Drip Cave

I hope to be on the Bell Traverse in October. Drip Cave is preferred over Bell Cave - is it easy to find? I have read about Trenchers Cave and Outer Horn Caves - and that these are yet to be found. Is Drip Cave OK? Any comments on the quality of the cave and how to find it would be appreciated.

I've had a good systematic look for Drip cave before while staying at Bell Cave in winter and scouting for water. We found a cave a few hundred meters downslope from Bell and if that was Drip Cave then it wasn't a good place to stay - shallow, uneven and grim. I stand corrected on whether this really was Drip or not.

We've discussed Trenchers before on the forum. Then (about 18 months to 2 yrs ago) no one had found it but there were some good ideas on narrowing down the possibilities. I think Intrepid posted an annotated photo on where it might be.

Hi Rob,

I've noticed quite a large cave on the Bell Traverse previously, and have also wondered whether it could be Drip Cave. Unfortunately on both trips we did the route (Didima hikers car park - Twins Cave)in one day, and didn't have time to explore this further. The location description given by mnt_tiska seems to match very well, and although it was quite far from the path and not that clearly visible I would concur on the shallow and uneven aspects. Like mnt_tiska, we were not sure if this really is Drip Cave or not, but it is very prominent and a good candidate.



This photo shows the location of the cave, in the gully below Bell Cave as described by mnt_tiska. Unfortunately the horizon is cut off in the photo as I was concentrating on the cave in the lower centre, but at the top just right of centre is the base of the Cathedral Peak gendarme, and almost in the top centre, the bottom of the Bell side of Buggers Gulch Gully where the path traveses out of the gully. Access to this cave would also be quite difficult (compared to Bell Cave) but not impossible.



This is a zoom in on the cave showing the shallowness and uneven floor, and I gathered from the grass inside that it may be damp as well.

Trust this helps you. I would also welcome any other information or comments from others.

Thanks guys. Looks like it will be Bell Cave then. I will have a look around and let you know if I find anything.

We are planning on sleeping at Bell cave on Saturday night. I think I remember there being a drip last time we went, but that was about 6 years ago.

Has anyone been there recently? Is there a drip? The chances are good this time of year. Is there a drip in the valley on the otherside of Bugger gulley from Bell cave?

Hi Dirk,

I was in a group that summitted Cathedral Peak two weekends ago. We found a strong drip at about 2620 m on the flatter slopes before Bugger Gully proper starts (thats obviously on the other side of Bugger Gully to Bell Cave) and several more lower down. Not sure about the drip at Bell Cave at the moment.