Author: Scott Nixon

By Scott Nixon In Day Trips

Cape Kennedy, Lancaster Hole

Jason, James, Connor, Scott 

Cape Kennedy is one of those bits of Easegill that I’ve been meaning to go and see for ages. The photos promise abundant straws, towering columns and even (hushed tones) a calcited bat skeleton. But more of that later.
It was a bit drizzly on the way to Lancaster Hole, but Connor made short work of rigging the pitch, and soon we were following the familiar route to Montague East. Some scruffy abseils took us all down the Stake Pot slope, and we were quickly reunited at the top. Here, instead of following the large open tunnel towards Bob’s Boss, we turned right into the smaller passages of The Rabbit Warren.
The next hour or so involves a bit of route finding, but nothing too difficult. The description from NFTFH is great for this, with just the right amount of detail. We followed sandy passages, traversed a narrow rift, ascended an old ladder at Canuck Climb, and then followed a series of larger chambers – Breakthrough, Bridge and Brew respectively. At some point we managed to bypass The Pit completely by keeping left, which is worth remembering for future forays.
At the Long Gallery the way on is through a narrow gap to the left, which leads to some higher traversing as a canyon develops below. We climbed down into Rat Pit Chamber, where there are some impressive calcite curtains. The last time Connor and I were here, we had turned left after this chamber to drop the 88 Foot Pitch, but this time we kept right and followed a small stream to Maple Leaf Junction. A bedding crawl to the left passes a crystal pool, and then a slit in the roof leads up a boulder slope into Cape Kennedy.
This chamber is really something to see, with stalagmites and some taller formations which wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Colonnades. After some photography we moved on to Fire Hydrant Chamber, where we began a fruitless search for the preserved bat skeleton. No sign! A bit of reading later confirmed that the bat is within the calcite of the actual Fire Hydrant formation, but we certainly struggled to find it.
The next chamber up is densely hung with straws, and is certainly worth a look. Perhaps still with bats on his mind, Connor suggested viewing it upside down, and it was indeed pretty surreal.
Jason led the way back through the decorated sections and, just as were were leaving Cape Kennedy, Connor spotted an actual living bat in a small alcove on the wall. Did it come from Link Pot, Lancaster Hole, or some undiscovered fissure in the roof? Anyway, this discovery went some way towards easing the anguish of not finding its celebrated, crunchy ancestor.
Back we went through the EPC ’71 Series, with all of its twists and turns. James found an alternative rift climb above Rat Pit Chamber, and later Jason found a way over an awkward muddy squeeze in Brew Chamber by climbing up a dripping crack onto a ledge and following it. Eventually we ended up at Stake Pot again, though Jason may have Explored Caverns Measureless To Man for a bit while the rest of us got our harnesses back on.
I was quite keen to take the stream route back to the Fall Pot boulders, but after climbing down to water level it quickly became apparent that the stream was having a bit too much fun with itself today, so we retraced our muddy steps along Montague East. Whilst there are some obvious pits in the floor in this passage, I’d never before noticed a small gap between two boulders. It drew my eyes, then my torch… It turns out that the floor of Montague East is very thin indeed in places, and the void below quite large…:)
I had the rare treat of being first up the Lancaster Hole entrance pitch, pleading a full bladder (must remember this for next time!). Jason set off back to the cars while James did a great job of derigging. It was good to be back on the surface after 6 hours underground, and the walk back must have been pleasant because Jason even found some time to Explore Moors Measureless To Man on the way.
Thanks to James, Jason and Connor for yet another grand day out!

Photos courtesy of Jason

 

By Scott Nixon In Day Trips, Uncategorised

Hagg Gill Pot

This Sunday four of us converged on Wharfedale, a distant and exotic land (though less so for Jason). Some last minute changes to the lift share plan saw Tom “I Bagsy The Window Seat In Case I Need To Chuck Up Out Of The Window” Calpin take on driving duties for the tortuous roads of Langstrothdale, allowing me to finish my coffee en route. Jason waited politely while I tried unsuccessfully to find a farmer, any farmer, to ask permission from, and then gave up after a token glimpse of a grumpy looking bloke in a tractor. Yolanda arrived in her trademark indestructible Yaris, and we all got changed.
The entrance to Hagg Gill is in a shallow dry valley, slightly uphill of a prominent barn. A scaffolded shaft drops a few feet to a ledge, then a brief constriction allows a hang into a spacious chamber. When we were all down the entrance pitch we went exploring upstream, soon finding the famed helictites which festoon the walls of the narrow streamway. Stay low, or risk further damage! We climbed up and over a boulder choke, then followed more pleasant streamway to a breakdown chamber with a short squeeze on the right. Above this is a handline climb to a high grotto of delicate straws, one of which is about 4 feet long.
After a few photos, we retraced our steps back to the foot of the entrance pitch, and then went downstream. The stream drops through two chambers to a junction with another streamway. Left leads to a fine sump, complete with froth, diving weights and a dug attempt at a roof bypass.
The way on is to the right, upstream. A couple of sporting cascades lead to a fork. Right seemed to lead to digs, grovelling and general misery, while Tom reported that left looked tight and low. According to the description, this improves after a while, leading to further helictites and plenty more passage to explore. We thought that we’d better leave something for a future trip (cough), so turned around at this point, still relatively dry.
Back up the entrance shaft, with the constriction providing some fun along the way, and then we were out to daylight. We finished with a quick romp through Langstroth Cave, since it was fairly close. Yolanda and Jason tackled the wet crawl to the lower exit, while Tom provided a kind of boudoir ambience with the red light on his headlamp. A bold plan was hatched to get to Seasons Bakery in Ingleton before closing time but alas, too late! No free cream cakes this time.
All in all, Hagg Gill is an entertaining place for a few hours on a dry day, with some great stream passage and formations to ‘oooh’ over. Let’s get it back on the meets list some time soon.

(photos courtesy of Jason)

By Scott Nixon In Day Trips

The Magic Roundabout, Lancaster Hole

On a chilly but dry Saturday morning, Yolanda and I set out to tackle the Magic Roundabout series. Despite passing this bit of Lancaster Hole plenty of times, I had never investigated further. To be honest, I had never liked the idea of committing my life to the unknown qualities of the in-situ Arson Shaft rope, but as it turned out my fears were unfounded.  The rope and anchors are excellent!
From the bottom of the Lancaster pitch, we took the direct route through Montague East to Stake Pot. On the other side, I started to ferret around for the window into Arson Shaft, finding the other route towards Link and Cape Kennedy in the process. The initial step above the drop into Arson Shaft actually wasn’t too bad, and the rope hangs against the wall all the way to the top, where there’s a step into a shallow parallel shaft. Two more short pitches upwards brings you into the well-decorated Old Kent Road. At this point we had a break while Yolanda dispensed with some of her Arctic Layering System (well, it was cold outside!)
Old Kent Road is a bit of a crawl, whilst trying your best not to break the floor-level straws. I forgot to find the turn off to The Chocolate Box (one for next time), and we soon ended up at a short rigged pitch down. Across the pit is apparently the route to The Pristine Way, but it looked like a serious undertaking (anyone done it? Are there some spit threads hidden in the wall somewhere perhaps?). Down the pitch, and we joined a stream which led us to the 23m Aquarius Pot. This is easily rigged for pull through with a 50m rope, and has a bit of tat at the bottom ledge to get down the next short drop.
The next section follows a washed out shale bed at floor level, then stay high to access a pre-rigged 9m pitch. A few Swinsto-esque cascades brings you to a chamber at head height. This is apparently the way up to rejoin the base of the Arson Shaft, or alternatively squeeze out next to Bob’s Boss. We opted to stay in the stream, and a couple of minutes later were debouched into the Main Drain just upstream of Stake Pot.
We felt like we’d prusiked enough for one day, so opted to upgrade the trip to Mega status by exiting from Wretched Rabbit. The upstream section from Stake Pot passed too quickly, and soon we were at Oxbow Corner. In the past, I’ve always followed the water at stream level through the boulder choke, but today we spotted a handline on the left, which led us easily up through the boulders. Top shortcut!
A series of large muddy caverns followed. I ruefully spotted the place where Sophie had plied Tom and myself with mulled wine and mince pies last time. But alas, it was Christmas no longer, and the eternal night of the cave cared nothing for my tears. Onwards to Stop Pot, then Four Ways Chamber.
The usual struggle up Wretched Rabbit brought us to daylight. At some point, it had occurred to me with dismay that Lancaster Hole, which still needed derigging, isn’t really on the way back from Wretched Rabbit. Yolanda had left her keys in my van, and my keys were hidden somewhere near the farm, so she bravely kept me company on the beeline slog across the open moor to Lancaster Hole. The day’s struggles were not over as I unknitted our rope from two student club ropes (with the aid of lots of swearing) in the Lancaster shaft.
All in all a very good trip to a different bit of cave. Thanks again to Yolanda!
Scott