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Quite a good turnout for this trip with 10 of us in total, Six YSS and Four Mendip.
After getting changed and kitted up we walked over and unlocked the Entrance Shaft, we had decided to double rig this and the 80m top pitch of Titan to speed things up on the way out, due to numbers.
Once we started abbing in, we split into two groups, with Seven of us going around Event Horizon for a trip up to see Absolution, and the other Three just doing a down and out trip.
Trip time for Absolution 6hrs30
Alex Richie, Lee Langdon, Keith Mason(YSS) Geoff Rodwell, Debbie, Emma, Tony(Mendip)
Trip time for down and out ?, i'm sure Alex will fill this in
James Finch, Susan Blackburn, Alex Wallman

Great trip - Alex Sue and myself - did the in and out trip, I stopped at event horizon due to the rather damaged finger I received at Alton Towers the day before, how can this happen there!!!!! Must admit ab ing down nearly finished me hand off - looks like a plum on a stick now, so good decision to stop where i did. Was great to prusik up - really get a chance to see all the stal/flowstone that you miss on the way down. Pics on link below.
Cheers Keith for arranging - my cars covered in shite now, and it bottomed out.

www.2343ec78a04c6ea9d80806345d31fd78-gdprlock/album.php?aid=18496&id=100001401913060&l=1822819825

Sometimes I form an opinion about a cave based on what I have read and what other cavers say. Big bugger, hard work and very scary were words that came up often and lodged in my brain. Magnificent, very impressive and must do were said but didn’t lodge.
Last January I had the chance but managed to find a good excuse not to do it.
Quite a while ago Keith invited Susan and I to tag along on a trip where the main theme was for the others to have a look at absolution, he offered to drop a rope down the last pitch to allow the two of us to descend to the bottom and climb out again. October 9th was a long time in the future and I was confident that I could find an acceptable reason to cry off, or if necessary just do the entrance shaft, have a look at the scary place and then make my excuses. Then things took a turn for the serious, last week Keith phoned and asked if I would de-rig the last pitch as he needed to get away fairly quickly. I recall that I thought my answer should be “Sorry mate, that sounds a bit iffy” but I heard a voice say “Sure thing, no problem”. Arrgh that’s me committed, going to have to do it now. A quick Google found horror stories of hanging re-belays, people getting hung up and CRO call outs. Another Google “excuses for not going down Titan” gave NO results. Never mind I might break a leg or get kidnapped before the trip… I stopped sleeping at night.
Saturday morning 6-00 and Susan was running around throwing gear into the car and didn’t listen to my excuses which by now were getting more bizarre and desperate.
8-00 pub car park Keith was waiting and during a run through of the plan for the trip suggested that I should rig the last pitch… Event Horizon.. hanging rebelays AAAAAARRRRGGHHH.
No way, no chance, never ever would I do anything that daft and tried to tell Keith in no uncertain terms. What happened is still a mystery to me, I heard myself, once again saying “Sure thing, no problem”.

The entrance shaft was a spectacular feat of engineering, respect to the team that dug it out over a considerable amount of time. I quick splash along the passage and I was watching Keith stood on tip toe next to a HUGE void, rigging a pitch that seemed to go on for ever. A quick wave from Keith and a shout of “You follow me next and you can start rigging the next bit. Was he talking to me.?
On the Event Horizon Keith gave very precise instructions, several times, he needed to I couldn’t get my head round the idea that he was talking to me. Then he stood and watched as I went over the edge, that man has no mercy. After faffing around for a while I thought I had done a reasonable (reasonable hundreds of feet in the air is not what I wanted). Keith suggested that it would have been better had I use the correct bolts like he told me to. More faffing and I was sure it was OK. Before I unclipped my cowstails I had a little look down. It‘s hard to unclip your cows tails with your teeth, I know because I needed both hands to grip a handy bit of rock. Anyway after a while I decided that I would be better at the bottom than at the top so down I went. I was using a Stop and by the time I got to the bottom I was worn out from holding the stop off and feeding the rope through. I found it hard to stay smooth but the penalty for not doing was huge bouncing oscillations, I was starting to get seasick.
Watching Susan descend gave a good indication of the scale if the shaft. That tiny little person at the top was a real, full size human but looked like a small spider on a tiny thread. We spent a while poking around at the bottom and left plenty of time in case anybody else was following us. I got my watch out and timed Susan as she ascended, 25 minutes, thanks for asking. Then I got my calendar out to time myself, don’t ask. I derigged the pitch and lay gasping on the Event Horizon for a week or two then started up the next pitch. I was really enjoying the view, that gasping noise is me being amazed and anyway an hour on a rope is not that long.
The last pitch was odd, I could see daylight at the top but no matter how hard I tried it didn’t seem to be getting any closer. Susan could be heard laughing quietly to herself and sometimes game me words of encouragement “are you still only there?” “are you stuck?” and “Strictly come dancing is on at 6 you know”.
Seriously though it was a fantastic trip, Titan has to be experienced and I can’t wait to go again, It will need to be a through trip though, it is too much like hard work for me to climb back out (0r I could stop eating pies and get fitter.)
Thanks Keith

Alex and Susan. James came to Event Horizon, probably saw my rigging and then went out mumbling sore finger and kids to look after.

About 4 hours

Susan’s trip report, reached the bottom and felt a little disappointed, think it’s because I couldn’t see much. Prussiking back up at a more leisurely speed I was able to enjoy some of the feeling of how high and wide this shaft really is. Would love to do the trip one day when it is fully illuminated (spectacular or speechless comes to mind), trip not as scary as I thought it would be. I would like to return and do the through trip if it can be arranged. Good exercise and thoroughly enjoyable. I DID IT, thank you Keith and everyone who was on the trip.

Sounds amazing! well done guys!

jfinch wrote:

my cars covered in shite now, and it bottomed out.


Yo James, so is mine and it did'nt

alexw wrote:
[quote I would like to return and do the through trip if it can be arranged.

Susan be careful what you wish for ....chuck some dates at me and i will sort it out for you
How about next weekend

Bottoming out is what company cars were designed for.


Alex - sure your rigging was very good

Link here for Titan on Inside out program a few years ago. Click on "watch full exploration to see the whole video.

news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6110000/newsid_6119800/6119812.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1

It was this that made me say "Ive got to have a go at that" rests history

Quick report from me then:

Cloudy and dreary start to the day, where was this unseasonable warmth the weatherman had promised us? Time was 5:45am No Human should be up at this time never mind preparing for a small epic of a trip.

After a long and slow drive (I hate the roads in Derbyshire) down to the Pub meeting point, it was soon time to descend the cave. We drove down a rougth track near to Titan, where Disaster struck me before I even began, my ready made cooked meal that I intended to eat before going down did actually require cooking. Not finding a suitable microwave in the field, I guess I had to go down on an near empty stomach.

Anyway soon down the entrance pitch, my arm already sore from feeding rope, I was looking over the abyss trying to see if anyone was still on the rope. There was not and it was my turn... down and down I went, nope still not there, down a bit more, still not there. I had to lock off several times to give my arm a rest. Eventually I reached the bottom and made my way across the traverse. I think I was the only one to prussic the uphill bit of the traverse, I was not taking any chances here! I was more nervous then normal for some reason I am not normally bothered by things like this nowadays.

The cave after this point was fun, there were many fun and challenging cascade climbs that made you think, or use brute force if you cannot be bothered thinking. After the climbs came a short grovel section, which was made out to be a lot worse then it was, try the Penyghent entrance crawl, Mossdale or Sleets Gill for proper groveling crawls.

After that a short slightly awkward sqeeze, made more awkward for me as I had ignored advice about removing my SRT kit. After freeing my cows tails from a rock I was out and waiting in a Que to go up a rope climb that was giving some people a hard time. Although looked daunting, it was rather easy with plenty of holds on the way up and half of it in a rift.

After that a quick traverse and a climb through a shored dig brought us to a up pitch which was about 50ft at a guess, where there was some nice pretties. This was marked the end of the cave and all that laid before us was the long trip out.

Climbs, squeezes and cascades went quickly for all. I crossed the traverse over the gaping void not enjoying the down bit I prussiced up earlier. To make matters worse as I passed my head under the traverse rope to make my way up the up pitch, I dislodged my backup light and it bounced off into the aybyss below. Geoff (I think it was) offered to go down and get it but I told him it would be pointless as it would no doubt be smashed into a million pieces on the jagged rocks below.

The up pitch seemed to take a while as I was the only one without a Pantin made even longer as 15 meters from the top a second person got on my rope, prussicing for two don't half make it tiring.

After taking a few more photo's I made it out the entrance shaft and hung around helping to haul the rope out etc. Was a fine trip into a place in Titan few would ever see.

Pictures sent to Geoff and are on Facebook

www.2343ec78a04c6ea9d80806345d31fd78-gdprlock/album.php?id=1201291410&aid=106

Look near the bottom.

A great write up Alex (W)! Titan is something I'd like to get around to doing sometime!