New Zealand again

[pete_the_caver]

I've lifted this from Facebook

Since Chrismas, Kieran McKay and Aaron Gillespie have been exploring a hole located on the north ridge of Mt Arthur at an altitude of 1600 metres. After two trips they ran out of rope at minuus 170 metres in a huge chamber. The cave has a very strong wind blowing into it and it lies 1.5 kms from nettlebed and 700 metres above the closest point of Nettlebed. A connection would make a 1300 metre deep through trip and put nettlebed back on top as the deepest cave in NZ. So right now they are crossing fingers and are flying into the area in a weeks time to push this new cave as hard as we can. If there are any cavers out there who would lke to join them, will be welcome!!

 

[Amy]

Oooh I wish! I have friends in New Zealand I want to visit. One of them is interested in caving actually, I keep trying to get him to join a cave club there.

 

[pete_the_caver]

  long time since I posted an image, pitty its gone fuzzy, but this should tell you all you need to know.  This of course only shows a small fraction of the known caves in the area

 

[pete_the_caver]

Aye Aye captain as its been named, is now 460 metres deep, 2.5 kms long and stopped by a 10 metre waterfall in 2 metre wide 20 metre high passage with a strong wind blowing downstream!! Heading for either Windrift or Nettlebed.  It was not located as shown in the last picture but as on this picture

for more picture try visiting: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/album.php?fbid=178288455544335&id=100000895466630&aid=40967&notif_t=photo_album_reply&closeTheater=1

 

[pete_the_caver]

Stormy pot is now 6.5 k long and 576 metres deep, end point is the biggest river passage Kieran has ever seen in a cave on the mountain!!

the maps here are rough because they were extracted from a poor quality pdf file.  I have made the Stormy Pot section purple.

 

[Goydenman]

Exciting stuff - looks like it may even end up linking with both Windrift and Nettlebed. That would be one awesome system. Total length of the three so far?

 

[pete_the_caver]

Nettlebed, Windrift and Stormy Pot currently add up to approx 35km and if the new cave turns out to be the key to the system then I guess you could tripple that total because there must be a three dimentional maze of passage under all of that mountain.  If the Ellis system were linked in (currently at 33.4km) then you would be looking at a truely massive cave system

 

[pete_the_caver]

Just heard that the team have added another 3km to the survey

 

[pete_the_caver]

This just came through on Facebook...

Stormy Pot Cave now 760 metres deep (3rd deepest in NZ) and 9.6 km long. We explored downstream for over 2km through huge passages and chambers. Looks like the end point of the cave sits under Yellow Brick road somewhere. looks like another 1000 metre deep cave is on the cards
Big thanks to the awesome team; Chris Whitehouse, Aaron Gillespie, Neil Silverwood and Troy Watson

Kieran McKay

 

[pete_the_caver]

and...

The good news is that the bottom of Blizzard may be the point they hope to connect to Nettlebed. Cave passage they found is huge, really huge! Very exciting caving

 

[pete_the_caver]

Some pictures have been posted on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=289509474399575&set=oa.264476313573970&type=1#!/photo.php?fbid=289508501066339&set=oa.264476313573970&type=1&permPage=1

 

[ripcord]

Stormy Pot is now about 20 meters from connecting to Nettlebed Cave. This will give a 40 kilometer + system and around 1200 meters deep through trip when connected

 

[Pitlamp]

Or "metres" . . .

Ripcord - this is a very long shot but, can I just ask, are you originally from the UK and did you once happen to be in a certain well known British club noted for hauling people up and down a certain big hole with a winch in the Dales?

 

[pete_the_caver]

I'm originally from NZ but my dad is an honary member of a certain club that hauls people in and out of a cave in the Dales

 

[Pitlamp]

Thanks Pete - is Ripcord your dad then?
If so, was he an active caver in the Dales in the 1970s?
If it's the Ripcord I'm thinking of I've been caving with him when I was a youngster.

 

[NigR]

I once asked the CPC 'Ripcord' why he was so named. "Because I bail out on every trip" was his reply!

I remember teaming up with him on a Birks Fell club meet (probably 'cos nobody else wanted to). He was really chuffed when we got to the end of the cave (although he did say on emerging from the entrance that he wouldn't have gone down if he'd known he was going to feel like he did when he got out)!

Top fella! Can't be Pete's dad surely?

 

[Pitlamp]

Top fella! Can't be Pete's dad surely?

Nig and I are obviously thinking along the same lines here.

 

[pete_the_caver]

Thanks Pete - is Ripcord your dad then?
If so, was he an active caver in the Dales in the 1970s?
If it's the Ripcord I'm thinking of I've been caving with him when I was a youngster.

No he's not Ripcord.  He joined CPC around 1950 so that he could tell someone about a discovery he had made.... 'Hobson's Choice' in Dow cave.  He moved to NZ in 1952 or 53 where he got to discover and explore huge numbers of caves over the next few decades.  Any ideas who he is yet?

 

[ripcord]

Yes I am an ex CPC member from the 70s, caved in NZ for many years but have now retired from the sport which is unfortunate as lots of big things are happening over here at the moment

With the Stormy Pot exploration ongoing on Mt Arthur
Greenlink/Middle earth system on Takaka Hill now over 22k and still going with the possibility of a connection to the Riwaka Resurance.
Bulmer Cave on Mt Owen now over 66k and more being found

So is Pete the one I think he is  :doubt: If he is I can assure I'm not his dad  :yucky:

 

[Pitlamp]

Pete - as soon as I read your clue in last post above I knew exactly who the UKCaving forum's "ripcord" is. I never met him as he moved to NZ before I was born. But I certainly know him by reputation! My very first caving trip as a child was to that choke in Dow Cave and I was told about how he'd passed it at the time. Later I came to know several of his generation of CPC members who told me all about his discovery.

The "Ripcord" I was initially thinking of was someone who was actively caving with the CPC in the 1970s but he moved (I think) to South Africa and was no longer in contact with the club, as far as I'm aware. I'd just wondered if he'd turned up in NZ.

For "ripcord" - greetings and felicitations from the Yorkshire Dales.
Please come back and sort out the next choke in Dow for us!