After finding the stopes on the Middlecleugh Vein during the last
trip we wanted to explore them in more detail and to do a bit of surveying as
well as dropping down the laddered manway in the sublevel to see if the
connection with Caplecleugh was open.
We headed towards our target vein
and quickly rigged up to get down into the stopes. It was good to be able to
have a look around the stopes with plenty of time to spare this time around. As
soon as we dropped into the stope we entered another parallel stope that last
time we missed, here we found another ore shoot to the sub level and a few
artifacts, however it did not go too far as both ends where blocked. After this
we did some surveying and photography as the main stope had some very
interesting features and remains of artifacts. We found calcified buckets,
pipes, clog prints and very colourful formations on the floor. In the northeast
end of the stope there was a shaft breaking out of the roof, which may lead
back to the Smallcleugh horse level, if it could be reached, an area that is
blocked could be accessed.
The ore shoot we dropped down last time was
rigged up and before abseiling down we stopped to have lunch on a small shelf
on one side of the stope. This time we had a look up the southwest side of the
sublevel passage, which had many ore shoots going back up into the stope, only
one was open and the others where either blocked or boarded and stacked with
deads at the top. About halfway along we reached a fall from the roof which had
partially collapsed on a bogey, it was possible to get past the collapse as
long as you did not disturb the keystone. The other side went on for some 35m,
from the look of things the stone arching was dressed at the end and looked as
it went no further, past this there was just rubble, rocks and deads, the end
of the stope working?
We returned to the bottom of the ore shoot that we
had emerged from and proceeded to rig the laddered manway which would lead us
hopefully to Caplecleugh. Karli when down first and put in a deviation. The
manway dropped about 2.5m and then when down at 45 degrees to the main shaft. A
lot of gardening work was carried out by Karli as there was plenty of loose
material to clobber you if it was to fall. One thing struck us here, most of
the loose material was slightly calcified orcherous sludge, hummm, following
what we found on the other side of the sublevel last time the bottom was not
promising to be pleasant. I joined Karli at the bottom of the incline on a
platform and he abseiled down. I went down after him, to be greeted by slimey
orcherous mud, however if was wellie safe - at the bottom of the manway that
is. From the sublevel to bottom we made the shaft to be 20m.
From the
Vieille Montagne plans we have there should have been a passage way paralleling
southwest the sub level above, but there was no sign of it, the level we where
in did go in the right direction to meet up with main Caplecleugh Horse Level
at the point where the calcified ladder is on the through trip link from
Caplecleugh to Smallcleugh. The VM plans are not exactly clear in their
portrial of sublevels and the sublevel above us could be the level below the
stopes and not Caplecleugh itself as depicted by the plans, checking with the
PDMHS plan this does appear to be the case. From Smallcleugh we had dropped a
total of 34.5m which makes it about the right horizon for Caplecleugh. Now this
could have been concluded easily by going along the level, however it was not
that inviting as it just looked like a sea of orche. I tried to get Karli to go
along it (reasoning that being the younger of us both he would like to have the
fun), but he refused (also at this point he failed to tell me that he had
clocked on to the fact that we where stood on built up debris from the manway
and that judging by the hieght of the ore hopper the level in the passage would
definately not be wellie safe). After cursing him I put a leg out and
immediately sunk up to my thigh, he then pointed out the hopper hieght and
proceeded to laugh. Well, in for a penny in for a pound, I stepped into the
passage proper and got up to my waist. The mud was slimey and very clingy, I
tired to make some progress, but it took me about 10 minutes to get 5m in and
back out, very hard going and unpleasant. When I got back to the hopper the
weight of the mud was terrible, a slow climb back up was had, well and truely
Tango'd, oh and more laughter as the orange orche coverage could be properly
seen.
When we got out, it dawned on us that it would be better to try
and link in from the other side of Caplecleugh proper so that we had no doubt
of the level. It took a long time to clean up in the water drain of
Caplecleugh, still got orange stained toes a week
later.
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