Doom

[Dan]

The new System which has been found by the Credit Crunch expedition has been called Doom. There will be some photo's to follow later but it is very exciting......


Dan

[Judi Durber]

    I like it already     well done lads & lassies, especially in this weather   

[Rob]

First photo of the new system:




More to follow later... 

[Goydenman]

Where do you get your green suits and that tool for encouraging the diggers to build that pile of spoil?

[Rob]

Here's a small collection of snaps from the trip yesterday. There would be more, of probably better quality, had i not been selfish and been running about bagging passage. 

The bendy ladder climb up from the previously known extent of the old mines, up into new, natural phreatic...


The boulder choke of doom, digging up through miner's debris....


An old, woodern wheel barrow...


Looking down the Temple of Doom!


One of the many natural avens which needs climbing...


A higher level passage with a wagon in. This continues behind Dave for >350m...


In the lower section a large natural streamway enters. This has been crawled allong for >150m and is still wide open...


Old mine workings


I've uploaded more photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob_eavis/sets/72157630501128436/

Such a great trip, one of the best for sure. We've now got lots of work to do, hopefully finding a new entrance allowing everyone to get in there and have a run around, as through the current arrangemnt there is no access allowed (not our rules)....

[Mark]

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?

[zomjon]

Can't believe I'm asking this, but where is 'Doom'?

[Pipster]

WOW! VERY VERY IMPRESSIVE! I can't believe the length/size of it! Utterly amazing - must be the biggest find since Titan? Hugely important too - more understanding of the hydrology and re-discovered mining. It looks and sounds like a brilliant trip! 4 streamways!? Brilliant!



Massive congratulations to all involved.  Superb find. That must have been (and still is) VERY exciting! Looks like you'll be very busy over the coming months - there must be a lot more still awaiting discovery down there.



I hope you managed to capture some of the break through on film! 

I can't wait to see a survey and where it's heading, and how it fits in with other known swallets, etc.

Good luck in finding a new entrance - so that the rest of us can take a look!



Jam/Rich: I think we'll struggle to beat this in down in WICC! LOL. These guys have definitely bagged that Hitch n Hike rope this year! damn. hehe!

[Pipster]

I guess this is the Stoney Master Cave then? 

[Jam]

Friken awesome. Well done folks!!!   ))   

[Mark]

I guess this is the Stoney Master Cave then? 

I suppose it is a master cave of sorts, and its in Stoney, but it is not the one we were looking for this doesn't appear to be the Eyam Edge swallets water

[Pipster]

I suppose it is a master cave of sorts, and its in Stoney, but it is not the one we were looking for this doesn't appear to be the Eyam Edge swallets water

Wow, that's so intriguing! Any ideas where these streams come from? Do they all end up in one streamway or do they criss cross each other?

Have any of the diggers managed to sleep yet?  Hehe!

[pwhole]

Very good work indeed folks

[Pipster]

Do you think it's possible the White Rake dig might offer another way in?

[Rob]

Do you think it's possible the White Rake dig might offer another way in?

Possibly, but it's ~200m away from the closest place and we're currently heading in the wrong direction. But there's still sooo much stuff to look at, so who knows!

[Dan]

All the new stuff found over the weekend is called Doom, it's a bit of a joke between the diggers about some of the interesing situations the diggers found themselves in. Doom is in Mystery Mine Zomjon.

[Dan]

The No 1 Priority is to find another way in, the miners have not come in where we have so there must be another entrance, maybe down one of the many mine shafts? 

[Pipster]

Do you think it's possible the White Rake dig might offer another way in?

Possibly, but it's ~200m away from the closest place and we're currently heading in the wrong direction. But there's still sooo much stuff to look at, so who knows!

At the rate you guys are finding new stuff down there I suspect it'll connect in a day or two! hehe! If only....

Well, best of luck pushing this further wherever it's heading guys. Hopefully some of those Avens will lead to higher level passages and the possibility of another entrance(s).

Do you still have a two week window for exploration (like last year), or have you managed to secure futher access given the magnitude of the find? Hopefully the latter!

[Pipster]

The No 1 Priority is to find another way in,

Great! 

The miners have not come in where we have so there must be another entrance, maybe down one of the many mine shafts?

Very interesting to hear that they've come in another way. Are you reffering to shafts you've tallied up on the surface (or know to be in the proximity of), and/or visible shafts heading upwards in the new finds?

[Goydenman]

Mega find guys - well done and I can't wait to see the survey and it relationship with everything else. Good luck findig an entrance soon and enjoy pushing all those leads.
WOW WOW WOW........

[bograt]

I suppose it is a master cave of sorts, and its in Stoney, but it is not the one we were looking for this doesn't appear to be the Eyam Edge swallets water

Wow, that's so intriguing! Any ideas where these streams come from? Do they all end up in one streamway or do they criss cross each other?

Or are they all separate leaks from the same perched aquifer just over the anticline?

Well done chaps

[Tim H]

Fantastic stuff! Well done to all involved. 

[owd git]

Can't believe I'm asking this, but where is 'Doom'?

Friday jon?
O.G. 

[mmilner]

Doom is in Mystery Mine Zomjon.

Which is not in the latest COPD!  (Along with many other mines...)  Well done, anyway...

[Rob]

The miners have not come in where we have so there must be another entrance, maybe down one of the many mine shafts?

Very interesting to hear that they've come in another way. Are you reffering to shafts you've tallied up on the surface (or know to be in the proximity of), and/or visible shafts heading upwards in the new finds?

A number of mined out shafts can be seen to head up in the roof, one with quite a lot of dips coming down, so hopes are high for a surface connection with that one. Also we haven't even got to the end of the main level yet, let alone most of the side passages, so who knows where it may go!?!