Main Drain

March 17-18 2007 - Peter Hartley

Trip Leader: Peter Hartley On Trip: Peter Hartley, John Cox, Jim Nicholls, Brian Gindling We failed in our objectives this time, mostly due to the melt from the seventy degree temperatures. John Cox, Jim Nicholls and I rented a two up sled to get gear up to Snow Cone on Friday. We parked the sled above Thundershower and snow shoed in from there. This time we were expecting to ski out so we took man haul sleds to bring the gear down with. There had been a lot of snow since the February trip so entrances needed re clearing. John dug out Main Drain (the usual trench from the tree) and we spent a lot of time digging a tunnel into Snow Cone. Jim and I spent the night at Snow Cone while John headed down Friday night and returned early Saturday with Brian Gindling from Boise. Saturdays plan was to see if the entrance was descendable giving the melt conditions, and then go in to camp the next day if it was. Starting at first light we cleared the accumulated snow from the 'throat' using a shovel and rigged to the ledge. The ice below the ledge needed clearing but was not a major issue. We headed in as far as the top of Leakey Faucet, which needed hammering open from the ice, then returned. By the time the entrance was reached there was a lot of melt and the ropes were beginning to ice a little and it looked like going in for a multi day trip was definitely out (unless we had a backup team that could de-rig the entrance and re rig as we came out). John headed for home with the snow mobile. After a pause for thought Brian and I dropped into the cave in the evening when the melt had slowed and stage de-rigged from Frayed Not. Even though this was only two hours we were lucky to get out before the ropes iced. Note that I pulled all karabiners from Frayed Knot and above. The exception is the backup bolt on Frayed Not main drop which needs a wrench to open. Another night was spent at Snow Cone and on Sunday we loaded sleds and skied out. It was an amazingly hot day for March. There are a few hills to negotiate to reach the lake but the run down the road with a sled is easy, about ninety minutes, though the snow had turned to water or disappeared entirely at the bottom of the hill. Overall, it was a useful trip; it looks like the 'throat' is passable in pretty much any snow conditions, as long as the surface temperature is around freezing. There was not a significant amount of water in the cave, probably less than summer conditions. Probably trying to organize a trip early in the season to get Larry's dye detectors in place (they are with the food at the foot of Kilo Pit at the moment). This should be possible if we get a freeze later in the month.