0098: Bollón, Cueva de (Volvo, Cueva de)

Additional notes from Toby Chilton. First published on MCP Facebook page, 14/12/2021
Re. big stuff in Volvo and how to find it.

   Take the left passage towards the sump. At bottom of steep slope drop down between a flake and the right hand wall. Short duck (easy) leads into flat out bedding streamway. After a short distance the passage bends right and most of the main draught is lost. (This passage was pushed for about 100 feet by some younger cavers several years ago, a bloody good effort that deserved more than it delivered).
    By angling off to the left before the bend, keeping in the full force of the draught, you come to a small hole in the wall and a tightish slope upwards. (May need redigging but had stayed passable for several years last time I looked. The draught is unmistakable but passage is extremely hard to see until you get close). Short crawl up dug slope then through dug squeeze followed by crawling in low passage with too tight drop on left is rudely interupted by a rib of solid rock, sloping drop to the left gets wider here.
    Choice of ways on. Improbable looking squeeze over rock rib, 'Wimp' (I got part way through on a solo trip then felt an urge for daylight and company) is route originally taken by me and Steve Thomas. It's very tight. 'Whimper' is at the bottom of the slope on the left. Though not as tight it is potentially more dangerous, it would be very difficult to rescue a well wedged caver from due to confined space around it. Tight at both ends. It's the route that others took though. Crawl gets higher beyond and leads to short walking section and blank wall with boulders above and to the right. A leg up is needed to climb blank wall into boulder choke. Rope very helpful for rest of party. Alternative route is extremely tight squeeze, (several feet long), at floor level between 2 blocks on right of passage a few metres before reaching the blank wall. This squeeze leads to an easy climb through the choke to join other route in a good sized passage.
    Of interest is a clear tide mark above which all is nice and clean. About same level as Volvo entrance? Big stuff doesn't last long. A couple of large avens, one with a small amount of water coming down, appear to have sections of poor rock. There is an open, passable, crack in the ceiling above where you enter from the boulder choke. I'm not aware of surface holes draughting inwards in this area but several draught outwards. A small amount of surface debris, the odd small twig, was seen under the terminal aven.

    About 7 cavers have been in there, no other possibilities were found but new eyes are always a good idea. IMHO the boulders beyond the sumps have once been reported to have had airspace below/amongst them, in a bad drought this could be the best option. (Or get some mermaids).
    I planned to return and do some bolting in the bigger stuff but only as a 'sometime in the future' intention. It could still go somewhere. Unfortunately, size limitations apply. I'm still well pissed with myself for not having surveyed this stuff immediately. The cave gods don't give a shit about 'good intentions', we can only do what they please!