Ferret

Cwmorthin

My second trip to Cwmorthin with Ed and Olly, Simon and Briony. The original plan for the day was Snakes & Ladders at Dinorwic Quarry, however the weather was shockingly bad, even for Snowdonia. The rain refused to relent, and while a few hardy (foolish) members of UCET braved the weather, the four of us decided that going underground was a far more appealing prospect.

Old tourist sign

The Sunday after the club dinner is traditionally a hung over caving trip to somewhere in Derbyshire. The only takers were Me, Tom and Olly. By midday, after several cups of caffeine we were sat at Olly's house and just about decided on doing Nettle Pot or something. Then I mentioned that Joel was in Manchester. Tom looked at Olly for a minute and so we were off to Manchester...

Best View in Manchester

Yesterday I met Joel, Jay and Paul in Manchester...

Manchester - Salford Junction Canal

With thanks to Suboffender, Barlow, and Olly.

Ratchwood Founder Mine

Gutted I forgot my camera.

Many thanks to Steven Dalgliesh and members of the Wirksworth Mines Research Group for organising the trip and showing us around :)
http://www.wmrg.org.uk/

Engine Vein Open Weekend

The Engine Vein Open Weekend had an excellent turnout as we have come to expect over the last couple of years.

Gorgeous George our mine mascot enjoyed taking part in the evenings frivolities, and his first taste or SRT went down well :) Thankyou to Alley for her idea of bringing along stick on moustaches to add to the general hilarity- I look forward to seeing the photographs. And also thankyou to Damian who provided everyone with generous helpings of his Polish hash hot pot, sadly I was the only person who didn't like it. I urge everyone to sponsor his speed hike on the Clapham Circuit in aid of the Cave Rescue Organisation. His just giving sponsorship page is here: http://www.justgiving.com/Damian-Skrzelowski1

For details of the next open weekend please see www.derbyscc.co.uk

Bit Windy in Mancland

Hastily arranged mooch about Manchester with Suboffender. Bloody windy on the roofs today!

Photography in Engine Vein

Bit of a last minute thing this arranged with Dan Sutton from UCET, seeing as none of us were going to Nenthead this weekend, Dan, myself, and Olly decided to go down Engine Vein on what turned out to be the nicest day of 2013 so far weather wise!

Olly looking at Blue Shaft

Derbyshire Caving Weekend

Saturday morning nice and early for the DCC Derbyshire weekend, myself and Oggy met Tom at Peveril Stores in Castleton, but not before a quick trip to Hitch and Hike who have aquired an extra sock courtesy of Owen lol. We were not sure if anybody else was going to turn up so had a butty and waited around, when it became clear nobody else was joining us the decision was made to do Oxlow Cavern. Kieran had lent Tom some rope and after a long time getting ready and faffing about with bags and stuff in the freezing wind, we set off with a bag each up the slightly snowy hill to find the entrance shaft to Oxlow.

Bage Mine Winch Trip

A cold and early start found Damian driving through the snow with me and Olly to meet Gary and Daggers in the Rising Sun car park, once we had determined nobody else was turning up for the trip we went up to the Wirksworth club hut, and were all suitably impressed by the facilities there.

Many thanks to Steven Dalgliesh and members of the Wirksworth Mines Research Group for organising the trip and showing us around :)

Simpson Pot

Drinking cider and red wine the night before a caving trip is obviously never a smart idea. But I'm not really known for my smart ideas so I woke up with a headache and not much feeling like breakfast or caving if I am honest! And worse we did not end up going to Lancaster Hole as previously planned, instead myself, Tom, Damian, and Pete joined Simon and Kevin on their trip through Simpson's Pot. This had been sold to us novices at the New Inn the night before: "a classic Yorkshire trip" -Simon, "well I've always wanted to do it" -Tom, "Nah you won't have any problems in there" -Steve.

This turned out to be a fair step up in terms of the difficulty level of caving trips I have previously been on. When we were getting ready, I forgot to put my kneepads on, buried at the bottom of my bag somewhere. When I realised I wasn't wearing them I heard someone say "well you don't really need knee pads for this trip anyway". Which you don't, but I really should have worn them anyway...

Before the Trip

A steep walk brought us to the entrance of Simpson Pot, part of the West Kingsdale system of caves in North Yorkshire. Ten minutes after crawling in my hangover seemed to have vanished as we were straight into fun cave stuff. This was my first pull through trip all done on two 9mm ropes, I can't remember how many pitches there were or how deep; I wasn't counting! The through trip until reaching Kingsdale Master Cave is fairly tight in places plus features plenty of high level rift climbing and traversing. The first problem I encountered was "The Pit" also known as Bob's Pit. This is a circular natural shaft that you have to cross while traversing through the rift. I was told its around 30oddft deep, Kevin and Tom were straight over it, crossing it on their knees using two little ledges. You can't stand up, theres not enough room, the only option is to cross it on hands and knees staring face down into it. I tried it one way and then another but felt like there was a very good chance I could fall down it. I was causing a hold up "Whats going on?" I heard Simon bellow from the back. Tom noticing a hanger on the wall told me to attach a sling to my cowstail and chuck it over to him, so he secured it to the hanger. Not an accepted method of lifelining, but it gave me the confidence to cross the pit after giving myself a mental shake. By this time Simon had worked out what was going on, and squeezed past Damian and Pete to rig a traverse line across the shaft for them. I was later told by Kevin (who is a member of CRO) that quite a few rescues have happened when cavers have descended The Pit, believing that at the bottom is the way on, then pulled through their rope and so stranded themselves at the bottom. (I have since found out there is a way through to Storm Pot? at the bottom of the pit but its described as a very tight "committing" squeeze through.)

As I mentioned earlier, much to my amusement Simpson Pot involves a fair bit of rift traversing. Now up to this point in my caving career, my size has mostly been a useful advantage. Being 5ft nowt is not so useful in the bigger sections of rifts. Trying to move through one section I was finding the going tricky, my left boot lost grip on the wall, and I slid a few feet until my right knee jammed in the gap and I could brace myself again. My first thought was "ah sh*t that felt bad", then "why the fuck do I not have knee pads on!" but I found upon moving it was not so bad and I could still walk and climb normally without any real pain. The next bit I remember was funny, a little duck through the Blasted Hole. We had become a little more spread out at this point waiting for everyone to descend the previous pitch and then Simon to pass the rope forwards. I found myself alone in a pool of water and shouted to Kevin and Tom for the route, after some confusion I found the duck where they were waiting on the other side. They shouted at me to go through feet first which seemed insane but thankfully I did as they told me. Unlike Damian who after several minutes of shouting located the hole and ignored or didn't understand feet first and so went through on his hands and knees only to find that the water on the other side is deeper and so his face went plunging in to our great amusement!

The rest of the trip was comprised of several more traverses and pitches of various heights. I gave up on one of the climbs as the earlier fall had knocked my confidence abit I reckon, but I could get down to the bottom of it, walk along and climb back up.

Minera Lead Mine

Damian admiring the Calcite Formation beneath Cabin Shaft

Me, Damian, Pete and James met Tom who arranged this trip on this freezing cold rainy morning. Kitting up was bad enough in the weather, and we couldn't help but imagine what it would be like getting changed afterwards when we would be even colder and wetter after the trip! We walked over to Cabin Shaft which Tom rigged with a rope to abseil down, I think its about 30ft deep from what I remember. Once underground we were all suitably impressed by the huge calcite formation, which has been very well preserved considering its location near to the entrance shaft.

We all followed our knowledgable leader Tom who reassured us he has been down Minera many time, he told us the goal was to get down to the 'lake'. We all agreed that the mines passages are reminiscent of caving, and this is certainly not the easiest mine to navigate with many twisting turns and slopes that look very similar to each other. We all enjoyed some good fun bits of scrambling and climbing, especially James who I am sure loved every second of this trip :)

Calcite Formation Close Up

It took us about an hour and a half getting to the top of the deep stope at the bottom of which Tom told us was the lake. Tom and Pete rigged this to abseil about 50ft or so I think to the top of a big pile of stone that has fallen down and built up over the years. The descent itself is straightforward, but getting onto the rope involved clipping on cowstails and walking along a scaffold bar out to where the rope drops. This was not so fun as the drop below was hard to ignore whilst threading my stop to descend. The lake was bigger than I expected but I did not expect it to be yellow and it did whiff abit!

Back at Cabin Shaft and considering our options...

Alderley Wander

Me, Olly, Nigel, Ed and Richard decided to meet up for a wander around Alderley to take a look at a few of the lesser visited areas around the Edge. It was a nice day and lots of people were out enjoying the sunshine. I was pleased to collect my aditnow calendar from Ed and also the new edition of the Alderley Edge Mines book, updated by Nigel Dibben. First we went to Findlowe Mine in Finlow Hill, my second visit to the small mine which not a great deal is known about, but is suspected to have been worked primarily for cobalt. After a good look around and some photographs, we headed back to the car park for a quick bite to eat, and also to pick up an electron ladder for a look in Doc Mine. On the way we observed channel 4 doing some more filming near the Old Alderley Quarry for the programme Skins. And also a strange and well built shelter practically in the quarry, maybe it was being used for filming purposes? Nigel pointed out old marks on the lower side quarry walls indicating plank props and bits of grafitti which I have never noticed before, having not previously spent a great deal of time around that area.

The Alderley Edge Mines book

Moel Fferna Slate Mine

My first trip to Moel Fferna was my first time using an electron ladder. For this my second time we would all be using SRT for access. Suggested by Ed as primarily a photography trip, our group met at the roadside cafe which was, to everyone's annoyance, closed being out of season. We then divided ourselves into two cars and headed up the rocky track, Tom catching us up as we were getting changed.

The walk up was pleasant, surprisingly no rain fell on the 'bleak hill', however we witnessed the damage from the incessant flooding during 2012 that had evidently turned the trickle of a stream into a torrent and torn its way through the farm. Fortunately the stream had since calmed down again and the track up to the top of the incline had survived in good condition. We paused for a quick look around the crumbling old mine buildings and a quick breather before the last steep walk up to the entrance. Nobody wasted any time getting in, SRT kits off and happy to be underground, we went straight to The Cog and watched Briony, Ed and Daggers set up their photography equipment. The rest of us (myself, Pete, Olly, Tom, Oggy, Colin) then wandered off to explore with the aim of finding the "Bridge of Death".

Moel Fferna is technically called an underground slate quarry, worked for slab and on the whole in large and stable chambers. The supportive wooden crib work of the cog is quite magnificent, showing the later work of coal miners in the quarry. This mine has some very nice and photogenic features The cog, the adjacent chamber with its beautifully flat patterned roof and the old chained bridge of death.

Ed's Photographs

Ecton Copper Mines

Nigel's Trip Report

Ed's Photographs

A Long Way on Ladders

Limestone Working

DCC Four Weddings and a Funeral Stomp

This had been planned for what seemed like all year... A party in West Mine to celebrate the Derbyshire Caving Club having 7 members get hitched this year- Sue and Tony, Heather and John, Bev and Ed, and Gareth and Katie. And sadly, one of the Clubs long standing members passed away in July. Lenny Gee, whom I was only fortunate enough to meet a handful of times. On the day of his funeral a new cave discovery was made in Matienzo, Spain; and named Lenny's Cave in his honour.

Photograph of Lenny and Bill from Colin Davidson?

I could not be around to help with much of the planning as I would have liked, I am told it took 3 trips and lots of people helping to get all the party stuff/lighting etc down to Sphynx Chamber in West Mine where the party was held. Not to mention getting the barrels of beer down there for the makeshift bar- big thank yous to The Cheshire Brewhouse and everyone who helped organise the big do!

On the day of the party my morning was spent icing cakes and generally taking too long to get my camping gear together... Upon arriving in Alderley in the mid afternoon, I went to meet some others who were already in West Mine (for reasons outside of their control!) so decided that would be a good time to take my chair down to Sphynx Chamber. I can't recall sitting on that chair once for the rest of the night :) Then back to the surgery where people in evening wear and helmets were soon gathering ready to party, including Paul Stubbs in a rather fetching black dress and Donna Stubbs in a suave suit.

Heading down to Sphynx Chamber, descending the ladders, with a safety net put in place, I could not help thinking to myself: do not get drunk... remember you have to get out of here again! Seeing the Main chamber in West Mine lit up for the first time was breathtaking and beautiful. I took the decision to get changed into my evening wear underground, this meant I needed some help to get dressed! Sphynx Chamber was not lit up like the main chamber, except for candles, disco lights and glitter ball, so was a bit disorientating at first as I am so used to having a cap lamp. The ladies tent toilets were a nice surprise- I was expecting buckets haha!

Has to be said that Heather was the absolute legend of the night coming down in her beautiful white and blue wedding dress :) The rest of the evening passed in a wonderful blur of beer, cider, food, beach tennis, smoke, dancing and excellent underground fun. I think the highlight of my evening was actually managing to climb a ladder in my floor length skirt with beer in hand! I made it out around 2am without much trouble, giggling behind Heather ascending the never ending ladders in her now filthy wedding dress. The walk back to the surgery felt like a 5 mile hike. Apologies to Colin Davidson who was rudely awoken in the surgery. Big ups to myself, Pete Whetham and Damian for being the last ones up drinking until 4am in the field!

....I woke up about 10.30am which was far too early but I got up and went to find people and coffee. I found them all in the tearoom. At midday me, Olly, young Paul and Damian decided to go and help with the clearing up operation at west mine, and took out SRT gear with us thinking we could have a play on the ropes afterwards. 10 minutes after going into West Mine it became clear we would not be doing any SRT today. I helped as much as I could before it felt like I would pass out!

Ed's Pics from the night

A blog about the party from the Cheshire Brewhouse

Tony's Report on Lenny's Cave

A film of Lenny's Cave

P8 Jackpot

I woke up an an hour late to Olly knocking on my door- not the best start to the day! I packed everything as quick as I could and we went to pick up Pete Whetham I think half an hour later than expected- sorry Pete :( The plan was to get a bacon butty in Castleton, but after speaking to Tom who had also woken up extremely late, we went to meet him at Hitch and Hike for brekky. Unfortunately nobody told Kieran, who had been waiting at the carpark near P8 for 40mins already. Oops again...

Pre-trip photograph courtesy of Kieran Rooney

The entrance to P8 involves a fair bit of water through to Cascades Chamber, and avoiding a soaking is not an option. I half slid half fell down Idiots Leap in the waterfall! Watching Kieran rig and descend the First Pitch filled me with hope as to how I was going to manage it having only done a couple of rebelays before this trip. It was not too bad apart from initially trying to thread my stop upside down on the second bit :o We then moved up to the high level passage and over the Bold Step which seemed a much bolder step to me on the way back.

Kieran's Trip Report

Bar Pot to Gaping Gill and Back

Olly came to pick me up in the morning, for once I was ready on time :) Nigel and Colin then picked us up from Olly's and off we went to the Yorkshire Dales, the original plan was to go caving in Ireby Fell Cavern. On the way up with Nigel and Colin Davidson fascinating us with stories about past DCC activity in Yorkshire, we noticed water lying on top of the fields everywhere. We had a lot of water in the week before doing this trip and were aware that Ireby Fell drains a large proportion of water in the locality, maybe not the best system to be caving in today... So we arrived at the bunkhouse in Clapham where Tony, Sue, Tom, Pete W and Pete C were waiting, some of them being much worse for wear after the previous nights drinking in the bunkhouse :) And so it was decided that it would be a better idea doing Bar Pot instead of Ireby Fell, so after some breakfast we were on our way up towards Ingleborough.

Me and Olly messing around with batteries on the way in.
Photographs courtesy of Tony Brocklebank.

I wore just my paw print furry suit to stay cool during the 2 mile hike up, cue some odd looks from the many ramblers out on this lovely day. Upon arrival at the shake hole, funnel-like entrance to Bar Pot, we kitted up then Nigel and Tom went straight in to rig the ropes. Just as I was squeezing into the entrance, we realised that the cheap batteries I had nicked from my mum for the trip were not working at all. (I had lost my battery chargers) Thankfully Pete Whetham had some spares he kindly chucked my way, and we squeezed the short way along to the first pitch. After some fiddly maneuvers, we made the awkward descent through the boulder choke, and slid down a greasy slab with a handline in place to help. Being on my own at this point and with what looked like several ways on, I wandered to the bottom of the boulder chamber and spotted a hole in each side of the wall, then waited for the others to confirm the right way on. Through the hole and into another boulder strewn chamber with a short, slightly exposed traverse leading to the top of Big Pitch: a straight 120ft descent. As we were waiting for Tom and Nigel to rig the pitch and descend, another group of cavers were coming into the chamber behind us, one of them playing what I thought at the time sounded like a tin whistle but turned out to be a recorder. What a strange and nice thing to hear that music in a cave!

At the bottom of Big pitch, we took our gear off and left it there. I remember vaguely wondering about getting back out of Bar Pot again and what a long way up it seemed. Onwards to Gaping Gill through an easy little system of stooping to crawling passages with little to no water. On the way Tony showed us the Sand Caverns, some fair sized muddy chambers where the DCC once held tennis and golf tournaments during the open weekends. Moving through the passages towards the immense main chamber, a steady flow of air turning into a cold breeze picked up until we could hear the rumbling roar of the waterfall. Walking out into Gaping Gill main chamber was an awesome experience, the waterfall seemed to carry in natural light from the surprisingly small hole at the top, then the fall fanned out into several landing places in the rocky pool at the bottom. Olly was the first to brave standing right underneath the pounding water, I walked right around the pool edging closer until I finally found the guts to jump right underneath. Wow that woke me up, it was absolutely freezing and very powerful as Olly said, felt more like sand than water! Moving around and through the huge chamber, I had to keep looking back at the light and water, the spray from it still reached us right to the far end. On the other side, we climbed up the steep rocky bank and then down a ladder to have a quick look at the West Chamber.

Tony waiting for Pete

We took a slightly different route back to Bar Pot, Tony leaving me and Olly to navigate our way and ending up in a low crawling passage full of rocks, squeezing past 2 other cavers coming in the opposite direction. Back at the bottom of what now looked like a very Big Pitch and the rest of us took a break while Tom and Peter Clewes flew up the rope. Me and Olly crawled our way back up, and a further climb up to where Olly dragged me by the arms up the greasy slab. I took another quick break, I needed it for the last bit out which was actually nowhere near as hard as I was expecting it to be. While we were waiting for Tony and Pete to get out, Pete C went to have a look at the top of Gaping Gill. Amazing how what looks like a calm babbling brook on the surface turns into a raging waterfall at the bottom. Back at Bar Pot and it was clear the effects of lastnight were taking their toll on Pete W who was yet to emerge. We stuck around for abit, eat the last of our food and watched the other cavers coming out of Flood Exit just across from us. After offering to help with their group shot, then Olly sabotaging it. I was getting quite cold, so we started to slowly walk back, with the others eventually catching up.

In the pub afterwards for an all too brief yet much needed pint, and then home and straight to a birthday party. Thanks to Nigel, Tony, Tom, Pete C and Pete W for a cracking days caving!

Olly's trip report

Gaping Gill Winch Weekends

Spar Mine

Conceptual Photography in Alderley Edge

My friend Rebecca Palmer is an exceptional photographer who specialises in conceptual ideas and techniques. We had been trying to arrange this shoot in Alderley Edge for over a year. Rebecca had never been to Alderley, I always knew the area was suited to her style. I had told her about some of the history and legends associated with the area and so we had a few ideas for the day. We planned to meet Vicki in Alderley village and walk up to the edge to Stormy Point, then through the woods to see the sandstone undercut and the Wizards Well on the way to Church Quarry behind The Wizard pub. Unfortunately Vicki's train from Northwich was late and so Rebecca and I headed up to the edge leaving her to catch up with us. The rain seemed to be getting heavier so walked briskly up the big hill and straight onto Stormy Point for a few shots of the sadly cloudy view. Then we headed under the sandstone escarpment for abit of shelter from the rain and for me to get changed for a photograph.

I needed a lot of direction and help from Rebecca- this kind of thing did not come naturally to me at all! Quick change back into sensible clothes and we went on through the woods to have a look at some of the other interesting features around the edge. The rain continued and so we thought the best course of action would be to head to the Surgery hut and wait for Vicki in there. Not long afterwards I peeked out of the hut to see a sodden, forlorn figure in a brightly coloured poncho heading towards us. Once we had dried off a little we went over to Church Quarry behind The Wizard pub for a few more photographs. Another change of clothing, this time into a vintage wedding dress that Rebecca brought along.

We decided that was enough for today and a return trip would be planned for Springor Summertime in 2013.

Rebecca Palmer Photography

Rebecca's Flickr Photostream

DCC Open Weekend- Wood Mine

Ed's Photographs

Bagshawe Cavern Birthday Trip

There was supposed to be a DCC trip to Gaping Gill on this date, also being the winch meet weekend but it was put off again for various reasons, and so I proposed another caving trip somewhere closer to home. It was my birthday on this weekend, and so I thought we could go caving then celebrate with a few drinks in the evening. Everyone seemed keen on doing Bagshawe Cavern and I had never been there before.

The wonderful Tom Howard picked up me and Gareth Goodall, then we drove to the car park at Bagshawe to meet Colin Shepherd, Angela Ward, Graham CaveUK and Bill Edge. Also met two new faces, Sarah and Gary who I think are also from Chesterfield Caving Club? We signed into the Bagshawe Hut for 11am, and began the descent down the 102 steps into the cavern. Bagshawe Cavern is a mostly natural cave system discovered by Lead miners in 1806, working what was then called the Mulespinner Mine. In the second half of the 20th century Bagshawe Cavern was used as a tourist attraction.

There is a junction at the bottom of the steps, with old fuse boxes and electric cable left from when the cavern was open to the public. We went straight into the cave system, no leader was really decided on for this trip but Graham seemed to know it better than anyone else who had been there before. We followed a passage which led to an aven with excellent formations. I started to freeclimb up as there seemed like an obvious route along at the top, about halfway up the tricky climb I could see the passage, but some were not so keen on climbing up there so it was left for a another trip. We continued down the main passage passing a short flight of stone steps next to a 5-6m pitch, being used at this point by caving instructors with some visitors. This high chamber is the Dungeon, which we intended to descend on Gareth's electron ladder later on in the trip.

Past the Dungeon, we saw some more good formations with cave pearls trapped in a calcite cascade. We stopped for snacks and a group shot in a fairly large boulder strewn chamber, climbed through then continued to follow the streamway, with Graham looking for the Hippodrome. Met two friendly chaps from a Welsh caving club who I think helped us to work out that the boulder chamber we had just come from was the Hippodrome as Graham had suspected. We went through a muddy passage to a small chamber that ended where the water was a couple of feet from the roof to continue on I think to a sump which Graham had a look at. A few of us turned right at some diving weights into a sloping crawl to peek over at a resurgence making an awesome noise for it's size just below us. We turned back at this point with no further to go unless you are a cave diver, and met the few who had not come through the water that were waiting for us in the muddy passage.

We tracked back to the Dungeon and whilst waiting for the instructor to de-rig his electron and lifeline, had an unsuccessful attempt at trying to find our way through the squeezes down to the lower series. I think there were a few too many of us to have done it comfortably anyway. At this point we should probably have paid more attention to how the instructor had rigged his lifeline as when it came to us rigging one we all had different ideas and ended up hopelessly confused about how to lifeline the last person safely down and up the pitch. I am not sure we had enough rope for this either. It was probably a good thing that we ended up leaving it for a return trip with SRT kit next time!

So we headed out back towards the junction at the bottom of the entry steps, where there is another large passage with a plank across and a "no entry" sign. Of course we ducked under this to have a look, and walked straight into a stope with some dodgy looking timbering, and bits and pieces of boulders still hanging on by fractions of rotten old wood at helmet bashing level. Some lovely calcite formations had developed over the walls of the old mine workings, creating the most beautiful stope I have ever seen. I was gutted I had left my camera back at the junction but I would very much like to organise a return trip here soon to descend into the lower series and see the rest of this fine mine/cave system.

Back up the steps out, pausing for breath and photographs along the way, then another group shot outside the hut, we were in the pub for around 3pm enjoying the first of my birthday drinks. Went out in Stockport that evening with Vicki, Paul, Gareth and Kate for a good few drinks then some 3am birthday cake. What a top day, thanks guys! :D

Giants Hole Speedy Round Trip

Very last minute trip suggested by Owen Thomas, as I have never been before and need to do more caving trips! Olly took some pursuading to do Giants again after his trouble at the Vice last year. Olly picked up myself, Owen and Gareth and we went straight to Castleton for Bacon Butties, trying to decide on the best time to avoid the hoardes of tourists that would inevitably be heading into Giants. There were a couple of minibuses in the car park god knows how they get down the track, many people kitting up in neat clean matching suits and helmets.

I think we got in for 11am, we had brought SRT kit to descend Garlands Pot, but had to wait what felt like ages (probably about 10 minutes) for the instructors to bring all their visitors back out from the top of Garlands, being lifelined on belts to go and have a look down the Pot then come back out again. When they had finished, Owen quickly rigged the 4-5m pitch and we were down and contemplating the Crabwalk. We left the bags at the bottom of Garlands and went for it at full speed! Owen blazed the trail with me just behind. Olly put in a valiant effort not far behind me at all considering he had to go under some of the tighter parts, including the Vice. The rest of the trip up to the Windpipe passed in a blur as we were going so quickly! I remember freeclimbing up a cascade with some rope already in place to help, and I vaguely remember pausing for breath at the Eating House. Then onto the infamous Giants Windpipe, 30ft or so of crawling through a fairly wide, but very low passage with water and a few boulders in the bottom. I was informed that the water level was quite low for this trip, there is a sign at the start: "Giants Windpipe Do not freedive this sump, it is in excess of 20 feet long."

Out of the Windpipe and back to the top of Crabwalk, to begin the long chimneyish climb down to the bottom. This was pretty hairy in places for me and Gareth, being the smaller members of our group! Gareth informed me a couple of weeks later at his wedding that he had dislocated his finger doing the Crabwalk climb! Back to our bags to put our kit back on for the prusik up Garlands, and we were out for 2.30pm. In The Wanted for 3pm, then in work for 5pm!