Belfry Bulletin Number 355

89 BELFRY BULLETIN Volume 31 Number 11 November 1977 (No 355) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Journal of the Bristol Exploration Club ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The views expressed by contributors to the Belfry Bulletin, including those of club officers, are not necessarily the views of the committee of the Bristol Exploration Club or the Editor, unless so stated. The Editor cannot guarantee that the accuracy of information contained in the contributed matter, as it cannot normally be checked in the time at his disposal.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CONTENTS Club news and announcements 89 and 103 'Jottings' 90 ARCTIC NORWAY, 1977 by Graham Wilton-Jones 92 Members Address list 99 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A request from Neddy Jenkins and Nigel Taylor.

The Caving and Climbing Secretaries are shortly going to establish a meets programme for next year.

Anyone with ideas for either specific caving, climbing, walking, canoeing etc., meets or general just away meets should send their ideas to either Russell Jenkins or Nigel Taylor as soon as possible for inclusion in a Diary of Events in time for very interested member to join in. Please send all suggestions c/o The Belfry, Wells Road, Priddy, Somerset.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: November 12th. Priddy Niters trip to S. Wales November 25th. St. Cuthbert's Swallet; December 9th. Longwood. (Further details available from Richard Kenney, 'Yennek', St. Mary's Road, Meare, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 9SS. Tel. Meare Heath 296.

December 10th. BORA Winter Meeting. Hunters Lodge (back room) 9-4p.m.

Provisional programme: 'Water Pollution' - Dave Maneley (SMOC) 'Iran, 1977' - speaker to be announced; These lectures will be followed by a Buffet Supper at 7 p.m.

Price (for meal only) ÂŁ2.75. Bookings to Bryan Ellis, 30 Main Road Westonzoyland, Bridgwater, Somerset, by December 3rd, 1977.

Following the meeting, at 8.30, Jerry Wooldridge will be showing his slide sequences of Fairy Cave Quarry and La Cigaliere.

March 11th 1978, BCRA Symposium - Cave Photography, UMIST, Manchester.

Further club meets: Nov.19th. Oxlow - Giants - contact John Dukes for details.

Nov. 20th. Peak Cavern - details from Martin Grass Nov. 26th. and Nov. 27th. North Wales - contact John Dukes or Graham Wilton-Jones.

Jan. 8th White Scar Cave - details from Martin Grass.

Next month in the BB:Juniper Gulf by Nick Thorne New cave in South Wales Diving in Pridhamsleigh, Devon - Jane Wilson + many other shorter features ............................................. .

90

'JOTTINGS' - a Monthly Miscellany compiled by Niph

OTTER HOLE is to be gated shortly. Key and information from John Courte, Trenchard Cott., The Mire, Joyford, Nr. Coleford, Glos.

Telephone: Coleford 2565. (6-7 p.m.) Surveyed length 8,000ft; total est. length 12,000ft.

You can't take them anywhere! When Jane Wilson was window gazing in Buckfastleigh recently a local woman commented to her about JD and G.W-J "Wouldn't like to meet those two on a dark night."

TYNINGS BARROWS SWALLET. This recently discovered cave is currently blocked 'by the' influx of more liquid mud below the 2nd. Pitch. A further complication is that the farm has been sold. Martin Bishop intends to visit the new owner and re-negotiate access and arrange digging parties to re-open the system. Enthusiastic diggers urgently required – phone Martin for dates.

Tel., Priddy 370.

SWILDONS HOLE. A recent trip through the Troubles by the Hon. Sec. proved wetter than usual. Whereas the Mud Sump was virtually dry, Troubles passable without bailing, the squeeze into Doomed Grotto was nearly sumped making life very interesting. Also the first wet dig from Glistening Gallery was a virtual sump, being a case of on your back with helmet off!

Another route from Vicarage Passage to the '2' streamway has been recently reopened by WOC. coming out into the streamway opposite the Landing.

S. Wales. The Mendip grapevine is alive with news of a large cave system on the Aggie side of the Clydach Gorge near Brynmawr. Opened apparently about March this year, the surveyed length is 4.75 miles, wet (floodable) entrance passage leading to a massive passage, with good formations.

Reliable reports say that sections of the cave include the largest passage discovered in the UK. More details in the December BB following a trip into it by a couple of local cavers on the 23rd.

October. Access notes will follow - at the moment as you will guess; access is very limited.

Working parties only.

International Speleo. Congress - post congress caving camp. The visit of a dozen foreign cavers to the Belfry enlisted support from many local cavers. Included amongst them was ZOT who arrived minus gear, but in the usual Zottie manner managed to acquire a complete set of gear and accompanied our foreign friends down Cuthbert’s. Thanks Zot, don’t let it happen too often or else you might set a bad image! Full report will appear in the December BB. LAMB LEER It has recently become necessary to formulate a new agreement with Somerset County Council to secure access to this cave. Unfortunately the SCC require a large rental; initially £250 based on 500 cavers visiting the system per year at 5Op/head. The matter was discussed by the member clubs of CSCC and they were prepared to let the cave be closed rather than pay such a large sum that would obviously set a precedent and sending caving costs sky-high. Tim Reynolds and Oliver Lloyd met representatives of SCC and have now secured a rental of about £30 per year.

The final details of the agreement are not yet known, but it is hoped to inform members in the near future.

MIDWEEK CAVING. Many will remember the Tuesday Night Caving Group and its activities.

Tim Large regularly caves on Wednesday evenings and would like to hear from anyone interested in joining him. Unlike the TNCG, it is hoped to visit a variety of caves, including digging at various sites. If you are interested phone Tim (Radstock 4211) or meet at the Belfry, 7 pm.

AGGY - new survey published by BORA, 60p (available from Bryan Ellis). Surveyed length 15.5 miles and 490ft deep. Applications for access permits and key from: P. Larbalestier, 46 Llanyravon Way, Cwymbran, Gwent. NP4 2HW.

91

Letter to the Editor Dear Sir, May I take up some the B.B. space to reply to the points raised by Kangy about the Well article.

Kangy was right in thinking that we wanted to use S.R.T for its own sake, but he was wrong to assume that ladders were not considered. Graham and I gave a great deal of thought to how we should tackle this job, and we came down on the side of ropes for the following reasons.

Firstly we were both very unwilling to attempt a 330ft. ladder pitch without some practice before hand. It is a long time since I did a big pitch and Graham has only done big pitches on ropes.

Bearing the above point in mind and the fact that there were only two of us who would do the lifelining? I had already been involved in a well rescue some time ago. On this occasion I used ladders and the local fire brigade did the lifelining; trying to go down while they pulled up is not funny, likewise coming up while the rope went down does not instil confidence. I did not fancy this sort of thing at 300ft. I also knew that it would take two people at the bottom to retrieve the dog.

Therefore two lads on the bottom of the ladder with no experienced people at the top did not appear very safe. We also thought that the ladder would need a belay half way down so one would have required an Acrow.

The last reason was purely financial, in that we only have 225ft. of ladder in Wycombe and did not fancy a trip to Mendip for the rest.

I would agree with Kangy that the ladder is an adaptable tool and should always be considered as it will be the best thing to use in some cases.

I have been down a number of wells in this area varying from 30 to 330ft. They have all been dug by hand through the top soil and down into the rock chalk. The diameters have all been approx.

5-6ft. The reason for this diameter became clear when I was able to observe a local well being dug deeper because it dried up in last years draught. The 5-6ft. dia. is just right to give comfortable working room without removing extra spoil. It would seem that 2-3 ft depth could be gained each day through the rock chalk. All the wells I have seen have the top section with brickwork or dry stone walls. The depth of this is dependant on the surrounding top soil; as soon as the well is in rock, chalk the walls become self supporting.

I have only one point to make. Graham only handed in the article, I wrote it!

'Buckett' High Wycombe, 14 Sept. _______________________________ Odds and Sods The CNCC has negotiated a Personal accident Scheme for member clubs of CNCC at £4.50 per head providing there are at least 2,500 people in the scheme. Benefits include £5,000 for death, loss of limbs or sight and £50 per week for 1 year (excluding first 28 days) temporary total disability.

They are hoping to extend the cover for overseas trips for an extra fee of a couple of pounds.

Details from J. J. Clegg; Whernsiide Manor, Dent, Sedburgh, Cumbria.

Films of Alum, White Scar, Pippikin, Prov-Dow and Lancaster- Easgill will be shown on BBC Television in the near future - watch the Radio Times.

92 ARCTIC NORWAY 1977.

by Graham Wilton-Jones.

This summer I forsook the Pyrenees, and the heat, dust and flies of the South of France, and headed North, for the Arctic. Was it different? Was there snow everywhere and were temperatures below freezing? No! We had heat, dust and flies, or at least, mosquitoes. Really it was all a plot to keep an eye on the W.S.G. expedition to Norway, and to prove that the B.E.C. does, indeed, get everywhere. It was good to be completely out of the organisation side, and be able to just concentrate on the caving.

It was decided to spend a couple of days getting to Newcastle, which proved a wise decision. After a highly effervescent barrel on Friday July 29th. we packed the vehicles (W.S.G. minibus and one of their member's Cortina estate) on the Saturday morning. The bus was loaded within limits, but the car's springs were bent the wrong way by the weight. We stopped beside Ripon racecourse overnight. On the way north in the morning the Cortina's clutch fell to bits. Fortunately we had two spare clutches with us (Norway's minor roads have a certain notoriety) and a new one was on in two hours.

The ferry journey was notable for sleepy cavers being moved around from deck to deck in the middle of the night, and being thrown off (the decks, not the ferry) at five in the morning for the washing of decks. We arrived in Bergen to rain. I'm told it always rains in Bergen. Night was spent in a lay-by just short of Voss, and the following two days were mainly continuous travelling for thirty two hours. Over the Sognefiord, deepest in Norway at 1244 metres, we headed across the Jotunheimen range to the E6. The twisting, mountain roads are largely un-metalled, and were quite a surprise for our poor old vehicles. We reached the top of the Jotunheim just before a storm arrived, and managed to take a few photographs of its impressive ruggedness, emptiness and vastness. The E6 is a good, fairly fast road, and we reached Mo-i-Rana, just outside the Arctic, late on Wednesday afternoon. There we stayed in a small 'Rom' - sixteen of us in a place about the size of the old stone Belfry with an upstairs. Some of us camped, and there was plenty of barn space for drying equipment.

Our first cave was Jordbrugrotten. A good track led from the E6, close by our base, along the Plurdal (valley of the Plura River). Some distance along this an underground river cascades from the middle of a cliff and flows into the Plura. This is the Jordbrugrotten resurgence - the Sprutfossen. Having found it, we spent much time clambering about through birch, alder and miscellaneous undergrowth to reach the belay directly above, at the cliff top. We laddered or abseiled, according to choice, down to a wide shelf next to Sprutfossen, and swung into the cave. Here and O.F.D. size stream flows along a large, whitish marble walled passage, down cascades and under great block and sheets of ice. Frost shattering is very evident near the surface, close to the resurgence. Here and there bands of insoluble mica-schist jut out from the walls, much like chert would in Britain. The walls are mostly very smooth, and the off-white is broken by parallel bands of darker colouring. A howling, icy draught blows through the system, so it was easy to find the bedding-plane crawl that by-passed the sump. Beyond, the plunge pools were deeper, and we finally turned back at an awkward climb in a tributary streamway, just above an impressive 9m waterfall where the mainstream enters. The exit was interesting, swinging off the ledge at Sprutfossen out into the void.

Although we had been only a short time underground, by the time we were all back at the Rom it was dark.

It had been getting that way as people were climbing out of the cave, but dusk lasts a long time that far north.

On ladder was dropped off the top of the cliff, and was found some days later several hundred metres downstream, having been washed that distance, including through l00m of stream cave below Sprutfossen, by flooding.

Friday dawned (around 4 a.m.) fine and warm. Much later we headed north along the Rovasdal for about 10 km. From a vague point off the track we off-loaded the minibus and walked up a path through the steep forest slopes towards Reingardslivatn (vatn = lake). Within sight of the lake is Lapphullet, a 1,000m long system on two, sometimes three levels. The system is largely phreatic, with some areas of breakdown. In many places there are exposures of insoluble mica schist - differential erosion causing these to be left projecting as blades, girders and tubes on the roof or walls of the passage. We spent two hours looking at most of this system, including exploring some virgin territory of bedding planes and muddy passages around the middle of the system. The ice marked on the survey at the end of Wilf's passage has now retreated leaving a few small icicles in a choke of pebbles and boulders.

Emerging from Lapphullet, we went off in search of its neighbour, Larshullet. The forest here is of small, stunted or dead birch trees, the lumpy karst being overgrown with a riot of bright flowers, especially

93 geraniums. Branches and twigs, both live and dead, lay haphazardly all over the ground making progress very awkward. There are numerous holes in the limestone, mainly small and inaccessible, or requiring digging. A few of the caves in this region are gated and marked 'FREDET' - protected. Having found the largest one of these, we confirmed that it was Larshullet using a photograph from the C.R.G. book.

This cave is considerably larger than the previous one, being 2½ km long and 326m deep. Most of this depth is gained by a steady descent throughout the cave, only a 23m shaft near the bottom requiring tackle.

The entrance passages have impressive, sharply folded (ptygmatic) quartz veins from around which the marble has been corroded. At one point the entire passage is formed in a tube of quartz, from within which the marble has been dissolved, giving a very unnatural appearance. Further down, where the passage takes on the dimensions of a motorway tunnel, the walls are lined with parallel intrusions of mica schist and quartz, looking remarkably as if someone has carefully lined the gallery with polished, straight grained wood.

While one group went to the head of the 23m shaft, another group took several photographs in the entrance series. Near the entrance itself there are some ice formations, and a small stream of ice on the floor peters out when the temperature rises just above freezing, some 50m from the entrance. 300m in a small stream flows from the roof and on down to the bottom of the cave. Wet suits are not necessary, and dry grots were sufficient to keep us warm except when hanging around for photos. We were all out within two hours, which indicates how easy the cave is in spite of its considerable depth.

So as not to give us too much of a good thing it rained on Saturday, not too hard but consistently, out of a low cloud. In the morning we drove out along some of the tracks towards Glomdalen, a major caving area, to make contact with David and Shirley St. Pierre and the Norwegian cavers. On the way the minibus decided to part company with the road (I was not driving at the time!). Fortunately there were sixteen of us with it at the time, and the road was only soft sand and gravel, so we dug it up, made a ramp, drove the van completely down the bank onto the marsh below and back up the ramp. Apparently it happens all the time in Norway.

Later, much later, we arrived back at Gronligrotten, where it was still raining. This cave is well known in the area, and is essentially a sporting show cave. Visitors can either be guided through a small section of the cave by young, pretty Norwegian girls, or can make their own explorations (or maybe both!). Expeditions, like us, go without the guides, but it's free. There is a dry, sand-floored upper series, joined at certain points by a rather fine, if small, streamway. The tourist section has occasional gang-planks and short ladders, and some thin, fractured bedding in the roof is held up by ineffective iron girders and a lot of faith. The way is lit by naked bulbs.

We, of course, explored virtually everywhere, especially the rushing streamway, which seemed a lot bigger once YOU were in it. Differential erosion has produced many sharp shelves in the stream passages so it is fairly easy going. Several of us finished our explorations long before the photographic team, so we returned to the van for a bite to eat. There was still no sign of the others when the guides came down and headed for home, leaving an ominous notice (in Norwegian and English) ‘The cave is closed because it is overflowed!’ Later, the photographic team reported that it had been quite exciting in the stream. Anyway, we hadn't really been worried.

In the evening six of us moved up to Svartis Vatnet to camp there overnight. The following morning we travelled by boat along the lake, saving several hours of difficult walking through steeply sloping birch woods by the side of the lake, and disembarked on the very bare rocks at the other end. At the turn of the century the Svartisen glacier, second largest in Norway, used to reach right down into the lake, but has retreated well over a kilometre since that time. The rate of retreat is very variable, but is at present about 30m per year. Paint marks on the rocks indicate the position of the snout of the glacier at different times, all measured in the summer months. It was particularly interesting to see a paint mark made exactly one year previously. Changes in the shape and size of the glacier are so rapid now that it has been necessary to construct a mile long tunnel underneath the glacier, this tongue of which is called Austerdalsisen, to continually drain the lake beyond. Some years, ago the glacial lake broke through an ice barrier and destroyed many houses miles away down the valley. Hopefully, the threat of a recurrence of this has now been averted.

94 On the glacier crampons and ice axes were necessary. The ice surface was pitted and broken with minute fissures, but was, nevertheless, hard and slippery, and well endowed with crevasses, up to about 25m depth and often too wide to jump. There was no snow, so all the crevasses were visible from some distance and it was not necessary to rope up. At first, on the edge of the glacier where the ice was thin, it was dirty with a veneer of mud, black and very wet, but higher up on the tongue the ice was a clean grey-blue. A couple of heavy showers passed us by, except for a few drops, and most of the day was bright and warm. The ice glared, reflecting most of the light and much of the heat, though it soon became chilly if clouds covered the sun. Everywhere around us, and sometimes beneath us, the sound of streams echoed. Many super-glacial streams ran for some distance before gurgling down into the deep blue-blackness of ice rifts and potholes, while others tumbled down crevasses, gradually enlarging them more and more.

As we made our way towards the ice-fall crevasses became more and more frequent, and we were slowed down considerably, or headed off from our intended course. Due to this, and to lack of time, we never reached any real seracs, having to turn back just below the main ice-fall. We returned via the outfall edge of the glacier tongue, where there were some of the largest crevasses. We had taken full S.R.T. gear and a length of blue water, and so were able to drop one of these. The intense blue of the ice deep down, the wind scallops on the crevasse walls, and the patterns of little bubbles within the ice were all features new to me, and I found them fascinating.

Beyond the large crevasses the ice was so littered with moraine of all sizes, from fine gravel up to large boulders of various sorts that it was difficult to tell glacier from solid ground. Here the ice was dirty all the way through, and looked like the surrounding rocks. Below us an impressive river roared out from beneath the glacier. We eventually dropped off the glacier above an ice cave, which was filled with rushing waters and a deep blue light. We did not stop long - the sound of ice cracking when you are underneath is not inspiring or inviting. Returning to a wet camp, we packed up the tents and headed for Mo. On Monday we loaded up the vehicles again, 100 lbs heavier now with fermenting beer, and headed up into the Arctic. Around the Arctic Circle, well marked at the E6, with a cafe and souvenir shop, and even white lines across the road, the woods gave way to more tundra like scenery, such as we had seen in the Jotunheimen. However, a little further north the woods took over once more on the hills, though the mountains looked more rugged and bleak, with larger patches of snow on lower slopes. At about latitude 68o north we left the main road, to Drag, on the Tysfiord, and then drove up the fiord to Helland, where we bivouacked overnight. Just about everyone took photographs of the sky at midnight, with the sun just below the horizon. There was a very heavy dew, but the sun rose early (2.30 a.m.) and my sleeping bag had dried off by 5 a.m.

The boat to take us further up the fiord, to Musken, without the vehicles, was due at 7.15, so we were all up at 6.00. Thus chaos almost reigned when the boat turned up at 6.05 to leave in ten minutes. A very harassed and slightly impatient captain watched, rather helplessly, as we filled the deck of his boat with all manner of nameless and unidentifiable (to him and his fellows) equipment. Needless to say, in all the rush, one or two things were forgotten. On arrival in Husken, Big Jim (Cerberus) was dispatched on the returning ferry to collect this, gear. "He should be back on the afternoon ferry," we thought. The ferry came very late in the evening. Jim said nothing.

We had travelled this far north in order to do the deepest through trip in Northern Europe - Ragge Javre Raige. The top entrances are near the top of Musken mountain, and the bottom entrances are down at or near fiord level. Of the three lower entrances, one is a submerged resurgence, from which the cave's fresh water bubbles up into the salt water of the fiord; another, just above this resurgence, is a cleft which draughts very strongly with a freezing air that can be felt from a boat in the fiord, but a short distance inside the way on divides and becomes narrow; the third, the main exit from the system, is 114m above fiord level. It emerges from an icy cleft onto a narrow shelf in a cliff face.

Kendal Caving Club did much of the original exploration of Ragge, and concluded by reaching the bottom entrance and making the survey. Unfortunately they had to go all the way back up through the cave again, de-tackling en route. Norwegian cavers, who are few but hard, did the first through trip in a time of 17 hours. When they reached the exit they climbed back up the outside of the mountain; which climb they said was considerably harder than the cave itself. We intended to go one better, by abseiling through the cave and down at the bottom into a boat. It was therefore fairly important that we locate the bottom exit before the trip, so that our boatman waited in the right place!

95 We had borrowed the S.W.C.C. rubber dinghy and an outboard, and spent most of the day transporting gear across the fiord to Segleneset, from which point the easiest route up Nusken mountain runs. We also scrutinised the edge of the fiord. The resurgence and the draughting hole were easy to find, but the main exit remained thoroughly concealed in the trees. Ragge lies in a narrow belt of marble which dips at about 45°.

Bands of marble were sharply defined on the opposite wall of the fiord, but were difficult to spot on our side, from close to - all the rocks appeared very similar in colour. Our boatman would just have to sit out in the fiord and wait until he saw light or heard our shouts from on high.

On Wednesday morning Paul, a boat owner we had befriended, took 12 of us, plus further equipment, plus the dinghy, over to Seglneset. This saved at least two slow and overloaded journeys in the dinghy, and very soon we were scrambling our various routes up the steep, wooded mountainside. 500 - 600m up the woods finally gave way to rock with grassy and mossy patches, and over the final climb we looked down on the hanging valley where Ragge begins. There were several melting snow patches feeding the little stream which trickled over the grassy floor before disappearing into Bumperhullet. Memories of the photographs in Norsk Grotteblad I made the, location of Ragge a simple task, its two, strongly in-draughting entrances being up on the south east side of the valley.

We had divided into two teams - 7 of us to do the complete through trip and 5 to come as far as the top of the big pitch, de-tackle this and go back down the mountain. After a brew up of soup we set off into the cave at about 2 p.m. The floor is sandy and dry at first, and level, but soon drops away, down a series of parallel pitches, towards the stream. One of these pitches was laddered initially but an awkward free climb was found to avoid this. So far we had come down about 25m. The next pitch, the Inclined Rift, dropped down to 102m., taking a large stream with it. We climbed down parallel to the stream and a few metres from it.

The climb was a little awkward at the bottom (we had belayed a rope at the top, but it just ran out at this point) though it was possible to stand up and reach out to the roof in order to traverse down the steep (70o – 80o) slope. At the bottom we were into a low section with a 'Swildons' in spate' size stream, where we actually got our dry gear wet, up to the knees. That was the wettest we got. Round the corner the stream rushes down another inclined rift and into a vertical pot of nearly 150m full of rushing, white water. We traversed over the top of this via the straight forward 'Wolf Walk', where a rope was handy for the gear, and climbed down a steep, muddy rift to the head of the Big Pitch - Storstupet 139m. This is dry; sloping in several places, and descends next to the wet pot. While the pitch was being rigged another brew was on the go - very welcome considering the low temperature of the cave (20 - 30 C).

The rigging was hopeless. Instead of someone descending with the main bulk of the rope in a bag, feeding it out as they went, part of it was coiled and then thrown over the edge of the pitch. 150m of rope is a lot and, quite naturally it tangled itself into intricate knots on the way down, and caught itself on just about every projection. It took 2½ hours to clear this knitting, when the whole pitch should have taken seven of us no more than 15 minutes. Fortunately we had a telephone with us, which helped morale a great deal during all the hanging about, and once the pitch was properly rigged it was invaluable in communicating from top to bottom. The rope is rarely away from the wall, and abseiling basically involves walking or running down the wall. For the first 50m there is a huge rock window through which the wet pitch can be seen. At the bottom the water from this appears again, briefly, but soon vanishes for good underneath the large boulders.

However, the base of the pitch is filled with the noise of water, with spray and with turbulent winds.

Two of us went on to rig the next pitch for rappel, but could find no convenient belay for this. The top section was easily free-climbable, being the sloping base of an enormous vertical aven, but the last section was awkward. We all used the rope for this except the last man, who let down the rope and free-climbed the whole pitch, albeit gingerly. The small trickle that had been with us since the base of Storstupet went down a hale in the floor the but, for the moment, we continued straight ahead along a passage with a virgin dustydry floor. We arrived at the head of a l00+m pitch with an aven disappearing into the blackness above. The passage we had 'explored' was, in fact on the survey. I guess that in winter heavy drip obliterates any footprints up and in summer the cold, but powerful draught dries out the mud completely. We found no drip anywhere in the cave. We returned to the hole in the floor - Razor Passage. This descends extremely steeply (I used a lifeline on one section) through the marble. Elsewhere in the cave the marble has been worn entirely away, but here the walls, roof and floor are of marble, and the walls consist of parallel lines of sharp, projecting bands where the layers of rock are of varying hardness and have been differentially eroded. We then reached the Litlstupet, which is the lower part of the l00+m. pitch mentioned above. Norwegian tethers were still in place here, and were in good condition, so decided to use them for the rappel belays. The first

96 bit of this pitch is 13m to a broad, sloping ledge, and was soon over. The second part, also with a Norwegian belay, is 39m and free-hanging - a really nice pitch. We should have taken more notice of the Norwegian comment, that it is difficult to retrieve the rope from this pitch after rappel, because it was. Even with three of us hanging on one end it would not budge, and eventually someone had to prusik back up, sort out the jam, and descend keeping the two lines apart to prevent them from tangling.

The landing from this pitch is among large boulders, of the loose and the way on is following the draught down through a long, loose, but easy boulder choke. Someone kicked some particularly large and vicious ones at me, but I escaped to tell you this thrilling tale. The end of the cave became a little confusing. It drops down to a final depth of 575m but the exit is a 523m. We met with some large ice blocks (the first ice we have seen in the cave) which had fallen from an alcove where further ice blocks were precariously perched. The draught seemed to be diminished, but I followed it on downwards until it blew up a smooth walled aven. The route onwards was, in fact, up into the alcove and into a concealed passage behind or around an enormous block. The ice formations increased with an ice floor and ice pillars, and suddenly we were out, seven of us perched on a narrow lodge overlooking the fiord. It was half past midnight, and twilight, but becoming lighter, but becoming lighter all the time. Using trees as belays we rappelled down the fiord slope through the trees. Soon after the dinghy arrived, but our boatman took a lot or persuading to keep away from the cliff, until boulders bounced down the slope into the depths of the fiord, all around him.

One of these boulders was a helmet and carbide light, while another was a knapsack full of fairly valuable equipment. Though the former was recovered from an underwater shelf using a fishing line later that day, the knapsack must have gone to greater depths. Once we had all rappelled into the dinghy - very close to the resurgence and the draughting cleft as it so happened, we headed back to camp. It had been a long day.

The rest of the day, after a short sleep, was spent exploring the locality. The following day we fished in the fiord, unsuccessfully, and packed up the gear ready for the ferry in the evening. Once back at Helland we quickly packed the vehicles and set off for Bodo, where we bivouacked in the Gildeskal ferry car-park. We crossed to the islands of the Gildeskal area, just to the north of the Arctic Circle, in the morning, and drove to Inndyr where we met up with the Norwegian cavers, et al. We joined in their mini-symposium at the local school, and exchanged ideas and information. We were to stay in the school overnight, so we opened up one of the five gallon containers of beer, but it still wasn't ready. In the evening many of the locals turned up on invitation, to hear what caving was all about, and what was going on in the area. Good for public relations, thought I. We moved out of the school in the morning, and set up a base camp a few kilometres away, not far from the road and beside a stream, below the Cave of the Lost Waters. This is now known as Greftkjelen, since David Heap's name for it translated as cave of the loose waters. The cave is near the end of a beautifully situated hanging valley, from the lip of which there are expansive views, even as far ss the Lofoten Islands, over 160km away. Further up the same valley is Greftsprekl, while beyond this is a sink and then a substantial lake. All these are hydrologically one system, but the mysteries thereof have not yet been unravelled. Most of the Norwegians had set up their camp by the lake previously, and both caves were already partially rigged. While one group set off to carry out some exploration of Greftkjelen, from which a link up with Greftsprekl is immanent, some of us decided to attack the resurgence. This, we were told, was obvious, it draughted strongly, and a way on could be seen through the boulders, which needed a little digging. We found the resurgence by a scree slope of thousands of tons of various sizes and types of boulders, created by road building works. We easily moved a couple of boulders and were in, but among more loose boulders. After much probing and prevaricating we began to wonder if these loose boulders were also the products of road making. Investigating up above the road I found a small sink in the sands and gravels. Could this be the same water as our resurgence? We searched further a field down below the road.

Sure enough, there was a second resurgence, and soon after we found yet a third. Confused, we temporarily gave up.

Wandering back to camp we chanced upon one of our number coming down the hill, carrying lots of little bottles. He was to take some samples from the resurgence when some dye came through from the sink, to be put there by one the Norwegians. I hurried back to camp to check which was the correct resurgence. Much later, waiting for dye to emerge, I had a long chat with a local farmer. At least, he spoke Norwegian and I spoke English, but we managed. It transpired that, in his youth he used to fish for trout in the now nonexistent pools of the resurgence, when the water was half a metre higher and a wind used to blow outwards.

It seems the road-building upset everything.

97 On Monday four of us climbed up to the hanging valley to do Greftkjelen, while another group went into Greftsprekl. The Kendal C.C. survey of the former shows a long slope of snow stretching to nearly l00m deep into the cave. However, this has been rapidly melting in recent years (perhaps, we thought, because of the stopping of the draught by the road-building) so that now there is a short, earthy slope, a snow slope where a hand line is useful, 25m pitch, a further short snow slope and a 30m pitch. The passage then continues as a roomy, winding rift under a roof of snow, then down a short pitch into further, larger passage with a small stream. Where it becomes low we climbed out of the stream passage into a dry, often sandyfloored series. Still the passages were large (Lapphullet was the only cave with a fair amount of hands-andknees work, most of the others being dominated by at least walking size passage. However, I think this was because we only did some of the larger systems) and the sandy floors are generally unspoilt by the passage of cavers. We were, in fact, only the third party to go to the bottom of Groftkjelen. About half way down we negotiated the BOULDER CHOKE – a half a dozen boulders lodged in a rift which we descended. In this region is a beautiful horizontal, but inclined in section, rift, with a hardly disturbed veneer of fine sand on the wall/floor. Also here, and at the base of the final pitch, are some very fine stalactite formations, resembling a cross between helictites and splash globule formations, some looking like little trees and bushes. Near the present end of the cave the passage size diminishes a little, and there are even one or two roomy crawls. Big pools appear on the floor (we did not have wet-suits, and some of the pools were deep and difficult to avoid) a rushing inlet comes in from the roof, and the resultant stream disappears under a boulder choke. A black space had been seen beyond this, and we were suitably armed with lump hammer and jemmy. I sat back awhile for others to remove quantities of stones and boulders, and then forced one of the tightest squeezes I have ever been in. Unfortunately, after only a further 30m, having joined up with the water once again, the passage narrowed and lowered, and the water disappeared down an impassable slot. We estimated the total depth of the system to be in the region of 250m, rather than Heap's 300+m. On the way out we met up with various other people, so together we photographed and de-tackled as far as the big pitches by the snow.

Various members of the party had been underground for between 10 and 12 hours. The journey back down to camp, along a ridge and down through the now familiar scenery of birch scrub with bilberry and cloudberry undergrowth, took only 30 minutes, even though we went wrong in the dim light.

Tuesday saw a couple of us back at Greftkjelen to complete the de-tackling, while another party were doing the same job in Greftsprekl. We had laddered and self-lifelined on all the pitches, so there was a large amount of tackle to be brought out, including some Norwegian tackle we had christened 'Elephant ladder' for obvious reasons. One or two of the piton belays disarmingly almost fell out, but the 'dead-boy' back up in the snow slope had been excellent. Working on the snow slope was hard, cold and tiring, and I was glad to be back on the surface after a couple of hours.

I thought it would be a good idea to lower the tackle from the top directly down to the woods just above the road, so we took a substantial amount of gear from the two cave entrances to the lip of the hanging valley, and I abseiled down a gulley in the cliffs. A five minute scramble down through the woods and I was on the road. I walked up to the camp, and drove the minibus down meet the others descending. At camp the other five gallon container of beer had been opened, and it was good, and so was the evening that followed.

Round about midnight two people were dispatched to the top yet again, to gather up the rest of the gear from the cave entrances, bring it to the lip the valley, and lower it down. A little later on I went out with another group to show them where the end of the rope was. Once there we waited and waited but there was no sign of the lowering party on the top, so I climbed up the cliffs (rather hairy) to find no people but lots of tackle. Using the rope pulled up a telephone line and telephone, explained the situation, and resited the rope to a better lowering position. Meanwhile, back at the bottom the lowering party appeared. They had met somebody coming down, they said, and there was no gear left on the top. No, I thought, looking around me at the life-size images of 200m of ladder, 600m of rope, pitons, krabs, ammo boxes, etc., etc. Nothing left at all! Having lowered it all down, using the very useful telephone link with the bottom, I was informed that there was definitely nothing left at the cave entrances, so I went to have a look. Hare life-size images - about as many as before, plus wet-suits and S.R.T. gear, and a HUGE tent. I swore quietly, and began carting some of it to the edge. I swore into the telephone and lowered the extra gear down. I then rappelled down myself, my spirits slowly rising with the early morning sun.

It was not worth trying to get any sleep, as we had a series of ferries to catch through the islands and fiords down the coast. We therefore began to pack up camp, waking everyone else up around six.

Travelling by ferry along the Norwegian coast is a beautiful way to spend the end of an expedition: relaxing

98 among the magnificent scenery, and driving only short distances between boats. We relaxed while we could.

Beyond the ferries we till had 1000 miles of driving to do.

Altogether it had been a very enjoyable and successful expedition. Like most trips of this kind, plans had had to be altered, and we did not manage to do everything we might have hoped, but the main objectives were achieved.

The trips into Ragge Javre Raige and the Greftkjelen-Greftsprekl system been particularly noteworthy and memorable. I hope that, one say, shall be going there again.

References: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

C.R.G. Transactions, vol. 11, No. 1, March 1969, p. 57.

C.R.G. Transactions, vol. 11, No. 1, March 1969, p. 17 ff.

C.R.G. Transactions, vol. 11, No. 1, March 1969, p. 17 ff.

C.R.G. Transactions, vol. 11, No. 1, March 1969, p. 12 ff.

Norsk Grotteblad 1, 1976.

Atlas des Grands Gouffres du Monde, P. Courbon, 1972 Descent No., 1

S.W.E.T.C.C.C. also have some excellent publications on caves of Norway.

------------------------------------Review.

SWETC Caving Club - EXPEDITION TO NORWAY, 197 4 Occasional Publication No. 4, 1977, Ed. T. Faulkner & S. St. Pierre.

Published by SWETC Caving Club, North East London Polytechnic. ÂŁ0.40.

Knowing the experience that SWETC Caving Club have of Norwegian caves, and the at publications and articles by various of their members, this sizable and meaty work comes as no surprise. So much have SWETC C.C. become an authority on Norway that this publication, with their others, forms a standard reference work for anyone contemplating visiting Norwegian caving regions.

Of the 70 pages of A4, no less than 41 are surveys and maps, and 31 are detailed descriptions of caves and caving areas. There is also a brief supplement concerning the 1976 expedition. In our copy at least, the quality of the printing does not always match the quality of the consents, one of the faults of farming out the production to different people over the space of three years. Occasional references within the text have been omitted or confused, for the same reason.

Considering that only ten days were spent in actual exploration, SWETC C.C. have managed to be commendably thorough. All sites listed have grid reference locations (longitudes are measured from Oslo see the important note on p. 4) altitudes, lengths and depths. There are brief geological and geomorphological descriptions where these are relevant, together with general, put more thorough descriptions for the caver. Occasionally the description for finding a particular cave is under the heading for the previous cave, with which it may be associated, but if using this publication in the field one would no doubt read a whole section on one area together, thus avoiding this confusion. At the beginning of each section there is a description of the area involved, including geology, geomorphology and hydrology, where these are known.

The maps scattered throughout are invaluable. Caves in Norway are equally well scattered, and could otherwise be impossible to locate – SWETC C.C. could not even re-find one of their own discoveries.

Having used the SWETC C.C. publications before in Norway, I shall not hesitate to add this to the list of essential books for any future expedition, if the Wig allows it out of the library!

99 BRISTOL EXPLORATION CLUB - MEMBERSHIP LIST 828 879 20 L 392 L 913 901 295 892 818 390 L 214 L 860 731 720 364 L 336 L 145 L 883 751 L 891 687 756 849 777 778 902 903 885 785 782 655 211 L

Nicolette Abell T. Andrews Bob Bagshaw Mike Baker Ken Baker Richard Barker Arthur Ball Marlon Barlow Chris Batstone Joan Bennett Roy Bennett Glenys Beszant Bob Bidmead Martin Bishop Pete Blogg Alan Bonner Sybil Bowden-Lyle Brian Bowers T.A. Brookes Neil Raynor Brown Viv Brown Tessa Burt Alan Butcher Ian Calder Penelope Calder Martin Cavendar Francisca Cavendar C. Chambers Paul Christie Patricia Christie Colin Clark Clare Coase

89 L 377 L 862 585 827 890 680 870 405 L 423 L 449 815 710 829 164 L 830 847 812 779 322 L 232 909 269 L

Alfie Collins D. Cooke-Yarborough Bob Cork Tony Corrigan Mike Cowlishaw Jerry Crick Bob Cross Gary Cullen Frank Darbon Len Dawes Garth Dell J. Dibben Colin Dooley Angela Dooley Ken Dobbs John Dukes Michael Durham S. Durston Jim Durston Bryan Ellis Chris Falshaw Helen Fielding Tom Fletcher

November 1977

Michaelmas Cottage, Faulkland, Bath 43 Portway, Wells, Somerset 699 Wells Road, Knowle, Bristol, Avon 10 Riverside Walk, Midsomer Norton, Bath, Avon 36 Northumberland Road, Redland, Bristol 6a Collingwood Drive, Redland, Bristol 4 Charlotte Street, Cheadle, Cheshire 93 Norton Drove, Norton Tower, Halifax, West Yorkshire 8 Prospect Place, Bathford, Bath, Avon 8 Radnor Road, Wesbury-on-Trym, Bristol 8 Radnor Road, Wesbury-on-Trym, Bristol 190 Hinkler Road, Thornhill, Southampton.

63 Cassell Road, Fishponds, Bristol Bishops Cottage, Priddy 5 Tyrolean Court, Cheviot Close, Avenue Rd., Banstead, Surrey Crags Farm Close, Little Broughton, Cokermouth, Cumberland 111 London Road, Calne, Wiltshire 44 Manor Way, Bagshot, Surrey 87 Wyatt Road, London, SW2 25 Lingfield Park, Evesham, Worcs.

3 Cross Street, Kingswood, Bristol 66 Roundwood Lane, Harpendon, Herts 17 Cedar Grove, Pennfields, Wolverhampton 22 Greenways, Lydney, Gloucestershire 22 Greenways, Lydney, Gloucestershire The Old Rectory, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Wells, Somerset The Old Rectory, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Wells, Somerset 70 Rush Hill, Bath 7 The Glen, London Road, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berks 7 The Glen, London Road, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berks 186 Cranbrook Road, Redland, Bristol The Belfry, 10 Shannon Parade, Berkeley-Vale, New South Wales, 2259, Australia Lavendar Cottage, Bishop Sutton, Nr Bristol, Somerset Lot 11 McKay Crescent, Orange, New South Wales, Australia 22 Dennor Road, Hengrove, Bristol 4 139 Stockwood Lane, Stockwood, Bristol 14 Plovers Down, Olivers Battery, Winchester 2 Coneacre, Chersey Road, Windlesham, Surrey 42 Bayham Road, Knowle, Bristol 47 Eversfield Road, Horsham, Sussex PO Box 325, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada The Lodge, Main Street, Minster Matlock, Derbyshire AI 5 Printing, HQNI, BFPO 825.

97 Worth Clough, Poynton, Cheshire 51 Osmaston Road, Harbourne, Birmingham 7 51 Osmaston Road, Harbourne, Birmingham 7 85 Fox Rd., Beacon Heath, Exeter, Devon 55 Cowl Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset 11 Catherine Place, Bath Hill View, Old Beat, Maidentown, Nr. Burlescombe, Tiverton, Devon Hill View, Old Beat, Maidentown, Nr. Burlescombe, Tiverton, Devon 30 Main Road, Westonzoyland, Bridgwater, Somerset 23 Hallam Grange Crescent, Sheffield 19 Queens Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 11 Cow Lane, Bramcote, Nottingham.

894 404 L 569 469 759 765 835 265 869 836 894 790 900 582 432 L 910 104 L 304 L 581 4L 893 917 873 863 773 373 736 905 793 898 899 920 387 L 855 363 906 73 168 540 L 753 792 922 340 51 L 560 L 285 907 567 L 884 316 L 542 L 413 L 904 874 667 L 795 574 L 871 908

Phil Ford Albert Francis Joyce Franklin Pete Franklin Colleen Gage Tom Gage Leonard Gee Stan Gee N. George Bob Givens Bruce Glocking Martin Grass Christine Greenhall Chris Hall Nigel Hallet Sandra Halliday Mervyn Hannam C.W. Harris Chris Harvey Dan Hassell Dave Hatherley Robin Hervin A. Higginbottom John Hildrick Rodney Hobbs Sid Hobbs Sylvia Hobbs Paul Hodgson Mike Hogg Liz Hollis Tony Hollis Nick Holstead George Honey Ted Humphreys Maurise Iles Annette Ingleton Angus Innes Margaret Innes Dave Irwin N. Jago Ken James Tony Jarratt Russ Jenkins A Johnson Frank Jones U. Jones Karen Jones Alan Kennett John King Kangy King Phil Kingston R. Kitchen Calvin Knight Dave Lampard Tim Large Peter Leigh Oliver Lloyd S. Lord P. Lord

100 34 New Street, Deiniolen, Gwynedd, North Wales 22 Hervey Road, Wells, Somerset 16 Glen Drive, Stoke Bishop, Bristol 16 Glen Drive, Stoke Bishop, Bristol 36 Woodland Road, Nailsea, Avon 36 Woodland Road, Nailsea, Avon 15 Warren Close, Denton, Manchester 26 Parsonage Street, Heaton Norris, Stockport.

Zapata Offshore Ltd., Crombie Road, Torry, Aberdeen Newstead Lodge, 1 Fields Green, Crawley, Sussex 213 St. Leonards, Horsham, Sussex 14 Westlea Road, Wormley, Broxbourne, Herts 13 Nooreys Avenue, Oxford 1 Chancellors Cottage, Long Lane, Redhill, Bristol 62 Cranbrook Road, Bristol 6A Collingwood Road, Redland, Bristol 6 14 Inskip Place, St Annes, Lancashire The Diocesan Registry, Wells, Somerset Byways, Hanham Lane, Paulton, Somerset Hill House, Moorlynch, Bridgwater, Somerset 4 Spring Rise, Wells 24 Ashton Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire Warana, Hill Lea Gardens, Cheddar Tarngulla, Old Bristol Road, Priddy Rose Cottage, Nailsea Hokestone Cottage, Townsend, Priddy Hokestone Cottage, Townsend, Priddy 11 Ockford Ridge, Godalming, Surrey 32 Birchley Heath, Nuneaton, Warks 1 Bugle Cottage, Milborne Wick, Nr Sherborne, Dorset 1 Bugle Cottage, Milborne Wick, Nr Sherborne, Dorset 7 Sladebrook close, Bradfod-on-Avon, Wiltshire Droppsta, 19044, Odensala, Sweden 7 Mounters Close, Marnhull, Sturminster Newton, Dorset 50 Warman, Stockwood, Bristol Seymour Cottage, Hinton St. Mary, Sturminster Newton, Dorset 18 David’s Close, Alveston, Bristol, Aven 18 David’s Close, Alveston, Bristol, Aven Townsend Cottage, Townsend, Priddy, Somerset 27 Quantock Road, Windmill Hill, Bristol 3 Flat 2, Shrubbery Road, Weston-super-Mare Alwyn Cottage, Station Road, Congressbury, Bristol 10, Amberley Close, Downend, Bristol Warren Cottage, Station Rd., Flax Bourton, Bristol 103 Wookey Hole Road, Wells, Somerset Marsh Farm, Askem in Furness, Lancs.

65 McDonald road, Lightwater, Surrey 92 West Broadway, Henleaze, Bristol 4 Nightingale Road, Langley Green, Crawley, Sussex 22 Parkfield Rank, Pucklechurch, Bristol, Avon 257 Pemona Street, Invercargill, New Zealand Overcombe, Horrabridge, Yelverton, Devon 54 Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Surrey Woodpeckers, 11 Springfield Park Road, Horsham, Sussex 72 Lower Whitesands, Radstock 17 Northampton Road, Ecton, Northants.

Withey House, Withey Close West, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol Greengates School, Apparto Postal 41-659, Mexico 10, DF Greengates School, Apparto Postal 41-659, Mexico 10, DF

58 495 L 550 L 722 558 L 704 308 852 880 624 396 L 22 L 499 L 724 337 886 622 481 L 452 L 343 L 672 L 682 921 918 832 240 L 359 L 760 747 237 L 482 78 L 213 L 864 872 889

George Lucy Val Luckwill R A MacGregor A. McRory-Peace Tony Meaden Dave Metcalfe Keith Murray John Noble Graham Nye J. Orr Mike Palmer Les Peters Tony Philpott Graham Phippen Brian Prewer Jeff Price Colin Priddle John Ransom Pam Rees A Rich R Richards John Riley Pete Rose Richard Round Roger Sabido Alan Sandall Carol Sandall Jenny Sandercroft Derek Sanderson B. Scott Gordon Selby R.A. Setterington R. Setterington Chris Shaw Mark Sherman N. Shott

915 911 823 851 1L 38L 840 575 L 365 L 837 865 583 800 772 919 284 L 348 L 571 L 876 699 700 692

Chris Smart James Smart Andy Sparrow Maurice Stafford Harry Stanbury Mrs I Stanbury G. Standring D. Statham Roger Stenner Richard Stevenson Paul Stokes Derek Targett Mike Taylor Nigel Taylor Tom Temple Allan Thomas D Thomas N Thomas Nick Thorne Buckett Tilbury Anne Tilbury Roger Toms

101 Pike Croft, Long Lane, Tilehurst, Reading, Berks 8 Greenslade Road, Sedgeley hill, Dudley, Worcs.

12 Douro Close, Baughurst, Basingstoke, Hants 5 Colmer Road, Yeovil Somerset Highcroft, Westbury, Bradford Abbas, Sherborne, Dorset 10 Troughton Crescent, Blackpool, Lancs.

17 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 18 Hope Place, Tennis Court Road, Paulton 7 Ramsey Road, Horsham, Surrey 8 Wellington Terrace, Winklebury, Basingstoke, Hants Laurel Farm, YarleyHill, Yarley, Wells, Somerset 21 Melbury Rd., Knowle Park, Bristol Avon 3 Kings Drive, Bishopston, Bristol, Avon Rock Cottage, Rock Road, Wick, Bristol East View, West Horrington, Wells, Somerset 18 Hurston Road, Inns Court, Bristol 10 Franklyn Flats, Kopje Road, Gwelo, Rhodesia 21 Bradley Rd., Patchway, Bristol, Avon No Known Address Box 126, Basham, Alberta Canada PO Box 141, Jacobs, Natal, South Africa Araluen, Linershwood Close, Bramley, Surrey 2 The Beacon, Ilminster 131 Middleton Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire 163 Coldharbour Road, Bristol 6 43 Meadway Ave., Nailsea, Avon 43 Meadway Ave., Nailsea, Avon 5 Eastcroft, Henleaze, Bristol 23 Penzeance Gardesn, Harold Hill, Romford, Essex.

Merrymead, Havestock Road, Winchester Hants 2 Dodd Avenue, Wells, Somerset 4 Galmington Lane, Taunton, Somerset 4 Cavendish Road, Chiswick, London W4 7 Queens Head Walk, Wormley, Broxbourne, Herts.

Wood View, Grey Field, High Litton Flat 15, assessment Centre, Kingswood Schools, Counterpool Road., Kingswood, Bristol 15 Timor Close, Popley Islands, Basingstoke, Hants c/o 72 Winchester Road, Brislington, Bristol 2 Grosvenor Place, London Road, Bath 28 Rowan Close, Sonning Common, Reading, Berks.

31 Belvoir Road, St. Andrews, Bristol 74 Redcatch, Knowle, Bristol 71 Vienna Road, Edgeley, Stockport, Chester The Bungallow, North Barrow, Yeovil, Somerset 18 Stafford Place, Weston super Mare, Avon Greystones, Priddy 32 Manor Way, Bagshot, Surrey 16 Phyllis Hill, Midsomer Norton 39 Reedley road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol Whidden Farm, Chilcote, Nr. Wells, Somerset 3 Larch Close, Lee-on-Solent, Hants.

Allens House, Nine Barrows Lane, Priddy, Somerset Pendant, Little Birch, Bartlestree, Hereford Holly Lodge, Norwich Rd., Salhouse, Norwich, Norfolk.

20 Hawkers Lane, Wells, Somerset 256 Cressex Road, High Wycombe, Bucks 256 Cressex Road, High Wycombe, Bucks 18 Hoton Road, Wysemold, Leicester

102 18 Hoton Road, Wysemold, Leicester R.S. Toms 803 11 Lodge Avenue, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex J.M. Postle Tompsett 80 11 Lodge Avenue, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex M.J. Dizzie Tompsett 74 L 7 Ross Close, Nyetimber, Bognor Regis, Sussex Daphne Towler 381 L 48 Wiston Path, Fairwater Way, Cwmbran, Gwent, Wales Jill Tuck 157 L Colles Close, Wells, Somerset Steve Tuck 328 75 Lower Whitelands, Tynings, Radstock, Avon Tony Tucker 768 75 Lower Whitelands, Tynings, Radstock, Avon Sue Tucker 769 Moonrakers, Brewery Lane, Holcombe, Bath Dave Turner 678 Orchard Cottage, 92 Church lane, Backwell, Avon John Turner 912 28 Butts Road, Alton, Hants.

S. Tuttlebury 635 L The Oaks, Round Oak Road, Cheddar, Somerset Greg Villis 887 32 Laxton Close, Taunton, Somerset D. Waddon 175 L 91 The Oval, Bath Mike Wheadon 397 91 The Oval, Bath Maureen Wheadon 861 Weavers Farm, Binegar Bob White 553 30 Curley Hill Road, Lightwater, Surrey.

Ross White 878 University Laboratory of Psychology, Park Road, Oxford Jane Wilson 916 Valley View, 27 Venus Lane, Clutton, Bristol Barry Wilton 559 Valley View, 27 Venus Lane, Clutton, Bristol Brenda Wilton 568 Ileana, Stenfield Road, Nap Hill, High Wycombe, Bucks Graham Wilton-Jones 721 Cwm Dwr, 110 Pierce Avenue, Olton, Solihull, West Midlands Annie Wilton-Jones 850 Cwm Dwr, 110 Pierce Avenue, Olton, Solihull, West Midlands Ian Wilton-Jones 813 15 Penleaze Gardens, Harold Hill, Romford, Essex Roger Wing 738 21 Three Acres, Horsham, Sussex Steve Woolven 877 11 Moreland, 11 New Bath Road, Radstock, Bath Brian Workman 914 _______________________________________________________________________________________ LIFELINE Another year begins with the usual long committee meeting sorting out the directions of the A.G.M. The Dinner although not pleasing everybody did bring many old faces back to the fold. Amongst those I noticed were Norman Petty, Jok and Judy, and Frank Darbon. The pantomime was much enjoyed judging by the applause, particularly the performance of Alice. Whilst everyone was at the Dinner the Belfry was broken into and vandalised. I am sure many pints reward would be waiting for information leading to, as they say on the better side of the law.

The Belfry was a prominent topic at the October committee meeting much concern shown over its maintenance. Martin Bishop plans to tackle the problem of the drains as top priority. Other jobs include finishing the new bunks in the men’s room; waterproofing the troublesome window at the end of the men’s room and exterior painting particularly of the window sills using a wood preservative as so far paint has not successfully taken to it. It should go without saying that much help is needed.

May I remind everyone of the Ian Dear Fund. It is available to younger members to enable them to partake in expeditions abroad. It’s never too early to apply and all you have to do is find Mike Palmer, Sett or any committee member to make sure your application is considered.

Although the club has several leaders to D.Y.O. and O.F.D. there is always room for more. Those interested should contact the caving sec. The Leaders system is somewhat like that for Cuthbert’s requiring the individual to acquaint him/herself with the various routes in the cave and show cave sense.

In order that the members address list can be updated please let me know of any changes. This will ensure that your B.B. gets to the right address. The members list appears in this issue so check your details.

Many thanks to Sett for the donation of duplicating ink and also to Jonah for a collection of BB's for the Library. At the October meeting the Committee expressed the Clubs thanks to Brenda Wilton for the valuable service given in distributing the BB. Mike Palmer has recently taken on this job in the new Club Year. I am sure he would be pleased to hear from anyone with any bright ideas to improve the distribution particularly in keeping postage costs as low as possible.

Tim Large.

103 STOP PRESS Following the displeasure shown by many members regarding the Dinner, negotiations the Cliff Hotel have resulted in a, saving of £75 on the total bill. What shall we do with it? Any bright idea’s?

B.E.C. DIG - WHEAL WIGMORE Even if you have only been to Mendip once in the past four months, you probably know all about Wigmore. J-Rat, Snab and many others have worked like Trojans hoping for another Tynings here (Wessex and MNRC have both tried, in pre war years) and are already deeper down than their forbears, and J-Rats Walls, with mining spoil rock gardens, vie with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

If the winch does not fall down the hole – it isn’t filled with autumn leaves, it’s bound to go. Come and have a look, or even a dig - 10p a go. There will be an article, with survey and picture in a future B. B. AUSTRIA 1977 A combined Grampian/B.E.C. trip is to be made to the Hollengebirge, east of Salzburg next year.

Provisional dates are 22nd July to 13th August, 1978. Anyone interested should contact Wig or Snab.

MOLES Mendip Original Limestone Exploration Society - is an interclub organisation, whose aim is to provide transport for expeditions abroad.

Remember the green papers at the dinner. Remember the raffle.

There is a raffle every Saturday night in the Hunters, so empty your pockets of all those silly 10p's and give them to the Moles dolly bird. It is only £1 to join the society SLIT SIDED STALS The discovery of Roman Mine by Jill and Norman Tuck revealed a number of slit sided stals (see BEC Caving Report No. 15). It was thought that they were unique to this mine. On a recent trip into G.B., Wig noticed a number of similar formations in the roof. They were about ½" long and were bell formed at the lower end. Perhaps they are more common than previously thought. ___________________________________ A Severn Barge is proposed.

A couple of years ago a serious proposal was made to HM government to construct a massive dam across the Severn estuary to provide hydro-electric power thus making use of the exceptionally high tides. The quantity of aggregate required is enormous – about 4,000 million tonnes. This material will be obtained from the Mendips and South Wales – both principal caving regions. The Government is being pressurized to publish the preliminary report on the subject and alternative scheme including wave motion at Oban. The CSCC and CCC are keeping a close watch on the situation.