TYRTONG RYNGKU (Krem)

History

EXPLORATION HISTORY: 2006.02.15, trip 1: Moonlight Patlong (Shnongrim wood cutter) points out the overgrown entrance doline to Anthony 'Tony' R Jarratt (2006.02.15 Mss 'Krem Tyrtong Ryngkoo / Krem Khyllum' 15/2/06, 19/2/06, 20/2/06)) and Neil Pacey. Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.03.04 Mss: Cave Log, vol. XIII: 15/2/06) narrates how the two abandoned exploration of Krem Warkhla 2 and marched back up to Krem Bir 2 where the rest of the kit was gathered up. Well laden down we decided to rig Krem Synrang Ngap and set off along the path to the overview from the Shaktiman track at the bend. Here we asked directions from a local woodcutter (Moonlight Patlong) who pointed out a banana tree covered pot just a few meters away! This was not Ngap but a new one to us which emitted a warm draught and mist. Neil rigged the hole and ran out of rope (and time) at -50 m. A tight squeeze between two pitches caused him a few problems on the way out but we hope to enlarge it tomorrow. JARRAT (2006: 10) adds to have enjoyed a hangover (as usual) and fell asleep (unusual) while Neil rigged and descended a first 50 m drop to push a very tight squeeze to another pot and had some entertainment reversing it. 2006.02.16: A rainy day. 2006.02.17, trip 2: Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.02.15 Mss 'Krem Tyrtong Ryngkoo / Krem Khyllum' 15/2/06, 19/2/06, 20/2/06)), Neil Pacey and Desmond 'Des' McNally continued exploration in wet condition. Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.03.04 Mss: Cave Log, vol. XIII: 17/2/06) narrates how the three of them set off for the new pot and Neil went down to attack the squeeze. Des and I partly surveyed in behind him but the water pouring into the place and big Des's inability to pass the alternative vertical squeeze curtailed any further mapping until the place dries up a bit. Neil continued rigging down several pitches to reach a possible 30 m pot with a bouldery top. He also avoided a large rock which fell from above the squeeze. De had shouted something unintelligble on his way out (he had found a possible second shaft) but we thought that he may have been warning us of rain. After yesterday's thunderstorms we decided that discretion was the better part of valour and, soaked through, we headed back up to fine weather. 2006.02.19, trip 3: Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.02.15 Mss 'Krem Tyrtong Ryngkoo / Krem Khyllum' 15/2/06, 19/2/06, 20/2/06)), Neil Pacey and Fraser Simpson continued down pitches to huge active streamway. Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.03.04 Mss: Cave Log, vol. XIII: 17/2/06) narrates how the three of them are back to 'Krem Grim' to find it dry and much more pleasant than two days before. … Fraser videoed sequences throughout the trip and we surveyed [whow!] the cave as we went. Neil rigged on down the loose topped pitch and a couple more below until he shouted up that he could hear a stream. We had just enough rope for the last pitch which quickly dropped through the ceilingof a huge, square, boulder and mudbank floored tunnel with the stream flowing below. … We surveyed on upstream in c.15 m square passage with a few formations [speleothems] until we ran out of time. A brief recce revealed the tunnel to be boring off into the distance with no sign of the huge boulder choke that we expected if we had dropped into Ngap behind the 1st downstream choke. A huge void leading off from the last pitch seems to be the downstream passage but we didn't have time for a good look. Tomorrow should yield some fascinating data. Fluoescein was put into the stream in the hope that it will reappear at Krem Iawe (or wherever). Fraser got some good video sequences in the stream passage (which we are naming after our young friend Evermore) and we set off for the surface to meet our lift only slightly late. Fraser's large tackle bag was a pain in the arse on the way out but otherwise no problems were encountered and it takes about an hour from the streamway to the surface.An excellent afternoon's exploration –312 m in the bag. Our entrance pitches totalled 115 m. Evicted a leach from my tent. 2006.02.20, trip 4: Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.02.15 Mss 'Krem Tyrtong Ryngkoo / Krem Khyllum' 15/2/06, 19/2/06, 20/2/06)), Neil Pacey and Shelley A. Diengdoh surveyed u/stream for 350 m. Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.03.04 Mss: Cave Log, vol. XIII: 20/2/06) narrates how the three of them continue the upstream survey: The passage continued in awesome style and seemed more impressive than yesterday –so muchso that Shelley compared it favourably with Krem Liat Prah. The going underfoot was the only problem with slippery mud and boulders throughout … Some 350 m was mapped to a point where what appeared to be a massive boulder choke yielded tigh deep active canal passage below. Neil waded through to find large, ongoing cave beyond but time had run out. We clambered back via some active phreatic [sic! for: vadose] tubes below the main passage … JARATT (2006: 12-13) expands: Shelley [Diengdoh], being young, slim and fit, was conned by Neil [Pacey] and the writer to join the 'Turtle Wrinklies' as they surveyed upstream in the huge, muddy and boulder-floored Evermore Passage, named after their keen young guide. After 223 m of hard going a waist deep pool was reached and a retreat made. Shelley's little legs made it, for her, harder going still and badly strained back acquired on the way out resulted in 100 m of vertical agony as she manfully struggled up the grim pitches to freedom am late meal. Both Shelley and Neil were actually very lucky to be getting out at all as earlier in the trip a large rock flake peeled off the wall when your scribe used it as a handhold. Too heavy to grasp it had just begun the 20 m drop to the two unsuspecting cavers directly below when it miraculously wedged itself between two tiny outcrops which halted its probable fatal trajectory. A mere pebble rattled down to accompany the hoarse, strangledbry of 'Below'. This was not the only close call in this very dicey pitch series as large rocks had plummeted down on earlier trips. One of the lower pitches sports a protruding rock buttress –the Mercy Seat– over which one climbs and on which one sits before the abseil. Miraculously it was still in place when we finally deserted the cave. 2006.02.21, trip 5: Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.02.15 Mss 'Krem Tyrtong Ryngkoo / Krem Khyllum' 15/2/06, 19/2/06, 20/2/06)), Neil Pacey, Imogen Furlong and Fraser Simpson survey upstream 215 m. Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.03.04 Mss: Cave Log, vol. XIII: 21/2/06) narrates how they … started at the bottom of the rope and set off into the blank void beyond. This turned out not a continuation of the trunk passage but a breakdown chamber which we named after the woodcutter who showed us the cave –Monnlight Chamber. The only real way out of this was up a very dodgy boulder slope into a higher chamber, also of good size and with a dngerous looking 'pitch' at the end. We stopped surveying here and I went back o Evermore Passage to check out where the stream entered the boulder choke below Moonlight Chamber. I managed to get down to stream level and found it to be promising so gathered up the team and commenced the survey with Fraser scouting ahead. As time drew on we entered more open area of the choke where two streams could be heard in different parts. Fraser and Imo looked at the inlet stream while Neil and I pushed through above the outlet stream to break into a good sized phreatic [more likely: vadose] tunnel with a deepish canal. We had found the downstream continuation and … wetsuits and lifejackets would be a good option here. I suspect that the ongoing inlet choke is the far side of the first downstream choke in Krem Synrang Ngap. … 215 m was surveyed today. Moonlight Chamber and the higher 'More Support Chamber' (named after a helpful friend of Menda} seem to lie directly above the choke. … Celerations continued until 4.30 a.m. 2006.02.22, trip 6: Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.02.15 Mss 'Krem Tyrtong Ryngkoo / Krem Khyllum' 15/2/06, 19/2/06, 20/2/06)), Neil Pacey and Henry Rockcliff survey 251 m. Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.03.04 Mss: Cave Log, vol. XIII: 21/2/06) narrates how they surveyed on upstream today through the tigh deep canal and up into huge and stunningly decorated passage with massive stalagmite bosses, fine pillars and a multitude of other formations. This was one of the most impressive underground voids that I have seen in Meghalaya and at one end is a beautiful grotto. The going was difficult in places due to steep mud slopes and beyond the main area of flowstone we dropped down into an active stream passage on the RH side ending in a boulder choke. A climb up on the left led to another stream passage also coming from the choke and this we decided to follow. A couple of hours was spent pushing around 50 m into this massive ruckle –some of ths through ducks and all generally unpleasant. One route ended in a view up into larger open space but pushing it would be suicidal. We got lost several times and I personally was worried about getting out of the bloody place. Eventually we escaped but it was now too late to do any more surveying so we set off on the hour long haul out. On the entrance pitch Neil, at the bottom, got a rock on the head which originated [the rock, not the head] in the area of the rebelay above. Luckily he was okay but somewhat shaken up. Total passage length today was 251 m surveyed and lots left to do. The cave is now 1,118 m long … and a good night was had until 4 a.m. 2006.02.23: Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.03.04 Mss: Cave Log, vol. XIII: 21/2/06): At last a very necessary day off was taken by Neil and me … The usual party developed in the evening. 2006.02.24, trip 7: Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.02.15 Mss 'Krem Tyrtong Ryngkoo / Krem Khyllum' 15/2/06, 19/2/06, 20/2/06)), Neil Pacey Mark W. Brown and Roger Galloway survey downstream 449 m. Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.03.04 Mss: Cave Log, vol. XIII: 21/2/06) narrates … after washing the S.R.T. kit in the stream set off surveying downstream in the chest deep canal until a boulder slope was reached. This led up to a chamber with four ways on. We first followed a slope of boulders down to the continuing streamway which became narrower and quickly ended in a massive boulder choke towering up on the left side. Roger climbed up a good way to report a couple of highly dangerous holes down so we retreated to the four way chamber abd surveyed up into the largest passage via a steep mud and cobble slope. This opened up into a huge breakdown chamber similar to that near the base of the pitches. A hairy climb up huge boulders at the end of this led to a steep rubble slope up into another huge boulder choke from we again retreated. The next passage looked at led to a muddy chamber and climb up to yet another hairy bouder choke. The fourth passage was merely an alcove. I suggest these chokes are directly related to the adjacent Krem Bir 1. … 450 m was surveyed … An early night was had tonight –only 2 a.m. JARRATT (2006: 15) mentions of a downstream boulder choke, two closed leads, and up a steep slope into a huge, flat ceilinged chamber with awkward climb up to a second, smaller chamber (JARRATT 2006: 15). 2006.02.26, trip 8: Mark W. Brown, Roger Galloway, Henry Rockcliff and Roger Galloway push upstream choke (no leads) + photo [Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt 2006.02.15 Mss: Meghalaya Cave Record]. JARRATT (2006: 16) confirms: A photo / choke busting trip was undertaken in Tyrtong Ryngkoo but the choke won. 2006.02.27, trip 9: Mark W. Brown and Neil Pacey photo entrance and derig [Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt 2006.02.15 Mss: Meghalaya Cave Record]. JARRATT (2006: 16) expaands on how the final, longed for trip in Tyrtong Ryngkoo took place when Mark and Neil took photos and derigged the cave. No ters were shed when Neil abandoned his baby [JARRATT 2006: 16].2006 total: 1.6 km (1'568.37 m) according to Anthony 'Tony' R. Jarratt (2006.02.15 Mss: Meghalaya Cave Record) or 1'568.37 m (Brooks 2006 undated Mss: Amendment to Jarratt 2006.02.15 Mss; JARRATT 2006: 20 table). Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018