Gaping Gill – Stream Passage Pot

Billy, Sophie H, Paddy
The original plan for Saturday’s trip had been Juniper Gulf, but without the man and woman power required to lug 250m of rope up the hill, we decided Stream Passage Pot in Gaping Gill would be a better option. None of us had been down this way before, and it was a first Gaping Gill trip for Paddy. It was still a lot of kit to carry, and we were grateful to reach the entrance after a nice walk up the hill – we even spotted  a white grasshopper on the way.

A quick kit sort, some lunch and off we went. None of us were a huge fan of the mid-way squeeze on the first pitch, but after this things got big, dangly and great fun. A few swingy deviations and traverses later and we found ourselves at the bottom. The route described several waterfalls to pass here – today they were not much more than a trickle. Navigation went smoothly. We scrambled up muddy slabs and down various twists, turns and crawls to the main chamber. It was as spectacular as ever.  A quick flapjack and off we went back the way we came. I must admit, I struggled a bit with the bags on the way out – do bags ever not get stuck? A great trip and I hope to be back again soon. Thanks to Ray for being the call-out. Report written by Sophie H.