Rocky Horror

[Kelly Jessop]

Hi
Has anyone done the circuit in the past 2 years ?
When we tried 2 years ago there was ton of silt both going down the crossunder and the badlands, so we did not pursue. There was much nicer cave from the Courtyard up

I think a couple of the last reversals carried in a lot of sediment. I went up a lesser used tunnel in the crossunder,and it suddenly became no-mount small,where in the past it was fairly large. One of the dynamics to caves along the river.

[Michael Stroeck]

Go see Wayne as he has the new map and can show you the "Ts" above. He also mentioned that it was being generated digitally, so hopefully more people will have access to it soon.

I'd love to buy a decent map of Madison. The ones that I know are quite bad. I live in Austria and have only been to Florida three times. Really solid information on and maps of Madison have eluded me so far - which is a pity, because it's by far my favorite among the systems I've seen over there so far.

[dogwatch]

It does appear smallish, but I believe I've been in smaller in upstream and downstream Cow. I had conjured up worse from stories I've heard. I actually prefer the smaller stuff. I hate big dark rooms.

Dale

I'm sure there is smaller tunnel in a lot of caves. The thing that creeped me out was the thought of running into a pair of divers going the other way somewhere in the middle of the Rocky Horror. The thought of communicating and and pulling off having a PAIR of divers back out that distance would be stressful at best... possibly much worse.... lots of tight turns ... backwards. There was no "one way sign" in the old days and you were never quite sure if someone may have put in after you and you stood the chance of meeting them in the R.H. on your way out. The Potter's Delight was a bit intimadating too, although i've heard it's much bigger now.

[Sludge]

The Potter's Delight was a bit intimadating too, although i've heard it's much bigger now.

Yeah, after I turned around in it once...

[jdh]

Is that an argon bottle hanging on his left side between his body and wing? You can see this best at 4:05 to 4:10 in the video.

It most likely had 32% in it. I always use an inflation bottle for consistency and even non-deep dives often have leftover helium.

[adam0321]

I have considered using a bottle for my dry suit to conserve 32% in the cave. but have a hard time justifying the extra drag

[Sludge]

but have a hard time justifying the extra drag

... and you will use, what, a half of a cubic foot of gas in your suit for the whole dive?

On most dives, I breathe a stage and only use backgas for inflation. It takes a few dives before my spg moves.

[FW]

I have considered using a bottle for my dry suit to conserve 32% in the cave. but have a hard time justifying the extra drag

Yes, and the more *stuff* you have just makes that many more ways to get stuck in tight tunnel.

I was in upstream Cow when another diver got his argon bottle stuck in the 2nd restriction. We pulled and pushed on him, and couldn't get him loose, or reach the bottle. Luckily a couple of sidemount divers came along, and were able to get to the back of him through a sidemount bypass.

[w ripley]

Hi
Has anyone done the circuit in the past 2 years ?
When we tried 2 years ago there was ton of silt both going down the crossunder...so we did not pursue.

We've tried to do it twice in the last 2 years but turned for the same reason. Will give in another shot this March.

[EEL]

It's camel-vomit yellow!

According to Nissan it is "Atomic Orange", but with the layering of Eagle’s Nest lime dust mixed under Econfina red clay I agree it is looking like something the cat coughed up at the moment. Now to prevent a total hijack I dived through Potters and Rocky with Capt Bil last November for the first time since 1995. Maybe it’s my perception, but the passages seemed much larger than I remembered. (We were pushing heavy little Tekna DV3Xs back then) The courtyard was still just as awesome though, and we already have plans to go back soon…….

Dive Safe,

Mark