Rhino Rift - Right Hand Route

[JoshW]

Has anyone here done Rhino right hand route since the re-bolting?

I was in there at the weekend and the rigging topo didn't seem to reflect the bolts that were in front of me? The distance and height differential between the first and second bolt seemed a little gnarly.

Also, presumably because the plan was to overlay the new topo onto the old, the right hand route (at least for the top traverse) is reversed and so is shown as going from left to right whereas in reality you're traversing from right to left which didn't help with my confusion!

Any advice gratefully received.

On reflection I probably should have researched before making the trek in. I'm also planning on doing the normal route in order to be able to check out all stages of the right hand route.

Ta in advance

 

[andrew]

I guess you are right that the page is left to right but if you face the wall it is right to left, however that is the nature of extended elevations, which is generally what rigging diagrams are. I followed the original positions and believe I followed the original rigging diagram, including the direction.
Not sure what you mean by the first and second hieght difference, however, it is a rigging diagram, which gives the general feel, not exact positions, it is assumed people are experienced enought to read the cave and follow the rigging, again I took the original rigging diagram and only changed the bits where we had to change anchor positions. That said I obviously made a mistake as I missed out the deviation. I was trying to get it on A4 and flipped some things and was carrless. The right hand route is and always has been for experienced riggers looking for fun. I hope you enjoyed it.

 

[JoshW]

Cheers Andrew. Think me and my chums made the correct call that we were perhaps too inexperienced to be going at it with as little prior knowledge as we had. Will try and put some comparison pics of old and new topo at the second bolt later/tomorrow (currently enjoying a curry on my todd after a gruelling few days at work).

I think with a bit more prep I’d be willing to give it a proper crack (but will probably do ‘normal route’ to scout it out first.

Cheers for the response!

 

[cap n chris]

Rhino Rift is a significant jump up from intro/intermediate ropework. Mendip lacks sites which provide progression. Rhino and Thrupe are fabulous SRT ventures but do require adeptness/proficiency of quite a high level before attempting.

 

[JoshW]

We’d hit up Thrupe the day before (down to marble streamway and then a slither/lateral exchange) and think we potentially were riding a high from that.

Rhino RH seemed a massive step up from that, but again that could just be our lack of prior knowledge of the place

 

[andrew]

It is a bit of a jump. A nice challenge. Hardest part is finding the anchors, easier now they are IC anchors not spits. Plus this means you can clip in as soon as you find them, it was always a bit of a contortion holding on while screwing in the bolts.
The anchors are in good places for the route. We did consider repositioning some during the revolting, however despite a very experienced team in the end only added one to the second traverse. The rest the improvement would not have been enough to justify the additional damage to the cave.
My biggest tip is on the first pitch after the deviation and on the second pitch, start swinging before you cannot touch the wall.
Enjoy.

 

[chriscastle46]

Some years ago when I worked for Cheddar Caves I went to enormous trouble to develop a training route, now known as Castle's Great Hairy Ring (not named by me!) in the Black Cat Chamber of Gough's Cave to address this very problem. The first part had been bolted by Andy Sparrow and I extended it all the way round the chamber. Many people benefitted from it, often getting their knickers in a twist, and it could be improved but alas, it cannot be accessed now and has been messed up by later developments. If it ever could be used again it would need to be re-bolted with resin anchors, I doubt if the Spits are safe.

 

[andrew]

Some years ago when I worked for Cheddar Caves I went to enormous trouble to develop a training route, now known as Castle's Great Hairy Ring (not named by me!) in the Black Cat Chamber of Gough's Cave to address this very problem. The first part had been bolted by Andy Sparrow and I extended it all the way round the chamber. Many people benefitted from it, often getting their knickers in a twist, and it could be improved but alas, it cannot be accessed now and has been messed up by later developments. If it ever could be used again it would need to be re-bolted with resin anchors, I doubt if the Spits are safe.

I thought the extension we put in was resin anchors https://cscc.org.uk/wiki/equipment/start#gough_s_cave seems to suggest there are 3 coded OX. But, it could be somewhere else!
I'm currently trying to improve the website, including links to the rigging, lack of time is my excuse for the slow progress. However, the transition is making it harder to use.

 

[andrew]

Josh, I've had a fiddle and to try to make it easier I have reversed the directions of the first traverse. The traverse start is probably still actually steeper than the diagram seems to show, however that is the nature of rigging diagrams, they are not in exact proportion, the obvious example the length of pitches is generally longer than shown on diagrams, less true for Mendip than caves in the alps. I have tried to make the left right more like the feel of the cave, but there is a lot of rotation down the cave that does not fit neatly onto a 2D sheet of paper. Hope it helps
https://cscc.org.uk/wiki/equipment/rhino-rhr

 

[cap n chris]

I thought the extension we put in was resin anchors https://cscc.org.uk/wiki/equipment/start#gough_s_cave seems to suggest there are 3 coded OX. But, it could be somewhere else!
I'm currently trying to improve the website, including links to the rigging, lack of time is my excuse for the slow progress. However, the transition is making it harder to use.

Yes, they were resin; I assisted. I recall it relatively well.

 

[chriscastle46]

Quite right, I'd forgotten that. Pity it's not used any longer.