Post by gindling on Jun 14, 2007 19:07:31 GMT -5
this past weekend peter, carl, andrew, evan and i met up in utah for a trip into main drain. once again mother nature threw some obstacles in our way in the tune of 6+ inches of snow two days before our trip. we headed up to the entrance on saturday and while peter dropped in to hammer ice fromthe bolts, shovel some snow, and kick literally a ton of ice from the bottom part of the drop, we suited up and prepared for the excursion. peter and i were to add dye receptors in some of the inlets and map up deeper than neffs inlet while the others were to bolt climb up a forty foot wall in the downstream main canyon to hopefully reach some old overflow passage. as we all gathered at the bottom of the first drop we began to see all the ice still clinging to the walls and rapidly melting and falling off the walls to crash below.the cave was not too wet at first, though when we reached frayed knot we saw how much water was coming down this @200ft pit accompanying the vortex of wind and spray. peter and i dropped the pit and the others placed another rebelay in order to make the climb out not so wet and miserable. as they did this we got to the bottom of kilo pit and started some hot tea-milk-sugar drink and waited for the rest of team. this proved to be a while and i ascended back up this beautiful 200ft pit to warm up and touch base. as i reached the top and began upstream i heard them coming and continued back to the bottom. after some warmth and hot brew we went to the main canyon and split up. this is where it began to get grim. to get to deeper than neffs inlet you must first wade through a waist deep pool of snowmelt and then traverse over a 50 ft pit with waterfall and slide behind a flake of rock. well the pool was near to our necks this time and the water continued to the other wall as a cold black lake. the 50ft pit and large room below had completely filled to the brim with water submerging our traverse rope and leaving just enough room to do a swim,dive,duck thing to get into the inlet, all in the name of science right? after finishing our duty we decided to head up the inlet and check some leads from our winter trips. we soon decided to turn back as we reached a 12ft climbup a waterfall, we knew it would only get wetter and hairier after this and after swimming through the lake once again we met up with the bolters as they started their climb. this is where i really began to get cold but after undressing and wringing out my polypros and draining my boots I was soon feeling my toes again. i was amazed at how well the speed of progression up the wall was taking place. carl was in the lead and after reaching the top he rigged a static line and dropped down to allow someone else the pleasure of continuing the climb on belay. from below this didnt look that easy and it proved to be very difficult. a report was yelled down that there was a small hole up in the breakdown but he couldnt reach it because of unstable rock, exposure and no way to hoist gear up to him to add some more protection. at this point we had been in the cave for fourteen hours and decided to exit. I was lucky being first this time up the ropes and made it out around midnight to a clear sky and the milky way. i threw my stuff in my bag and began to walk, slip and slide down the crusty snow. still wearing my PVC suit allowed me to otter slide my way and kept the biting chill wind at bay. after reaching my truck i cracked a tasty beer and cocooned myself in my bag. peter and crew arrived a bit later and i woke to the coloradians beginning to pack up. it was a great trip and it was great meeting some new folks. we will return soon to retrieve the receptors and do some more mapping, that is if mother nature will be a little nicer.
Brian Gindling
Brian Gindling
Keep up the good work, and keep us informed! 
