Short update...
Sunday 8 April 2012
Divers: J Warny, T Seddon, P Mackrill, S Dwyer, A Kennedy
Hoping to take advantage of the stunning vis experienced in Marble Arch on the previous day the divers attending the Student Caving Forum in Kiltyclougher decided to take a fun trip into the Monastir Way, unvisited since 17 May 2009. There was a bit of faffing, Jim and i being there very early only to find i'd left my drysuit in Steph's car. So we had to wait for the others.
Jim and i dived first, diving in drysuits and aiming to tidy up the lines and replace any washed out. The vis wasn't as good as in the Owenbreen streamway but still a reasonable 0.5m to 1.5m. We tidied up the lines as far as the junction, and marked the out side of the junction with an arrow. The line beyond this had washed out and was trailling downstream, Jim swam across the entrance to the Northern Way, reached the next wall and then we followed it on our right to the end of the line. This wasn't as expected in the sump pool, as we realised we'd actually swam across the passage and then followed the wall back downstream! We returned to the junction, me with one leg tangled in the out line that i couldn't get untangled and when i asked Jim to release me he looked at the untangled leg. Jim rolled up the loose line and bundled it at the junction. Here there was a communication breakdown where i thought Jim wanted to turn and Jim thought i wanted to turn so we both headed out. After a 28 minute dive we surfaced to meet the other 3.
Tony Seddon then dived, taking the line reel, and after exploring the Northern Way returned to the junction and completed the line to the Monastir Way. Jim dived with Steph Dwyer for a bit of a training dive, going about 40m along the line. Once they had returned Paul Mackrill dived to join Tony in the Monastir Way, and they climbed up to sump 2 before returning.
Tony noted that it might be worthwhile relaying the line entering sump 2 to avoid it washing out in future; as it stands i think it is going pretty much where Artur originally laid it. Also note that the line in the sump is a complete hodge-podge of line and still incorporates 40 year old glowline.
Al
