AA CAVE B13 (McNally 2008)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

Sort of rift pot (McNally in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss -B13-), which is relatiely large without dimensions or characteristic peculiarities, looks like a stream sink (McNally in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss) that can used as a sports training device as it allows not only performing to descend … down a few short pitches to a mud floored narrow rift (Brown et al. 2008 Mss: -Meghalaya 2008 diary- Thursday 14th February) but also to descended a further 26 m of scalloped, water washed pot until it hits a pebble floor (Brown et al. 2008 Mss: -Meghalaya 2008 diary- Saturday 16th February). At a certain stage of successful penetration, sportsmen are controlled by an urgent desire to practice violent vandalism (note 1) and to apply weapons of cave destruction (hammer, drill) … to gain access to a tight, low canal system that can be negotiated either via an unspecified one way (upstream or downstream), which leads to a boulder choke, or, alternatively, via a likewise unspecified anotherway upstream or downstream, which gives access to a dig. Probably for the sake of disguising limited interest and vigor, the canal system … [is] ending in one way in a boulder choke and another in a dig. SITUATION: At an unexplainable situation somewhere in the vicinity of the village of Lumthari. According to the recorded GPS positions, B13 lies 56.4 m in a direct line approximately west (-56.0 m east, 6.2 m north) from B12. APPROACH 1: Desmond -Des- McNally (in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss) suggests to find –>AA Cave B12 and then go approx. 50 m NNE to a large rift pot (stream sink). APPROACH 2: In an attempt to describe in detail how exactly to find this B13 cave, Alys Mendus (in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss) falls back to dashing drill ground language and commands to walk from an unspecified point without GPS position on the road through what had been in the 3rd week of February 2008 bushes and then from an unspecified point (without GPS position) down steep gully without idntified characteristic peculiarities on a private right side without orientation through what was for a short period in spring 2008 felled jungle in which one of the ubiquitous examples of a gully leads to cave. APPROACH 3: According to Arbenz, T (2008 Mss -Fieldbook- page 11), the access is unclear - but ... somewhere between Knee Wrecker Pots and the village of Lumthymme whilst the cave potential [needs] to be located and verified. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1: McNally (in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss): Clean-washed [deleted: #####]. CAVE DESCRIPTION 2: In a strikingly failed attempt to describe the cave, Mendus (in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss) described a cave tourists's route instead: 7 m deep entrance in gully. Boulder pile to pitch -6 m. Down narrow rift along -10 m by 1 m which becomes tight + winding ending in [sic! for: leading to] flat out crawl then big 39 m pitch 4 m by 3 m to chamber (-87 m). Continues down boulder rift -3 further shaft pitches to -113 m. Passage continuesas narrow, wet canal system of approx. 50 m to boulder choke. CAVE CONTENTS: Mendus (in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss) noticed mud, unspecified calcite deposits, water, and some unidentified kind of crystal. TACKLE: Mendus (in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss) lists 160 m rope entrance, 50 m man pitch [main pitch?], 40 m bottom pitches, 10 m boulder choke safety. SPELEOMETRY: Brown et al. (2008 Mss -Survey Summary.xls) lists B13 along with 2008 survey 15.02.08: 174.38, 16.02.08: 36.88; total: 211.26; vertical: 113.97 (probably metres). PROSPECTS: Brown et al. (2008 Mss -Meghalaya 2008 diary- Saturday 16th February) misleads with declaring that Alys, Rowena, Guillaume and Kate … de-rigged and all side passages checked. This was not the case. Mendus (in McNally & Mendus 2008.02.17 Mss) lists #1.Possibility of connection with B12 by flat out muddy crawl near entrance. #2. Dig / bang calcite deposits to bresxato [or so] rift in lower canals. CAVE LIFE: Mendus (in McNally & Mendus 2008.0217 Mss) lists full uppercase SPIDERS (Arachnida: Araneae) along with lowercase two bats (Chiroptera), snot gobblers (larval stage of fungus gnats, Diptera: Mycetophilidae) and woodlice (Isopoda).17 Mss) lists full uppercase SPIDERS (Arachnida: Araneae) along with lowercase two bats (Chiroptera), snot gobblers (larval stage of fungus gnats, Diptera: Mycetophilidae) and woodlice (Isopoda).