Not often I do a trip report so my little forray undersoil is being treated as a full trip!
I met Keith at the TSG hut, my kind of place, and he kindly, very kindly showed me where to park for Titan, and also where it was though really it's an easy find, the earthworks still on te hill are blatant and the lid is unmistakable. Probably the quickest I've ever found a cave on the 1st attempt.
Took it steady down the entrance pitch, no overheating the my desecnder thank you very much, the construction site feel is something new to me, sploged to the top pitch and rejoiced in the size of the bolts at the pitch head, and gulped that we were on a couple twist hangers. A question for the techies, a 25kN rated bolt is tough enough for sure, but does the elasticity of a longer rope as opposed to a shorter rope transfer more force to the bolt when a fat man like myself is bouncing on the bottom? I've a feeling it must be less as the force is distributed along a greater amount of material? ho hum, they were shiny bolts so that was confidence building! Funny how I would never have any concern over a 40m pitch rigged the same way but death awaits if they popped on both accounts.
Took it steady down to the scariest re-belay I've known, well maybe Rift is worse but my hands were shaking changing ropes there, nicely rigged though so not a problem and on to the bottom. Quite noisy down there, I was expecting more quiet as I thought it didn't have an active inlet but I was wrong.
Checked the watch at the bottom and tried to remember which foot the pantin goes on, I was sure it was the left? andyway I swapped it over after a few meters and enjoyed more success on the right. Not quite as efficient as I was hoping using one of them, I was approaching bolloxed at the EH, had a good 5 minute hang before attempting to change ropes just in case my tired brain got anything wrong. Thought it wasn't ver far from there to the top but it felt so far, more resting than moving happening and a very real concern that I hadn't altered the size of my sit harness for two years and am much fatter now. Those chunky bolts were a very welcome sight and I flopped into the pool with a very happy sigh.
I fogot the entrance pitch isn't really small and going up past those concrete rings was good though getting out at the top was a bugger, no more approaching I was totally spent, not been that knackered for a long time, probably since climbing out GG a few years ago when I couldn't get out of a yss top bunk for about an hour and missed the trip to Lost Johns.
Met some other Yssers at the car park but my conversation was limited to yes and no answers and I apologise for being so unfriendly, hope they had a good trip.
Ian B.
