Chris Shaman (breifly), Alex Ritchie
I had always intended to Spectacle pot solo, today, but was hoping someone would come with me.
I did get Chris but he was repelled by splutter crawl leaving me solo. Getting stuff through this way was easier as its possible to drag the bags in with rope, though that don’t stop them getting stuck in a hole. I did not fancy the drop onto the ladder head first, so I managed to drop my feet into a tiny hole and managed to switch to feet first and found the ladder with my feet. Its probably best to do the whole thing Don style.
From there after the slightly tight second pitch, the cave was far wetter and flat out than I remember, I guess this is why its grade 5. I kept thinking, surely the way on is not through there?, but it was. I think this crawl should be called splutter not the one above! Rigging the main pitch was actually the most relaxing part, strangely. I felt like a lone climber on the side of a mountain before dawn.
My rope just about reached the floor (I had to take the knot out to make-sure I could get back on). I came to the the next pitch which I rigged down a load of overhanging boulders and was making me quite nervous, there was no way of completely avoiding them. At the bottom I was now on the great boulder heap, and after surfing down the boulders for a bit, I decided that was the bottom as far as I was concerned (It essentially was).
On the way out it was not too hard until I got to splutter. A bag I could hardly carry into my house tonight was my only companion here, well aside to my SRT kit I clipped to it. Splutter starts off with a rift and believe me its a gear sticker. In Splutter itself I just had to push one inch at a time all the while not seeing a blooming thing as my head was stuck at a right-angle. It was getting tighter and tighter until it finally relented. It was not over yet. The other bag had been left here by Chris for my SRT so I had to drag/push two bags up the entrance squeezes and climbs. Finally I was at the entrance and emerging into twilight of a deep red sky. 4 hours underground, I hope it pushes me one step closer to making me fit enough for China.
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