Post by afrochili on Dec 28, 2006 8:15:00 GMT -5
Pig Hole, VA 12-24-06
In the back woods of Virginia, over the rolling hills of cow pasture, and over the sounds of banjo picking, you can find yourself at Pig Hole; a deep Virginia classic. Pig Hole allows you to drive to the entrance, which is a 100 foot wide sinkhole that plummets next to cliffs of plush green ferns and into a 115 foot deep canyon. We geared up and gathered our ropes as the locals fired weapons nearby seeming without rationale. It sounded like the Navy battleships in the harbor joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra shooting its canons during the 1812 Overture.
I descended next to the rolling shelves of ferns in a free vertical drop. The canyon passage appeared to filter into narrow keyhole mouths at both sides of the breakdown mountain on which we stood. Following the illustrious Monk’s directions, we hiked to the right and into a short crawl. This brought us to a deeper section of the entrance passage with an exceptional view of the entrance skylight, red rope, blue sky, and rich greenery. We then climbed precariously into a window high on the wall of the canyon and dropped into a parallel passage.
We climbed over holes, crawled across flowstone, and slid across the slick gray mud slopes to the top of Hess Hollow; a huge flowstone slab with thick columns and speleothems scattered across its surface. The flowstone sloped into 166 feet of thin air. We rigged around a column and I dropped down the side. As water flowed through cracks and collections of flowstone, I continued my descent. Half way down was a breakdown bridge where I found a bad section of my rope. I climbed back up to discuss techniques and tied a knot around the bad section. We both rappelled down to the bottom of Hess Hollow and walked up a slick slope where the cave registry was found. Many bats seemed to be awake in this area which was odd for this time of year. Some were flying around and others in clusters were moving around and singing to one another. Perhaps the unusually warm temperature contributed to the active bats.
We had the choice of climbing an overhanging 15 foot pitch or crawling through a tight 15 foot crack to continue to lower parts of the cave. A sleeping bat prevented our climbing so I removed all my vertical gear and attempted the crack to no avail. As chert nodules jabbed at my chest and tailbone, I could move no further. I backed out and Celeste struggled through. I tried again facing the opposite direction without my helmet but my attempts were fruitless. Celeste continued up through the crack and climbed to the opening above dropping a rope and avoiding the sleeping bat. Just beyond was the crevasse leading down to the -400 foot depth mark. We rigged around flowstone columns embedded into the wall and we dropped the rope down the crack. We rappelled between the close, cold walls and dropped another 70 feet to a muddy floor. Celeste continued to a 5 foot waterfall dropping another 30 feet in so in elevation as she continued down the passage, and I headed back up the rope. Soon, Celeste followed and we did a double rope rappel back into the Hess Hollow. We headed back up the 166 foot climb past the breakdown bridge and atop the flowstone.
We worked our way out of the cave missing our exit crawl on first glance, and finally reaching my red PMI Talon rope. If you haven’t tried this nylon sheath, polyester core rope, you need to give it a try! Standing atop the rocky steps at the top of the sinkhole, I was reminded of standing atop Neversink with the setting of the rocks and ferns. I hauled the rope up and we left the pasture just as little kids across the globe began to fall asleep early, hoping to wake early and catch a fat man chimneying atop their home fireplace. We enjoyed the Virginia Classic.
In the back woods of Virginia, over the rolling hills of cow pasture, and over the sounds of banjo picking, you can find yourself at Pig Hole; a deep Virginia classic. Pig Hole allows you to drive to the entrance, which is a 100 foot wide sinkhole that plummets next to cliffs of plush green ferns and into a 115 foot deep canyon. We geared up and gathered our ropes as the locals fired weapons nearby seeming without rationale. It sounded like the Navy battleships in the harbor joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra shooting its canons during the 1812 Overture.
I descended next to the rolling shelves of ferns in a free vertical drop. The canyon passage appeared to filter into narrow keyhole mouths at both sides of the breakdown mountain on which we stood. Following the illustrious Monk’s directions, we hiked to the right and into a short crawl. This brought us to a deeper section of the entrance passage with an exceptional view of the entrance skylight, red rope, blue sky, and rich greenery. We then climbed precariously into a window high on the wall of the canyon and dropped into a parallel passage.
We climbed over holes, crawled across flowstone, and slid across the slick gray mud slopes to the top of Hess Hollow; a huge flowstone slab with thick columns and speleothems scattered across its surface. The flowstone sloped into 166 feet of thin air. We rigged around a column and I dropped down the side. As water flowed through cracks and collections of flowstone, I continued my descent. Half way down was a breakdown bridge where I found a bad section of my rope. I climbed back up to discuss techniques and tied a knot around the bad section. We both rappelled down to the bottom of Hess Hollow and walked up a slick slope where the cave registry was found. Many bats seemed to be awake in this area which was odd for this time of year. Some were flying around and others in clusters were moving around and singing to one another. Perhaps the unusually warm temperature contributed to the active bats.
We had the choice of climbing an overhanging 15 foot pitch or crawling through a tight 15 foot crack to continue to lower parts of the cave. A sleeping bat prevented our climbing so I removed all my vertical gear and attempted the crack to no avail. As chert nodules jabbed at my chest and tailbone, I could move no further. I backed out and Celeste struggled through. I tried again facing the opposite direction without my helmet but my attempts were fruitless. Celeste continued up through the crack and climbed to the opening above dropping a rope and avoiding the sleeping bat. Just beyond was the crevasse leading down to the -400 foot depth mark. We rigged around flowstone columns embedded into the wall and we dropped the rope down the crack. We rappelled between the close, cold walls and dropped another 70 feet to a muddy floor. Celeste continued to a 5 foot waterfall dropping another 30 feet in so in elevation as she continued down the passage, and I headed back up the rope. Soon, Celeste followed and we did a double rope rappel back into the Hess Hollow. We headed back up the 166 foot climb past the breakdown bridge and atop the flowstone.
We worked our way out of the cave missing our exit crawl on first glance, and finally reaching my red PMI Talon rope. If you haven’t tried this nylon sheath, polyester core rope, you need to give it a try! Standing atop the rocky steps at the top of the sinkhole, I was reminded of standing atop Neversink with the setting of the rocks and ferns. I hauled the rope up and we left the pasture just as little kids across the globe began to fall asleep early, hoping to wake early and catch a fat man chimneying atop their home fireplace. We enjoyed the Virginia Classic.
