April Grotto Cave

Anthony Hitchcock and Peter Swart, 13 July 2002

Extension: 70m

Introduction

April Grotto was discovered by Phil Hitchcock.

Description

April Grotto is a small horizontal cave situated above the main path between Oread Halls and Devil’s Pit. It is very well preserved as the entrance is very small and is obscured by vegetation. There is a rock set in the floor of the tight entrance passage, which makes progress in and out rather difficult. Once inside, one encounters a most beautiful clean grotto indicating what Oread Halls must have been like before visitors defaced it with candle smoke and paint.

The cave has a 30m long main passage and a number of side passages. These passages either head out towards the surface or form loops around large rock columns. The ceiling is low forcing one to stoop or crawl along. The walls present beautiful white or orange rock. A small stream rises in this grotto and disappears down a very narrow passage leading into Oread Halls. The impenetrable section is only a few meters long.

Survey and Exploration

The survey of Oread Halls by Anthony Hitchcock and Dave Eckles yielded the clue to its connection to April Grotto. Beyond the sky-light chamber in Oread Hall, a passage heads in the general direction of Devil’s Pit. After approximately 30m, it becomes too narrow to explore, but it sports a small stream and a strong breeze. This was enough to suppose that it could open into larger passage further on. The radius of the passage direction was taken and paced out over the surface and the entrance of April Grotto was located nearby.

In April Grotto, a tight stream passage proved to be heading in the right direction. Dave Eckles waited in the grotto while Anthony Hitchcock entered Oread Halls and made his way to the end of the tight crawl. A short and excited chat served to cement the discovery of the connection between the two caves. The total accumulated length of April Grotto is about 70m.