Category: Day Trips

By Tom C In Day Trips

AGM – Dolly Tubs

Charlie (UCET guest), Chris H, James, Paddy, Pete, Tom, Yolanda

What a fine day for 16 KCC to swarm Alum Pot. Standard Inglesport breakfast then up to a sunny Selside, where we slogged up to the pot and split into our teams school-style. 3 trips were on offer – the President’s Team were heading into Long Churn, the acrobatically-inclined were doing Diccan, and the rest were heading down the Dolly Tubs/Bridge route to the bottom. 

The window at the bottom of the Dolly Tubs was looking exceptional this morning, with a fine rising mist and the sunlight slicing the gloom in half. A moment to take in the view, and we were onwards and downwards, with the Greasy Slab and ledge roped up as a YUCPC dangler appeared from the Northwest and pendulumed over to join the route.

As we reached the far side of the bridge and began rigging the underside hang, we heard a commotion behind us and spotted Pete dangling above the 40+m drop on his cowstails, swinging and cursing. He was quickly plucked off and we vowed to get the new Bridge Alternative route sent over to CNCC for addition to the topo. Pete decided at this point to turn back so he could have a proper inspection of his undies and we ploughed on.

Our guest Charlie hadn’t really done many pitches as big as the hang under the Bridge before, but faced his fears and tackled it like a pro. Down the bottom, we had a general mingle with the student team and our own Diccan adventurers, before James, Paddy and Connor started their journey up to de-rig Diccan, and everyone else began snaking their way up the main shaft. At the surface it was delightful to pop out to a stove and a cuppa, with cake and biscuits – how could we have expected any less with our lovely Chair running the day.

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By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Rowten Pot

Long Dave & Ray

For a long time now, I’ve been trying to arrange an exchange trip in Rowten. I think it would be a very jolly experience, with people passing close to each other all over the place. But numbers or weather have always conspired to thwart my plans. This time it was both! In the end, only Dave and I signed up on a particularly bleak early spring morning with a forecast for rain all day.

Having just returned from Tasmania a couple of days before, I was feeling particularly jet-lagged and lethargic, so was very happy when Dave said he didn’t mind not getting to the bottom on this occasion. This meant that we only had 2 bags to carry up the hill, rather than 3. Phew.

It was a pretty quick and efficient trip to the bottom of the Main Chamber. I rigged the entrance pitch down the Eyehole and Dave took over to rig the big pitch, which he hadn’t rigged before. He made short work of it too.

This was only Dave’s 2nd trip to Rowten. On the 1st occasion, I had rigged the big pitch, using my trademark hybrid route of descending from the 1st y-hang in the bottomless rift and swinging over onto the far wall halfway down to join the Big Gully route at the descending line of rebelays. Dave must have enjoyed this on his previous visit as he chose to take the same route this time, despite my suggestion that he may want to take the more traditional route to the end of the bottomless rift.

In no time at all, we were both down in Main Chamber, looking down the Flyover, wishing we had brought the other bag of rope. However, this did give us a chance to explore as far as we could (tackle-free) on the Direct route. I hadn’t actually been down that way for many, many years, so was quite surprised by how far it’s possible to get. There are a few short climbs to get down, which looked like they may be interesting on the way back up, but we forged on. Eventually we ended up about level with and reasonably close to the 2nd rebelay of Flyover route, reinforcing my opinion that an exchange would be a very sociable affair indeed.

On the way back up to Main Chamber, Dave spotted Calcite Inlet. We didn’t attempt to squeeze into this, but it does look very nice. The 2 interesting climbs weren’t too bad to get back up. Combined tactics worked nicely on the lower one. For the upper one, Dave had left a convenient length of 6mm string attached to a handy anchor, which I was very pleased to see.

I set off up the big pitch first, with Dave derigging. One of the advantages of my hybrid route is that it breaks the big pitch up, so that 2 people can be ascending at the same time. Despite the extra rigging, I think this actually speeds things up. At the top of the big pitch, I offered to take over derigging, but Dave was in his element, so I took his bag off him and set off out. Dave appeared on the surface before I’d even had a chance to catch my breath.

This was a great, quick trip and Rowten delivered as it always does. Just to round things off, Dave produced a couple of slices of the cake he made himself for his recent wedding. Move over OG Sophie, there’s a new cake king in town!

No photos of the trip, but check the cake out…

By Scott In Day Trips

Notts Pot – BUSS and Centre Route Exchange

Paddy, Ami, Damian, Tom, Jasmine, Steve, Scott

A top team of seven headed up to Notts Pot on Wednesday night, carting five unwieldy bags of gear. The weather had been dry all day, but a bit wet earlier in the week (note this detail, dear reader, for it is significant later in the narrative)! 

We were soon down the first two pitches and assembled in the 3 Ways Chamber (with four ways on).  I had been keen to investigate one of the lesser used routes in Notts, so had organised tackle for an exchange between BUSS and Centre routes.  From the description it sounded like it should be possible for the BUSS Routers to land behind the final duck in the bottom passage of BT Route, then climb out onto the last ledge of Centre Route if the Centre Routers were kind enough to drop a rope.

Paddy, Steve, Tom and Damian set off down Centre Route, while Ami, Jasmine and I turned left for BUSS Route.  I had often wondered where the red in situ guide rope led at the top of the Double Bucket shaft, and it didn’t disappoint. An airy diagonal abseil leads to a spacious ledge, and soon we were  moving off down a narrow tube. A step over a hole in the floor leads to a small second pitch (Mud Pot). From here we climbed down into another chamber, then rigged an oxbow on the left which led to a sizeable shaft.

Hanging around at the top, I could that the shaft was split by an arete after a few meters. The right hand shaft (Fossil Pot) looked wet, so I opted to descend the left shaft (Thread Pot). It took 4 deviations from small naturals to minimise the rub, but I reached the bottom. I could see through into the base of Fossil Pot, but would have to abseil blind through a heavy curtain of water to get there, and there was nowhere to rebelay the rope. I waited for a little while, having seen lights flashing somewhere above, but no one materialised. I realised that this might have been Jasmine and Ami’s torches, rather than the other team, so I reascended.

Back at the arete, I was ready to retreat, but Jasmine spotted lights at the base of Fossil Pot, so I headed down. I got to a point about twelve meters off the deck where the torrent of water entered the shaft. There seemed no way of deviating away from it without rubbing the rope on the overhanging roof higher up the shaft, so I reluctantly accepted that this exchange would have to wait for drier conditions.

‘ABORT, PADDY!’

‘COPY THAT!’

I jugged back up to rejoin the others, slightly guilty that I’d had all the dubious fun of exploring the big shafts.  Jasmine was keen on derigging the rest of the route, so I gratefully overtook her and followed Ami back up to the top of the Double Bucket.

Back in 3 Ways Chamber I had a chat with Paddy and Steve, who had had to do a clever bit of rigging and knot-passing only to get soaked at the bottom of Fossil Pot (much appreciated guys!)

We all headed out to a clear evening.

BUSS Route is definitely worth a look if you want to see a different part of Notts Pot, and nothing on it is too difficult. But it’s probably a trip for low water conditions, unless you really, really like water.

Thanks all for another good evening out!

 

By Jason Clements In Day Trips

Black Reef Cave

Damian, Maz, Scott, Jason

We were welcomed to the cave by the sight of a sheep riggweltered in the entrance streamway.  What to do?  Was it dead?  – yes, definitely a late sheep, but still reasonably fresh, so only lately late.  Leave it where it was, and crawl in the stream under its body?  Er, no…  So we grabbed a leg each and hoisted it out of harms way.  We felt sorry for it – it must have been a lingering departure, but, honestly, you’d think they’d know better…

Back to the cave, we went upstream first.  I explored a little tube off to the left, thinking it was the main fork, but it was tight, muddy, and quickly closed down.

Moving on, Damian led and persevered to the end of the main passage (taking the right fork) – at least as far as he could reasonably get.  So we turned round, and I explored the left fork.  It went further than I expected, a crawl over a small stream in a slot in the floor.  It eventually got too low for comfort, though didn’t close down altogether.

The others had patiently waited for me, thereby missing out on a delightful grovel, and we turned back downstream for a quick look at the sump.  A short trip, but fun.

By Dave In Day Trips

Extended Coniston Through Trip

Dougle Dave, James, Jasmine, Chris G, OG Sophie, guests Sam & Nic 

For a change of speleological scenery, this weekends trip was the Coniston through trip, taking in the extra pitches of the Levers Water Mine to Paddy End top level extension. 

After some toe curling emails describing the joys and dangers, the hardy undeterred team met at Walna Scar car park, which was doing its best to emulate Leck Fell. The seven of us set off on the 1.5 mile trek to Levers Water, a good pre trip warm up, some folks choosing to throw snow balls. 

Once rested and kitted up we slid down to the funnel to the lovely adit mouth built by CATMHS on the Levers Water level. Some gardening unleashed a fair amount of water into the adjacent stope. I had promised a dry trip… the team quickly but gingerly filed down the level, admiring the blue lagoon and wonderfully coloured pitches working our way to Brow Stope. 

From here we explored the Top Level extension, taking in earthquake and cobalt passage, not lingering in earthquake given the recent movement, we went the 300m right to the dead end, because why not. 

Heading back towards the standard through trip route over MAGS catwalk, we realised we were missing two, these determined mine explorers attempting to leave no working unseen were quickly rounded up and shuffled over the stemples of MAGS. We made quick progress down the large top-middle pitches, and here another side mission to view the wonderful wheelbarrow and candles was made while the trip leader had a pasty. A 30m pitch rigged down from open winze. It’s a great sight, but once is enough.

with time getting on the group made short work in getting down the final traverses and pitches to hospital level and so out back to a lovely rainy day. 5 hours underground and 8 pitches  

https://www.flickr.com/gp/199763228@N07/37159g626S

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 Tom C In Day Trips

Gavel – Glasfurd’s

James, Ami, Scott, Jason, Chris G, Maz, Tom

After our last club trip here where we’d planned to do Short Drop then onwards into Gavel was cut short due to a soggy and sad looking team appearing at the Gavel traverse, there was some hesitation that tonight might end up the same after the rain we’d had.

But arriving at Leck Fell we talked ourselves into at least popping down for a look at the low section in the Gavel streamway for peace of mind. A chilly walk deposited us in the shakehole and Ami was quickly on the rigging, then on to the next pitch to show us how it was done. Maz, on the other hand, launched enthusiastically onto the in-situ line down the alternative pitch, and while we all quietly slipped past his curses he thought better and came back up for the conventional descent.

Onwards we headed and were surprised at how tame the streamway was once we reached it, and we chimp-walked along to the lovely chamber that we always forget is really nice. We were soon through the low dunk in the stream and wriggling through into Glasfurd’s. We marvelled at the earth-moving that had recently taken place to open the mud sumps of upstream and definitely didn’t poke our heads up into the new chamber.

While James went for a wee we pressed on through the various squeezes and the series of chambers, some more surprised at getting through than others, while some opted to sack them off altogether and enjoy a chat in the pretty first chamber. 

By James Benson In Day Trips

Short Gill

Present: Scott, Jasmine, Ami, Jason, James, Tom (moral support pre trip)

The Wednesday evening trip to Short Gill in the steep-sided valley of Barbondale felt like stepping into an entirely different part of the country. The valley holds an air of mystery, as if it is still guarding many caving secrets yet to be revealed. Short Gill itself is a cave that beckons the “connoisseur” of a more developed palette; it is a place for those who appreciate tight, awkward maneuvers balanced by immense interest, stunning rock formations, and a labyrinth of crazy little nooks and unique geological features.

Before heading in, there was a small debate regarding gear—specifically whether we needed a rope. While Jason argued against it, we took one, but really it wasn’t necessary as nothing really needed it. As it turned out, we encountered a fixed rope on a slightly awkward chimney climb later on the cave 

The approach itself is a spectacle. Ascending the streamway toward the entrance, you feel as though you’ve entered a temperate rainforest. The canyon walls are steep and high, with trees bridging the gap above and a rock bridge spanning the water. Reaching the start of the cave—a hole in the floor at the base of a steep cliff face—marks the beginning of what is arguably the finest caving experience in Barbondale. We climbed down the entrance passage,  eventually reaching an inspiring ladder made of aluminium tubing and threaded bar. Not complaining as it was very useful and appreciated.

The trip took a turn for the “interesting” when we got belly-down in the water. Having left the survey in the car, I plowed on relentlessly, ignoring caution in favour of cave momentum. Jason remarked that things were about to get awkward just as I squeezed through a tight gap and found myself lulling about in a pool with no obvious exit. As I poked my feet around wondering if I’d hit a sump, Ami and Jason cursed the wrong turn as it was pretty awkward to reverse. The wiser members of the team—like Scott, who had been before—hung back and watched the mistakes unfold. We eventually found the bypass, a series of 90-degree passageways that led us into a streamway. This then led to a further bypass and again the streamway. This had some exposed positions but the rock remained incredibly grippy, providing a reassuring sense of security.

The journey ended at a terminal sump where the mysteries of Barbondale truly linger. We had been told by a local specialist that if you listen closely at the crack of the sump, you can hear falling water. Standing there, we wondered if it was the sound of a stream going over an edge or a new tributary joining the system; it’s clear that many secrets remain underground here. The trek out was uneventful, though those of us who took the wrong turns were feeling the wet and the cold by now. However it wasnt long down to the vehicles and the warmth of dry clothes and car blowers

Ultimately, it was a good two-to-three-hour evening trip. The key takeaway was to follow Jasmine’s example: she ignored the rumors of it being a dry cave and wore a wetsuit, proving correctly to ignore everyones advice and go with the gut feeling. Probably best for spring or summer but then youve got midges!

By Will Burnett In Day Trips

North by North End Pot

Team: Ray, Tom, Will

With various trips happening at various times over the weekend, but none I could make, I found myself meeting up with Tom and Ray at Masongill nice and early on Saturday morning. Although the weather was a huge improvement on recent weeks, there was a bitter chill in the air.

Ray had previously completed North by North End Pot, although some time ago, and Tom and myself were on our first time. Once we’d completed the rather short hike in, we had a quick chat whilst kitting up, and Ray set off down the well-shored entrance shaft to rig. As he’d previously visited, and we were keen to respect the loose rock warnings that come with this cave, it made sense to follow Ray’s lead. This warning was very quickly reinforced as on our way to the big pitch we experienced the first boulder fall of many. Without too much hassle, we all carefully and slowly worked our way through the traverse and down the main pitch. Considering this is supposed to be the ‘danger area’, it turned out to be the least eventful section of either our descent or ascent of NbyNE!

Once down the final pitch, we breathed a sigh of relief and began stripping our SRT kits ready for the next part of our journey. Ray and I were super keen for a venture to the Eastern Front, and Tom had been super keen to make it back to his sofa after about 10 metres of descent down the entrance shaft. I’m not sure if it was the rock fall we’d already encountered, or the impending ‘muddy trough’ but his enthusiasm was quickly dwindling and in hindsight I can’t say I blame him! We pressed on regardless, and after a few short crawls which resulted in us saying “oh this isn’t that bad” and Ray responding with “just you wait”, we watched Ray slip into the first of many unpleasant and considerably wetter mud pools. The kind that would steal your welly if you hung around in the same spot too long, providing it was big enough to stand up in that is, the majority of the mud encountered was in the form of a flat out crawl/swim. After the first serious mud section, we quickly realised we were off course and that could well have been the end of our voyage there, before Tom pointed out another way on that looked well travelled. I wasn’t too keen, but Ray slipped on in after a moments hesitation, and we heard him gargle through mud that this was in fact the way on. I reluctantly followed, on the promise from Ray that it wasn’t very long, and worked my way to a brief area of respite where I could stand. I noticed that I wasn’t being followed anymore and Tom had obviously thought he was going to point the way on and bail, not on my watch! After a brief spell of peer pressure, he sure enough followed me through. Although still muddy, conditions had improved somewhat and so the three of us again pressed on, now admiring plenty of formations around us. One of which being the incredible crystal pool, which Ray had installed the conservation signage for, and what beautiful signs they are! After some quite physical sections of crawling, where you need to stay high in a sloped muddy crawl when your caked in mud, we came to the next flat out section. Tom had had enough and called it there, and so Ray and I continued on with half an hour to play with. Rays earlier enthusiasm had clearly been infectious, and I pressed on determined to make it to the boulder choke at the end of the Eastern Front before the turn around time. Ray was hot on my heels the whole way through and it was long before we were being rewarded with a final stroll through some beautifully decorated passageway. We reached the end, and before I had a quick climb up the boulder choke, we both had a ‘wash’ in the dribble of a waterfall at the end. Looking back it’s quite funny really, as we had to drag ourselves through all of that mud again, but still we revelled in the opportunity to have clean ish hands even if only for a few minutes. Ray and I were time checking with military precision, and took no time at all to turn around and head back into the muddy slogs to work our way back to Tom. Once reunited, it was evident we were all ready for home and so got right to it. Although it undoubtedly was a tough trip, I was still feeling pretty fresh at this point and so volunteered for de-rigging duties. Tom set off up the last pitch first whilst Ray and I were again searching for any drop of water to clean in and get our SRT kits back on. Ray began to ascend, and that was when the hardest hour I’ve had underground began! Whilst working his way over the huge boulder at the bottom of Julian’s leg up, a football sized boulder peeled off the wall. It skimmed by me by millimetres, and I quickly remembered how serious this cave was and how alert I needed to be. I quickly took up a position I felt most safe in, which to be fair wasn’t anywhere at the bottom of this pitch! Ray was now through the rebelay above the boulder, and precariously working his way up the boulder slope above. With no prompt at all, another two larger flakes each roughly the size of your typical pillow, peeled off the wall below the boulder. After watching them crash down exactly where I was previously stood and watched other come out, I began inspecting the wall and now noticed that these 3 boulders looked as though they’d been serving as chock stones for the main big boulder. After realising that there was nothing now holding this boulder in place apart from hope and prayers, my attention was then drawn to the boulder slope behind that said boulder is propping up. Luckily for me, Ray called rope free right as this realisation was dawning on me, and so I began working my way up and de-rigging as fast as I could whilst also making sure not to so much as breath in the direction of any of the slope. As I was attaching my ascenders, the big boulder shifted and few inches twice, causing a small rumble in the boulders behind, which only added to my current paranoia and I really felt I was sat at the bottom of something that was set to go any second. Normally, I wouldn’t feel happy leaving something so sketchy as that without attempting to make it safe for future visitors, but I felt there was absolutely no way I could try to move anything without there being uncontrollable domino movements, and I was certainly not in any safe place to be initiating such things! At this stage, getting out as soon and as safe as possible was the only thing on my mind. The biggest worry is that any future descending team unaware would step on the huge boulder which I don’t doubt would cause a substantial collapse. Thankfully the CNCC quickly responded to our report and published a warning writhing 24 hours. Rock fall was the theme of the ascent for me, and I can’t knock my team mates at all as I watched them ascend as carefully as they could ahead of me, giving each other the full range of the pitches before calling rope free. 3 or 4 times I was hit indirectly by tennis ball sized or smaller rocks and each time I was just thankful that it wasn’t any of the larger ones that had come my way during the trip! As I made the final climb up the entrance shaft I felt mentally drained from the ascent and constantly being on edge for rock fall, something I’d never properly experienced before. Luckily, we all made it out without any injuries, and we all vowed to never visit North by North End Pot again! There are other ways into the Eastern Front and that will be our route of choice in future, if we can ever convince ourselves to face that mud again!


 

 

By Paddy O In Day Trips

Bull Pot of the Witches

Scott, Ami, Sophie H, Billy, Paddy

As the weather wasn’t suitable for the planned trip down Scanty Lardos I put a shout out to the club that I needed to do a bit of rigging practice for an assessment and would be good to have a few folk along. As such a find group of cavers assembled at Bull Pot Farm and off we headed down Bull Pot of the Witches. One of my favourite caves this one, something for everyone pitches, squeezes pretties, wet, dry; and it was the first cave I ever went in!

I quickly rigged the traverse line to the entrance chimney, something I’d used several times with other people but never rigged myself. It’s been rebolted recently and although they’re quite far apart it’s an easy rig. Then on to the chimney itself, a wide Y hang but a good clean drop. Quickly followed by Scott I ran off to rig the second pitch while he pointed out the way to cavern 32 for the others to explore. As it was Ami and Billys first time in BPoTW they were keen to have a good poke about, Sophie had been in with me a few months ago for SRT practice but was definitely keen to learn the system a bit better. They quickly caught me up as I was finishing rigging, Scott let me lower him down the pitch and then the others followed down on descenders and then shimmied down the in situ handline below. Sending the next bag down with Billy I messed about with hanging a ladder while he made a start on rigging the next pitch.

Considering it was only his second time rigging, and with some great advice from Scott Billy made a great job of rigging the bottom pitches and before long we were all exploring in the Long Gallery. Right takes you to the upstream sump and down through the mud you find a drop down to the streamway and then it gets too small and chokes. A good place it turns out to discuss various vehicle breakdown stories (It appears that AA are better than RAC).

On ascent Billy derigged the bottom pitches again and the rest of us set about finding Burnetts passage, Scott says “its through there and down” not how I remembered it. Turns out it was through there and up, but not the way I’d been before. Billy nipped back and tied the bag to the bottom of the top pitch and then followed on. Heading down Burnetts I noticed the way I’d used before and made a detour to explore, I quickly found myself at the bottom of the in situ handline, with my bag clipped to it! That wasn’t going to be easy to haul up Billy! Having moved the bag to the correct rope it was quicker for me to jug up the rope and drop back down to join the others at the gour chambers.

Last time I went in to the gour pools we went from the other side and I had gravity on my side to help with the tight bit, it certainly wasn’t helping me this night! After a small struggle I decided to go back and de rig the pitch and the traverse and let the others enjoy the pools, apparently Ami made it into the upper pools, I didn’t even know that was a place!

Having de rigged and made it back to my van, changed and tidied ropes I was getting a bit concerned about the others, 10 mins to call out and they still hadn’t emerged! I decided to walk back to see if I could see them coming, and lights were heading towards me. Apparently one of my biners had got jammed shut at the top of the chimney and they had spent 15 mins trying to free it! As it was Billy that de rigged I think that’s a cock up Ken nomination coming his way! Also if anyone finds a carabiner at the top of the chimney with an orange tough tag on it, I’d be grateful for its return!