12MB PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

magnitudes easier in the lower parts.Things went swiftly from there. Weregrouped at Camp I (-250 meters) topick up wetsuit tops, leave dry shirtsand generally trim up for the we~stuff ahead. "Three and a half hoursto Camp II. We're hustling thistime," Steve declared when we reachedthe equipment depot. A brief discussionensued concerning whether or notwe should push on for the end of thewalking passage beyond camp with theropes. "Go for it," seemed the unanimousdecision. Route '68, discoveredat the end of the Canadian-Americanexpedition of 1968, was somethingunexpected for the original explorers.After crashing down a long series ofshafts they had come upon this gallerywhich, at a depth of well over500 meters, was going horizontal insteadof down from Camp I. They hadmapped over a kilometer beyond CampII before being stopped by a formid~ible climb. This eventually becamethe primary route which we were soonto follow to Camp III. However, atthe end of the 1977 expedition thederigging team had pulled out alltackle, including the standing lineat the climb. So we had to re-climbthe obstacle to continue. When wearrived at the cornice, Tommy and Iwent about sizing it up, looking fora possible free ascent route. Hetook to the right wall and I theleft. Before long I glanced aroundand Hal called out, "He's got it!",and to my amazement Tommy had gaineda stance a good six meters off thefloor with one move to the top. Aftercleaning off a ledge he bridgedover to it, then went back for theother wall. His r{ght hand suddenlyslipped, and in a voice of desperationhe shouted, "whoa...WHOA!" Iknow all four of us below sucked ina load of air as the adrenalin rushed."Please no, not an accidenthere," I thought. But during themoment I closed my eyes awaiting theimpact he had repositioned his righthand, catching the fall. He carefullyfinished the climb and tied off theSchifflett at -520m on the secondrigging trip to Camp II. (Steve Zeman)rope I tossed up to him. After pullingthe ropes up to the platform wereturned to camp.Once out of the clammy wetsuitsthings took on a far more benevolentatmosphere. In the comfort of drywoolens we surveyed what was to beour home for the next few days.Camp II was perched on a flat mesasome 6 meters above a narrow streamchannel along Route '68. The wind,driven by the barometric differential,seemed channeled by the unusualgeometry of the passage so that oneperson's camping spot would be perfectlycalm, yet the next person o­ver would constantly complain of adraft. As the direction of the windchanged twice a day we were able to39