It can be quite tricky to find caves in the Dales that are not stupidly hard, yet provide a nice mixture of good caving and reasonably simple SRT. Ireby, County, Valley Entrance and BPOTW spring to mind, but I thought I'd be a little more inventive and do half a 'normal' trip. Simpson Pot (not Simpson's if Gemmell and Myers are to be believed ... and who wouldn't?) as far as the duck has nice caving, pretty bits and some good pitches for developing skills, so this was to be the scene of Sophie's second official YSS trip.
We both enjoyed the walk up the hill (Sophie's first time) and I surprised myself by walking straight to the entrance. After spending a bit of time trying to get Sophie's new MTDE harness a bit comfier, we were soon ready to set off.
The passage is great for aspiring cavers with a bit of everything packed in to a short section of caving. The five 'climbs' are not ideal, though, as several are really not very free-climbable, particularly when you've not done that much caving, and the bolts are designed for (poor) handlines. Apart from that, we made efficient progress to the base of Storm Pot, where we were pleased to note that it wasn't very stormy today, before Sophie was shown the delightful duck (and of course the key to the rest of the cave).
An about turn and Sophie made short work of the pitches where, apart from a bit of assistance with some of those silly 'climbs', she was totally independent. Clearly not content with what she'd done, she decided to take a tight and wet alternative crawl just short of the entrance, so making me wetter and grumpier than I'd have liked.
Committee members, and others who have heard me speak on the subject of krabs for club rigging, will be interested to hear that I am a hypocrite and made use of the club's shiny new krabs today. Top marks to Phil for the beautiful paint work and etchings, as well as the clever storage rack in the tackle store. I apologise for my moans over the years (but I still prefer maillons for club rigging!)
Well done, Sophie! I wonder how long it will be before we make it through the duck and down Slit Pot?
Party: Sophie and Damian
Time: 3 hrs
