50m abseil. Needless to say we tried (unsuccessfully) to stay out of that pool! The last couple of hundred meters of the canyon had a rotten smell lingering in the air but we never found the source. I guess that there must not be any yabbies in the creek as I thought that they would clean up the remains. We met the junction of Whalania Creek and bivvyed on a sandbar about 50m downstream, just at the foot of the climb back to Mt Paralyser. We d been on the move for about 11 hours by this time. It had been a perfect day not too hot and just sunny enough that the swims and waterfalls were pleasant. Although we had had a bit of rain over the last few days, I can t see how it is possible to stay dry in this canyon as suggested in the guide book. Sunday dawned differently though, as the predicted showers had arrived over night. It only amounted to half a dozen spots just enough to wake us up and trigger the erection of a fly to stop any further rain. We had a quick breakfast and began the long climb up Mount Paralyser. As we climbed the weather closed in and rained for a while before opening again. This pattern continued for the rest of the day. We made the summit of Mt Paralyser, signed the log book and found some log entries from old friends that had been there a year or so before. We didn t linger long as it was quite cold in the wind and being a forested summit the views were not only not great, they were non-existent! From the summit we headed back to Thurat Ridge over Mt Cyclops and Mt Carra Mernoo. We stopped for lunch at about the point where we had meant to turn north yesterday but again did not linger as the rain started again as we sat down. Finally as we arrived back at Mt Thurat the sun broke through just in time to heat up for the exposed fire trail walk back to the car. We arrived back at about 2:15pm having been going for about six hours from the campsite. Davies Canyon is an awesome canyon well worth the effort of the longer drive and harder conditions. Peter Brady UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02 7

8 Present: Andrew Baker, Stuart Young & Tessa Robson. Stuart and I had planned to leave early Friday afternoon and do Hole In The Wall that night (the glow worms are meant to be good) and then Four Dope on Saturday. However work prevented Stuart from leaving early, so we ended up having a BBQ at my house Friday evening and cruising up later that night. Tessa had heard Stuart and I talking about canyoning at uni and was keen to give it a go, so she joined us for the trip. The first part of the walk was straight forward out the Waratah ridge fire trail, then out a track we d been on a couple of weeks earlier for Dead Log Canyon. At the appropriate point we left the track and headed down into the headwaters of Four Dope Canyon. A small slot in a side creek encouraged us to head down into the creek a little too early which meant we spent over an hour fighting our way down the creek through thick scrub. When we finally we reached the creek proper it started dropping quickly and we were soon at the top of the first abseil. After having a bite to eat and putting wetsuits on, we headed down. The canyon was quite nice with a mix of narrow and wide canyon sections separated by several abseils. At the end of the canyon we headed up the (comparatively) warmer Bungleboori to our exit point at the junction with Arch Canyon. four dope canyon 20 January 2007 Stuart and I had a quick look up Arch Canyon to find the exit we were rather excited to actually find the arch. After lunch at the Bungleboori, we decided to have a go at climbing onto the arch. Tessa stayed at the bottom and was not very impressed at us free climbing it. The view from the top was great, and definitely worth the effort. After a few photos, we headed back down. The climb wasn t too hard or dangerous, but I was glad when we were down safely! From there it was an uneventful walk up the ridge and back along Waratah Ridge fire trail to the car. Andrew Baker The Arch Stuart on The Arch after 4 dope canyon 8 UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02

9 thurat rift & spires (in 1 day) 3 February 2007 timeline 0500 Sat Wake up alarm 0600 Sat Start walking King Pin Fire Trail after leaving a car at the Walls 0900 Sat First canyon abseil at Thurat Falls 1445 Sat Arrive a junction of Thurat Creek and Kanangra Creek 1515 Sat Begin walk up Kanangra Creek 1715 Sat Begin ascent of Thurat Ridge from Danae Brook junction 1915 Sat Summit second spire 2030 Sat Abseil descent of first spire at sunset 2200 Sat Summit Spire Head 0145 Sun Arrive back at car at King Pin Fire Trail 0230 Sun Asleep in tent Note: The Thurat Spires are not named so I m referring to the one closest to the ridge as one and the one furthest from the ridge as two. From Walls Lookout they are in order left to right. Present: Andrew Baker, Peter Brady & Stuart Young. Background I ve always looked at the Spires from the Walls lookout and wondered what the view would be like from the top of them, so when a campfire chat suggested a link up of Thurat Rift and Thurat Spires I was definitely in. The old guys reckoned that it was a good day trip and well worth it. Perhaps, in hindsight, we should have taken the day trip with a grain of salt given that they were serious bushwalkers. They also gave some really great advice that the spires are a one way trip you come up from the creeks and not down as you need to abseil off the first spire to get back to the main ridge. The plan was hatched: Stu, Baker and I would link Thurat Rift and Thurat Spires via Kanangra Creek but leave ourselves a bail out option at Danae Brook. Last time we d done Danae Brook it was a comfortable two hours up the hill and back to the Walls car park from the junction of Danae Brook and Kanangra Creek. The Walk It worked out that the moon was full for the walk and the bright moon light was a welcome wake up a 5.00am, which is an otherwise miserable hour to be crawling out of bed. We had a quick breakfast and hopped into the prepacked cars to leave one at Kanangra Walls car park before heading back to King Pin Fire Trail. We arrived at the King Pin Fire Trail shortly before six and were walking moments after. There was just enough light from the dawn that we were able to walk without headlamps and a pleasant half hour later we were at the Thurat Trig. At the trig we took to the trails and foot pads that had been so helpful three weeks earlier on the Davies Canyon walk. This allowed us to make very good time along the ridge to the spot marked elevation Occasionally through the heavily wooded slopes and ridges we grabbed a glimpse of a sea of mist in the valleys below us, which we hoped would clear before we arrived at the top of the falls. From point 1268 we turned south-easterly and headed down the ridge to the Thurat Creek. The ridge was covered in light scrub and open sclerophyll forest and we were able to make excellent time to the creek. As Baker was professing his lack of coordination on the descent my impeccable timing helped make the point that he was not the only uncoordinated individual. The upper section of Thurat Creek is something to behold. Stu asked at one point when the dinosaur was going to pop out from behind the huge tree ferns. That pretty much expressed the scene a valley like another, primordial world. Thick, green moss covers everything that isn t damp black soil or tree ferns we had to be careful as we picked our way along the slippery river. UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02 9

10 Thurat Rift & Spires Continued Stuart, Andrew and Peter on Thurat Spires We arrived at the top of Thurat Falls shortly after 8:30am, which much to our disappointment was still very much fogged in. Having already been walking for nearly three hours we were rather slow at getting our harnesses on which proved serendipitous as the fog lifted almost before our eyes to reveal a little of the valley below. I say a little because the creek twists and turns its way down the mountain so we really only looked directly across into a sheer wall. Baker was first down the rope as he wanted to get photos of Stu and I on the rope on the way down. Stu followed shortly after and as he was half way down the rope our hearts leapt into our mouths as there was an enormous crashing from very close it turns out just around the corner. My first thought was an avalanche and I was partly right. Stu was in a good position to see a good sized tree on the ridge to the abseilers left give way and take a lot of dirt and rock with it. After this first large drop there were a few scrappy pitches that we linked together on one rope and another abseil or two and the creek opened up again. It opened up so much so that we thought that this might be the end of the canyon, rather like Danae, where most of the abseils are at the beginning with one or two at the end and long walk in between. However, the canyon soon closed back in again and there were numerous abseils to be negotiated on the remainder of the descent. I think this canyon is rarely attempted because we had to replace most of the abseil slings, which were discoloured and generally well worn. At about midday we were in the middle of a multi-pitch abseil when the thunderstorm that had been lurking around the plateau finally hit us. Luckily it was not very heavy and it did not seem to raise the water level very much, if at all. Coincidentally we managed to get the rope stuck on that pitch. We have no idea why, because it looked like it was going to come down clearly. We were able to recover the rope by setting up a 3:1 pulley system at the bottom and hauling the brute force approach you might say. We kept pushing and arrived for a late lunch at the junction of Kanangra and Thurat Creeks about 2:45pm. There was a nice bank next to a large pool of water which proved excellent for our lunch spot. By 3:15pm we were heading up the dry, rocky Kanangra Creek, aiming for the junction with Danae Brook. The walk up the creek proved to be generally uneventful with two notable exceptions. One, we have never seen Baker move so fast as when he nearly trod on a 1.2m long red-belly black snake. It slithered away up the bank quite unfazed in contrast to Andrew s heart rate I d imagine! Second there was a distinct lack of water in the creek. There was so little water that we were beginning to worry that we would run out of water by the time we arrived at the Danae junction and that we would have to bail to the car we knew that it would be a long walk out over the spires and were not going to attempt it with little or no water. Luckily there was a deep clear pool and flowing water at the junction and we paused to fill our stomaches with food and bottles with water before starting the climb. The first several hundred meters of the climb, while steep, were uneventful. Like many Kanangra ridges it was steep and covered in light scrubby timber, however the glimpsed views between the trees steadily improved as we climbed. The spire ridge runs between Kanangra Creek and Danae Brook and we were hoping for grandstand views over towards the walls around sunset. We had timed our trip to perfection and were going to arrive just at sunset, but we still had a lot of ground to cover. 10 UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02

11 About a hundred metres below the summit of the second spire the ridge dramatically steepens, so much so that you are actually climbing and no longer walking. The views that had been gradually improving tended to stupendous at this point as we had an eagle eye s view down into both Danae Brook and Kanangra Creek hundreds of metres below us with the Walls rising majestically above us to the south. We paused for a chocolate bar and continued to the second summit. I think my food from the creek kicked in at this point and I accelerated to the summit in the lead for the first time on the ascent. Needless to say the views were spectacular. We had timed the summit to perfection the clouds from the earlier thunderstorms had cleared and we had an amazing view of the Kanangra Walls at sunset. We had the obligatory group photo, a bite to eat and then headed off for the first spire, conscious that time was slipping away we were hoping to be off the spires before sunset. The descent off the second spire is a relatively easy scramble, as long as you are confident on your feet and have a head for heights. It is very narrow, down to less than a meter at one point, and the exposure is tremendous but we successfully descended and began the climb to the first spire. The climb was much like the previous with some sections of difficult climbing which lead us to a small, scrubby summit. The light on the walls had pretty much disappeared by this time so we continued on, looking for the promised abseils. The first was easy to find and we did the drop from a tree slightly to the north of the ridge. This was pretty close to a 30m drop and was one of the best abseils of the trip hanging on a thin strand of 9mm rope hundreds of metres above the creeks with a huge view over spectacular country. We dropped into the cave at the bottom of the abseil as the last light of the day disappeared and we broke out our headlamps to search for the next abseil. It was an easy scramble to this abseil, which is only about 10m high. A short scramble got us to the saddle below Spire Head. We paused briefly before heading up the ridge heading for the plateau. It was very steep and could have been very difficult, but Andrew did a great job leading the climb as he had a really good look at the climb while I was setting the abseil down the first spire. By now it was about 9pm and unfortunately, I ran out of energy I think that I was just not eating enough for the exercise I was doing. This could have been a bit of a problem but Baker and Stu stepped up and took most of the load out of my pack. I combined this with a sleep technique that I learned from some racing friends on Eco-Challenge set a ten minute alarm on your watch and sleep for that time. It s amazing the difference it makes and I repeated the trick on a couple of ledges on the way up. We gained the summit ridge at about 10:30pm with a blood red moon rising full and bright behind us. Having little visibility we set a bearing and headed off into the scrub. Not paying enough attention to the compass we ended up in a circle back where we started thoughts of bivvying the night popped into our heads at this point as it Andrew between Spire 1 & 2 (Photo Stuart Young) was approaching 11 and we still had a couple of kilometres between us and the fire trail. However, Stu took the lead and regained control of the compass and headed west along the ridge. In our addled state it was a long and nervous walk I reckon that we must have walked more than double the linear distance, zigzagging in the scrub. In hindsight (the next day) we should not have been so worried if we simply stayed on the ridge and headed west (which we did) we would have been fine. We (I) just had a minor case of paranoia in our tiredness. Never have I heard such a joyous shout of BINGO as that which Andrew let out when he walked onto the 4wd track. It was a great feeling. Fifteen minutes later we were back at Thurat Trig and 35 minutes later back at the car, shortly before 2am. We were all in bed by a quarter past 2. It was an incredibly long trip but completely amazing and worth every agonising step. I don t think that I d do the same route again but I d consider linking Thurat Spires from Danae Brook rather than Thurat Rift. Peter Brady trip awards Most Ant Bites Andrew Baker Most Leech Bites Peter Brady Most Ticks Stuart Young Most Annoying Half-Remembered-Yet- Sung-Out-Loud Song Lyric Stuart Young / Fade to Gray Golden Postcard For Best Trip/Fall Peter Brady, for commitment and sustained performance rather than a single fall UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02 11

12 wolgan valley canyon with UTS Outdoor Adventure Club (OAC) 17/18 February 2007 Present (from UTS3): Andrew Baker, Dave Hammond & Stuart Young Stuart had been keen to organise a combined canyon weekend with the OAC for some time and at long last it finally happened. However, something seemed to happen to everyone from UTSSS the week before the trip and it was left to David Hammond, Stuart Young and I to fly the caving club flag. Stuart caught a ride on the minibus with the OAC on Friday night, while Dave and I drove up early Saturday morning. Saturday Starlight Canyon We split into three groups, with Stuart, David and I forming a group with couple of OAC participants (sorry I can t remember their names). Originally we had planned to do Pipeline Canyon and then a second canyon, because the exit from Pipeline is only halfway down the hill. Everyone else seemed to have had the same idea, so we decided to head off and do Starlight canyon instead. Part way along the ridge to Starlight we lost the track. Not the slightest bit concerned, we walked cross country until we hit the creek, much to the amusement of the OAC people who always have someone who knows the way. There had been a considerable amount of water flowing in the creek above the canyon, so after eating lunch we decided to put wetsuits on at the top of the abseil into the canyon. (Starlight is described as a dry canyon, but we were carrying wetsuits because they would have been needed for Pipeline canyon). Not far after the abseil we entered the dark/tunnel section. This section is usually dry, but the recent heavy rains had resulted in a blockage, so we ended up swimming most of the tunnel section. This was amazing swimming along on our backs looking up at what seemed like millions of glowworms on the roof. Part way through the tunnel section, I found a diamond python on the bank, which everyone else had walked past. Stuart was determined to save it, so he picked it up and put it in an empty bag we had. The snake was successfully carried out and released into the sunlight at the end of the canyon. Needless to say the brown snake we found further downstream didn t get the same treatment! The great thing about canyoning in the Wolgan Valley is that unlike most other canyons, you do the walk up the hill at the start of the day and finish by walking up the Wolgan River. 12 UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02

13 Saturday night we joined a group from Sydney University Bushwalkers (SUBW) round the campfire before retiring for the night. Sunday Nightmare Canyon Enthusiasm among the group wasn t quite as high on Sunday morning. Stuart and I were keen to do Nightmare Canyon, which is not in Jamison s guidebook, but Martin Pfeil had described it very well. Ellen Braybon and Sharon Swanson (OAC) joined us, and we headed back up the Pipeline track, turned off at the appropriate place and dropped down into the canyon. Nightmare canyon has 8 abseils, many of which are in very narrow slots. The canyon is dry (i.e. only your feet get wet), so we didn t take wet suits. The canyon is very narrow, and is a good sporting canyon, with nicely sculptured walls. We had been advised to take two ropes for the final abseil, but Photo Stuart Young upon pulling the rope down found that one of our 60m ropes would have just been long enough. We exited onto the Pipeline track and headed back to the campsite. After a swim in the river, we packed up camp. We had a few nervous moments when my car wouldn t start luckily someone had a set of jumper leads. Stuart had to drive the minibus back to UTS so he didn t get home until very late. Overall it was a very enjoyable weekend of canyoning with a fellow UTS club. Andrew Baker pipeline canyon 1 March 2007 Present: Andrew Baker, Stuart Young, Tessa Robson After the canyoning weekend with the OAC in the Wolgan Valley, Stuart and I were keen to go back and do another couple of canyons before Stuart left for Darwin. Stuart had a dinner on Wednesday night, so we didn t leave his house until about 10 pm. As we were leaving, Stuart thought it would be fun to prank call Tessa and see what she was doing. Before I knew it, our route to Lithgow had changed to include a detour via Fairfield! It was a very late night (after 2am) by the time we pulled into the Wolgan and setup camp. Thursday dawned far too quickly. After breakfast we headed up the pipeline track and dropped into pipeline canyon. Pipeline was an enjoyable canyon, although I probably would have found it warmer if I had put my wetsuit on and more comfortable if my volleys had stayed in one piece the front half of my right sole fell off at the top of the hill. With a bit of creative lashing we were able to hold the shoe together for the trip, but it s not something I would recommend doing! At the end of the canyon we exited back to the Pipeline track and Tessa headed back down the hill to camp. Stuart and I headed back up to do Devil s Pinch canyon. We got as far as the turnoff, but the weather had got considerably more threatening so we decided not to risk it and headed back down. After packing up camp we headed home, stopping at Mt Victoria for a steak at the pub. Andrew Baker UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02 13

14 empress canyon 5 March 2007 Present: Andrew Baker, Stuart Young, Tessa Robson We were keen to do one more canyon before Stuart left Sydney for a job in Darwin. We only had a limited amount of time, so we decided to do Empress Canyon at Katoomba which can apparently be done in less than 1 hour. We took it a bit slower and did both the lower section and the less visited upper section of the canyon which made for a fun day out. Empress is a very popular canyon, particularly with commercial groups. The tourist tracks all the way to the start of the canyon were a welcome change to scrub-bashing of other recent trips. The canyon was good fun with a number of short climbs and jump-ins. The overcast weather provided great lighting for photography which I was very happy about. The canyon finishes with a 30m abseil onto the Valley of the Waters tourist track. The recent rain meant that there was a good amount of water going over the falls, ensuring a fun abseil. A short walk up the hill and we were back at the carpark. Empress Canyon is quite an enjoyable little canyon, made even better by the Café at the end! After lunch at the Café we headed back to Sydney. Overall it was a fantastic day and a fitting farewell for Stuart. Hopefully it isn t too long before we see him back in Sydney on another canyoning trip. committee At the recent Annual General Meeting a new committee was elected for the next year. The contact details of the people elected are shown below. If you have any suggestions about the running of the club please contact one of the committee. Following the AGM, a general meeting was held where upcoming trips were organised. These are also shown below. General meetings are open to all members, so if you want to have a say in what trips we run and when, come along and get your name down on the list early! President / Projects Officer / ASF Liason Officer 1 Andrew Baker andrew.c.baker@student.uts.edu.au Vice President / Safety Officer / Editor Alan Wright alanwright@mbox.com.au Secretary Tessa Robson tessa.robson@student.uts.edu.au Treasurer / Publicity Officer / Equipment Officer / ASF Liason Officer 2 Peter Brady pdbrady@ans.com.au Environment Officer Rebecca Walter Librarian David Hammond davidhammond@dodo.com.au upcoming events Jodie Rutledge Caving August 2007 Jenolan Joint trip with NHVSS Andrew Baker: Oz Canyons Slide Night 25 August 2007 Maraylya Alan Wright: Beginners Caving September 2007 Wee Jasper Peter Brady: General Meeting 3 October 2007 UTS Broadway Tessa Robson: Beginners Canyon (dry) 6 October 2007 Blue Mountains Andrew Baker: Rogaine October 2007 NSW State Championships Goulburn River National Park Peter Brady: Caving November 2007 Tuglow Peter Brady: UTSSS Vol 44 Issue 02