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Mist rising in the Hong Chi Ba Valley |
China Caves Project
Xiaoshui DongHong Chi Ba Area
The next day we split in to two teams. Jack, Laurie and Ali returned to Xiaoshui Dong, feeling slightly traumatised by the drive along the narrow mountain track in a decrepit jeep.
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There was a very strong cold draught noticeable a soon as the Xiaoshui depression was entered. This had already given rise to thoughts of an enormous world beating deep cave.
Ali - 'I rigged the 9m entrance pitch entirely on convenient natural belays. A chamber at the bottom still had a howling draught, but the way on was not so obvious. With a tackle bag each, the three of us headed through a short low section into bigger passage. Following the draught we ignored several side passages and started to find branches and other flood debris.
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Ali Garman types on an electronic organiser while Jack Sheldon establishes the coordinates. Despite this technical approach or perhaps because of it, all the GPS coordinates for Hong Chi Ba have been lost and we have to rely on the map coordinates! |
On a number of occasions the branches were too entangled to allow progress without digging. We came to one chamber which measured 30m by 15m and climbed steeply to avens at the top. As we continued to explore these big passages we gradually lost the draught. There is certainly a substantial cave system here, but the way on is blocked with both silt and branches.'
Before returning to Hong Chi Ba, Ali also explored a 15m shaft near houses in Tanjiawan. At the bottom there was a human skeleton, but without a Chinese interpreter, they could discover nothing about it, even if the local people had been willing to talk. |
 Swallow Cave |
