- 75 -

BELFRY BULLETIN July 1969 VOL.23 No.7 Number 256 - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - Hon. Sec: A.R. Thomas, Westhaven School, Uphill, Weston s Mare, Somerset.

CONTENTS: Club Notes 75 Address Changes 75 Monthly Notes No.25 76 New Constitution 76 Drawing of Cave Surveys 78 Route Severity Diagram 87

EDITOR: D.J. Irwin. 23 Camden Road, Bristol 3. Price 1/6

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Saturday October 5th at the

OLD DUKE (in the upstairs room) 10.30am.

N.B. The ‘Old Duke’ is opposite the Landogger Trow, Kings Street, Bristol. Please make a mental note of the starting time, as agreed at last years A.G.M. It was decided to start in the morning so that the important business of the day could be given the Club’s full attention and not having to be rushed as it used to be when the A.G.M. was held in the afternoon. It has the additional advantage that members and their wives have a good time to get ready for the Annual Dinner in the evening. ANNUAL DINNER will be held at the WOOKEY HOLE CAVE RESTAURANT

SATURDAY OCTOBER 4th at 7.30pm. Tickets 25/- each – menu details in the August B.B. Details of ‘Get you home’ transport will be given later.

NOMINATIONS FOR 1969 – 1970 COMMITTEE

Nominations for next years Committee must be in to Alan Thomas (address above) by September 6th

1969 at the latest. As far as is known at the moment none of this years Committee is on the retirement list and so will be automatically nominated as per the Club Constitution.

-------------- Plastic and texolex helmets are on sale at the Belfry. None of the helmets have lamp brackets but this

only means a simple job of adding one to the helmet shell. Prices are 10/- (plastic) and 12/6 for the texolex. See the Hut Warden for further details. Only a limited supply.

--------------- ADDRESS CHANGES

Apologies to Sheila Paul for the inclusion of her old address after giving the Editor her new address… Miss S. Paul, 6 Cricketers Close, Chessington, Surrey. R. Price, 13 Heath End Road, Alsager, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs. R. Cross, 41 Jarison Road, Shirley, Southampton. J. Butler, 58 Tuthill St., Minster, Ramsgate, Kent. Mr & Mrs J. Ransome, 21 Bradley Road, Patchway, Bristol. J. Orr, The Red Lion, The Green, Wooburn Green, Nr. High Wycombe, Bucks. F. Darbon, 444 Meinnis Ave., Fraserview Sub. Div., Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.

--------------

- 76 -

‘Doodles’?, I see no ‘Doodles’ ………..

--BB--

MONTHLY NOTES No.25 by ‘Wig’

O.F.D. 1 Survey is available again and is published by the C.R.G. at 5/- each. These will shortly be available from Bryan Ellis. It is also reported that the full survey of O.F.D. 1, 2 & 3 will be published sometime in the summer. Further chats with S.W.C.C. members indicate that this publication which includes a description of the cave may never appear in print for several reasons and that most cavers can expect is that it will be circulated privately. I sincerely hope that this is not the case when one considers that O.F.D. is one of the longest and certainly the deepest cave in the British Isles.

-----------

Next years C.R.G. Symposium said to be ‘Cave Surveying’. -----------

Holluch System reported to have surveyed length of 103km!!! Must now be the longest cave in the world

– still wait until Cuthbert’s 2 is found! -----------

EASTWATER REOPENED

Tony Jarrett (ACG) and others have worked their way into Eastwater Swallet. The new entrance lies to the right of the original way in but soon regains the ruckle. Reports say that the ruckle has not moved and that the old route with the white tape is still there. However, one should take special precautions when moving through the ruckle. Both routes to Boulder Chamber are blocked with boulders. Mr Gibbons of Eastwater Farm intends to put a 2/6 entrance charge on all cavers entering the system. Members wishing to visit the system should first call at the farm and ask permission to enter the cave.

----------- SUMMARY OF THE NEW CONSTITUTION

Copies of the new constitution that is to be put forward as a Committee proposal at the A.G.M. are available for inspection at the Belfry and the Waggon and Horses. Anybody who wants to borrow a copy can get one by writing to me Alan Thomas (address page 75). Most people will be probably content with the following summary.

The original draft was prepared by ‘Alfie’ and has subsequently been amended by the Committee on the advice of ‘Digger’ Harris. THE SUMMARY 1 – 3. The Object of the Club is to do anything conducive to furthering the practices of caving, climbing and hill walking. The assets of the Club shall only be devoted to its objects and no money may be paid to its members other than as bonafide remuneration. 4 – 17. Anyone who wishes to support the objects of the Club may apply to the Committee for membership. The Committee can only grant provisional membership and shall review all provisional memberships over one years standing each January. Provision is also made for Junior Members and Joint Members.

- 77 - It is necessary to be a member for five consecutive years before becoming a Life Member. Provision is also made for the appointment of Honorary Life Members by the Club in General meeting. In the case of a member being a minor his parents signature is required. 18 – 24. Membership may be terminated by the Member giving notice to the Club, or through non-payment of sub. or by the Committee for a serious offence. Provision is made for the re-admission of past members. 25 – 39. The A.G.M. shall be held in or near Bristol on or near the first Saturday in October. An E.G.M. may be called by the Committee, by the A.G.M., or by 15 members giving notice to the Secretary. The quorum is 30 members or 25% of the total membership, which ever is the less. Provision is made for the election of the Chairman, the taking of resolutions and the taking of a poll of members. 40 – 45. Only paid-up members may vote. 46 – 51. The Committee shall consist of 7 – 12 persons. Only members who are not members of the Committee of any similar organisation shall be eligible. The Committee may co-opt to fill casual vacancies. 52 – 57. The Club in General meeting may make, revoke or vary rules but anything affecting the Constitution may only be done by proper notice being given before a general meeting. The Committee may also vary the rules and such variations shall stand until the next A.G.M. All members and applications for membership must be acquainted with the rules. 58 – 67. The Officers to be appointed by the Committee from amongst their number are: Secretary, Treasurer, Caving Secretary, Climbing Secretary, Tacklemaster, Hut Warden and Hut Engineer. Nobody may hold more than two posts. There are various disqualifications for members of the Committee. Nominations, having been requested 6 weeks from the A.G.M. shall be four weeks from it. Unless they resign existing Committee members shall be automatically nominated. Where there are more than 9 nominations there shall be a ballot. Voting papers may be sent by post or handed in at the A.G.M. The Chairman shall declare the result. In the event of a tie a show of hands shall decided. A candidate not elected may still be co-opted. The Committee shall disband itself at the meeting before the A.G.M. The Officers shall continue to fulfil their post until replaced. 68 – 69. Provision is made for the setting up of special committees by the Club and sub-committees by the Committee. 70 – 81. The Committee shall meet monthly, normally the first Sunday. The Committee quorum shall be 5. All members of the Committee shall be given notice of its meetings. The Committee shall keep proper minutes and accounts. The Committee shall deal with all correspondence that is addressed to it. The Committee may request anyone to attend its meetings. 82 – 83. Notices from the Club to a member shall be addressed to him at his address in the U.K. 84. In the event of dissolution the assets of the Club shall be donated in the first instance to some organisation with similar aims to the Club, otherwise some charitable object. 85. No member or his dependants shall have any right of action against the Club. All members on joining shall be required to sign their acceptance of this rule.

- 78 - EDITORS NOTE: Much has been written about various aspects of cave surveying else where but little at all has been written about – probably the most important subject of all – the drawing of cave surveys. It is the finished print that the caver is interested in and so presentation forms a very important aspect so often overlooked. The following article attempts to outline from the commencement of the drawing to the finished print the problems that occur and some solutions to them. The author makes no apology for the length of this article.

DRAWING OF ACCURATE CAVE SURVEYS+

by D.J. Irwin

Once all the calculations have been checked and the errors distributed (assuming the inclusion of closed traverses) drawing of the ‘master’ survey can begin. The all important point that a draughtsman has to remember, when producing cave surveys, is that all users should be able to understand it with the minimum of effort. It must be remembered that most cavers cannot read a drawing or survey with the same ease as the surveyor and draughtsman who will have lived with the survey from commencement in the cave to the finished print. This means that considerable thought must be given to the general layout and presentation ensuring that the finished survey has a clean appearance and be free from any form of cluttering.

Caves are unfortunately not simple geometric forms than can be represented with one or two views, but

complicated forms with passages and chambers lying above or below other parts of the system. There are five basic viewpoints of any cave system that can be drawn to give a complete picture. These

are: -

1. Plan. This shows the cave as though viewed from above. 2. Elevation (projected). The view point being from some convenient point at the side of the

system. The best position obviously lies on the north – south axis or the east – west axis because the co-ordinates would normally have been calculated form these datums. Should the cave be best shown from some other datum then the co-ordinates will have to be calculated to suit the required projection.

3. Elevation (extended). There are many instances where the cave passages form large loops at

similar levels e.g. Swildons, Cuthbert’s and Eastwater. To produce projected elevations of this type of system would, unless carefully planned and very well drawn, cause unnecessary confusion. The alternative is to draw the elevation in which its length is equal to the passage length. This is also known as the ‘developed’ method. Although this throws the chambers and passages out of their true relationship at least it will clarify the elevation.

4. Transverse Sections. Where the cave is complex with many levels crossing each other, several

sections that are cut across the cave will help to clarify the position. This section will show the relationship of one level to the other and will lie at approximately at 90o to the projected elevation.

5. Passage Sections. A large number of sections drawn at right angles to the run of the passages will

be required to show the local change of passage shape.

The accurate outline survey is primarily of use by the ‘specialist’ caver (1) who will add his own notes onto the survey on whatever subject he may be studying. In other words he will require a survey of the greatest accuracy that the conventional instruments will allow. Also he will not want the survey cluttered with floor details, stalagmite deposits and other general data that will leave him no room for his own notes; basically the survey will show passage shape and direction and little else. The caver will want a map of the cave to enable him to plan his route through the cave and not be terribly worried about the accuracy of the views. The accurate outline survey can be adapted for this purpose by tracing one survey from the other.

+ The term accurate cave surveys covers the range of CRG grade 5–6 and the requirements of the M.S.C.

- 79 -

Although the cavers survey will then be up to the same accuracy as the specialist survey it will fall into the definitive descriptive map (2). Methods of drawing descriptive maps are to be found elsewhere (3). SUMMARY OF DRAWING OUTLINE SURVEYS.

The drawing of any accurate cave survey follows the same pattern whatever the scale and complexity of the system. After calculating the figures a scale at which the survey has to be drawn has to be decided. If the size of the system is known prior to the commencement of the survey in the cave it is as well to decided on the scale of the survey then. This will dictate the amount of detailing that is required. With the aid of the sketch drawings used to check the calculations the arrangement of views can be determined. The layout of the survey and its general finished appearance must be given considerable thought before drawing actually begins. A grid is drawn onto the drawing paper which will be the basic framework to locate the co-ordinates and also will be the reference datums for the description of the cave. A large cave system (or complicated cave system) might well require several sheets to show all views. Another important point that must be decided before drawing actually commences is the method of reproduction – now hold your horses not that type of reproduction but whether you intend to use dyeline, gestetner, offset-litho prints for final issue of the survey. This will dictate, to some extent the actual thickness of line and size of lettering – particularly if the original is to be photography reduced.

Published currently with the survey are two basic reports: 1. Descriptions of the cave with historical notes

and 2. Full details of how the survey was prepared.

SCALE

To ensure that the finished drawing of the cave is clear to the user it is obvious that considerable thought has to be given to the scale at which the various views are to be drawn. The co-ordinates should be inspected and the extreme values of the northings and eastings obtained; these will give the outside limits of the cave in the four basic directions. Should a more detailed picture be required to determine the actual shape of the cave then the piecing together of the sketch drawings used for checking the calculations will provide an approximate answer.

If the cave has extreme co-ordinate values of +560Ft. east, -380ft. east, and 1020ft. north say from the

entrance, then the area covered by the cave = 940ft. east – west and 1030ft. north – south (4). The distance from east – west is arrived at simply by adding the two values of the eastings and ignoring the signs which are purely directional.

The problem is now “At what scale do I draw this survey?” There are two basic limitations that the

draughtsman has to face: - 1. Maximum size of paper available and 2. the smallest passage width that the draughtsman is expected to draw accurately. The answer to the problem will, in most cases, be a compromise. The smallest width that a passage width of 1ft. can be drawn accurately is (here I am open to argument) 0.05” thus making the scale 1” = 20ft. If on the other hand one is lucky and the passage widths (or heights) never fall below 5ft. the scale need only be 1” = 100ft. There are several instances of large cave systems being drawn as so small a scale that the general passage width becomes the thickness of a single pencil line; alongside the main line are passage sections drawn at a much large scale. This type of survey is of little value to either the specialist or sporting caver and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary however accurate the main line may have been surveyed. It is better to make use of all the information gathered and extend the survey to several sheets than give half of the picture. In any case this form of presentation could only fall into the map classification.

Inspection of the figures quoted above: 940ft. east – west and 1020ft. north – south, the paper size for the

plan will have to be 47” x 51” and allowing for a frame line and other notes that will have to be added, the smallest sheet size will be about 60” x 60”. From the co-ordinates the sizes required for the elevations can also be determined. Assume the cave depth to be 440ft.

Projected elevation. = 51” x 22” (if plotted on north – south line) or 47” x22” (if plotted on east – west line)

- 80 -

Extended elevation. If the main route through the cave is 2,540ft. in length of passage the section will be 127” x 22”. Depending on the size of the sheet being used will help to determine whether to draw the elevation in one continuous length or break it into several parts.

Passage sections. The space required will depend on the number of sections that the draughtsman will want to show. It may be possible to accommodate all the sections on the same sheet as the remainder of the views without cluttering the survey; if not then they must be drawn on a separate sheet.

If however the paper size is the draughtsman limitation and the scale is 1” = 20ft. is the smallest to

maintain drawing accuracy then several sheets must be contemplated. If this is to be the case an additional sheet must be produced showing the cave in its complete form though it has to be reduced in scale and simplified for the sake of clarity. This reduction should be overlaid with lines showing the extent of each sheet of the large scale survey. LAYOUT AND PRESENTATION.

The final appearance of a survey has to have an immediate appeal to the eye and be easy to understand; surveys that appear complicated, even though they may be, will only get an occasional glance from the caver.

The layout of the drawing should be read in a similar manner to an engineering layout where all the views

are placed relative to one another. For instance if the cave is better shown in elevation from the east side of the plan then the elevation should be drawn to the left of the plan so the imaginary eye lines can be mentally carried across the paper from the plan to the elevation or vice-versa. Avoid the common fault made by many draughtsmen of having the plan at the top of the paper and the projected elevation running across the lower edge of the paper when, if the view is drawn to the north – south lines, the view should be drawn to the left of the plan. (See Fig. 1).

FIGURE 1.

Another common fault is can lead to a certain amount of confusion, the placing of the views too close

together in order to get all the information on one sheet. The final result will be a jumbled mess that is difficult to understand.

Many of the problems that the draughtsman will be faced with at the start of his cave surveying ‘career’

lessons as he becomes more practiced in the ‘art’ of drawing. Initially it is best to discuss the problems with ‘experienced’ surveyors who will provide him with many ideas and much food for thought.

- 81 -

One of the difficulties that the draughtsman will have to face up to is the amount of information he can afford to add to his survey without cluttering it. The quantity of detail that he will be able to add will obviously depend of the scale at which he is drawing the survey; too much will clutter the survey and make the general presentation ugly. On the other hand a survey with no detail or informative notes is of little use to anyone except perhaps the surveyor himself. Collins has pointed out that the surveyor/draughtsman has to bear in mind at all times the reason for the survey. Once this is clear in the mind some idea of the detail required can be determined; this may well affect the scale at which the survey is to be drawn. Again there is no one solution to the problem and only experience will show what balance is required. Accurate outline surveys on the other hand are much simpler that the descriptive maps in as much that the required detail is limited to passage outline and the essential notes as to the accuracy of the survey etc. GRID

All maps and surveys are overlaid with a grid that enables the user to quickly locate passage junctions and other places of interest from the written description or route severity diagrams of the cave. The reference numbers will be found inn the text. The grid has a two fold purpose, one already mentioned, the other to form the framework around which the draughtsman can work to plot in the co-ordinates when drawing up the survey. For these reasons the grid must be accurately drawn.

The grid on any survey or map has its origin off or on the S.W. corner and so to keep to convention all

cave surveys should be the same. If the cave has promise of further extension (and which one hasn’t?) then place the point of origin some considerable distance from the cave. In the case of the new St. Cuthbert’s survey the grid origin lies 10,000ft. to the west and 10,000ft. to the south a point (very near Westbury-sub-Mendip) that takes in any survey made of the resurgence should the cave be found to have open passage that far! By placing the origin somewhere to the S.W. will avoid the need for negative co-ordinates which if used will increase the chance of error in the calculations.

The quickest and easiest way of obtaining an accurate grid is to purchase sheets of FLAT graph paper

from drawing office suppliers. Remember that paper rolled during or after printing will stretch in the direction off the roll. It is best to check the paper before purchasing with a rule – it has been found that the error can be as great as ¼” in 9”!

To standardise presentation wherever possible the Mendip surveyors have agreed to a standard 2½ square

grid. This is not a hard and fast rule but a guide as it will be realised that there are occasions when such dimensions are not convenient. PLOTTING CO-ORDINATES

The surveyed line, either in closed or open traverse form, is the basic framework of the cave system that the draughtsman uses to produce the passage outline. As all the views are being reduced to a number of common planes only two of the three co-ordinates obtained for each station are used. PLAN The survey lines are obtained by plotting the northings against the eastings. ELEVATION (projected). Plot northings or eastings against height. ELEVATION (extended). This view cannot be drawn wholly from co-ordinates. It is constructed by plotting the calculated horizontal (which are usually summated to each station) against height. TRANSVERSEW SECTIONS Co-ordinates may only be used if the section lies on either the east- west or north- south datums. The section is constructed by drawing the projected lines against height. METHOD

The co-ordinates have to be converted to fit the cave grid. If the fixed point, which would usually be at the closing point of the main traverse, in say 10,000ft. north and 10,000ft. east is to say the fixed point for the cave lies 10,000ft. to the north of the grid origin, then the summated co-ordinates are added or subtracted to the fixed value. (see fig.2)

- 82 -

The values of the heights from the fixed datum can remain as the calculated values but their actual O.D. value can be worked out later when required for entering the permanent survey stations onto the survey.

FIGURE 2 Preparing co-ordinates for plotting:

STATION No.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

CALCULATED Northings

0.00 +8.50 +9.56

+19.66 +22.86

CO-ORDINATES Eastings

0.00 -6.47 -8.53

-.6.53 -27.53

NORTHINGS

10,000.00 10,008.50 10,009.56 10,019.66 10,022.86

EASTINGS

10,000.00 9,994.53 9,991.47 9,993.67 9,972.47

PLAN

Station 1 is positioned on the grid to suit the extreme co-ordinates. This will ensure that whole or part of the plan that is required will fit onto the grid that you have drawn. Once the fixed datum point is positioned, plotting of all the station points may begin. Station 2 is located by measuring 8.50ft. above the datum line (best measured from station 1) and draw a horizontal line through this point. Measure 6.47ft. to the left of the datum line and draw a vertical line up through the horizontal to obtain the point for station 2. Where these two lines cross is the position for station 2. Repeat this procedure until all the stations are plotted in. It will help the plotting if you mark at the end of the grid lines the co-ordinate values at that point (see fig. 3). All eastings with values less than 10,000ft. will be plotted to the left of the datum line and values greater than 10,000ft. are plotted to the right of the datum line. The northing values are manipulated in a similar manner. A lightly drawn line connecting each station point on the correct sequence will prove useful when adding passage details.

FIGURE 3

Scale 1”= 10’ PLOTTING CO-ORDINATES FOR PLAN

9975 10,000

. .

. .

.10,000

10,025

- 83 - ELEVATION (projected) The simplest elevation is built up on the north-south or east-west lines and for most caves this will

suffice. If however an elevation is required along a line say running N.W. – S.W. then the co-ordinates will have to be recalculated to suit the new projection line. This effectively relates all the bearings to the required datum lines.

The basic method of drawing the elevation is as follows. Fix the position of the fixed point, bearing in

mind the maximum and minimum heights of the cave relative to this point. To plot Station 2 (assuming the elevation is on the north – south line in this example) measure the value of the northing and plot it against the change in height. In the case of the projected elevation the north – south line will run from left to right of the paper if drawn on a separate sheet. If however that is, is being drawn on the same sheet as the plans then, as stated earlier, the projection must, in its correct relationship with the plan; in this case the north – south lines will run parallel with the north – south lines of the plan.

Station 3 is plotted in a similar manner as the previous station by measuring off the northing value against

the change on height at the station. This is repeated for the whole of the traverse. (see fig. 4). FIGURE 4 PROJECTED ELEVATION

It will be noticed that in projecting the passages from the plan, the true lengths will not be shown and that

this projection will distort passage lengths and slopes. However, it has the advantage that all features of the cave are in their correct relationship with respect to each other.

Should only part of the system be required to be shown in this form then the elevation or section should

be entitled PART ELEVATION or PART SECTION. EXTENDED ELEVATION

Before discussing the method of plotting the survey station points a note on presentation is needed. Extended elevations are really special cases in as much as that the other views are drawn in pre-determined limits, i.e., the extreme co-ordinates. The development of passages involves the passage length which is a constant value but the various ways of presenting the development can present a problem ‘of which one is the best’. It is advisable to make several layouts of the extended elevation before adding it to the master drawing to ensure that what is being shown will be clear to the user. In fact where difficult elevations are involved try the arrangement on as many people as possible – preferably the typical caver – if he can understand the layout then use this even though the draughtsman may feel it is not the best method.

In the case of a complicated (from a surveyors point of view) system, i.e. (Eastwater, Swildon’s and St.

Cuthbert’s) a projected elevation would be extremely difficult to show clearly the run of the major passage as in many cases it would have to be shown as ‘hidden detail’ (i.e. other passages crossing in front of them) (see fig.5). In this event the extended elevation is the ideal method to clarify the situation.

- 84 -

The method of plotting the main lines is as follows: - Plot in the fixed datum point. Draw in the

horizontal distance between station 1 and station 2 and plot this against the vertical change in height. Repeat this for stations 2 and 3 by drawing the horizontal distance for station 2 to 3 and plot against the vertical change in height. Continue with this procedure until the whole traverse (if this is all that is required to show on this elevation) is completed. If the survey is to be simplified by the omission of minor passages then this should be stated. This type of elevation ignores passage direction but the true length of the passage is retained. In other words – the bends in the passages have been ignored and the passage has been pulled out

- 85 - straight. It must also be noted that any side passages or chambers that are shown will not be in their correct relationship with each other – this fact must be stated on the drawing. An outstanding example of this method in use is Stanton’s extended elevation of Swildon’s Hole.

The extended elevation has the great advantage of being able to straighten out a circular route in a cave and present it in a straight line the ends of which is the point where the elevation has been broken. Where two passages run between the same points one of these passages will be longer than the other. If these are plotted in the extended form the shorter is broken at a suitable point and a note to the effect that no passage length has been omitted. If on the other hand, the shorter passage is best shown in full then the longer must be broken and the length of passage omitted stated (see fig.6).

EXTENDED ELEVATION

PROJECTED ELEVATION

- 86 - TRANSVERSE SECTIONS

There are many occasions when a complete section of the cave is necessary to gather the full picture of the shape and general position of chambers and passages. Theses will be drawn either above of below the plan depending on the direction that they are being viewed and will be at 90o to the main elevation. In other words they will run on the east – west line if the elevation has been drawn on the north – south line. The method of drawing the transverse section will be similar to the elevated except that the eastings will be plotted against the vertical changes in height. This type of section will only show the passage section at that point chosen for the section of the cave through which the section line passes. If the cave is complex then several views of this type will be required. To throw the passages out more clearly it might be suggested that the passage shape be shaded or even blacked out (see fig.7). FIGURE 7.

-----------------BB----------------- to be continued.

B.E.C. C A R B A D G E S ------ 17/6 ea. B.E.C. Ties…………………..17/6 ea. The above items are available from Bob Bagshaw, 699 Wells Road, Knowle, Bristol 4. B.E.C. publications are available from Bryan Ellis, Knockauns, Combwich, nr. Bridgwater, Somerset.

BELFRY BULLETINS (pre 238) are available from Dave Irwin, 23 Camden Road, Bristol 3 at 9d ea.

when available. AUGUST ISSUE of the B.B. includes Part 2 of drawing of Cave Surveys; review of James Lovelock’s

latest book Caving Ireland, 1969; and the usual regular notices. SEPTEMBER ISSUE includes Achnenschacht 1969, the Surveying Unit; October issue: Location of Errors (surveying); address list. Other material in the pipeline includes ‘Repair of Nife Cells’; Cave Photography; A Walk in Malaya.

REPAIRS AT THE BELFRY

The following materials are required to repair the Belfry before winter. Stove pipe, glass, timber, tar and sand for roof, toilet door and mattresses. If anyone can help either by working or supplying materials free or cheaply please contact the Hut Engineer (John Riley). If you have any spare time at the Belfry why not carry out a few repairs? – It may be some time before we get a new one.

A working weekend has been arranged for the weekend 6th/7th September, the Belfry will be closed

except to persons working. The response to the previous two working weekends was almost nil, please give this one your support.

- 87 -

ROUTE SEVERITY DIAGRAM by S.J. Collins

PART 9. RIFTS, BEDS, DRAINPIPES and SQUEEZES

Getting down to detail, it is possible to have many different types of constriction – as the tile of this part suggests. Since all are forms of constriction, we use the basic sign for this throughout, but vary it as follows: -

If the passage is a RIFT, we use the basic constriction sign. This will be a rift which is

sufficiently narrow that you can’t quite travel down it without moving your shoulders sideways a bit. If the rift gets very narrow and you have to squeeze sideways through it, it is

shown with the constriction signs TOUCHING the other side of the passage. Thus we have: -

RIFT

NARROW RIFT

Beds are shown with the basic constriction sign in BLACK. Thus a bed which involves hands and knees crawling, or heavy stooping would be shown thus: -

………………while a flat out crawl type bed would be shown as a narrow bed like this: -

A DRAINPIPE is a passage which is constricted in both directions, so we draw both signs alternatively

like this: -

…………and, of course, a tight drainpipe becomes…………

If we want to, we can show a passage which is very tight vertically and moderately tight horizontally like this: -

………….and equally well, the opposite……………

Localised squeezes are shown like this, for a vertical squeeze (rift type)…….

and similar signs for a short horizontal squeeze (bed type) and for a hole.

Bed type squeeze

Tight hole

- 88 - PART 10. CHIMNEYS, RIFT PITCHES AND RIFT TRAVERSES.

Continuing our look at detail possible with the signs of the R.S.D., we saw at an earlier stage that we could combine the sign for tightness with that for a pitch to produce a tight pitch. A chimney is a vertical drainpipe, so we can show a chimney like this, if we need tackle (it might be fairly tight but still need tackle owing to smooth walls, widening drop underneath it etc.).

…………..or a climb up or down a tight chimney like this: -

If a pitch is only constricted in one dimension, we show it as a rift pitch – like the entrance pitch to Cuthbert’s and the sign is show below left, or for a tight rift pitch the sign is show below right.

to be continued.

-------BB------

FOR YOUR DIARY – Club activities including the……… CAVING PROGRAMME – for further details contact Andy MacGregor, John Riley or Dave Irwin.

Sat. Aug. 2nd. - South Wales – O.F.D. II. Sun. Aug 3rd. - Committee Meeting, 2.30pm, Hunters. Tues. Aug 5th. - St. Cuthbert’s – Dining Room Dig. 6.45pm. Thurs. Aug.7th. - Waggon, Bristol. Sat. Aug. 9th. - St. Cuthbert’s – Cerberus Rift (w.t.) & D.B. Sun. Aug 10th. - East Twin Swallet – digging Tues. Aug 12th. - St. Cuthbert’s – Dining Room Dig. 6.45pm. Thurs. Aug.14th. - Waggon, Bristol. Sat. Aug. 16th. - St. Cuthbert’s – Tracing Coral Stream (further details from Roger Stenner and

Dave Irwin. Sun. Aug 17th. - Dining Room Dig, Dam building and checking water samples of Coral Stream Tues. Aug 19th. - Dining Room Dig, St. Cuthbert’s Thurs. Aug.21st. - Waggon, Bristol. Sat. Aug. 23rd. - St. Cuthbert’s – Dam building, Rabbit Warren Extension (w.t.) Sun. Aug. 22nd. - Dining Room Dig and Dam building. Tues. Aug 26th. - St. Cuthbert’s – Dining Room Dig. 6.45pm. Thurs. Aug.28th. - Waggon, Bristol. EVERY WEDNESDAY - Digging in the Chepstow area, further details from Roy Bennett, 8 Radnor Road,

Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. ‘Phone 627813. Another programme for August/September period in the August B.B.