Leviathan Top Clean-up - Phil Wolstenholme
Present: Luke Brock, Luke Brownbridge, Alastair Gott, Louise McMahon, Phil Wolstenholme
Today's trip was to do some gardening at the top of Leviathan, to try and reduce the risk of another accident like the one that nearly killed Andy Farrow. A rock rolled over the wide sloping ledge at the top and fell down the shaft, hitting him on the head and shoulder mid-prussik. The area had already been noted years before as a significant safety risk to cavers, and it finally came true, so we decided to sort it out as best we could, so got a team together and hit the JH entrance shaft for the second time in two days. To cut a long story short, we got to the Workshop in good time, with me leading with the drill and bolting kit, and I climbed down to the two bedding-slot openings at the top of Leviathan and put a pair of screwbolts into some good rock on either side. Some of the rock was not good at all and I had to change my plans in both areas halfway through when a bit moved ;)
As the others arrived, we were able to rig ropes into both sections and me and Louise gingerly walked backwards down the gravelly slopes collecting the looser rocks and passing them up to be stacked under the safe bedding on the other side. Several sections of iron barrel-straps were also retrieved and stashed under there. Eventually I got too far down on my side to pass them back, so took a kit-bag to fill up instead. Some of the rocks are too large and scary to touch, so I didn't. A few small stones fell down the whole shaft, but nothing major, and hopefully they missed all the anchors and ropes. Leviathan from that position is very nice indeed as I was above the main long deviation on the original top pitch, so a very good position to see what else is there. There is a hole opposite that could be reached via a daring bolt-climb across a huge inclined slab, but it would be worth checking with Moose to see if it was reached via another route ages ago. I also found a small natural shaft beneath a jammed boulder right on the lip of the void, and when I stuck my head in it was plain that it too opened out into Leviathan a bit further down - massive echo when I shouted down it. Alastair then had a look while I ran across to Louise's rope to have a look from that side - all very interesting, and nearly all natural, with little evidence remaining of how the miners ever managed to deal with this colossal space.
We then set off back out, and despite our arduous trip yesterday, still managed to get out in good time - my helmet lamp ran out halfway up the entrance shaft and luckily I had my backup with me, otherwise I would have had to do a single-bolt rebelay halfway up the shaft, lit only by the tiny square of light coming through the lid 20m higher up...
A good worthwhile trip, and hopefully it will be a little less dangerous now.