An unnoticed tube in the Wet West was discovered by Dave and Rob
On Saturday, Rob and Dave dug for a couple of hours, and broke through into some old pipe caverns, lots of miners artifacts about, which ended at an eyehole down with the sound of a waterfall?
Sunday, we dropped two pitches (about 25mtrs) and ended up in a stream way, upstream went through a high vadose canyon for about 65mtrs, until it started getting a bit tight, followed it downstream past a flat out crawl on the left at roof level, to a waterfall (big stream) coming in at roof level, again on the left, Dan and JT followed this for about 150mtrs before it got a bit low and wet.
15mtrs beyond the waterfall all the water was crashing down a mined out natural rift which we dropped (after diverting the water down a choked rift) for about 25mtrs, which dropped into the top a low phreatic passage with a stream flowing from a sump upstream, (downstream went to a low sump also) Dan lowered the sump upstream and got through into about 20mtrs of low phreatic stuff before it sumped again.
The flat out crawl at roof level was followed for about 10mtrs to a huge fluted aven about 8m diameter and 20mtrs high with a stream cascading down.
Meanwhile Rob had climbed a natural aven into some more pipe caverns at a higher level, and a big natural aven to climb.
Time was running out so we went back up to the eyeholes where Dan spotted a rift on the other side of the pitch again with the sound of water, an easy traverse gained the rift which was followed for about 10mtrs to a window overlooking a huge fluted shaft with a floor about 15mtrs below but we couldn't see the roof due to yet another stream coming in from the top.
So several hundred mtrs of totally natural stuff over 1K of pipe workings, lots of leads to push, 3 big avens to climb and loads of ways off in the pipe workings.
There are at least 4 independent streams in the new stuff and we don't think it goes to the boil up.
There is no access at the moment and what access we have is extremely delicate, so please be patient don't pester the land owners, we may find an easy way in?