Eldon hole ice

[Cantclimbtom]

... ... ... Easy digging, easy out


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Had a good inspection of that on Saturday, it's soft mud with rocks in it, picked off flowstone just as you described and must be filling up a void (miners' tunnel?). But... not so sure about the easy dig because looking directly up there's a lot of very big things that might fall on top of you if you disturbed anything

 

[pwhole]

There is that risk, yes. But once past that it looks like a solid rift passage. Whether it was miners picking off the flowstone we'll never know, but I don't think Puttrell and pals were into that sort of digging, so it could be. But a flowstone coating means that fill's never been touched. And definitely plenty of space for spoil stacking 😁

 

[Cantclimbtom]

There is that risk, yes. But once past that it looks like a solid rift passage. Whether it was miners picking off the flowstone we'll never know, but I don't think Puttrell and pals were into that sort of digging, so it could be. But a flowstone coating means that fill's never been touched. And definitely plenty of space for spoil stacking 😁

Looks like pick marks to me, even if someone was belting it with a geology hammer it wouldn't look like that. Either a pick or a hammer and chisel for a long time. Maybe it's a just a blind trial, but really looks like it's picked. The two gullies, South in particular, are perfectly do-able by t'owd man looking for lead.

 

[ChrisB]

Had a good inspection of that on Saturday

Where are you referring to? I can't find that quote or image in this thread, wondering if the forum has mixed up two threads?

 

[mikem]

Page 2 - Aptil 18th - middle picture

The most exciting feature for me at the bottom of the shaft is this massive phreatic rift passage choked with sediment and rocks at the north end. It was was once coated with a 5cm skin of flowstone that someone, possibly miners, picked off. I'm surprised it's never been attempted before. Easy digging, easy out

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[LarryFatcat]

I shifted a few large rocks out of it on Sat 9/12/23 while I was waiting for the next one to descend, it appears to me to be a large passage packed with glacial fill.

 

[LarryFatcat]

Where are you referring to? I can't find that quote or image in this thread, wondering if the forum has mixed up two threads?

It's in the North wall of the entrance shaft, pretty much where the rope lands on the North route down.

 

[pwhole]

I think it's a really good prospect, and somewhat amazed it's never been looked at before. It may be controversial, but given no-one's ever going to dig in the floor of the main shaft, extending the connection shaft upwards a little to keep a lip would allow a colossal amount of spoil to be removed from the passage if it were backfilled (spread) across the entire floor of the shaft. Of course, it could go all the way to Eldon Quarry...