 |
28/30th August 2002
|
|
|
Wulong County, Chongqing Municipality
Hammer SmasherTian Xing Village 28/08/2002 Erin and Andy went down Qi Keng Dong taking two bags to rig next pitches from Laptop Pitch. Tom soldered in a new switch for the Hong Meigui drill but the bearings were seized and a gear tooth was broken. I freed the bearings using a bit of brute force and Tom reassembled - it seems to work! We also did some electrical work to provide light in the farmhouse, sorted gear and washed clothes. |
|
5 hours later Tom and I followed Erin and Andy to catch up with them at the top of the Drink Pitch. Erin and Andy went out while Tom and I carried on down. Tom rigged most of it, to nearly the bottom of the 90m Sonic Screwdriver pitch, while I carried the bags and got cold. Out at 11:00 p.m. Tom and Andy moan about cave and mud and living conditions! It's getting to be a rather comical ritual. |
 |
Click on survey to enlarge |
Will we drop into Furong Dong? |
29/09/2002
Tom and I set off down Qi Keng Dong at 12:00 p.m. Tom pulled a muscle in his arm on Boulder pitch when his stop descender slipped on the muddy rope. He went out while I carried on, to be joined by Erin and Andy at the top of Sonic Pitch. I descend placing a sling on Sonic, a sling and two bolts for the 10m Rani Pitch and a thread and two bolts for the 50m Master Pitch. The 17m Ming the Merciless Pitch gets a sling, a two bolt traverse and a dodgy rock bolt rebelay. The dodgy rock bolt rebelay later fails as I unclipped my safety line while passing the belay on the way back up. This is lucky because there wasn't a shock load on the rope which could have broken or damaged it and also if it had failed on someone else I'd never have heard the end of it! |
| Finally to Pitch Out of Time and new ground. A two bolt traverse and a Y hang followed by bolt rebelays keeps the rope out of the water. Ran out of battery power at about minus 60m, carried on down to minus 90m but the pitch continues out of sight. We're now past 600m depth in the cave and Tom owes me 3000 yuan, having bet the cave would end before this. (It's never paid of course!) A slow climb out to emerge at 1:00 a.m. Andy and Tom are still unimpressed by the cave and the farmhouse (and the food!) | |
Tom on balcony of farmhouse |
30/08/2002 Day of rest while planning and preparing for big push tomorrow. Ring Andy Eavis to get more gear which he promises to do, sort out flights and exchange news. Tom gets upset over a mix up in flights because he wanted to be out in time to go with people going to see the Great Wall. Eventually it's sorted out and Madam Tan is contacted to change the ticket dates. |
|
There is a good deal of banter about the prospects for the cave or the lack of them. There is discussion about the money the expedition is saving by having us here (and who should benefit from it) and of course the living conditions! Moaning seems to be the basis of a whole humour. The weather has been brilliant in Tian Xing with blue skies everyday but Tom keeps saying that the other team must even now be in the Great Crack being filmed by Gavin, while we're here pushing a squalid cave etc. etc. He misses his mates in Xin Long! |
Andy 'Hammer Smasher' Lewington |
|
Andy has accidentally hammered through the wrist sling on Tom's bolt hammer while putting bolts in on the 28th August. Tom says he’s had the hammer for 15 years without damage. Tom berates the 'remorseless' Andy 'Hammer Smasher' Lewington. Andy replies that a hammer that old is dangerous and should be thrown away! They're a good double act. |
August Diary 4  |
