841 Cueva Fresnedo 2
Fresnedo VP53250140 Alt. 136m Length 7045m Height range +40, -30m

Updated 19th February 1999; 12th December 1999

The Easter 95 trip seemed to rename Soft Option Chamber or Paul's Chamber as That Chamber. Clarification needed, Andy P? All of the Easter 94 bits still need to be written into this account.

Summer 1995 explored about 200m of new passage around Paul's Chamber: Is there someone who can put a coherent paragraph or two together about this complex area? (See L95, 31/7, 2/8 and 19/8).

The entrance is opposite the entrance to Cueva Fresnedo 1 (126), lying at the end of a closed valley. It appears to be the upstream continuation.

Fifty metres of hands and knees crawling leads past two choked passages on the right to a 10m blind pitch in the floor. Above the pitch is a boulder choke up through which the route leads to a walking/crawling passage. To the left the way on chokes though there is a draught in a tight hole. To the south, and following the draught, One Footprint Passage leads to Laredo Junction. The passage to the west takes some of the draught towards the surface and ends at a low crawl which ends at an undiggable choke. The main route to the south is stooping over muddy boulders and leads to another junction after 35m. Straight on is Worthwhile Passage, a crawl which enters a small passage with a muddy duck out into a large rift with some calcite which closes down at its high point.

Turning to the east enters a mud floor. A side passage to the north leads to an undescended 20m pit and 80m of passage which eventually gets too tight. The main passage continues as a mixture of stooping, crawling and walking in mud with cross joints in the roof, past two choked inlets on the north side to the Big Rift which has been climbed at both ends and closes in. Forty metres of muddy passage leads to a traverse. Just before the traverse, a climb up on the right enters a small passage which drops into a small chamber, one end of which rises up to give a verbal connection with the previous small chamber.

The traverse over a rift is about 20m long and ends in a chamber. a squeeze up to the left enters a tall chamber which slopes down to a 5m blind pit and slopes up to the south.

To the right after the traverse, a small inlet a short distance on on the right is followed by a small hole down to a passage which rejoins the main drag some 45m on. The main route enters a boulder choke where the way on is under the right wall through a slot. By going up the boulder slope to the north a big chamber is entered with an unentered passage in the roof. This chamber has been looked at in some detail.

At the lower level, twenty metres beyond the boulders is a small chamber with a straw stal which is about the only formation in that part of the cave. The main route continues hands & knees and stooping around to an inlet to the north and the Cascade Inlet to the south.

The northern inlet requires a 5m ladder to drop down to where it rises to an aven and a squeeze down to a small stream passage and a climb up to a higher level passage on the right. On the southern side of the 5m cross rift is a passage which descends to a sump, 30m below the entrance. The main route continues eastwards along mudbanks around a pit in the floor to a walking passage which leads to a small boulder collapse which breaks out into a large chamber. To the right is a decent sized passage which may be pushable over boulders but there is no draught. Across the chamber the passage descends with slippery mud banks and ends at a muddy calcite run- in from the roof and a small slot down to the left which is The Howling which has been pushed through into Ecstasy Chamber. (This route carries a strong draught and is through a low, muddy pool with limited airspace. After 10m the passage enlarges and passes two boulder choke before it reaches Ecstasy Chamber. There are a number of leads still to look at on this route).

(This paragraph wants tying in properly). The Knotted Rope Series is entered up a 20m rope pitch above Cascade Inlet. Sixty metres of passages heads east towards Known Passage. A large 25m draughting pitch drops to a boot-sized outlet and no draught. A passage can be seen 8m above the point of entry into the shaft and another was seen across the shaft about 6m down. Both may be difficult to get to as the shaft walls are calcite and slime. Knotted Rope Chamber contains the knotted rope formation.

A traverse over the top of the pitch enters Paul's Chamber above the second boulder choke.

Across the traverse and in "phreatic stuff ending at a 5m pitch", the drop ends at two ways on. the climb up enters Bag o' Shite Passage, ascending to a rift and muddy chamber with a bit of stal. the other route leads down into large passage and Soft Option Chamber, about 40m long by 10m wide. There are various holes in Soft Option Chamber which all choke. One climb down and squeeze through boulders leads to 25m of muddy passage to a choke. The chokes at the upper and lower ends of the chamber appear to go nowhere. The best lead seems to be a visible passage 8m above the lower end of the chamber, with an overhanging entry. A traverse to it from further round the chamber has failed.

According to the 93 log book (11/8/93) the main rope up into the Knotted Rope Series may be best replaced by a ladder up at the end of the traverse.

In the summer of 1994, bolting in That Chamber entered some 40m of passage.

To the north of the Cascade Inlet an uphill mud and boulder slope leads to a slope down and large walking passage to a 5m climb up stal into a small chamber. An insignificant tube goes steeply uphill through a mud squeeze to another small muddy chamber, a low flatout crawl and a pitch in the floor. It is possible to traverse over the pitch to a walking sized passage with a very pretty unentered chamber above. There are 3 or 4 unentered passages along here and the route ends at a slippery uphill calcite slope and an undescended 25m pitch in a big rift.

The Cascade Inlet is the preferred main route into the far reaches and is mainly walking with traverses on crappy limestone. After 120m and as the passage starts to get smaller, there is an obvious passage up on the left with the draught coming through. The Cascade Streamway continues straight on for some 60m to a dig with water entering.

The draughting 5m crawl enters a cross rift and a 6m climb up. A further climb up of 6m enters Known Passage. To the west, this closes down in a draughtless choke; to the east, walking passage has several avens - all of which except the first have been climbed to a phreatic series above which totally chokes. Known Passage continues to the Big Chamber. Just before it reaches this point a small passage on the right has been followed to an 11m pitch into a streamway which got too tight. An alternative route to here from Known Passage slopes down to the bottom of the 11m pitch. The water is assumed to be that which enters through the dig at the end of Cascade Streamway.

A rope climb down is required to enter the Big Chamber and a number of possibilities remain unexplored. A pit in the floor is blind but a nearly vertical wall of mud on the western side appears to have passage at the top. On the northeastern side of the chamber is a steep slope up to an alcove, bolted to in 1993.

The route onwards lies to the northwest of the chamber and is a climb up mud and boulders into a walking sized passage. This crosses over a blind pit and reaches a junction. The larger route to the left is Tile Passage chokes except for a 15m deep pitch which drops to a too tight streamway with no draught. A hole opened up amongst boulders at the base of an aven needs to stabilise from '93. Snail shells, bones and two small pieces of well rounded roof tile were found under the aven. An attempt has been made to climb up to the passage seen 6m up the aven. The flake which was lassoed is now at the base of the climb and another attempt needs to be made.

The main draughting way on is up a mud slope to the right. A bouldery area and a complex series of passages can be passed by following the draught. Two pitches of 5 and 8m are descended. The second pitch requires a pendulum off into an obvious passage, 5m in diameter. The old phreatic passage gets bigger with side passages which all close down apart from the first one which has a draught and possibilities, although it may connect back to the pitch. A boulder collapse can be crawled under with a chamber above and the continuing passage enlarges and then suddenly closes in.

A slot on the left hand side is the Mistral squeeze which carries a powerful draught. The squeeze leads up to Venus's Playroom, a chamber with stal floor, long straws, columns and an draughting pitch which connects with the passage from The Howling to Ecstasy.

There are two ways on from Venus's Playroom: one is a crawl which avoids damaging formations; the other involves walking through formations. Both unite in a large passage. Uphill to the east enters Ecstasy Chamber. A steeply descending mud and boulder slope with some stal leads to the main passage while to the right a couple of undescended rifts appear to be 20m deep. An obvious traverse over these leads to an unentered passage. On the southern side of the chamber is the tight and muddy connection back to The Howling.

A walking passage continues with places where it is possible to climb down to a modern streamway and up to higher level passage with formations. (There's a bit of passage off here - stns 500 - 509 - which Toby needs to draw up and describe). The obvious route passes through Cooling Fin Grotto and ends in Bat Skeleton Chamber, a collapse in the Orbitolina bed, which has a draughting exit which has been looked at. (Side passage description needed - stns 510-522 & 783 - 800 need drawing up).

Turning right at the choke leads downhill to a walking passage. A western route links back to the main drag some 60m before Bat Skeleton Choke (Toby? and the survey drawn on) but to the east the passage continues walking sized for 200m with high and low level oxbows and a number of unexplored passages until Block Chamber is reached. (Stns 765 - 782 need writing and drawing up).

Scrambling up over boulders in Block Chamber leads to Pseudo Almond Chamber with a crawl to the right in a large passage nearly choked with mud and a slight draught. This can be followed to a pit in the floor of a chamber which has been approached from the far end and from below.

The passages up to the northeast need describing, after the passage detail has been added.

The cave continues for some 600m in similar style - small, modern passage down to the right (south) of the main route and to the north occasional higher level chambers which hint at a main high level.

At a wide and 5m high section with mud banks, a deep pool to the north sumps (station 558). The passage widens, encounters a small stream with sumps and meets a large aven where the draught appears to be lost. This has been bolted to where it can be seen that there is no way on. The aven appears to be a collapse feature.

Some 200m from the known end the cave turns from a downhill ESE trend to an uphill NE trend. This corner region has been investigated at roof level and nothing found.

Upstream, the passage becomes smaller with a cascade and then splits, the northern branch going to Henry Chamber where a 6m pitch drops to 40m of passage to an aven. Bolting has started in the avens to the east of Henry Chamber.

The eastern streamway branch leads through Munster's Waltz to the terminal boulder choke, some 1900m east north east of the entrance.

Other points mentioned to go at near the end are:

- a climb up a 1m wide rift about 20m back from the final choke up Munster's Waltz. This is draughting but will need bolting in the exposed start.

- push main river downstream; take lump hammer

- enter through boulders at big corner before main stream is encountered; probably wet.

About 100m beyond Block Chamber, an obvious passage (Job's Defiance?) on the left goes for about 100m to dig called Situation Normal which enters a lower stream level passage with high level which hasn't been followed and a climb on boulders at their angle of rest into a very big rift ending in small phreatic tubes.

Other bits which need tying into the above account:

A crawl in the Cascade Streamway has been pushed for 20m to a draughting stal dig (Pete S?).

The chamber to the east of the traverse has a short climb where two boulders need to be removed before access can be gained to an ascending passage with draught and echo. The draught in the chamber area seems to go upwards.

Another dig with a draught out has been pushed for 5m with a mud floor that should be dug. In the same area there is also a mud-choked passage in the "right" wall which takes a good draught and also needs digging.

Just after One Footprint Passage, a passage on the left takes some draught and needs hammering.

The aven on the boulder choke side of One Footprint Passage ends in boulders with a passage visible beyond.

Samples of stalagmite were removed from the cave for dating and analysis in 1993.

Reference: anon., 1990b (logbook); anon., 1991 (logbook); material in file; Corrin J, 1992a (survey); anon., 1992b (logbook); Corrin J and Quin A, 1992 (survey and photo); Corrin J, 1993 (survey); anon., 1993b (logbook); Openshaw S et al, 1993; Corrin J, 1994a (survey); Corrin Juan, 1995b (survey); anon., 1994a (Easter logbook); anon., 1994b (logbook); Corrin J, 1994b (survey); anon., 1995c (logbook); Corrin Juan, 1995a (photo); García José León, 1997 (survey and photo); Corrin Juan, 1997c; anon., 1999c (logbook)
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