Ario Caves Project Report from the Irish Contingency. Conor Macadams Éabha Lankford Jack Healy Richard Cole Stephen Frawley

Transcription

1 Ario Caves Project 2014 Report from the Irish Contingency Conor Macadams Éabha Lankford Jack Healy Richard Cole Stephen Frawley

2 Introduction This was the second year that the Ario Caves Project expedition visited the Ario bowl in the Picos de Europa mountains in northern Spain. Previously the Oxford University Caving Club had a 50 year history of caving expeditions to this area and the ACP was born as a solution to the problem that the Oxford club had become too small to take on the responsibility. ACP continued on with the OUCC tradition of being open to students and cavers new to expeditionary caving and this year the expedition was well attended by several newbies including our own Stephen Frawley and Conor Macadams (Barney) who both were on their first foreign expedition. Richard, Jack and Éabha had all been at Ario in 2013 which was their first foreign expedition. The expedition this year returned to Xitu with the stated aims to push open leads one last time before fully derigging the cave. The ultimate aim of the Ario Caves Project is to connect caves to find the largest possible system both vertically and horizontally in the area, and Xitu is an important cave in this respect as it has been connected to Cueva Culiembro, it s resurgence, through diving. The through trip from Culiembro up through the sumps and out of the entrance of Xitu (and back through in the other direction) was completed in 2012 by Paul Mackrill and Tony Seddon metres of vertical cave. By looking at leads in Xitu there was an aim to connect into 2/7, the master cave in the area which is also dye traced into Culiembro, but exploration was halted by an impassable boulder choke, Choke Egbert. The expedition also revisited C4 which is believed to connect to 2/7 by a sump and therefore believed to be part of the 2/7-Xitu-Culiembro system. This cave has an ongoing upstream limit of exploration (a waterfall which requires aid climbing) which could potentially add more vertical depth to the system. There is potential for exploration of 1800m+ in the area, which requires connecting known caves to achieve. The expedition objectives were achieved to some extent. Xitu was re-rigged to the bottom and leads were pushed. C4 was partially re-rigged however the focus of the expedition shifted to Xitu when it became apparent that C4 was not going to get bottomed this year. C4 will become the goal of a future expedition. Another aim of the expedition was to push other smaller caves on the surface with the intention of connecting into 2/7, downstream of Choke Egbert.

3 Xitu s survey from During 2013 and 2014, some leads have been found, and added to a survex 3D survey. Richard Cole: Re-rigging Xitu I arrived around 2 weeks into the five week expedition, flying out this year as I didn t have time for the multi-day road trip from the UK with the expedition van and a car that I was part of last year. Landing in Oviedo airport, 2 buses got us to Cangas de Onís, the town nearest Ario. We had arranged to arrive while Rowan was down in the expedition van picking up food supplies - the camp was well fed this year with plenty of fresh fruit and veg, chorizo, eggs, and a veteran expedition cook David Rose on board. I was slightly shocked to find Xitu was not yet re-rigged after 2 weeks, even though all the ropes had just been pulled up last year. Éabha Lankford, Rowan Scott and I embarked on a trip to rig further down the cave. We headed down via a coffee break at the 550m deep Camp Cuppanagh and started rigging at the pitch below camp - the previous team had reestablished camp then headed out. We rigged as far as the old camp (which had been used in the 80s) at about -800m which seemed a good place to turn around. We returned to camp, slept then headed out, as we weren t feeling up to rigging further and comms had not yet been established. Next I headed in with Nathanael Dalton, a promising fresher caver from ULSA, the University of Leeds club. We rigged as far as Chunder Pot at about -950m but then discovered we had run out of hangers. I had the sudden brainwave that they had in fact been brought back up to camp at the end of last year s

4 expedition by someone (so they wouldn t get water damaged). And that someone was me (and Éabha, as we had derigged the bottom of the cave last year). This had been written down somewhere but probably lost and I didn t even remember myself so didn t really expect anyone else to. Demoralised, we headed back up to camp, and on the way up encountered the four YSS cavers heading in to take over rigging. Carrying a few hangers, they managed to get about 3 pitches further but there was still a way to go. Comms was still not established so we headed out with a message to bring more hangers. Eventually the cave was rigged to the bottom, and a pushing trip took place above the -1135m Stag Pool which is Xitu s terminal sump - Jack writes about this later. These two trips were most of what I got done this year, asides from some spotholing - on my second week I came down with the virus going round, which turned out to be Glandular Fever, and spent a few days lying around camp being useless before getting the energy up for the 2.5 hour hike down to the car park. Communal cooking for up to 20 people in an old shepherd s hut definitely makes halting the spread of disease difficult, and I think we were just unfortunate that such a nasty virus that many of the young people were susceptible to was brought in. However lessons should hopefully be learned about personal hygiene. Catering arrangements (photo credit: Jack Healy) Conor Macadams experiences I arrived at the Ario Caves project towards the end of the expedition. I was able to develop my skills for digging and push myself further/harder caving than I have been able to previously. I was involved on two deep (for me) trips, the first was down to c. 500 m helping rig a cave which had been partially explored before but had some interesting leads, particularly for divers, though with the possibility of high level

5 dry passage to be found linking two caves and allowing a through trip. The trip we completed involved rigging/drilling a two hundred metre pitch, I was mostly there for moral support. The second trip of my expedition was the de-rig of Xitu on which I helped Rowan Scott and Peachy to the best of my ability. It was massively exciting and extremely hard work, we spent 36 hours (ish) underground and got down to c.700 m, camping underground to rest before carrying the rigging gear up to the surface. This was the most extreme caving trip I have done though I look forward to many more. For the rest of the time I was there we concentrated on a surface dig. I was able to use chemical persuasion and elbow grease, daily, as part of the team smashing our way into Queef Cup, unfortunately we were not able to penetrate into the miles of pre-named passage and imagined gigantic pitches we knew were just, frustratingly, out of reach and our efforts resulted in only a few metres of depth. We braved the wrath of a thunderstorm to clear our filth off the mountain and removed all traces of the temporary, speleological, subhuman occupation of the hillside before descending from the picos one final time. I designed a t-shirt for the expedition which involved a winking member of OUCC abseiling from the turgid member of a local donkey with their great slogan But we have always done it this way emblazoned across the front.

6 Barney s T-shirt design Jack Healy s Section (Éabha Lankford, Jack Healy, Mike Butcher, Stephen Frawley) Due to some organisational miscommunication the bottom of the cave had not bottom of the cave had yet to be rigged however towards the end of the expedition a pushing trip to investigate the newly discovered leads from the 2013 breakthrough was identified which had offered the greatest potential for future development before returning to camp Cuppanagh, after which the surveying team followed suit to map the remainder of the area using Underground camp 2 as a base. Upon returning to the sump, a number of photos were taken, after which the group set about setting up a temporary camp site. Due to the nature of the terrain in the newly discovered section of the cave, the only

7 suitable camping site was located not far from the pitch head inside a low phreatic tube. This had a flat sandy floor however it was a little wet. A temporary bivvy shelter was set up using plastic to as a means of protection from the cold and wet beneath. This proved sufficient for the 2-3 hours sleep, after which the team was split into groups in order to maximise our chances of success. A narrow window hole breaking through the prominent hading rift which had previously been identified as a promising lead was investigated by rigging and dropping and surveying a small pitch into a small sandy chamber with a number of diverging passages, each of which were blocked with sand. An unknown crystal like substance was discovered in the new section of the cave during the 2013 expedition. One of the goals of a trip to the newly discovered area of the cave was to collect and transport a sample of this substance. Upon returning to the newly discovered section of the cave close to the very bottom of the cave the same phenomenon as in 2013 was observed again whereby the presence of a crystal like substance which seemed to cling to the rock face however the presence of any air currents, bodily heat or breaths of air in the vicinity of the substance, sent the small intricate crystal like materials fluttering through the air like snowflakes. A test sample of this substance was placed an airtight container and was carefully transported back to the surface with the intention of having it scientifically tested and identified. The substance was also photographed on the rock. A higher level passage was also investigated in the larger Aragonite chamber using bolt climbing. Due to the sheer size and complexity of new discovery from 2013 and its proximity to the sump, it would be advised to spend a longer period of time thoroughly investigating the area in order to establish whether or not it would be possible to bypass the sump using dry caving techniques however due to the difficulty and physical/time consumption involved in getting to/from the sump from Camp Cuppanagh it would be advised to further develop a more permanent camp at the bottom of the cave. To date, due to severe time constraints hour pushing round trips have been undertaken towards the end of both expeditions prior to the de-rigging of the cave.

8 Stephen Frawley at Stag Pool - Xitu s terminal sump at -1135m (photo: Jack Healy)

9 Jack Healy checks out the aragonite crystals (photo: Éabha Lankford) Communication During the 2013 expedition Nicola phones were used as a means of communication between our base camp on the surface and camp Cuppanagh (underground camp 1) which was located at approximately - 550m. The Nicola phone works by transmitting & receiving low frequency radio waves which are set up using a series of long antennae both on the surface and at underground camp. This system enabled us to communicate successfully approximately 70% of the time at set intervals during the mornings and nights. Unfortunately since the beginning of the expedition this year, party members were unable to establish communications between the surface and camp Cuppanagh despite numerous attempts due to a faulty Nicola phone at camp Cuppanagh. When I arrived communication attempts had ceased. Recognising that establishing successful communication would be a vital component of both the safety and efficiency of the expedition, myself and Richard decided to attempt to resolve the problem. We set up both the existing and spare Nicola phones at base camp and attempted to communicate between the two units. This revealed that the spare Nicola phone was also faulty. At this point we set about repairing the spare Nicola phone and eventually managed to successfully establish surface to surface communication. The Trench Series

10 The Trench Series is accessed by descending into what is commonly known as The Bold Step, a particularly exposed traverse over a 30/40m pitch. The common route down to Camp Cuppanagh involves clipping into a handline while traversing over The Bold Step, however it is only after descending into The Bold Step that one realised the magnitude of the step. After descending a series of pitches and negotiating a number of precarious traverses one arrives at a muddy pitch overhanging the Trench Series sump (-362m). For the purpose of this expedition a number of goals had been decided upon. These involved exploring two open leads as well as the photographing The Trench Series. One of the leads which would require further investigation was bolt climbing upwards into a rift while the other open lead involved attempting to bypass a sump which had never been dived at the bottom of The Trench Series. (-362m) Unfortunately the first bolt climbing pushing trip was cut short due to an illness, where one caver left the cave while the remaining two continued onwards towards the Trench series with the intention of photographing as much as possible while unsure of the route-finding. The trip ended at the head of a particularly exposed slippery muddy traverse which was apparently the way on towards the sump. A second pushing trip to bolt the traverse and potentially bypass the sump was organised after the trench cave dive trip. Team members for this trip were Éabha Lankford, Rowan Scott and Rachael Rix. The traverse was located adjacent to the top of the last pitch head before reaching the sump (and had beeen pointed out by Paul on the diving trip). A loose muddy traverse along a rift lead to point from which 3 possible routes were made available to the team. One to the right, left and straight down. Two bolts were placed in order to access gain access across a gap of several feet to a ledge on the left. From there another bolt was placed so it was possible to traverse along. To the right the rift passed closed in and progress was impossible. The lead to the left was the most promising. A phreatic tube at a 45 degree angle downwards lead to a small chamber from which ended in another short blind pitch. Approximately 50m of total new passage was gained during this trip however no survey gear was available for this trip and so the new passage was not surveyed. Upon exit the team derigged the trench series.

11 Éabha Lankford descends the Trench Series. (Photo: Jack Healy) Cave Diving in the Trench Series at -362m Paul Mackrill, Éabha Lankford, Jack Healy & Nathanael Dalton After the repairs were made to what remained of the kitchen roof at base camp following the storm all of the necessary equipment was gathered and meticulously inspected and prepared for Pauls dive. As cave dives go this would be particularly challenging in nature due to the caving distance of the dive site from the surface as well as the awkward access to the dive site itself whereby Paul abseiled down the slopping pitch sporting full cave diving gear before entering the sump. In order for the dive to be carried out according to plan the team carefully transported all of the required equipment through the cave to the dive site. To protect each of the vulnerable diving components from impact while transporting them through the cave a number of precautions were taken - Each of the dive cylinders were wrapped in foam padding & plastic tubing and placed in tackle sacks while the regulators, torches, face mask, diving computer etc. were all placed into Darren drums. A full 7mm dry-suit, diving fins, gas stove & cooking vessels as well a number of dehydrated high energy meals were also packed into the tackle sacks which were prepared just above the sump. As with most deep caving trips, equipment, weight & bulk were kept to the absolute minimum. Due to the fragility of some of the diving equipment in the tackle sacks, extreme care was taken while transporting them through the cave to the dive site. To reduce the frequency and intensity any inevitable impacts, the bags were clipped into the harnesses using shorter than usual lengths of cord while abseiling down the various pitches on the way to the dive site however wherever possible the tackle sacks were carried by hand.

12 The dive proved to be a massive technical feat which played out like clockwork according to plan which is testament to the rigorous preparation and experience involved. The diving of the previously unexplored sump revealed that the it was impossible to pass through to further passage due to a sandy choke at both sides. Camp Illness Illness is likely to spread at a rapid rate when a large number of people are living in close proximity on expedition sharing both eating and sleeping quarters, particularly when each of the members are continuously exerting themselves both physically and mentally to the point of exhaustion, placing a large amount of pressure on the human body which is likely to result in a weakened immune system. Such was the case when a large percentage of the expedition experienced an outbreak of a contagious virus which spread to some extent to the majority of the expedition members as well as the staff at the refugio. The outbreak hampered the progress of the expedition to a large extent as a number of members were bed bound for various lengths of time with a couple of members requiring hospitalisation. People suffering from mild symptoms were also fearful of pushing to greater depths of the cave out of fear that their symptoms would intensify. A 112 emergency call was made in order to obtain medical assistance as the health of one of the party members continued to deteriorate to the pint whereby he was deemed unable to leave the mountain on his own accord. The symptoms of the casualty as well as the other party members were relayed to medical personnel in one of the nearby towns. At this point a prescription for the appropriate medical supplies was written and a number of party members hiked down the mountain to collect them. It is important to note that a number of precautions should be taken on future expeditions in order to reduce the likelihood of a breakout of similar nature in the future. A patient should be isolated from the main expedition sleeping quarters as soon as an illness is identified in order to reduce the probability of infection. On the expedition, sleeping quarters were limited due to a number of tents being destroyed during the storm. Medical advice should be sought at an early stage and a broader range of medical supplies should be sought. Cleanliness should also be enforced to a greater extent in communal areas. This proved to be quite problematic due to the scarcity of water during a prolonged drought period experienced in the area. Care should also be taken to ensure that all food is correctly covered as to deter vermin etc. Digging Towards the end of the expedition a number of us had started to investigate a number potential leads near Jenga which seemed to have howling drafts emerging from beneath the surface. Each of the leads seemed to connect into the same rift which was mostly unstable in nature, the most promising excavation site was selected as it was relatively stable in contrast to the other leads further up along the rift. The aim of the dig was to remove enough soil/scree as possible in order to establish whether or not the rift would be wide enough to fit through at a lower level as this was not the case closer to the surface. The excavation was carried out using a combination of manual digging and chemical persuasion. A pulley system was set up in order to aid the removal of rubble/soil from the site. This long term dig project may be a means of bypassing Choke Egbert if the rift breaks through into open passage.

13 Éabha s section The Brack Door. Éabha Lankford, Rowan Scott, Ian Holmes, David Rose, Richard Gregson and Paul Mackrill. During the expedition Richard Gregson (co-author of Beneath the Mountains) was traveling near the Picos and wished to revisit a cave he named The Brack Door which is located above the Cares Gorge. Several team members opted to accompany and assist. The team met at the Cares Gorge. The tourist entrance to the Gorge was taken and the public path followed before turning off the cemented path opposite to the Culiembro entrance onto a track path before ending in a scree slope climb. Several hours arduous and exposed hiking directly above Cares Gorge brought the team to the location of the cave. The cave was accessed by rigging from two trees and abseiling approximately 15m to the cave entrance. The cave was small in dimensions approximately 30m long. There were two leads evident in the cave, one at ground level at the end of the cave where a void was apparent. The second lead was accessed by a 3m climb approx. 10m into the cave on the right. This lead to an upper chamber and two phreatic tubes blocked with rock and mud. Several hours were spent using various measures of persuasion to push all leads. Little progress was made before the team decided it was getting late and it was necessary to descend the mountain before darkfall. Richard Gregson had keen interest in this cave as there is a large depth potential for that area. However there is a lack of surface water available to cavers in the area, the climbing is very exposed and there isn t anywhere suitable to camp above ground. All these factors combined complicate further exploration in that area. The Brack Door is located in a promising site, however if any cavers were to revisit this area careful consideration to logistics and planning would be needed. Culiembro A data logger was obtained for the expedition and early in the expedition it was placed in the entrance of Culiembro. Rainfall measurements were taken daily on the Ario plateau during the expedition. The objective was to compare the water levels at Culiembro with the rainfall at the plateau as it is know that the caves on the Ario bowl are connected to Culiembro. Éabha Lankford assisted in retrieving the data logger at the end of the expedition. However unfortunately due to communication difficulties at the beginning of the expedition the data logger had been placed in the wrong location and results obtained were void and could not be used. Stephen Frawley s Section Getting There I feel it worth including in terms of getting to the Picos de Europa my beta travel route. Having accidentally missed my flight I found that you can get a train direct to Oviedo from Madrid Chamartin for

14 around 50 or 60 return as I recall. Whilst this was not originally my intended route and it would take longer it may be possible to get cheaper non connecting flights into Madrid via other potentially cheaper airlines and then make ones way up by this means as a potential alternative. The trains and the scenic ride along Spain was quite spectacular and made up for some of the stress figuring out how to get there with a complete lack of Spanish and no luck online searching initially. I'd say were I to return for future caving or hiking in this area this would be the way I'd go about it personally if not driving. Early Days Upon arriving up to camp after the trek up things seemed rather organised at first. I was presented with a list of option to do for the following day in terms of trips to take into different caves and the objectives and difficulties with each. Things at this point seemed rather organised. I signed up in a sense to a trip down to Snow Castle within Xitu the following day. Conservation The first trip down was interesting and very much enjoyable. Not overly eventful apart from a step during a traverse breaking away on one of our party but they saved their balance and all was well. We made our way past the Entrance Series and on to the large chamber holding at the top of its slopes the truly spectacular Snow Castle section. The section is full of stunning rock formations and scenery that are very delicate. I was very careful within but was a bit alarmed that while most were too not everyone behaved in this manner. On the way back out on the later trip we took a detour to Snow Castle to notice in particular one floor section covered in crystal formations to have a large boots print having crushed a large portion of them next to a trail that would have completely avoided this. If I had known to bring tape to set a route through I feel it would have been very beneficial. I have heard a little bit of this not being as well adhered to in the UK compared with Irish caves from both the differing volumes of traffic and some persuasive explorative attitudes regarding route finding over conservation but this really struck a note with me on this matter. Socks? On the way out from this trip upon advice from friends who had been on the expedition the previous year I wore hiking socks under my wellies instead of the usual wet socks. I was very displeased to have done so as on my way out I lost one off of my food in Climax Rift. This was done so in a full on movie style fashion as I saw it with me grabbing for the wellie after it slid off my foot for my attempt to be futile as I watched it fall and bounce from my view down into the tight and inaccessible section of the rift to an eruption of swearing from myself. I'd advise people in the future to not ever wear hiking socks with wellies over wet socks with their grip. I was quite lucky that another caver had conveniently lost the opposite boot elsewhere and we were able to share a pair from then on. Medical Supplies Prior to arriving in the Picos I had injured my large and middle toes on my right foot. Quite recklessly I didn't mention this on the first trip. We found between the six or more med boxes on the hill that most were incomplete from the previous year. While my toes weren't too bad and we could have gone down had it worsened this was a fair inconvenience. This was more apparent when a large portion of the cavers on the expedition grew very ill for days at a time until eventually we were able to secure meds in one of

15 the villages down the hill. For future expeditions care would be advised in sharing plates and cutlery as this seemed to aid the spread of illness throughout the camp. Home above the Clouds and Below the Mountains I spent the next while on the surface mending somewhat on the surface getting to know the other cavers and helping out with camp maintenance with a bit of hiking about as well. I would love to at some point return to the Picos to spend a fair amount of time hiking along the various massifs. Highlights among this included hiking up to Jultayu nearby and a day in, which there was meant to be a storm coming so everyone had collectively decided against caving so we had mulled wine and pancakes. Certainly something I'd advise for future expeditions to be include in their packs. Thoroughly delightful. The storm never arrived but a good time was had by all. Three Days Below With my toes looking significantly more like toes than they had been and a pushing trip planned to the sump I volunteered. It was said that there was an estimated 150m between Xitu's Last Stand and Culiembro in the valley below. We set off on our trip to the sump. Highlights included at camp 1 finding a large block of cheese brought to the camp by David Rose allegedly with his culinary habits, which was much appreciated and the vast drop of Flat Irons shaft. Fifteen hours later we reached the sump. We explored a few of the passageways around finding some laminated sheets from the year prior. Some very impressive climbing from the sump to have reached the new part of Up All Night to Get Lucky the previous year. Something that didn't bode overly well for the potential discovery of new passage was the lack of a breeze. I noticed how smoke from some of the other cavers an hour earlier sparking up still seemed to linger in the passage above the sump. Further information See the 2014 Expedition Report, yet to be published.