Author: Ami S

By Ami S In Day Trips

Black Shiver

Team: James, Jasmine, Ami

I picked this one purely because it’s got a cool name, but lots of other people said it was on their list too, so I was feeling confident we were in for a good one.

Scott sadly couldn’t make it last minute, which did mean I had (usual for my trips) a concern that we were all lugging A LOT of rope. As James had a party and Jasmine and I were keen for the football, we decided on an early start, which meant an even earlier visit to the store for me. And boy, I wasn’t wrong about the amount of rope.

Despite our good intentions, a bit of tardiness, a lot of rope faff (fit in the damn bag you b***d) and some navigational issues meant we didn’t enter the cave until nearly 11am.

We hand-lined the modest entrance and set immediately into what was described as a ‘chest in water’ crawl. It was a low crawl, but only an inch of water, so I was optimistic our conditions would be favourable. The crawl was wiggly and winding, soon finding the first pitch. I managed to miss the rebelay anchor and was nervously shouting up to James about the horrifying-looking traverse ahead of me, when he pointed out the anchor I actually wanted was above my head. I’ll put it down to first-pitch nerves. Soon we were well underway, zooming down the wonderfully ominous-sounding Blood Pot and on to the infamous Black Dub.

This is described as hard to rig due to an hourglass shape, meaning you have to rig from the top half of the hourglass and then backtrack to actually descend from the bottom half (for future, a long sling might be beneficial here as a safety, but it isn’t needed for confident cavers) but I didn’t think it was tricky at all. We all thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of sliding through, remembering not to send ourselves off the landing lip in to the deep pool at the bottom.

From here Jasmine took over, having expressed excitement at rigging ‘the big pitch’. This amazing rift has a disgusting y hang at the top so kudos to Jasmine, but is all fun from there as you descend over 90 metres down the seriously amazing Black Rift. (Who comes up with these names? James and I have decided our first cave discovery will be called Pink Pony or Fluffy Kitten or something similar.)

By the time we were down it was evident James wasn’t making it out by 2pm as he wanted, but being James he wasn’t going to let us turn around now! Ahead and rigging, he led us expertly down, where the cave changed to a boulder-strewn, jaggedy nature in-keeping with the bottom of a cave. We were wet by now, but not as bad as I was expecting, though like many caves in that area it was draughty and chill, so I was cold nonetheless. This meant a quick celebratory Mars bar each at the sump, and back we went, with a plan to each derig a different section from that wot we rigged, for a bit of variety!

Going back up the big pitch unsurprisingly took an age, especially as the rope changes half way up, meaning poor James had to haul 70ms up and pack it half way through the ordeal. From there we blitzed it out (though that hourglass wriggle is a lot harder uphill with 100m of wet rope behind you. We all blame Scott.)

We emerged into the blazing sun less than 6 hours after we went in. An easy, sunny downhill stomp back to the car, feeling tired but happy, unlike the faces of those we passed who were about to tackle Peak 3 of their Challenge day. Thanks so much for coming guys. We all agreed it’s a cave we would definitely do again!

By Ami S In Day Trips

Rumbling Hole – too much rumble this time

Team: Ray, Paddy, Jasmine, John, Ami

Horrendous weather topped off by a wiggly bolt scuppered this one last time, so I was keen to see it all the way.

As we could actually see this time (still light and everything), I was excited to experience the famous hanging rebelay with a view. And it didn’t disappoint! Ray set off rigging persued by John, who I’d never met but was evidently very competent from the off.  I was at the back to enjoy Paddy and Jasmine’s excited cries as they tackled the first drop. Poised over a rock edge, you lower yourself on to nothing, with the glorious green shaft down below. Certainly one of the most fun rebelays in the Dales!

By the time I reached the bottom of pitch one, the famous Rumble had begun, complete with a shower from the waterfall straight on to our heads. It became rather more, ahem, atmospheric from here. This second pitch is probably lots of fun if you can see through the water. There’s a deviation that Jasmine and I both agreed was a pain in the a***, and by the time I had finished faffing I could see the lights below turning back towards me.

Paddy and Ray had apparently reached the two 6 foot climbs and decided the flow was far too strong, and the water far too wet, to continue. We all took our turns dashing back under the falls and heading back out in no time. Sad not to reach the bottom, but absolutely worth seeing Rumbling in full, monstrous flood!

By Ami S In Day Trips

King Pot

Team: Scott & Ami

We’d been rained off previously so we ignored the sunshine and agreed to get King ticked off this time! Ready for a big one, we agreed to meet nice and early, but were immediately scuppered by the a65 being shut. Running late, we got permission from the (absolutely lovely) farmer at Braida Garth and schlepped up the hill. Scott pointed up from our location: ‘That hole looks promising.’ But no, I had diligently downloaded the what3words from the website, and insisted the entrance must be the other way. You can guess who was correct. (I have sent a report to CNCC, but for future, think the correct what3words is term.attic.zapped.)

After all that it was gone 11am when we entered. With only 2 of us, I had opted for the heavier bag, but first to rig. I was able to offload my first two ropes very quickly, with a handline and then Perfect Pitch. This beautifully round pitch set the tone for all the day’s pitches, namely, no back up, just an anchor immediately above the precarious drop.

So began the start of the crawling. A lot of crawling. King is famous for having a bit of everything to please (or horrify) every caver, from scrambles to boulder chokes to squeezes; pretties, mud, water and great chambers; but the crawling is definitely the dominant feature.

The navigation wasn’t too tricky and I began to feel pleased we were making good time. I was soon humbled by the ‘strenuous traverse crawl’. I am sure anyone reading this who has done the thing before will have smiled when I said that. Strenuous indeed. It’s a t-shaped passage, with the vertical section being too small for more than a thigh, but able to grab and hold a welly or bag like a set of jaws. The top bar of the ‘T’ isn’t really human sized. You can turn your head occasionally, and in spots there’s even enough lip on both sides to have two elbows on the rock, but otherwise, is belly crawling over a crack you really don’t want to fall down, with nothing to stop you doing so.

This culminates in an ‘awkward climb down’. I arrived at a tiny junction. To the ledt, the crack continued, but suddenly dropped off like a cliff edge. To the right, an extremely small looking squeeze out on to a tiny slither of ledge that sloped slightly down to a large fall. Not liking heights, I must confess I lost my bottle here for a sec, mostly because I couldn’t see what was out the other side of this titchy squeeze, other than a potential plummet to the ground. I tried to let Scott past, but not a hope in that space! So, without much choice, I forced myself – croll screeching along the rock – through the space and on to the ledge. I still couldn’t see how to proceed. My back was against the ceiling with a massive drop to the left. I manoeuvred to turn my head towards the drop to try to see a way down and Behold! a Handline!!!!!! Suspended from the rock between the two routes. Phew. There was no way to have seen this from the other side, but knowing it was there made far more sense – a largish caver certainly wouldn’t fit the way I came – but with the landline, Scott could continue the rift towards the drop, knowing there was a way down from there.

This had all taken an age, but we could go on from there with some fun boulder scrambling to arrive in Queensway, and be treated to some walking. My fifth pitch rigged, I was even Bag Free! Scott took over rigging and navigation, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

We enjoyed some real treats of features and the echoes of King Henry’s Hall, and Scott rigged expertly some great pitches (an almighty suspended boulder at BloodAxe, and a real airy take off at Elizabeth pitch) to get us down the verrrrrry long crawl to the main drain without incident. We checked out the upstream sump (the sumpiest sump we’ve ever seen) and middle sump too, before heading for the bypass. We found the muddy crawl and stunning flow stone, and then the ‘low airspace duck’. Scott donned his neoprene hood and went through, and I was just thinking it didn’t look too bad, when I heard an ‘Oh No’. It turns out the levels weren’t what we hoped, and ‘low air space’ in fact meant ‘no air space’. This was a real shame, as we had both really had our hearts set on getting to the end. I have however decided after looking at the survey, as there isn’t that much left to go after the sump bypass, and I’m counting it.

And just like that, all that was left was the journey back up. Scott offered to derig, which I thought was fair as it meant I had a bag for the longer stint this time. I regretted this chivalry for the next four hours. While my nemesis squeeze was easier in this direction as there was something for my feet to push off, I did manage to drop the bag down the terrible crack and discover just how difficult it is to lift 60m of wet rope with absolutely no space to bend your arms.

A fantastic trip and well worth doing, even if my muscles were absolutely spent the next day. Which Black Book trip are we doing next?

By Ami S In Day Trips

Tatham Wife Hole

Team: Ray, Scott, Connor, Paddy, Sophie H, Billy, Yolanda, Ami

The scheduled trip was off the cards, but KCC turned out on a beautiful chilly day for the epic walk to Tatham Wife Hole.

More uphill than any of us hoped for, it was just before 11am when we went in. This one starts with some beautiful streamway, that you notice is heading rather steeply downhill. Ray had gone ahead to rig so the rest of us just had to follow and enjoy the series of impressive chambers and fun little scrambles before the first two pitches.

After these it all becomes a little trickier.  The CNCC description says ‘nothing too strenuous’, but the manoeuvres through the rift here are definitely awkward, even taking in to account the alcohol-fuelled Christmas break most of us had had since we last went caving. Some real pretties and mixed geology make it worth stopping to look though.

We finally reached the duck, where several party members had turned back on a previous trip due to wet conditions. As it was my first time in Tatham, I was determined to see the end and plunged through, grateful for the dry conditions. I was promptly followed by Scott, Paddy and Billy. Connor opted for the ‘bypass’ climb, which, having watched him do it, looks even less fun than a thorough wetting. It could possibly be less awkward if the right route was chosen, but certainly isn’t an easy alternative if anyone is considering it!

From here you briefly climb up above the water as the streamway is narrow, traversing some boulders before descending again and finding the final pitch, expertly rigged by Connor. Once down, you enter a crawl which I thought meant we were nearly at the terminal sump. But on it went. The stals were pretty but the water was getting deeper – getting me far wetter than the duck had – and before long only Billy and I were still preserving in the name of ‘terminal sump’. We made it all the way to a dive line, but as there was no air space here to do the final few metres, we called it a success and retreated.

This is one of those caves where you know you’re practically back at the level of the car, but to get to it you’ve got over 100m of Up to contend with. Derigging, I quickly established how out-of-practise I am, and I’m sure Paddy won’t mind me saying that both of us huffed and puffed our way back up, hauling the bags through those awkward rifts. We were very grateful to find Connor at pitch 2, on hand to lighten the load. It felt hard work, but I actually emerged into the sunshine (hope you weren’t too cold everyone) less than 3 1/2 hours after we went in. Not bad for a team of 8.

Passing Leeds Uni club, who blamed car trouble rather than hangovers for their late start, we were soon back at the car and even made it to Inglesport for some bargain rope and a bowl of chips. Great trip everyone!

Pics by Sophie and Connor

By Ami S In Day Trips

Pippikin – Mistral

Team: Scott, James and (report by) Ami

After a week of biblical rain I wasn’t sure I was going to get to do this long-awaited trip, but a few dry days meant we were ON! 

Scott was the only one silly brave enough to be doing this one again, and expertly led us over the moors to the entrance. He also suggested from experience that the whole trip could be done head first, so after the first pitch, I happily plunged into our first squeeze (of many). However, having rounded the very snug corner – kit scraping along the walls – I found myself head and torso over quite a drop. I could see the issue – a taller caver could probably reach the far wall as a brace, meaning they could slide out slowly and get their legs underneath them for the drop. No such luck for me, so the boys had to wait patiently while I forced myself inexpertly uphill, back through the squeeze in order to turn around. Pippikin had begun! 

Pippikin then continues in the most fascinating and unique way – absolutely teeney tiny holes followed by pretty, flowy pitches (often almost immediately, making for precarious redressing if you’ve had to take your kit off). James certainly lived up to his reputation of self-squashing (cries of ‘My Bones!’ echoing from the walls) but overall we were making fun progress. 

The third pitch however posed me a problem. About 8m down you hit a bedding plane, but the rope continues into a very narrow, v-shaped crack. Assuming there was a reason for that, and remembering my trouble earlier, I decided to remain on cow’s tails and squeeze through feet first. After a few metres, my feet were hanging in air. No issue, I thought – I’m attached. I kept wriggling, still not finding a floor, using my knees to brace against the walls. Finally my head popped out and I found myself bridged over a 3m drop, with my ‘safety’ rope hanging limply beneath me. With a few choice words I traversed out further and got hold of the precarious looking stemple and hand line that is unhelpfully placed a considerable distance from the head of the drop. I made it down gracelessly, blew a sigh of relief and called Rope Free. 

I thought it best to wait for James and talk him through his upcoming adventure. When I heard him reach the squeeze, I suggested he come head first, to avoid my fright of an unprotected drop. He did as instructed, head appeared, then shoulders, then the proclamation ‘My legs are stuck’. He pushed and pulled, with assistance from Scott behind, but nothing seemed to be doing the trick. Eventually I had to scramble back up the handline and revisit my precarious wedged position above the pitch, to act as a human rock for James to leverage himself off. My knee kept slipping off the sheer wall, but eventually my shoulder was sturdy enough for James to lift himself out of the rift and out over my head. Hooray. 

Scott, having witnessed this ordeal, decided to face the opposite wall to avoid the same fate. But Pippikin had other ideas. Scott got his head out above the pitch before realising his legs had too slipped down into the bottom of the crack, meaning he wasn’t able to move. At least we knew the drill this time – back up I went, braced between stemple and wall, to be Scott’s extra handhold and allow him to free himself. 

After all that, we had our Pippikin snacks early, before setting off once more. It was easier going now, with some real pretties and a fun traverse down into the streamway. Thankfully it wasn’t too wet at all, as I’m not sure our enthusiasm would have withstood needing to go back out the way we came. 

Scott knew his way, and led us out Mistral, showing us the many other route options for future trips. This one was even better than I hoped and we’re absolutely raring for the Easegill traverse now, though conscious what an ask it is to go through all that but uphill. Dare I say it, perhaps even Bye George is on the cards?!

By Ami S In Day Trips

Lancaster Hole – Cape Kennedy

Lancaster Hole to Old Kent Road & Cape Kennedy

Ami & Scott

This trip was meant to be King Pot – which I had been excited about for ages – so I was pretty gutted when rain stopped play. But I needn’t have worried, as Scott was on hand to show me some bits of Easegill I hadn’t explored yet.

On a rainy sunday it was not surprising to find Lancaster already rigged, but since it was chucking it down Scott rigged under them quickly, even using the deviation I hadn’t noticed before to try (unsuccessfully) to keep us out the water.

From Stake Pot we took the high route, but could hear the stream way absolutely roaring underneath us. We went through to see Painter’s Pallet (gorgeous!) and then searched for the window through to Old Kent Road, as Scott wanted to find the Chocolate Box, having missed it on a previous trip. Here, in situ ropes make for a fun ascent up some shafts, one of which involves squeezing through a very awkward slot at a rebelay. We discussed if there would be a better way to bolt it, but we’re not sure there is!

At the top a traverse over a big (but narrow) drop is absolutely full of pretties – well worth the climb! There are so many straws at all levels it’s quite nerve wracking trying not to break them. There was a right hand turn (what we were looking for) at the pitch head, but not only was it over a gaping shaft, it also seemed impossible to proceed without breaking a lot of straws, so we went on. Scott plunged down the next right hand turn, but after quite a lot of squeezing, he was forced to back out the way he came, so as not to damage the formations and crystal floor. The Chocolate Box had eluded us for now.

We decided against the round trip from here as one glance at the Third Aven reminded us of the water at the surface, and we didn’t fancy landing in the streamway.

Scott then led me to the far reaches of Cape Kennedy. The nav for this was tricky – I’d like to return to cement it in! It’s a great trip though, despite both of us being far too hot in our winter woolies for such a physical route. Cape Kennedy is absolutely stunning and really worth the effort. We even found the calcified bat skeleton next to the Fire Hydrant.

An awesome trip full of little surprises. A read up suggests that both the right turns do end up in the Chocolate Box – perhaps you just have to move glacially to get through without breaking anything? I’d like to go back and try. Thanks Scott – another teeney tiny bit of Easegill explored for me.

By Ami S In Day Trips

Roaring Hole

Roaring Hole

Ami, James

On a verrrrrrrry chilly night we had trouble even getting our kits on with our cold fingers. Ray had warned me off this one which I assumed meant it was going to be wet, so I was well layered up.

We warmed up on the uphill walk in and found the entrance on a beautiful bit of limestone pavement. And it was already occupied! Another group were mad enough to be trying this one on a wet and frosty night.

They had rigged the first pitch which we avoided doing (doesnt seem necessary), scrambling down a pretty tight boulder choke. The geology of this cave feels very different from a lot of others in the area, with lots of wiggling and route finding to do. As James put it, some Proper Caving.

I was thoroughly enjoying myself until I had to navigate through a tight hole with a raging torrent coming down on my head. Unable to see, I missed the largest space and tried to force myself through something very small indeed. Hearing James’ shouts, I had to wiggle back up in to the flow and redirect.

The cave continues with boulder choke climbs that open periodically in to large chambers. One squeeze in particular down through a slot was hard work for James.

After a large ish pitch and a long, low crawl, we found the other group coming out. They were soaked, and warned us of the torrent ahead. Down we plunged – a 10m downward boulder scramble in the waterfall – more akin to Canyoning than caving.

After this the going becomes easier, and James made light work of the next pitch (apparently free climbable- I don’t fancy it!) and a cool traverse, plonking us high above the water of Sunset Boulevard. Here, the cave’s name became evident – the rocks were even vibrating with the noise.

We descended, pleased we’d made it to all but the last pitch. The description claims no one bothers with this one, and we were aware of the long way home, so we called it here – counting the view of stream as visiting it.

The way up through the various scrambles and climbs, with a face full of water and the rushing force all around us, was some of the most fun I’ve had in a cave for a long time. We were even still smiling trying to pry a frozen solid suit off at the car. Thanks James!

By Ami S In Day Trips

Wookey 24

Mendips: Day 2

Team: Scott, Tom, (Original) Sophie, James, Ami

I had enlisted my friend Wayne on the sunday as he is a guide on almost every cave in Somerset (many caves there require a Leader). After a bit of back and forth, he was very excited to see an opening in the generally restricted, and usually inaccessible, far reaches of Wookey Hole. It seemed like a serendipitous opportunity!

So we met in the car park under strangely strict instructions (which included not getting changed in the car park – an impossible feat) and set off through theme-park style gardens full of dinosaurs and singing pumpkins. Thankfully beating the first tour group of the day by seconds, we ducked under the tourist tape in Wookey 20 and off went.

The chambers in Wookey are numbered in the order they were discovered, which is why Wookey 20 is right at the entrance, and Wookey 24 was a 4 hour trip away. Until recently you could only access 24 by diving, but a connection was made for dry cavers, and after a lot of negotiations, the show-cave owners agreed to trips.

We set off through some beautiful passage up hill, soon reaching a T junction covered in some sparkly flowstone. Here’s where the work begins – a series of 7 rifts, descending 80 metres, with no SRT in sight. Each was varied – from slidey mud to squeezy traverses – but the whole team took it on like pros and soon we reached 24.

This is a huge chamber, with sumps to see on all sides where the divers access various other sections, including 23 3/4 underneath us, and 26 – where further exploration is currently halted due to dangerous conditions. We had been warned in the pub about the hairy staples that are simply ‘in’, not attached to, the wall – we headed up in trepidation, desperately trying to push down on them rather than lean back, which isn’t easy on an overhang.

They did lead us up to the incredible Conglomerate passage. Quite a thing to behold. We saw the divers camp and several digs – perhaps next time the round trip to Land of Hope and Glory might be complete. For now, we had to begin our journey back. Some returned to the base of the rifts via the sketchy staples, and some took a chilly dip in the river Axe for something different.

Now all we had to do was get back up those rifts to the junction 80 metres above us. No mean feat, but the KCC showed Mendip what we’re made of, even after a snapped ladder left poor Sophie and Scott to scale a very unfriendly rift unaided. For my money, lots of variety and fun in this trip, plus we were able to go to the ice cream parlour afterwards. Even the terrible Wookey theme music on loop couldn’t destroy our spirits. Thanks for the trip everyone!

Pics by Tom

By Ami S In Day Trips

Swildon’s Hole

Team: Scott, Tom, Sophie, James and Ami (with guest appearance by Jerome)

Day one in the Mendips so it had to be the classic.

After journeying down in Storm Amy’s torrential downpour, I was worried Swildon’s might be too wet for the day’s plan. But apparently Somerset doesn’t work like that – with such a huge flood basin and a dry summer, Swildon’s was about the driest I’ve ever seen it. The wind however was really trying to finish off the long-sick Ash tree at the entrance.

In we went and straight down the Short Wet Way, through the various chambers to the main streamway. It’s a pleasure showing people this cave, as it is easy to forget how beautiful it is when you’re just trying to make it beyond the 20. Lots of appreciative noises echoed around the formations.

Scott’s expertise helped me rig the 20 (requires an 8 metre ladder climb or a totally disgusting free climb) with a life line for all and we were back to all the fun of Swildon’s – scrambling, sliding and getting soggy through various pots and water falls.

Taking the higher route we soon reached Sump 1. Despite having been through goodness-knows how many times, I still made James take the lead. But once he’d bravely taken the plunge, we all followed on with no issues, to see the various stolen road signs on the other side that show you the way on.

Today we opted for the Approach Passage round – an old favourite of mine and Jerome’s. The character of the cave changes completely beyond Sump 1 – and we set the team off up to the leap in to approach passage. This is a bit of a bold step, but what really makes it is that that step is in to an uphill mudslide. Thankfully these days there is an in situ rope to assist, but it highlights why we don’t go round this route the other way – ending with a downhill slide straight over a massive drop.

Approach Passage is a narrow and extremely muddy uphill crawl, followed by some downhill slides (cries of ‘Weeeeee’ from James). There’s some fun and challenging drops beyond to get you back down to the original sump level, and I think the whole team thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps next time we should go on to Blue Pencil.

Back up with a few variations, including the Rift, the Long Dry route and the Zig Zags. No exit through the tree as it really was trying to come down in the wind. James and Jerome even tried to give it a hand, but it is still clinging on.

Back to the hut for a hot shower, an incredible goat curry by James and a trip to the Hunters for a pint. The day was finished in style by some very fancy late-night cheese crumpets which were produced in their droves by Courtney and Monica. Team Wessex certainly treated us.

By Ami S In Day Trips

Rowten

Paddy & Ami

We’ve both been wanting to do Rowten for a long time, but when it came up on last week’s Meets list, only Paddy was free! We therefore quickly rearranged and made a special trip out, but without any other takers, I was certainly nervous about the sheer amount of rope two people would be carrying!

I had seen the entrances before as they are (far too) close to the Turbary Road, and they’re really spectacular. We set off down Eyehole with Paddy rigging, and it quickly became obvious why Rowten is a cavers favourite! All those many entrances and holes up top make for some very atmospheric and effective lighting.

The first pitch lands you on a shelf in the middle of the action, which drops off in to the darkness below. From there, Paddy made light work of the ‘athletic swing’ that sends the route underneath the shelf and through a snug crack. Even those adverse to tightness will appreciate it here, as the bottom half of the 70m waterfall roars below you. Down the big pitch and I had to keep stopping to appreciate how awesome the view was!

From the bottom we located Flyover route and began our descent, however, we couldn’t find the rebelay and ended up landing in the water below. From here we could see where we were meant to be, but as our way was an option, there seemed no point in going back up. This also seemed the right choice as we found two carabiners and someone’s long lost medication. Medium water levels meant we could splash our way down from here on the Direct route.

It was equally fun clambering about in the bottom streamway and at the sumps (fairly sure I won’t be diving those at any point) before heading back up. However, here it became apparent why we should have chosen Flyover route after all, as a thorough soaking was in order to get us back up the falls. It sped us up at least, and before long we were back at the big pitch staring up through the mist at the blue sky 120m above us.

Despite carrying a lot of wet rope, we made it out in great time. This trip did not disappoint! Must go back and do the other routes now! Exchange trip perhaps?