Post by Brad Tipton on Feb 26, 2008 17:51:01 GMT -5
On Sunday, I lead a crew of five Athens cavers to Deep Well. They came up from caving and camping at Valhalla on Saturday and I met them at Big Daddy's at Haletown. When visiting Deep Well, I still access the cave from the top of the mountain where Wendy's family owns land above the cave. We parked at the bluff directly above the cave. The bluff provides quite a scenic view of Long Island Cove and the Tennesee River winding south past Widows Creek. Once everyone was packed, we settled on taking their 400 foot rope and my 350 in order to rig both the 292 foot main shaft and the 252 foot Not-So-Deep Well. That would enable us to divide the group and prevent the waiting game.
I can't remember everyone's names, but there was a Will, a Charlie, a Sharon.....or maybe Sherry, maybe a David and I can't remember the other lady's name....sorry. Everyone were members of the Athen's Speleological Society and most were UGA students. We walked almost directly to the pit in less than 15 minutes crossing a fairly new logging road that has popped up since I last visited. The pit was heavily flagged, but the foot traffic around the pit seems to have slacked off from previous years. A little steam plume was visible from Deep Well. Not-So-Deep Well was dragging air quite intensely as usual.
I rigged Deep Well with their 400 footer while some others went over to the 252 foot pit to rig the other rope. I rebelayed the main line between the 2 large trees on the surface in an attempt to reduce the friction at the 15 foot level where the pit is offset. Once the pit was rigged, I rappelled down into the 2 foot by 8 foot slot to the ledge to set the rope pads where they needed to be. Once the pads were set to my liking I climbed back up. The group began bouncing Deep Well 2 at a time. Two at a time is the safest in my opinion due to the lack of room to escape rockfall on the bottom.
Once on top I noticed the others hadn't rigged the other drop. The rope was still in the bag! After some conversation, they had concluded that my rope was unsuitable for use. I was rather amused, but I cannot hold it against anyone who decides not to trust the word of a total stranger. I could have been towing logs with that rope for all they knew, and after all, compared to their brand new rope, mine looked pretty sub-standard! I didn't try to convince them that the rope was structurally sound since it really had no bearing on our situation. I actually admired the fact that they had the sense to question the equipment and rigging instead of making assumptions without facts. Despite their concerns I was confident in my rope's integrity. I rigged my rope for Not-So-Deep Well, went down, rebelayed to the bolt over the pit and bounced the drop alone. I was down and back up with the rope pulled and bagged before the others were finished at Deep Well.
Once everyone was back on top, we snaked their 400 footer into the other pit. Not-So-Deep Well has ample room on the bottom, so everyone rappelled in together. While they were bouncing the 252 footer, I rigged my rope in the main shaft.....tempting fate once again! The pit was a bit drippy. There were a considerable amount of bats hanging out on the walls of the shaft. At about the 100 foot level I could see through the crack to the other shaft and see Charlie rappelling. There is a big window 40 feet off the deck that looks into the main shaft from Not-So- Deep Well and that was where Will and the others were at, watching me rappell in. Using my ropewalker I managed to climb back to the ledge in less than 10 minutes despite the fact that I am still battling some kind of sickness. The slot from the ledge the the surface proved to be a bitch using the ropewalker. In retrospect I should have shed the double bungee and frogged out the last 15 feet. I clearly haven't mastered the art of negotiating cracks gracefully with the ropewalker yet.
Speaking of that slot. It still gives me chills to stand on that ledge and think that I chimneyed down that slot with no protection, oblivious to the 275 foot drop that was just out of sight. I can still vividly remember the terror I felt overcome me when I realized that the 15 foot slot I had bottomed was swallowing baseball sized rocks with 3 second fall times. Needless to say, I was very careful climbing back out of there that day.
I finished bouncing Deep Well before the others were out. We pulled and bagged my death rope and waited on the others. The sky had cleared of clouds and it had warmed considerably as the day progressed. At some point while waiting on everyone to finish climbing I noticed at least three dozen buzzards circling in one area above the cove. Maybe they thought my rope was sub-standard too? Needless to say, it was a strange sight. It was nearly dark by the time we started our long trek back to the summit of Sand Mountain. Despite the long hike, I believe the A.S.S. folks enjoyed their visit to this TAG classic.
Visiting Deep Well always brings back great memories of years that have passed. Therefore, for obvious reasons, Deep Well will always be my favorite TAG pit.
I can't remember everyone's names, but there was a Will, a Charlie, a Sharon.....or maybe Sherry, maybe a David and I can't remember the other lady's name....sorry. Everyone were members of the Athen's Speleological Society and most were UGA students. We walked almost directly to the pit in less than 15 minutes crossing a fairly new logging road that has popped up since I last visited. The pit was heavily flagged, but the foot traffic around the pit seems to have slacked off from previous years. A little steam plume was visible from Deep Well. Not-So-Deep Well was dragging air quite intensely as usual.
I rigged Deep Well with their 400 footer while some others went over to the 252 foot pit to rig the other rope. I rebelayed the main line between the 2 large trees on the surface in an attempt to reduce the friction at the 15 foot level where the pit is offset. Once the pit was rigged, I rappelled down into the 2 foot by 8 foot slot to the ledge to set the rope pads where they needed to be. Once the pads were set to my liking I climbed back up. The group began bouncing Deep Well 2 at a time. Two at a time is the safest in my opinion due to the lack of room to escape rockfall on the bottom.
Once on top I noticed the others hadn't rigged the other drop. The rope was still in the bag! After some conversation, they had concluded that my rope was unsuitable for use. I was rather amused, but I cannot hold it against anyone who decides not to trust the word of a total stranger. I could have been towing logs with that rope for all they knew, and after all, compared to their brand new rope, mine looked pretty sub-standard! I didn't try to convince them that the rope was structurally sound since it really had no bearing on our situation. I actually admired the fact that they had the sense to question the equipment and rigging instead of making assumptions without facts. Despite their concerns I was confident in my rope's integrity. I rigged my rope for Not-So-Deep Well, went down, rebelayed to the bolt over the pit and bounced the drop alone. I was down and back up with the rope pulled and bagged before the others were finished at Deep Well.
Once everyone was back on top, we snaked their 400 footer into the other pit. Not-So-Deep Well has ample room on the bottom, so everyone rappelled in together. While they were bouncing the 252 footer, I rigged my rope in the main shaft.....tempting fate once again! The pit was a bit drippy. There were a considerable amount of bats hanging out on the walls of the shaft. At about the 100 foot level I could see through the crack to the other shaft and see Charlie rappelling. There is a big window 40 feet off the deck that looks into the main shaft from Not-So- Deep Well and that was where Will and the others were at, watching me rappell in. Using my ropewalker I managed to climb back to the ledge in less than 10 minutes despite the fact that I am still battling some kind of sickness. The slot from the ledge the the surface proved to be a bitch using the ropewalker. In retrospect I should have shed the double bungee and frogged out the last 15 feet. I clearly haven't mastered the art of negotiating cracks gracefully with the ropewalker yet.
Speaking of that slot. It still gives me chills to stand on that ledge and think that I chimneyed down that slot with no protection, oblivious to the 275 foot drop that was just out of sight. I can still vividly remember the terror I felt overcome me when I realized that the 15 foot slot I had bottomed was swallowing baseball sized rocks with 3 second fall times. Needless to say, I was very careful climbing back out of there that day.
I finished bouncing Deep Well before the others were out. We pulled and bagged my death rope and waited on the others. The sky had cleared of clouds and it had warmed considerably as the day progressed. At some point while waiting on everyone to finish climbing I noticed at least three dozen buzzards circling in one area above the cove. Maybe they thought my rope was sub-standard too? Needless to say, it was a strange sight. It was nearly dark by the time we started our long trek back to the summit of Sand Mountain. Despite the long hike, I believe the A.S.S. folks enjoyed their visit to this TAG classic.
Visiting Deep Well always brings back great memories of years that have passed. Therefore, for obvious reasons, Deep Well will always be my favorite TAG pit.
