Trip Reports

By James Benson In Uncategorised

Voldemort Hole

Present James, Jasmine

Wild and windy getting changed on Leck fell was a challenge but eventually we headed off to find the cave. Heading up the wall 200 yards and then looking from this 30 yards away to find the small shakehole from which Voldemort descends. This was a relief to find, welcome to cosy cave but hopefully not too cosy.  We slither through the entrance passages and down climbs, seeing some interesting scaffolding and then down a pitch. We were going for a pull through. It was my first time rigging one, but I knew the theory and what could possibly go wrong? Well reading the last KCC report was a mistake because last time the rope got stuck and they had to return the next day. Best not to know sometimes! I had no spare time or inclination for this to happen this time.

 

So after the first pitch we removed harnesses so we could look at all the amazing formations. Well worth it but being sporting cavers we both decided that they were beside the point of being here and we were much more interested in getting into some awkward cave passageway. 

 

The takeoff from the 2nd pitch was fun and we successfully pulled through taking the mid height passage through to the 3rd pitch. The rope nearly got stuck on this but we freed it all while water poured down on us. Wetter now we dragged ourselves and our 70 m and 50 rope bags through the wet canal section finally arriving at the top of the big one, ‘Oliver Lloyd Aven’. 35m of pull through potential problems. But we were very careful to let the rope untwist and so all was good. 

 

Now just the simple matter of dragging the bags and ourselves back out of Notts 2. I found some emergency chocolate and spirits were raised enough to get us out of there. In the end it was surprisingly late but time flies when you’re having fun!

By Ray McGarry In Uncategorised

Croesus Cave, Tasmania

Vikki & Ray with Northern Caverneers Cathie, David, Bob & Damian

After lunch we drove round to the parking for Croesus Cave, which it turns out is the same parking as for Lynds the day before. The 2 caves are actually very close, essentially just on opposite sides of the Mersey River. We were joined by another new face – Damian, who is an ex-pat Brit and former member of the Wessex. We were warned that Croesus is very wet and so wetsuits are essential. Vikki had brought her own from home and I borrowed one of Cathie’s, which fit like a glove. Very much appreciated Cathie!

It was a relatively short walk to the entrance, back up the road a bit and then cross country on a very vague, more or less non-existent track. It is actually quite a grand entrance, although it soon closes down, just beyond the gate, to a short hands and knees crawl. We regrouped on the other side in a nice, fairly dry, walking-sized passage. But it was short-lived as we were soon ducking through an arch and wading in increasingly deep water. There was a howling gale blowing out though this arch. Eventually the floor rose and things got very nice indeed.

The depth of the streamway varied from almost nothing to full on swimming, although, thankfully for me, it was always possible to scramble around the edges and thus avoid actual swimming. For long sections, the floor was calcite, so we had to be careful in quite a few places not to damage it. As with Lynds, the walls and ceiling were covered in almost continuous formations. The scale seemed bigger than Lynds though, so I found it harder to photograph with my very old (and cheap) phone.

At one point we had to traverse around a deep pool. This was accomplished by climbing around the right hand side on small holds and then posting oneself through a very convenient hole. The passage just got better on the other side.

Eventually we came to the Golden Stairs, where we had to climb a staircase of gour pools, being very careful not to step on the rims or in the pools (which were mostly dry, apart from some mud). As I was at the back, I had the benefit of watching the trail of cavers ascending to heaven. What an amazing sight.

The formations didn’t reduce at the top. At one point, Damian (who seemed to know the cave particularly well) suggested that I should clamber up to have a look on top of a particular boulder. Wow! It was covered with the most delicate, almost translucent, mini gour-like structures.

Shortly after this, Cathie, Bob, Viki and I turned back, while David and Damian carried on for a bit. I believe it’s possible to do a through trip – the howling gale earlier would certainly suggest so – but not on this occasion. For some of us, this was our 3rd trip in 2 days and we were getting a bit tired.

On the way out, we seemed to go a bit too high and were quite surprised to see David & Damian simply walking along the streamway far below us. Apart from that, the journey out went quickly enough. At the traverse around the deep pool, Vikki (being half fish) decided it would be easier just to plunge in and swim. I think Damian did the same. I didn’t! Cathie’s light was fading, so we ended up travelling together for the last section.

Croesus was one of the best decorated caves I’ve ever seen, probably the most. Lynds and Genghis Khan weren’t bad either. I tried to think of anything that even comes close in the UK. Otter Hole is probably the closest. Maybe the White River Series in Peak/Speedwell? There certainly aren’t many. And definitely nothing so easily accessible.

Sadly, this was the end of our Tasmanian caving adventure. We had a great time and would really like to thank all the Northern Caverneers we met, particularly Cathie, who put so much time and effort into making it all possible. Needless to say, we would love to reciprocate one day. Any Northern Caverneers can be assured of a warm KCC welcome if ever you’re up north! Thanks all so much.

Photos by Ray.

 

By Ray McGarry In Uncategorised

Genghis Khan Cave, Tasmania

Vikki & Ray with Northern Caverneers Cathie, David, Karen & Bob

Day 2 of our Tasmanian caving adventure again started with meeting at the Mole Creek Hotel, this time at 08:45 as we had 2 caves to fit in – Genghis Khan Cave before lunch and then Croesus Cave after. See separate report for Croesus.

When we arrived at the hotel, Cathie & David were already there, as were new faces (to us) Karen & Bob. A few introductions later and we were on our way in convoy to the parking for Genghis. The last part of the journey was off-road and our car wasn’t deemed fit for the track, so we jumped in with Bob. No debate about clothing this time as Genghis is totally dry.

It was a relatively short, but uphill walk to the entrance, made much easier by recent clearance of the track. I believe Bob & David were involved in that. Thanks guys! As we stood to catch our breath, a very hungry leech made a beeline straight for us. No snakes this time though.

Once at the entrance, David produced a rope. Hmmm. Should we have brought SRT kit? Thankfully it was just for use as a handline on the initial climb down on the other side of the entrance gate, which was again locked. The handline wasn’t strictly necessary as the climb was easy enough, but thanks for bringing it David. There was talk of a cave spider partway down the climb, which I kept my eyes peeled for when it was my turn to climb down. Sure enough, there he was, all big and spidery, deep in an alcove. We had a brief discussion and agreed to keep out of each other’s way. The spider seemed to take this quite seriously as he hadn’t moved by the time we came past again on our way out.

The cave continued down steeply. At one point, Cathie, who was now at the front, wasn’t sure of the way on. David took the lead and popped through a slot directly onto another climb down. This looked quite daunting from above, but there were plenty of ledges to move your feet down, so wasn’t too bad in the end. At the bottom of this climb it all got much bigger. There was a trough for washing feet, which I took as a very good sign as it must mean there were pretties ahead.

We worked our way down into the large chamber/passage, then doubled back to the left. Bob, who was behind me, questioned the left turn, suggesting instead that we should carry straight on down. Still, we carried on and soon found another foot bath. Beyond this, the formations really started to kick in. First there was a forest of straws, then the walls and ceiling were covered in formations that I can only describe as being porcupine-like. I’d never seen the like before.

We arrived at the top of a fallen slab, sloping down at an angle of 20 degrees or so. At this point, there seemed to be general agreement that we should have taken Bob’s route earlier. This whole section is actually a loop, so you could go either way round in theory, but Bob’s way was more optimal from the perspective of keeping boots clean at the relevant times. So we retraced our steps the short distance and carried on down the slope.

Like Lynds Cave, the formations were spectacular and virtually continuous, although of a very different character. Eventually we reached a climb up into a grotto which was simply amazing. There were some very unusual formations, almost like upside down trees hanging from the ceiling. Again, I’d never seen anything like it before.

It took a while, but we eventually tore ourselves away from the grotto, which was a dead-end. We climbed back down and then found the bottom of the ramp we had been at the top of earlier. It was easy enough to crawl up, but wasn’t something you would want to rush. The ceiling, which is only 2 or 3 feet above the floor is festooned with the porcupine-like formations, with the odd straw and helictite thrown in for good measure.

At the top of the slab, we simply had to retrace our steps and we were soon back at the various climbs to daylight, which didn’t pose too much of a problem for anyone. This was quite a short trip – we were probably only underground for 1.5 hours or so – but it really packs a punch. Very different from Lynds, but no less impressive.

Once changed, we all decamped to one of the show caves (I think it was King Solomon’s), where there was a very nice shelter for a spot of lunch. After lunch, Karen sadly had to leave us. Cathie, David and Bob stayed for the afternoon cave – see separate report.

Photos by Ray.

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 Ray McGarry In Uncategorised

Lynds Cave, Tasmania

Vikki, Ray and Northern Caverneers Cathie, David & Peter

While travelling around Tasmania, Vikki & I thought it would be nice to have a look in some of the local caves. So, before leaving the UK, Vikki had made contact with Cathie P from the Northern Caverneers, who had promised to show us some caves around the Mole Creek area over a 2 day period. We were not to be disappointed!

So there we were outside the Mole Creek Hotel, bright and early on Sunday morning, not really sure what to expect, but very excited. Peter was first to arrive and say hello, soon followed by Cathie & David. After some introductions, we jumped in with Peter for the short drive up to the usual parking spot. There was some discussion about the best clothing to wear for Lynds. Vikki had come prepared for anything, with both dry caving suit and wetsuit. I had come only with my usual fleece undersuit and oversuit, but Cathie had very kindly brought several wetsuits for me to try on. The issue with this particular cave it seemed is that, while it is dry enough once underground, the Mersey River has to be crossed to get to the entrance. Sometimes this is a full on swim (my eyes widened considerably at this news!), but recent dry conditions meant it was more likely just to be a wade through deep water on this occasion (phew!). On balance, we all decided to dispense with wetsuits for this trip.

We set off on a rather vague path and soon reached the point at which the river had to be crossed, directly opposite the entrance. Cathie set off first, followed by Vikki, while I watched rather nervously from the bank. It didn’t seem too bad at all at first, but gradually more and more of Cathie & Vikki disappeared below water, until only their arms, shoulders and heads were visible. Thankfully, at that point they started to slowly reappear as they passed the worst and began to re-emerge on the far side. At this point I could no longer put it off, so began my own crossing. It all would have gone ok, apart from the coldness of the water, but in the deeper section the river bottom is very uneven, with lots of trip hazards – not ideal for an aquaphobe. Vikki noticed that I had almost ground to a halt in the middle so, wanting to actually get into the cave, plunged back in to hold my hand and gee me along. David and Peter must have been wondering what on earth was going on as they waited until I was across before entering the water themselves.

Once across the river, the bank has to be followed for a very short distance to the cave entrance, again through deep water, but with things to hold on to this time. The entrance itself is hidden behind a large block and, like the other caves we subsequently visited, is gated and locked. It starts as a nice walking-sized passage, but very quickly there is a deep pool to traverse around with a small (1.5m) waterfall to climb at the far side. Opinions seemed to differ on the best route to take around the pool. Either way, it involves climbing around the edge on small holds. Cathie preferred the long way round (to the right), which she thought was easier, while David recommended the more traditional and shorter route to the left. Vikki and Peter followed Cathie. I took David’s recommendation and set off to the left. To be honest, it was pretty easy, with lots of handholds, although considerably less for the feet. The waterfall was very easy indeed to climb, so no problems there.

The waterfall climb is almost like the true entrance to the cave. Above this, the passage is just festooned with stunning formations, almost wherever you look. Like us, Peter had never been into Lynds before, so he and I were stopping at almost every step to photograph some new formation, or even an old one from a different perspective. I hope his camera was better than mine as my cheap phone simply couldn’t do justice to the place.

As promised, water levels weren’t particularly high. There was also no mud, no crawling, no squeezing, no pitches… in fact, progress was very easy, with just the odd easy boulder obstacle to overcome. I can fully understand why a locked gate is necessary, given the delicate nature of the jewels behind it.

I believe we managed to get as far as the Ballroom, which isn’t very far at all. But we took a very long time to get there due to the photography and general looking around to attempt to take it all in. Along the way, we saw the full range of cave formations, including stals, very long straws, columns, curtains, stunning flowstone cascades, gour pools… you name it, we saw it… and all at a very high standard indeed. At one point we found ourselves climbing up the most stunning golden coloured flowstone cascade alongside a fabulous stepped calcite pillar. In several places, the calcite flows had been cracked in an earthquake in the 1990s (I believe?). This in itself was well worth seeing, to get a glimpse at the layering inside the cracks.

Alas, we had to turn around eventually. The pathetic distance we had covered became obvious as we reached the waterfall climb in no time at all and soon we were out in the heat of the Tasmanian afternoon. Vikki didn’t even bother to ask if I needed assistance to get back across the river – she more or less dragged me across. On the walk back, we came across a snake at the side of the path. Concensus among the experts was that it was a tiger snake, although there were some suggestions that it could also have been a copperhead. From a personal survival perspective, it made very little difference to me as they are both equally venomous.

After getting changed, we sat at a very conveniently-placed picnic table for a spot of afternoon snackage. All very civilised. Can’t imagine that on Leck Fell, at any time of year. We then bade goodbye to Cathie & David for the day and were promised a double trip the next day – see separate reports.

Peter drove us back to our car at the Mole Creel Hotel, where we obviously had to pop in for a beer. Despite my insistence that we should buy Peter a beer, he amply demonstrated Aussie hospitality by insisting even more that he should buy ours. We gave in gracefully. Cheers Peter.

We went to bed that night both stunned by what we had seen and excited about what tomorrow would bring.

Photos by Ray – apologies for the poor quality.

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!

By James Benson In Uncategorised

Bull Pot of the Witches

Present: James, Tom, Paddy

The evening’s plan was Bull pot of the witches. Paying strict attention to the CNCC rigging topo I brought 5 kit bags full of rope. I think we only used 2 in the end!

The journey began rigging the initial chimney descent. Again this didn’t really seem necessary apart from bottom bells out slightly. We headed right, finding a massive chamber of Cavern 32 to the right; however, after looking in a few uninviting corners we returned to the main shaft to continue our descent. 

Down a couple of pitches we ended up at the Long Gallery. Heading right towards the streamway we ended up at the Trap. But we weren’t to be trapped this evening. Capitalizing on the drought-like conditions we managed to wade through with water levels barely rising above waist height. Pushing on further through a duck we ended up in the Upstream Passage. This continues all the way to the final upstream sump. Apparently the next stop for divers if they could find a route would be Aygill Caverns! 

Heading back through the duck we headed up the steep, muddy slope rigged with a hand-rope. Paddy took the lead, disappearing up the incline. Me and Tom followed, managing to squeeze up into the beautiful Gour Chamber. Well worth the effort. To get out we followed the bottom of this through a tight squeeze. I’m sure this would be harder the other way round so we were happy to find this chamber from our less usual direction.

Realising it was now late and our survey was smushed into pocket sludge we found our way up into the main Bull Pot Shaft. Tom volunteered to de-rig the entrance passages, much appreciated.