Steve Clark
Well-known member
We did a trip last night (Friday) to have some practice goes through the Rowten Sumps in KMC. There is a bit of sheath wear on the rope through the 8m sump, underwater 1-2m or so in from the Rowten side. We didn't have any spare suitable rope with us to replace it with.
As a bit of trip report after the recent rains :
Water levels in KMC were back to low/normal.
Visibility in the sumps 0.5-1m.
There's a fair bit of standing water in the roof tunnel and a layer of fresh silt between Window Aven & the pitch head.
Despite being through before, I initially made a mistake with finding the first sump/duck. There's a single bolt with a home-made ali hanger but no rope. I thought this was the place and the rope was missing. I dived through a more awkward slot with a rock bridge to find the usual 1st air space. The actual normal / easier way with a fixed rope tied through a hole in the rock is a few metres back in the passage, towards Valley. We didn't spot the rope initially, although it's pretty obvious.
As a bit of trip report after the recent rains :
Water levels in KMC were back to low/normal.
Visibility in the sumps 0.5-1m.
There's a fair bit of standing water in the roof tunnel and a layer of fresh silt between Window Aven & the pitch head.
Despite being through before, I initially made a mistake with finding the first sump/duck. There's a single bolt with a home-made ali hanger but no rope. I thought this was the place and the rope was missing. I dived through a more awkward slot with a rock bridge to find the usual 1st air space. The actual normal / easier way with a fixed rope tied through a hole in the rock is a few metres back in the passage, towards Valley. We didn't spot the rope initially, although it's pretty obvious.