Smokey 2 in Ellisons

[Elliott-Hellmann]

Does Anyone know how to explain the way to Smokey 2. Wiki has it listed at 325 ft. I'm pretty familiar with the attic level of Ellisons and have done Fantastic 3 times, Incredible and Smokey 1 once but don't know where smokey 2 is.

We did Fantastic recently to try to enjoy what we thought would be the end of dry season. We Hung 5 battery powered lanterns from the balcony and it was spectacular to look at. The lanterns were a big help, we laid on our backs for 30 minutes staring up at TAG hall and just admiring this awesome natural wonder.

There were a couple of other ropes hanging from mysterious places in the ceiling of TAG Hall. They were from whoever was doing the vertical mile I assume. I read that Smokey 2 does not go into TAG hall so i'm assuming those were not it. Can anyone help me?

[fireman1904]

Check you PM I sent you some info.

[speleo]

The more accurate depth of Smokey II is 262 feet. I know that when I did it I rigged it with a rope no more than 350 feet long, but that was in 1978. You can get off on a ledge part way down ( very carefully, don't let the rope swing away ) and follow a passage for a short distance to a blind 109' drop. If you step over this pit, you can continue to one of the most rarely done deep pits in TAG. New Pit is 253 feet deep and a great free drop. I was with the group that set the bolts there in 1979 so I have no idea how safe they would be today. I also have no idea what the first group to do the pit rigged to. There is a 117' drop at the bottom of New pit called Nice Pit. This makes for a great vertical trip for the experienced vertical caver in good physical condition. At my current age (57) I wouldn't even think about it. It is a little exciting for the last person clmbing out when they swing back out over Smokey II. This is not a trip for new vertical cavers.

[Elliott-Hellmann]

The more accurate depth of Smokey II is 262 feet. I know that when I did it I rigged it with a rope no more than 350 feet long, but that was in 1978. You can get off on a ledge part way down ( very carefully, don't let the rope swing away ) and follow a passage for a short distance to a blind 109' drop. If you step over this pit, you can continue to one of the most rarely done deep pits in TAG. New Pit is 253 feet deep and a great free drop. I was with the group that set the bolts there in 1979 so I have no idea how safe they would be today. I also have no idea what the first group to do the pit rigged to. There is a 117' drop at the bottom of New pit called Nice Pit. This makes for a great vertical trip for the experienced vertical caver in good physical condition. At my current age (57) I wouldn't even think about it. It is a little exciting for the last person clmbing out when they swing back out over Smokey II. This is not a trip for new vertical cavers.

Thanks for sharing! The drop we did was All-In-One pit thinking it was Smokey 2.

[Elliott-Hellmann]

I've been reading Marion O. Smiths book about the initial Discovery of Ellisons and really enjoying it. I was wrong, the drop that we did and the pictures above are not smokey 2. In fact we went back 2 weekends later to recover some ropes hidden at the bottom. There was a rope rigged at the 40ft "smokey" pit that had not been there two weeks before and we decended it out of curiosity to find the other pit down there (not Smokey 1) was rigged. After reading the book I'm now sure this is Smokey 2, funny that I had already seen it and didn't know that was it.