Yay!!!:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) finally got the bu**er.

Out with  Dylan Burgess, 6yo Josh & 9yo Craig (C6k) today after seeing cos maintenance log. 

Started with a slight hangover this morning  after having to spend the evening in a local pub because of the dam rain, prefer beers around a camp fire.

Not sure this was the best idea today after cracking a couple ribs getting back out of Pies pot 10 days ago but hey thats what pain killers are for....

Managed to find the entrance eventually then in & hauling kit thu did feel like hard work i must admit. 

Managed to take & wrong turn early in & burnt of a good portion  of hangover off trying to back out.

Soon at boulder chamber & was good to continue kit free.

Life lined kids but they really didn't need it as they only needed a bunk up & a hand now & then.

Showed Dylan an easier way though squeeze than last time & we were soon at the final choke after the nerve racking (for Dylan & me) bit of rift walking by the kids.

Cache spotted almost instantly this this time yay!!????

Retraced route & kids made light work out of climb back up into boulder chamber where we congratulated ourselves with flapjack & Mars bars. Then packed up kit & headed out.

Josh decided he didn't want to leave after spotting some large spiders but he was.on the rope & Dylan had others ideas.

Craig manged not bothered about spiders & made an impressive climb out. 

Was good to get back out into the fresh air & even better to get to pub for a congratulatory pint or two.

Cheers Abanazar for a great cache & maintaining it.

 

 

 

This time, Third time lucky.
Again with Andy Swindon leys and our boys.
As always when out with Andy, the morning started off with hangover, a few beers in the Kings Arms last night, where Andy enjoyed making friends with the locals.
Started off on a bad one, again lost the lasciate entrance.
Soon got there and made our way to the final lasciate chamber with no real issues.
Descended down and slowly made our way through.
Funnily, the tight squeeze section felt easy for me, I guess cutting down on the beers since Christmas has helped, plus having the reassuring voice of my son saying 'you OK dad, you can do it, kept me calm.
We made it through to the final end rift, and this time within an instant we found the cache with no dramas whatsoever.
It definately wasn't there either times before, it was obvious this time.
All that left was the way out which again went all quite smoothly. The climb out to lascaite chamber felt easy today, the boys made it look even easier!
Everything went great until I started to haul joshy out the entrance and he saw what he said was a huge spiders nest, and he had a huge melt down.
Apart from that all went well.
In fact I even enjoyed it this time.
Heading out we came across a party doing a bat survey within.
A good day today, I'm not even aching too much this time.
Thankyou, at long last for the cache. ????

Unfortunately this was not where it was supposed to be and despite a good look I could not find if it had fallen / been disturbed / something more sinister. I had a replacement micro with me as the log always needs refreshing due to the atmospheric conditions, so I improvised a new host (thanks to Uno dei Trenta). However, there is now a bit more mud sculpting to keep everything in place; so if you find this, please recreate the sculpting when you replace. I enjoyed the New Year’s Eve workout but I’m not looking forward to having to clean all the mud off my kit. Happy New Year to all.

Quite enjoyed this one today, just ashame I rubbish at finding.

If anyone else is planning  to attempt this one & fancies some company I would love to tag along.

 

Blimey this one is difficult.

After forgetting UV light last time this one has been bugging me.

Just Dylan Burgess & me today. Successfully navigated the rift & seemed a little easier today, only a little mind. Managed to pace self a bit better this time to conserve energy so didn't have to struggle with finale climb out.

Spent a good 30 minutes searching with our fairly decent UV lights. Searched the two places indicated in description for quite a while then expanded search but luck was not on our side today & we eventually ran out of ideas even after viewing the spoiler pics & another look at previous logs.

Ho hum, may return if someone else can find this one.

Was an enjoyable Sunday morning out, even without a find.

Now home to demud:)

Thanks Abanazar & to Dylan Burgess as I wouldn't fancy attempting this one alone.

 

 

We set off to the start of lasciate about 10ish, again, both slightly hung over. 

Struggled to locate the start this time ha, not a good sign? 

Once in, followed the route, it felt harder today for some reason, possibly the fact I'm using my girlfriends wellies, which, were rubbish on the climb sections compared to my usual footwear. 

Didn't take long to haul over the bar into the lasciate chamber, have a quick chill out before descending into hell. 

The route was fairly fresh in our minds  and overall we didn't encounter too much hassle, I still swore loads and panicked in the tight sections . 

Yet again, we made it all the way to the final passage. This time WITH a uv torch.
Still with two of us searching, we failed to locate the cache again?
A good half hours search we failed.

Gutted, again. We headed back retraced our route, as before, the final climb by the knotted rope back into the lasciate chamber was the hardest part. 

I found hauling backwards worked better to seat myself back in the lasciate chamber. 

From here headed out, with no real dramas. 

Damn it, I can't believe I gotta come back here again.......  

 

A tip for future adventurers; don't wait until you get to the muddy slope to ask your fellow travellers, "does anyone have a UV torch?"

 

I knew where mine was; it was at home in the small dry bag with my freshly charged stack of 18650s and GoPro batteries that I'd forgotten to pick up on my way out of the door at 6:20am.

 

It all went far too smoothly apart from the rain that started as we parked up. In to Lasciate's chamber in 20 minutes from the entrance pitch and then a quick rig for the descent at the knotted rope.  No troubles on the route and my now significantly slimmer frame (34 waist to 30 in a little over a year) encountered no resistance negotiating the constriction that had stopped my previous attempt.

 

Disappointing to have to come home without a find but at least I can say I got there and got out again.  Surprisingly without a single scrape or bruise this time. 

 

I'll be back and I don't mind that one bit.  An epic location; more like heaven than hell!

Great workout this one. Second caving experience & a very good one. A bit  tight in places is probably an understatement but some good climbing in here:) not just hand holds & foot holds but anything & everything it takes.

Started out from Swindon a little hung over for previous night out with Dylan but did manage to cook us up a full english before we hit the road. was still feeling pretty rough when Dylan pulled in for fuel so nipped in for a large bottle of Lucazade & couple of Mars bars.

Met Rocksniffer, Yukonhuskies for first time then we all headed of to the entrance. Got to Lasciate first about 10-15mins & quickly spotted cache & signed in while others following. Rocksniffer rigged a line & ladder while we stripped to bare essentials & left all non essential kit behind then down we went leaving Yukonhuskies clawing at the open as he was simply to muscle bound to fit.

Made it to the end bolder choke then realised my uv torch wasn't non essential, we searched for about 45 mins but no luck oh well at least we have a good excuse to come back:)

We slithered like ky'd snakes back into Lasciate chamber, yeah right!

Yukonhuskies had managed to find top geocoin while we were gone.

Rocksniffer managed to dropped his Vaper  into an impossible retrieval position or so I thought, amazing what these guys will do for a vape:)

We considered going back with the uv torch but headed out instead which was the correct decision as I have to admit I for one was runnig low on energy for the final climb out.

Thanks to Nick, Stewart & Dylan for the adventure & workout.

And a big thanks Abanazar for a great heavy duty cache, keep up the good work:) looking forward to a rematch!

Damn that was hard and scary. I'm no caver I found that whole experience well past my comfort zone.
Leave me climbing up a rotting sea cliff in North Wales I'm more than happy, but wedged in that rift I found intimidating and panic almost set in a couple of times.
Saying that, we made it all the way the the end boulder choked final only to realise we forgot the uv torch. Searched and searched and searched more to no avail.
Gutted to get all the way to fail on the final hurdle of actually finding the cache.
Retraced footsteps emerged In to rain, battered, and worn out. Wiped out...

Definitely maybe the 4th Nov 9am ish.  I'm not going home without it  :)

With #2 Son (don’t read too much into that; he is a good caver) on what seems to be our roughly biennial maintenance trip. I wanted to clear up the ‘throwdown’ log/plastic bag and check on the real cache container. It was fine but its log was illegible - months/years in the constantly damp environment had resulted in a uniform smear of ink over the entire waterproof paper! I’d prepared a replacement just in case. Please only use pencil in future to reduce the likelihood of this. I have also added a couple of spoiler photos of the cache container to avoid future throwdowns. The mud bung is not intended to hide the container from cachers; rather it has only been added to reduce the chance of the container dropping out and being lost in the depths of hell, as befell a previous hunter. It is helpful if a bit of the ring sticks out of the mud, to give something to get hold of.

We also checked on the resident Uno dei Trenta coin while we were in the area.

If the trip of the previous note goes ahead, best of luck to the seekers.

3rd November, is date day in hell, hopefully.......

When mpw246pl told me he and Haggis 87 were planning a trip to come here, I didn't need to think about it for a second!

The date was set and then I had time to come to my senses...... I found this cache 6 years ago and began to wonder if I'd still be fit (and slim) enough to make the journey.

From Lasciate we rigged a caving ladder for the descent and also took a few bits and bobs with us 'just in case'. These things did make things a bit more difficult as we had to pass backpacks along as we got to each challenging place but it was worth it to know that we had the gear in case we needed it.

Parts of the route were straight forward but a couple of times we had to do quite a bit of squirming and wriggling to get through, especially at the place where the passage 'kinks a little'...... But this was easier on the way out.

Once at the final place we caused ourselves a good bit of worry as we found the cache and the plastic bag with the paper in it, and convinced ourselves that we should look elsewhere for the 'real' log. Anway, we found it in the end, and after signing it was replaced as found.... Pheww!

The Resident Geocoin was discovered and the journey back was fine and like others, we found the ladder up into Lasciate a difficult thing to overcome.

When we emerged into the rain that was still falling, we notified our emergency contact, Thanks Very Much, and then I sent a text to Mrs Dizzy "We're out - WORN OUT!"

I'd like to say "I'll be back" but if it's another 6 years, very much doubt it, so from me it's.... "Thanks very much for this adventure to a place I will never forget".

 

 

 

 

Back in April 2013 I visited Lasciate and had been bowled over with joy & elation at achieving such a moneumental (at the time) cache in the good company of DizzyPair & Haggis87.

Finally, today was the opportunity to return and venture further into the bowels of Hell in the same good company for what is a cache that is held in the highest esteem in the extreme caching world. 

The first descent from Lasciate was made by use of a 9m caving ladder which we left in situ for our return, then onwards following the survey and the CO's explicit instructions. Onwards we went turning this way, that way and forever gobsmacked by the formations that were before us, but ever watchful of the time.

A high climb was in front of us, so one made it to the top free climbing, whilst the two took it easy with aid of a rope (must be their age)...the descent continued and unnervingly there wasn't the expected increase in temperature which one assumes there would as you approach Hell, instead there was sweat - and loads of it too, a sprinkling of curses and this was topped off by a torrent of profanities. Then the squeeze to the left - O Deus meus - it was clear that the evil one otherwise known as the Wizard Abanazar was indeed a thin one in need of nutition.

Slim, slim and slightly bigger slim made it through and then we came across the almighty squeeze were after many attempts we passed this foul obsticle but I beleive that one mammary papilla and one cojone  may have been left behind for the devil to feast upon.

Finally, at the GZ we set about finding the cache of course but the old 'throw down' log we found was disconcerting and a big rubeum allec, after some 20minutes the condrumdrum was solved and we were signing oursleves in as DHM on the write-in-rain log from withing the cache. Anyone that follows our foulish footsteps will know they have reached the GZ and so the cache, as if they peer down below this ninth level, some 9' or so, they will see my right hand glove.

We celebrated this achievement in style with a feast fit for peasants and then spoke the sacret curse:

We are at the bottom of Hell and I am done with you for you are worthless in my eyes so you shall not exist. I curse this pain for you have messed with a demon and got cursed. I am done with my journey to the depths of Hell and I shall be gone from this miserable pit, but I leave my memories of you to burn forever!

With time pressing upon us, the extraction started and three weary bodies pushed, pulled, squeezed and puffed back towards Lasciate were our snoozing compatriot was awoken.

An amazing achievement for me and the group but here I am confused, I am unsure whether to thank the CO or to curse him again 

I concur with other finders comments - this is physically very demanding in many ways and should not be undertaken lightly or by those unskilled or unprepared.

For any following fools that deem themselves worth of seeking the ninth level, we left the rain behind above ground at 730am and exited back into rain at 1145am, albeit some 20mins where used wastefully at GZ (our fault, not that of the CO I hasten to add)

  Hello !!!

    I'm pleased to inform you that your cache became: Cache of the month

CONGRATULATIONS !!!
OC Team

Wow

As I sit to log this cache now, in the comfort of home with the smell of Easter roast dinner wafting up the stairs, it seems hard to believe that this time yesterday I was inching my way along underground seriously beginning to wonder if this time I really had bitten off more than I could chew.

As the four of us stood in Lasciate's chamber, it was time for the big question - were we going to attempt the 9th circle? Personally I was very sure that I wanted to at least attempt it, but I could tell that my comapnions were not all quite so sure. We'd come properly equipped but Lasciate had been tough and taken a little longer than anticipated.

One way or another we decided to at least have a go at the first pitch. A rope was emplaced and down I went on a tubular descender. In fact, re-entering Lasciate's chamber on the way back out was to prove one of the hardest parts of the whole adventure and I, for one, was very grateful to accept the help of my sterling teammates while being pulled bodily through the slot.

Down in the rift, and with the adventure running in my veins I waited for the others to rig a caving ladder and come down to join me (we hadn't all come with harnesses on). It seemed to be taking a while so I decided to start the next pitch up to 'the slab'. Quite a challenging little climb, that one! I made it up the slab then sat tight to await he others. Finally news arrived: for Smudge, something didn't feel quite right about the first pitch, and he very wisely decided to stay in Lasciate's chamber. Both the others had at once offered to stay, but after some debate it was agreed that Wizbit100 would wait at the foot of the second pitch, while Dizzygirl came ahead with me. in the end the two 'backups' were absolutely invaluable and helped us enormously on our way out - a true team effort.

There was only one thing to the fore of my mind at this point, being the infamous squeeze. Would we fit, or not? I'd underestimated however the amount of effort and willpower to reach that spot, and it was only some considerable time later that we faced it and - thankfully - both managed to get past Without too much ado.

i think to avoid spoiling too many of the surprises I'll avoid saying too much more about our amazing trip, save to say that it was a huge challenge but hugely rewarding. undoubtedly the toughest mental and physical challenge I've ever attempted and one that I truly could not have done without the support of all the others - again, I'll say it was a true team effort.

Perhaps couple of points for future lost souls to note:

1. Do NOT attempt this on your own, or Ill equipped. You could die. Seriously.
2. Be aware that getting out is harder than getting in, and that you will be mentally and physically tired by then.
3. Allow plenty of time before your 'alert' contact starts making calls. We took almost 7 hrs.
4. Four people is slower but is a good number of people. In case someone gets hurt one person can stay with them, still leaving two people to assist each other to climb out and summon help.
5. For the few who DO reach the cache, do not fail at the final hurdle. You need to find the official log which is in a BiSON. It is there. It may be a lot closer than you think...

it goes without saying that Abanazar deserves my massive thanks and respect for placing and maintaining this outstanding cache. I seriously do hope that this is the hardest physical element of a cache that I ever do!

What an adventure with cjfoundit (see his log in Uno dei Trenta geocoin logs).

Spanning almost a year from these caches initially sparking our interest and instigating puzzle solving, collecting the necessary equipment, planning and preparing for each of our three (and a half!) amazing adventures which tackled Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate and Earnanæs, þæs wyrmes den and, ultimately, il Nono Cerchio.

We had decided on Good Friday '17 to make our second attempt and once back in the familiar chamber of Lasciate we descended into the abyss, hoping that this time we could reach the cache site and geocoin location.

Fast forward a good few hours during which we ascended, descended, twisted, turned, stretched, squeezed, pushed, pulled and…we made it!

After admiring the nearby flowstone and surroundings we approached the cache location and soon spotted the tell-tale sign of GZ.  We had missed the owner maintenance log which had originally gone missing during the webhost transfer so thought the cache would probably still be laying a metre or so down through boulders, as per 'smaughunter's log back in September '16. We had a good look around – both in the obvious ‘nook’ and in the vicinity, finding some out of place line caught up between the rocks but not the cache container. In the end we settled on leaving our names tucked behind the familiar tell-tale sign of GZ before heading off to discover the treasured resident geocoin Uno dei Trenta.

With our mission complete we exited the ninth circle, retracing our steps until we found ourselves back out in the fresh night air…muddy, tired and delighted with our achievements! It was most definitely a long and challenging journey like no other, but teamwork, courage and determination in an amazing location made this a thoroughly enjoyable and truly memorable experience. Huge thanks to Abanazar for these three excellent caches – for the ultimate challenge of il Nono and for the journey, experience and adventure along the way!

Being a new member of opencache I don't have any 'recommendations' yet, but if I did then this cache would, without a doubt, get one!

(18 Sep 2016 - Replacement entry for one that went missing during the webhost transfer)

Maintenance performed, cache re-enabled. Rather sooner than anticipated my son and I replaced the cache today. Please take care not to lose/drop the micro container when retrieving; it is quite an effort to replace. We made a small mud/clay bung to help retain the micro. If it works, would the next finder please try something similar. Thanks.

I undertook this adventure with Rocksniffer and Yukonhuskies. We had all been to the lasciate chamber before and todays journey there was documented in its own page.   Rocksniffer rigged up for our descent into Il Nono.

With some trepidation we went down, the descent itself was not worrying but we did notice what we would have to do to return. Then up and over the coffin rock. A mind boggling maze of boulders both up and down again. I am more lithe than my two friends and a ventured a head a little. I reported that the rift becomes narrower and they were concerned. By the time I got to the chicane one had to halt in the preceding rift and the other could only get as far as seeing my attempt the chicane. The chicane was quite a challenge and I had to continue alone in voice contact only with my companions.

The Far Rift was exceptional and I enjoyed exploring it using the ledges at mid height , taking pictures as I went. At the very far end I quickly found the hiding place but on lifting the stone the container dropped straight out and clink clink clink fell between the boulders and down to the floor a metre or s below me. There was no way to retrieve it and Abanazar was not impressed when I reported the loss. Ah well such is life. Returning I made the short detour to discover the Amberel Coin ( the coveted prize held by only a few )

Returning to my companions way made our way jovially back to the  ascent where as predicted there was a tough challenge. Teamwork really came to the fore here as we had to work together and support each other back up to safety and the comparative stroll back from Lasciate chamber to the overworld.

Thanks to my companions for the support through this adventure even though they did not reach the final far point and to Abanazar for encouraging us here and those that came before us and showed what was possible. you have all upped my self confidence in my abilities to a higher level and I appreciate it immensely. This really is the hardest thing I have ever done and I feel good about it.

My first OpenCache.

As very much a newcomer to the world of Geocaching, it was perhaps natural that my attention had been purely focussed on the biggest and best known of the Caching websites and I wasn't even aware of the existence of OpenCaching until a few short weeks ago.

It was also perhaps natural that the person to lift the veil of ignorance and nudge me in the right direction was Abanazar himself.

At the time, I was in the process of attempting to decode the instructions for two of his other cave-based caches (maybe best described in a lazy, shorthand way as 'Dragons and Hell') and once I became aware of Il Nono Cerchio it just HAD to be done ...

... Correspondingly, Paulicus (that's me), the Uxor and the seven year old Filius entered into Hell on Saturday 9th January and made our way to Lasciates final chamber.  We had obviously read and digested the instructions for Il Nono and also looked at the earlier Logs on this website and decided that the final two levels of Hell would be a bit too, well, hellish for a seven year old and an Uxor carrying a little Nasciturus so whilst they lit the candles and unwrapped the sandwiches, I continued solo.

 

First, a little disclaimer:  I'm a neither especially fit or particularly athletic middle aged man but I do have a lot of caving experience (albeit from twenty years ago) and am entirely comfortable in underground confined spaces and this is the only reason that Il Nono wasn't the physical ordeal for me that it has been for others: in many respects, I feel I have 'cheated'!

 

 

There is something about a knotted rope hanging over a mysterious rift that is akin to a siren call (as Amberel has already mentioned) and just DEMANDS exploration and so ... I was off ...

I really didn't want to leave the other two alone for too long (it was only their second 'real' cave, after all) and the urge to get back to them acted as a rocket up the backside for the whole (hot and sweaty) trip!

Previous Logs have described the terrain better than I ever could so all I'll say is

                   - Ouch! I wish I had worn knee and elbow pads! -

The nicely hidden cache container was soon reached, a candle lit in respect of those partying above in Lasciates, the log signed and the somewhat unsettling password noted before starting the return.

The return trip was enlivened by the plastic wallet that I was carrying splitting open and emptying all its contents (UV light, iPhone etc) down through stacked boulders that I had just climbed up; thankfully, everything was retrievable but I suspect that even Hell was shocked by the language used!

Back at the base of the rift up into the Lasciates chamber I shouted up, asking if everything was OK; there was an indecipherable muttered reply.  Hmm, struggled up the rift and out into the chamber to find that the Uxor and the Filius were busily engaged in making mud sculptures and so engrossed that they barely noticed my return ... I know my place!

A super trip and (obviously) worthy of any number of recommendations (that I can't yet give).

Well, I found Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate with a gang of Devon cachers back in the snow of January 2013, during which we broke Moortrekka's ribs, and then found Earnanæs, þæs wyrmes denn the following April with Staticman1, during which no bones were broken. I think.

Today was the day for il Nono, what with some caching credit earned or now owing for antpeng and staticman1, and with me being let off the Easter Monday Shop For Bridesmaid Dresses.

Result.

We sprinted to Lasciate. It didn't feel like it, but once we'd got there and then PAINFULLY squeezed and squoze our way to the il Nono GZ it seemed like a walk in the park in retrospect. What a whole heap of squeezy ascents, squeezy descents, dives into the unknown, and bruises.

Many, many bruises.

We found the Nono Top Cache award and the Lasciate Top Cache award too.

We also found abanazar, who I think might have been worried by the amount of time we were spending underground and came to find us with an Important Bag that might have contained first aid things. It sure as s**t didn't contain a flask of Bovril, which is all I could think of for the entire protracted exit from this amazing cache...

Thanks to antpeng and staticman1 for their sterling company throughout this nonsense.

I think when some of the most illustrious extreme cachers in the country describe on this cache as possibly the UKs toughest cache it is probably worth noting that this is likely to be a challenging, challenging cache even more so than this caches cousins ‘Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate’ and ‘Earnanæs, þæs wyrmes denn’.

 

I should start of by saying I have taken quite a beating from this cache and whilst the climbs and descents were tiring and challenging the squeeze just before the cache really took it out on me especially as I think my waist size was a few inches larger than others who have successfully completed this cache. I have bruising and swelling across both sets of ribs resulting in painful breathing, scrapes and bruises galore especially on the upper half and a few small lacerations on top of general muscle ache. I have made it to work today though so there is probably a little bit of hypochondria in my ailments as well.

 

This cache is tough and as Collapsibletank mentions ascending through tiny gaps with harness, carabiner and rope is extremely challenging especially when already massively fatigued as with Lasciate the ascent out of hell is a lot more difficult than the descent in. We persevered though and completing this tough cache was reward in itself but the magnificent flowstone further down was an amazing sight in itself, never seen it so good outside of foreign and ‘show’ caves. Great to discover another top cache coin as well. Pretty much every step is a challenge once you pass through the final chamber of Lasciate. I find it hard to believe the two caches are only 50m apart as the crow flies, it sure as hell felt a lot longer.

 

Thanks to my caving buddies Antpeng and Collapsibletank as well. I think both took turns being foot rests and pulling duty for those tight holes. Thanks for your patience and sorry for making you both late. If you need tardy notes let me know and I will write you one up.

 

A challenging cache. Not sure if recommend is the correct word but a great sense of achievement if you hit GZ. Glad to have ticked off such a tough cache and I am sure it will make any future 5/5s feel like a micro in a car park. Thanks for setting this, just finding and deciding on this spot shows you are far madder than any of us finders.  TFTC

 

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This is a truly epic cache. I will try to keep my log less epic, but imagine I probably won't succeed. 

 

Our fellowship first formed to tackle its sister cache (Earnanæs, þæs wyrmes denn) around a year ago and we ended up being first to find Below Above Mega Breakfast into the bargain, as well as Los Juicios de la Inquisición and Below Above Multi 2. Another weekend saw us reuniting to tackle Below Above Gruidae and There and Back Again and the four new Browns Below Aboves. Always Il Nono has been on our list "to tackle if we have time" - I'm extremely glad that it was the sole aim of this reunion. The sheer physical effort to reach and return from GZ meant that we would have been foolish to try when tired from other caches and would almost certainly have failed. 

It is also a fitting culmination for my assault on abanazar's catalogue of caches. I am now the only person to have found every groundspeak and opencache the wizard has set and it was the icing on the cake to be able to thank the CO in person (more of that later)

 

And so...

We assembled at 6:00 and were entering the cave by 6:30. It was my third time heading towards Lasciate and collapsibletank’s second, so we were familiar with the route and how best to tackle the various obstacles in our path and so made good time. At Lasciate's cache chamber I inspected the onward route while 'tank and staticman went to find the coin. Both previous times I have stared down the abyss and seen that rope just hanging there I have questioned the sanity of anyone descending further and this time was no different, except I knew that today I was insane. We rigged up a rope and managed to squeeze through the gap to descend into the widening rift. It wasn't long before we reached somewhere that reminded me of 127 hours; a narrow rift with a large stone wedged in it - thankfully though, no extraneous body parts. This was too narrow so we had to bypass it. I headed up with another rope but I'm not sure it was really needed for this bit. It was then over and down through a disorienting spiral of boulders at a crossroads and then on through a decent passage. It was at this point that I glanced down and could have sworn I caught a glimpse of daylight through the floor - an extremely surreal experience and was only my head torch reflecting in a puddle. The last leg of the bypass was completed and here we decided to ditch most of our kit because the way ahead was incredibly narrow, and indeed at one point a tiring staticman, who was leading the way got stuck at a small chicane in the rift - I managed to wriggle up and over and help work out the best way through, like some weird blacksmith puzzle. We eventually emerged into the flowstone passage which was incredible and made our way along to the cache. We found the cache without the need for UV and can also state that new log has already gained its characteristic smell. The code was noted and then we headed for the coin. This was found fairly easily too and what a beauty it is, and well deserved. It was then the simple matter of retracing our steps!

 

Knowing how to solve the "human blacksmith puzzle" made it easier to negotiate it in reverse but some helmet doffing to allow head rotation was deemed appropriate and we were soon back at our kit store. We made it round the bypass back to the boulder spiral where we'd left a rope. I ascended and made it over the overhang but staticman struggled here following his draining struggle in the narrow chicane. Various alternate routes were explored before we decided to reposition the rope further up to make the overhang easier to negotiate. It was then back down to the main rift which I did first and it felt very unnatural to be braced at a 45 degree angle across the gap walking myself down. Then came the hardest part of the whole journey - the ascent to Lasciate's chamber. This was really difficult because (at least the way I did it) you have to ascend the rope up to the pinch point and then convert to rock climbing to get through but this means you have to somewhat abandon the rope and you know you're quite a long way up with a bit of slack in the rope and with tired limbs. It also didn't help that I went up facing the wrong way first. Anyway, with a bit of cursing and extreme physical exertion and I was up to the pitch just below Lasciate's chamber. It was then staticman’s turn; it was important for us to puzzle out precisely the best way for him to ascend because abortive attempts here would cost too much energy. I realised we were approaching my cut off time of 13:00 and I needed to check in with the boss, so I left 'tank and staticman to talk tactics while I popped out to phone home. It says a lot that it only took about 10-15 minutes for me to exit the cave and we'd been underground for 6 hours. I climbed up the hill to get a better signal and as I looked down I saw a note pinned to our rope - I'd just missed the CO by 10 minutes! I fired off an email to see if he was still around and up for lending a hand and headed back in to help having bought us a few more hours. 

 

It didn’t take long to get back to Lasciate's chamber and as I peered into the abyss there was staticman's head grinning back at me. A bit of manoeuvring later and he was back up at the bottom of the pitch by the hanging rope. Collapsibletank joined him and then with a bit more teamwork the slippery pitch was negotiated. We packed up our kit and started heading out and as we did we could hear someone coming our way. It was the CO himself, come to lend a hand, although I think he was pretty glad to find us where he did.

 

We managed the route back with relative ease and emerged into the sun with a kind of tired euphoria and relief. The time was around 2:30 - a total of 8 hours underground. 

 

It was great to be able to thank the CO in person for all of his caches. I've enjoyed them all and they'd certainly dominate my top 10. And to complete the set with this most physically challenging of caches was very fitting. A massive thank you to abanazar and to my caving buddies staticman1 and collapsibletank. I look forward to our next adventure.  

Here we are again in the Ninth Circle after a great journey. My companion Digdug and I left behind a glorious, sunny morning in our quest to deposit a newly minted treasure in the bowels of Hell. While we were here, I thought il Nono Cerchio's log-paper was (smelling) a little worse for wear, so I quickly fashioned a new sheet from the waterproof paper I had brought along. Thanks to Digdug for his patience as I faffed around sizing it, but at least it gave us time to get our breath back.

It was a great couple of hours, but either the trip has got a bit harder (less likely), or I'm less fit than last time (more likely). A post-Hades visit to the sunny beer garden of the nearby Muddy Duck inn was most welcome.

Many thanks to Amberel for crafting another special coin.

Such a fun cache! Having found Lasciate.. and struggled in a couple of places, I wasn't sure about carrying on but sent the boys first in case of any difficulties! To start with anywayThe cave was so varied, hadn't expected such a range of climbing and squeezing but managed it all. The instructions were excellent, never in any doubt about which way to go which was a relief! TFTC, we had a great time!

Very well done Cheese Monkey, *Giraffe* and Muggle Peter  I remember reading your logs back in 2011 on UnderWorld 8 as you were the previous finders to us at the time; that's a much easier cache, however! I'm glad the instructions worked, as I think you are the first seekers to have found the cache without any local guidance. Top job

Now this is the hardest 5/5 I have ever done! Myself, *Giraffe* and mental muggle Peter set off at 12 for an underground exploration. We couldn't go rock climbing as it was raining! After finding Lasciate we had the instructions with us on how to proceed. I said we would just continue until we didnt feel ok or safe continuing. Which worked well! The terrain was ramped up a notch, pretty continuous climbing, descending, chimneying and squeezing or getting stuck. Flowstone was quite impressive, reminded me of Asian caves. Excellent caches. Any plans for some more? Happy to help setting. TFTC

I hope I might be able to attempt this one some time soon. I've just decoded the instructions and plans are afoot...

Fantastic! Myself, Mrs Piddypug, Billiethecat and our excellent guide Digdug met up once again to dive deep underground in search of yet another Abanazar cache and I wasn't disappointed! The first part was reasonably straight forward as we had tackled this in the previous cache, the second part how ever was a different story, although after plenty of encouragement from Digdug we climbed, dropped and squeezed our way through the passageways to reach our goal. Well done to Mrs Piddypug who did very well, and also to Billiethecat who had to to have a breather halfway back and a nutty bar! Although I didn't complain about the short pit stop!! A big thank you to Digdug for your help and encouragement and also to Abanazar for yet another amazing caving experience. Sorry for the delay in posting my log! Thanks again to all and I look forward to doing it again sometime soon.

Awesome For a while there, I thought it was just going to be a blank TFTC log

After finding Lasciate a few weeks ago, it was only going to be a matter of time before Piddypug and I returned to attempt this cache.

We called upon the services of Digdug once again, and together with Mrs Piddypug, we ventured underground some time after 6pm.

We reached the Lasciate cache chamber after about 15 minutes, and it was here that Digdug told us that the next stage was probably slightly longer in length, and only slightly harder going than the route we had already travelled.

I think this was a slight understatement, as we twisted, contorted, slipped, pulled and generally forced ourselves over, under and through the obstacles in our path, until we emerged victorious at the end of our route.

After signing the log and posing for a quick photo, we began our return journey, and I was glad not to be leading the group back, as all the twists and turns left me disorientated and confused, but as we passed a couple of items providing a good point of reference, my worries subsided.

We eventually came to the bottom of the ladder leading back into Lasciate's cache chamber, and after a real struggle (and a helping had from Piddypug) I flopped onto the floor, exhausted. So much so that I had to call a short halt to get my breath back and to consume a nutty energy bar to regain my strength. It did not go unnoticed that no one complained to the enforced break!

After a short while, we began our journey again, and the terrain began to get much easier than we had become accustomed to, and after what seemed an age, we returned to the ladder at the base of the entrance chimney.

I was pleased (and surprised) that I managed to climb the chimney most of the way unaided, and only used the ladder for the final little bit. We emerged into the cool, dark, night air just before 9pm, so spent a little under 3 hours underground. It took noticably longer to return from the cache than to reach it, but I think this was mostly down to exhaustion, as at times I felt as though I could have been physically sick. I dont ever remember being that physically drained before!

Once again, I have to say a very big "Thank You" to Digdug. I know this trip would not have been possible with out him, and I owe him a pint or two by now (or maybe a cool bottle of wine?).

A special mention must go to Mrs Piddypug, who completed the whole trip without fuss or complaint inspite of never having set foot into either Lasciate or Earnanaes before. A truly remarkable achievement!!

Of course, thanks to Abanazar for setting the cahce. I enjoyed every energy sapping minute of it, but I have no (immediate) plans to return.

A very enjoyable maintenance visit. Well, owners have to occasionally check the signatures in case of bogus logs, don't they?
(Minor edits made to ciphertext to supply a couple of extra route details.)

Mixed emotions here then. Many congratulations Ian/Woking Wonders -- really well done -- and commiserations Andy/Amberel for getting so close, but not quite reaching GZ; I know it wasn't for lack of trying. There's one thing for sure: anyone who gives this challenge their best go certainly gains my respect.  And it's fascinating to see -- erm, how should I put this -- the age range of all those who have so far been up for this challenge; great stuff

I really enjoyed meeting all the group on their return journey (and of course during the post-cache debrief at a nearby hostelry). Thanks for coming all that way, and my thanks of course to Mr D for making himself available as a guide 

Back in January Amberel had invited me along on a trip to do the nearby BelowAbove caches. Unfortunately, although we were actually nearby doing a start of term taxi run to Bath university, it was quite short notice and we had other plans so I had to decline the offer. Foolishly though I did express an interest in any similar caching trips that might come along.

So it was that a few weeks ago Amberel asked if I would like to join him on his return visit to "Lasciate ogne speranza", and then to proceed to this new cache which he was keen to try. This time I had no valid excuses, so set to work solving the puzzles.This was the last puzzle to be solved, and since I knew exactly what was required I knocked up a quick bit of software to ease the decoding .

Having had a brief introduction to underground caching at "Open Sesame" we arrived at the starting point to Lasciate with me dressed in my nice new boiler suit as I had been warned that I would get dirty . But of course that was not the starting point for this cache, and never have I had to work so hard just to get to the start point of a cache. That journey is well described in Amberel's log for this trip, so I will say no more here. Amberel and I were accompanied by digdug123 and it was encouraging to have someone who knew what they were doing with us.

The descent from Lasciate's chamber using the caving ladder went okay and then slow but steady progress was made until we readhed the squeeze. I had found the earlier squeeze hard enough and I was following Amberel so I could see how difficult he was finding it. When it came to my turn I also had the same feelings of being permanently wedged in that Andy had had . But with digdug's encouragement and lots or wriggling and slight repositioning I could sense some slow progress, and each bit of progress made the next bit easier.

Eventually I was through and we continued, but this was not the end of the obstacles and there were more times when I felt I was stuck. But the same wriggling and repositioning techniques again resulted in progress, and we finally arrived at the finish.

Fortunately I had brought my own UV torch although I'm sure I would have found the cache without it. However, it was much more rewarding to find the cache light up in the torchlight.

I wish I could say the same as DizzyPair about the return journy, but I definitely didn't find it any easier. I continued to get stuck in various places and now had less resources available to free myself, but determination, frequant breaks to regain breath,  and  a lot of patience on digdug's part did result in me releasing myself each time.

Finally we were back with Amberel and the route became a bit easier, but I was very glad I was with somebody who knew the route well. The passages look so different coming back.

Half way back to the entrance there was the totally unexpected sound of a human voice greeting us - the cache owner had come to see how we were doing.

So, three hours after entering the cave we were back outside, and I could now see why I had been told that I might get dirty, although that was a gross underestimation.

This certainly has to be my most memorable caching experience, but one that I am in no hurry to repeat. I was intrigued to read that DizzyPair rates it as the hardest of the 91 T5 caches he has done.

So many thanks to abanazar for setting such a challenging cache, and for taking the time to come and meet us underground. But more importantly thanks to digdug123 for agreeing to accompany us and for giving up a large part of his Sunday to do so. It was much appreciated. Thanks also to Amberel for inviting me along, and I'm really sorry that he was unable to get to the end.

 

I accomplished Lasciate Ogne Speranza on my second attempt. When I was there I saw the crack in the floor that leads on to where this cache is now located, and I had no desire whatsoever to head down that way.

But caches are like the Sirens of Greek Mythology - even a 35mm film pot can lure a cachers heart to do what they know in their heads they should not be doing at all .

So when this one appeared it was like the irresistible song of a Siren, and I followed it .

But I hadn't taken all leave of my senses. While I reached Lasciate Ogne Speranza, I believed that was at the limit of my 64 year old body's abilities. I realised that to have any chance of reaching THIS cache I would need the assistance of somebody vastly more competent and experienced that myself, and DigDug most kindly volunteered to command the expedition. Ian, of Woking Wonders, joined us.

This time we reached Lasciate Ogne Speranza in about half an hour, about a third of the time it took on my previous visit. And at that point things got more difficult - MUCH more difficult. It became apparent that in addition to his competence and experience, DigDug was far fitter that myself. He also brought with him the equipment and local knowledge that I believe to be essential for this part of the cave.

The route is not obvious, even with the instructions, and I believe the local knowledge is of paramount importance. There are numerous ways to go wrong, and on some of those it might be very difficult to reverse the route. I believe that unless you are a VERY experienced caver you should NOT attempt this without expert guidance.

So, we set off down the crack, using a caving ladder. Even with DigDug holding the bottom of the ladder I found this incredibly difficult, as the narrowness of the crack meant for some of the way I could reach the ladder only with my left side. But, down we went, and reached the bottom. DigDug's patience was exemplary - even when I was standing on his hand and couldn't release it because I was off balance he maintained his gentle good humour.

Every foot of progress was a battle - unlike the first part to Lasciate Ogne Speranza there were few places you could take a simple forward step - it was all up and down, squeezing between cracks, into and out of small holes.

Until we got to a point about three quarters of the way from the entrance. I lowered myself feet first into a small hole. My tummy went through - but my chest didn't. I got sqeezed tighter and tighter until I couldn't breathe - it's one thing squeezing bottom or tummy, but not at all the same thing squeezing ribs - a 42 inch chest wasn't going to go through a 40 inch circumference hole. With great difficulty I managed to pull myself back up a couple of inches and took a relieved and much needed breath! And at that point I decided I would have to call it a day. Who knows, maybe a different angle might have let me squeeze through, but I felt the risk was too great - had I not been able to pull myself up that couple of inches to take a breath, I would have been in some trouble.

So I made my way back towards the ladder, while Ian and Steve finished their journey. Going back was no easier, and when I reached a point about which I was unsure, I turned off my lights to conserve the batteries and waited in the darkness for them to come back. And it was well that I did - the route onwards was very non-obvious to me, and had I carried on I think I would have become well and truly stuck down a blind alley.

Getting back up the ladder, and especially getting over the projecting stone back into Lasciate's chamber, proved to be spectacularly difficult for me. We were both too tired to visit Charon's Obol, so immediately descended the pitch from Lasciate's chamber, where we met abanazar.

My strength was now ebbing fast, and I was nursed most of the way back from there. Abanazar offered me his shoulders to climb one pitch. For the final pitch we were given the luxury of a ladder, but although I have climbed this pitch twice before with little difficulty, this time was very different - I struggled so much that DigDug wisely dropped a safety sling for my waist. But eventually, with my last dregs of energy, I emerged at the top of the pitch. And there was further indication of just how exhausted I was - it took me ten minutes of intense effort to ease myself the straightforward last 10 feet out into the daylight.

We retired to the pub, where I could barely lift my pint .

We drove home. There are a lot of roundabouts on the way to the motorway, and Ian could be heard groaning as his bruises touched the side of the seat. I moderated my cornering speed .

I'm covered from head to toe with bruises. I woke up once every hour last night with severe cramps in my legs. I'm a physical wreck .

There is no doubt that this is the toughest thing I've ever done. I was disappointed to fail, but pleased that I did at least try.

Many thanks to abanazar for setting this one. I think this will be one of the VERY few caches where I have awarded a TOP CACHE coin for a DNF (visit the TOP CACHE page).

Congratulations to Ian for getting there, and to DizzyPair for getting there last week.

And most especially thanks to DigDug for shepherding me safely in and out again.

Rgds, Andy

 

Congratulations to Mr Dizzy on his well-earned FTF! Hats off to you, and it was great to meet a true adventurer

This is our 91st T5, and it was most definitely the hardest.

We have found the other abanazer T5 caches so when this was published, it immediately became our aim to find it. When I decoded the instructions, and Mrs Dizzy read them, we had a talk and she decided that it might not be her cup of tea. I did not want to try it alone, so took up the very kind offer of Digdug who was excellent company and provided the reassurance that if things got a bit too dangerous, then together we could overcome anything.

We met up at a nearby parking place at 10.00 and found the cache at 11.30.

The first part of the journey to "Lasciate ogne speranza,voi ch'intrate" went smoothly and we soon arrived there and  swapped some trackables and discovered Amberel's Top Cache Coin.

Then it got interesting. I had the instructions and was leading our way, and a couple of times, we paused, I read out the next stage, and looked at where we should go, then checked with Digdug, because that way looks impossible!! How can we go there??

But we did!

And what an adventure it was. Many ups and downs and squeezes. I was wearing my climbing harness, but had to stop and take it off at one place because it jsut got caught and I could not go forward. I was wearing a T shirt and jacket, and still the sweat was running off me. My knee pads kept slipping down to my ankles and became a hindrance too.

The route passes by some very interesting rock formations which we paused to photograph on the way back.

So we finally arrived at the cache, and it was then that I realised that I'd left my UV lamp in my rucksack, which we left at "Lasciate". Doh!!

So then I spent a few minutes looking for the cache, much to the amusement of Digdug who would not play "You're getting warm". So I found it and was pleased no, VERY pleased to see that we were the FTF.

We stayed in the area of the cache for a few minutes to relax and savour the silence and the atmosphere, and then began our journey back.

I was surprised to find that going back over/under/up/down/through and around the obstacles was easier than it had been on our outward journey.

So...If you can get there, you can get back!

We had not gone very far when we saw a light in the distance! It was abanazer! It was great to meet you, and in such a great place too.

We then made our way back to the surface to find that it was raining! Weren't we in the right place?

To any other adventurers planning on finding this cache....DO NOT GO ALONE...Go with someone that knows what they're doing.

Thanks very much for this, my first Opencache. It was an absolutely brilliant experience.

Right, I emailed several people near here who I thought might possibly have an interest, the only reponse I've had so far is positive but booked up for months ahead, so probably not on.

So I think I'd like to take up Digdug's kind offer please. But be warned, I draw my pension next year. I also have a fear of heights and, to a lesser degree, claustrophobia, but I try very hard to overcome these. I have already done Lasciate Ogne Speranza (on my second attempt) so I have some idea of what is involved, though obviously I don't know what the second part is like.

I have a builders helmet and a very good head torch. I have knee pads and rigger's gloves, and a boiler suit which I find works well for underground. I also have several mooring ropes and other lines, better than nothing but probably not as appropriate as yours. I have one karabiner.

As for dates, it's a busy time. I work for my own company so am not necessarily restricted to weekends, but I guess if I do get any more responses, others will find weekends most suitable.

My wife is on jury service this week and it may carry over to next week, and as she is finding it stressful I would prefer not to be away until that is finished, so not this next weekend. The weekend of 6th/7th is pencilled in for my computer club annual boat outing, and I don't yet know which day it will be on. Saturday 13th we have a family barbecue, with the diaspora converging on our house for the afternoon/evening. And Saturday 20th I have a wedding to attend that I really can't get out of.

Which leaves Sunday 14th or Sunday 21st, or something beyond that.

Best of luck on 7th DizzyPair, looking forward to reading your log .

Rgds, Andy

We'll be here on Sunday 7th August.

Smiling already !!

Slightly  but more than happy to tag along with anyone who's keen to experience one of Mr A's adventures, and believe me this is an ADVENTURE !! (you'd be hard pressed to beat it ).

      I can lay my hands on all the specialist kit that is needed including helmets and headtorches, so no need to invest in expensive equipment, just clothes that you don't mind getting muddy. 

    Go on, go for it, you know you want too !! 

There is a caching caver who is possibly even fonder of this cave than I am  He has told me that he is quite happy to accompany cachers on any of my more extreme adventures; indeed, he has helped me out on two of them! At the risk of embarrassing him, he is a cracking caving companion with far more experience than I have. If anyone is looking for a bit of company or support, I refer to him as Mr D, but he is known as Digdug (or some variant) on either GC or OC (org.uk).

 

I also really enjoy going down these caves, but in my own experience as a Finder, it's sometimes not quite as exciting to have the CO tagging along, is it? (even if they are less competent and experienced than you might suppose!) Plus it's out of the question for FTF 

 

On the broader topic, I wasn't entirely joking with my recent "No More Heroes" note on Lasciate. I've never classed myself as being particularly adventurous; but I think perhaps I've got a bit of a mid-life thing going on at the moment  Everyone who contemplates il Nono Cerchio, Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate, or Earnanæs, þæs wyrmes denn gets my full respect and appreciation. (Open Sesame: The Quest for Aladdin's Lamp is fun, but much easier!)

 

Happy caching!

I haven't yet decoded the instructions - it's the bit I don't like so I'll only do it as and when I need to .

I don't yet have the equipment, but am prepared to invest in it.

But I think I do want to try it, even though I felt Lasciate was right on the limits of my fears and abilities.

I'm recovering from a sprained knee, but I think it's pretty much getting there now - I just did a pretty full days caching, and while it was a bit sore it did last out. Another week or two should see it OK. But Roderick's back is still very bad so I guess he is out.

I have posted a message on SE Cachers fishing for potential partners, but I've had no reponse whatseover.

So while I think I do want to work towards doing this one, it might easily be ages yet before anything actually happens.

I suggest you get down there straight away. If anyone else wants the FTF its up to them to pull their finger out and go and get it .

Good luck .

Rgds, Andy

We have decrypted the instructions.

We have the equipment.

I now need to sweet talk Mrs Dizzy to join me on what looks like being a Mega Adventure.

She says that because we FTF the last abanazer adventure, we should wait and let someone else be FTF here.

But I cannot wait for too long, so will someone please get down there??

Well, at least a couple of the Watchers/Commenters have sampled the hors d'œuvre course  Nice to see some interest!

We're watching this one !!!

Con sei occhi piangea, e per tre menti

gocciavia 'l pianto e sanguinosa bava.

Da ogne bocca dirompea co' denti

un peccatore, a guisa di maciulla,

si che tre ne facea cosi dolenti.

Canto XXXIV