Topic

Arrived at The School at 8:15 to find everyone waiting for me and one party already on their way to Ease Gill - how's that for efficient?

Over a cup of tea we decided to take advantage of Keith's rope down Lancaster and do a stream-level trip to Wretched Rabbit via Wilf Taylor's Passage. Thoroughly enjoyed the Streamway and then spent a little while in the area around Oxbow Corner looking for a way on after I'd dismissed the rope just before as coming out of the stream too early. Eventually turned back and exited via the rope to emerge just short of the Minarets. Met Lee's team almost immediately (going in the other direction) and left Wretched Rabbit via Eureka Junction.

A very pleasant stroll back to the car in the beautiful late-afternoon sun.

Party: Alex, Susan, Stu, Nigel & Damian
Time: 5 hrs

With some nursing hangovers and getting up a tad later twas decided team 3 would await the spectacular arrival of routemiester Damian, duly done we set off for the Lancaster pitch. Beautifully rigged by team one (see above) a sweet descent was made. Decided to go one step further and give Nigel some much needed Berger training, the extended trip was on. Montague West and Wilf taylors passage down double decker pot and onto mainstream passage, two members of the party had the compulsory piss in the sump and we carried on up stream. Nigel and Damian keen to tick off Woodhouse way (a collectors item) searched the passage with the anticipation of a starving midge in a room full of manikins... Alas to no avail. Carried on up this beautiful passage, we spent quite some time looking for the way up into the high level series. Damian keenly disguising any ideas the rest of the team had about being lost and being left in the system, routed around various boulders and passages. The quiet mention of the 'callout time on the board' was sweetly reproached with a cry of 'the route is this way' by the routemiester generale. We continued through caverns, Oaks, Cornes, Monster and Snail (not necessarily in that order). The last entry is some indication of Nigel’s pace, although in fairness he was in Berger training mode and thus saving his energy for the difficulties to come.

The derigging team crossed our paths at a junction on those high level highways and gave us a moment of mirth and merriment when they tell us that the rigging team had some anxious route finding problems. We cracked on into stop pot where Nigel gained some valuable Berger practice descending the ladder (without lifeline he hastens to add). Down to stream level and the opportunity is given to the Berger practice individual, to show off his route finding skills. Before he sprints off down the passage, Damian gives some sagely advice. ‘Eureka junction is on the left, you cannot miss it’. Needless to say he does, but the Berger training back up team do not and they wait patiently for him to return to said junction.

Up WRP and past Four Ways chamber, the meandering passage winds its way to the surface like a scaled down version of a certain section in a certain French cave, i will keep you guessing, but me thinks the above adjective will enlighten all who know! The Berger training continued in earnest. Scaling the big rift was, for me, the most enjoyable aspect of the whole trip. We hit a kaleidoscope of visual and olfactory senses as we broke out of the cave and into the environs of Easegill, bathed in beautiful sunshine. Nigel completed his Berger training by going arse over tit into the pool outside the WRP entrance.
Quote of the day ‘I have changed my mind, i am not doing the f*^$*#* Berger!’
Cast; Damian W, Alex W, Susan B, Stu W, Nigel S
Time taken 5 hours
Photos will appear (courtesy of Susan in the newsletter.

great report nigel ladder without safety line tut tut tut

I don't know anyone who does, as it's a fixed iron ladder and not an electron

thats ok then , ive never seen the ladder thought it was an electron

One day Paul.....

I sincerely hope you chaps are not making light of my Berger training routine

For making me laugh out loud four times, you have a karma point Nigel ... thank you! Where's the next venue for Berger training, then?

That Berger training classic, Calf holes to Browgill, methinks.

the berger ?!?

I think Nigel is planning to go to the Folies Bergere to check it out as a venue for the next dinner.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folies_Berg%C3%A8re

Fantastic report, one for the Newletter.

Got to be prepared, Chris. One day...