SISTEMA PURIFICACION 198672by Peter Sprouse and Carol Vesely
In March 1986, twelve cavers of theProyecto Espeleo1ogico Purificacion madefinal preparations <strong>for</strong> the most ambitiousunderground camp in the ten-year history ofthe project: a seven-day push in thesouthern-most area of Sistema Purificacio~The site chosen <strong>for</strong> Camp N was 5500 metersin and 600 meters below the Cueva delBrinco entrance. It was in this area thatmany promising leads trended south underthe high sierra, giving tantalizing hope ofmany kilometers of borehole and of higherentrances in the tower karst of MesasJuarez. Attempts in previous years to findan easier route into the remote SouthboundBorehole area via the lower Cueva de Infierni110entrance had been fruitless, sonow the decision had been made to <strong>for</strong>ce acamp in through Brinco's tight and wetroute to the bottom. Taking some advantageof gravity, the plan was to leave the cavevia Infiernillo, hopefully by a yet-to-bediscoverednew connection, or by the originallink between the two caves, which wouldinvolve some vertical backtracking.Camp IV was nick-named Camp Challenger,in memory of the recent space shuttletragedy that had killed seven astronauts,and also because of the challenge involvedin getting there. The members of the expeditionwere Marcus Buck, Phil Deacon, BillFarr, Dale Pate, Jim Pisarowicz, SusieRaines, Terry Raines, Peter Sprouse, TerriSprouse, Mauricio Tapie, Carol Vesely andCyndie Walck.FIRST ENTRYDue to tight obstacles like the crackof Doom, Mudball Crawl, and the MainSqueeze, standard-size military duffle bagswere deemed too large and had to be re-sewnto a smaller diameter. Compounding theequipment problem was the fact that waterproofingbags would be required to keepgear dry in the long swims, thereby increasingbulk. So a pre-camp supply run wasneeded to deliver group gear and the carbidesupplies.On March 17 at project headquartersnear the Brinco entrance, Bill, Marcus, andPeter loaded their duffles with surveygear, rope, and carbide, then charged intothe cave. A number of round trips had beenmade to the Southbound Borehole from thesurface, but not with these loads. Afterthe bleak squeeze through the Crack ofDoom, the flowstone cascades of the R10Verde were a pleasure. Once in the levelborehole of the World Beyond, it was easygoing, until Bill discovered that his loadof carbide barely allowed him to keep hisnose above water in the long lake swims.Then, after the last swim, his companionsdetected a dread odor from his duff: acetylenegas. Apparently, some of the waterproofinghad failed on the carbide bundles,requiring inspection and repackaging. Fortunately,fX)t too much was lost. Once downthe two subsequent rope drops and into thedry Medusa's Maze, the cavers found thatthe dreaded Yawndwanaland tubes weren't sobad, since the duffles could be rolledthrough much of them. The bags themselvessuffered, however. They were full of holesand still had to be used on the camp trip.The low, sandy campsite was reached after13 hours, and, after unloading the bags,Bill, Marcus, and Peter took a much neededtwo-hour sleep.The trip out was slow, but after a lowpoint around the rope drops, second windkicked in to carry them to the entrance,twenty four and a half hours after entering.Meanwhile, the other team membershad shuttled vehicles down to the lowerentrance, and on the advice of the returningsupply runners, they took an extraday to get their duffles in past the Crackof Doom, the earliest and most arduousobstacle.FAREWELL TO THE COMETAfter a final view of the SPeCtacularcomet Halley, the crew entered Brinco on 20March. Only a few hitches marred the tripthat had been planned so long. At the lowMudball Crawl, no amount of <strong>for</strong>ce wouldcoax Phil's duffle through, so he had tounpack the thing to free it. Pulling ropesdown behind them as they descended, thecrew had passed the last rappe11 and wereleaving the Connection Passage when SusieOpposite: Solution domes arch over the upstream section of the Tokamak River.(Peter Sprouse)73
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