Topic

It's a winch meet weekend and it means nothing else that most of the entrancies to Gaping Gill are rigged and waiting for the cavers. Sadly, the weather is pretty miserable and the weather forecast is not very optimistic. Three members of Black Rose and I take a descision in Inglesport to do something else. Black Rose troopers have some non-finished issues with Boggarts Roaring holes, so their suggestion is unanimous and I'm happy as well. I've never been there and the cave is one of the famous fifthy harder Yorkshire trips. Let's do it!

Changing of clothes at the car is not very pleasant and I'm wet already before going to the cave. It's a 'good' sign. We pack ropes to three tacklebags and set off towards the cave. The hills are covered by misterious fogs which makes the navigation to the cave quite difficult. Alex's work with compas is precise so in less than half an hour we are at the entrance under supervision of curious sheep. The access to the first pitch is due to a prickly bush a bit painful. Alex starts rigging and all of us one by one disapper in the cave, I'm the last one. The entrance is a bit wet and after landing on the floor the pich continues in various directions and body positions. The Bone pitch still holds justly its name. First more serious problems come at Lost Persons pitch. I think that it must be a horrible place for rigging, I'm struggeling even without that. This is followed by a longer flat crawl, which is not actually too bad. Another tricky situation at the head of the pitch and we meet on the bottom of Blind Man's Bluff pitch. Suddenly a clinking noise appears followed by swearing Alex. He dropped his descender! I have no idea how and if it is actually possible on the way down, but here we go. The descender is somewhere on the bottom of the following pitch. To reach Alex's position we have to pass a squezze which emerges just above the pitch head. Most of us without a SRT gear on. I don't like it but it's possible.

Alex continues rigging with Daniel's descender and brings it back once he found his descender. Dan is struggeling to pass this squeeze and decided to turn around. However, I can clearly see that he is able to do this so I try to convince him and he gives it another try. I see that it's purely psychological and I feel very pleased and happy once he is with me on the other side of the squeeze. All of us are on the way to the bottom. The Frank's pitch has an another horrible head. I manage to fit in but once I start abseiling my helmet gets stuck in a narrow passage. What a horrible situation. You cannot go down, not back. Fortunately it's Dan's turn and he helps me to get it out. Soon we are all on the bottom of the cave which is actually quite a 'cozy' and dry place.

I start prusikking as a first and start fifgting with many horrible situations on the way back to the surface. Guys are derigging whereas I'm enjoying only one tacklebag with me. The way up requires a lot of patience, cursing and body stretching. Alex, to finish off his day, manages to smash his watch... It's not raining when we get out, but the weather is still foggy and a bit windy.

I'm glad that guys gave me an opportunity to do this trip but I think that one trip per life is enough I actually wonder why it's called a cave, it's rather a blasted hole...

Party: Alex R, Dan J., Don (Black Rose), Ales H
Trip time: 6 hrs

Top trip Ales

I think it's up there with the best named caves.

Peter Bryant Bullock Hole is a good one too.

Nice report Ales, tis a good trip. Did it back in 2009 with Damian and Ian Walker, think it took us about 3hrs30

Aye great report.

Minor adjustment, it was Don who struggled not Dan and it was Don who helped you with your helmet (as Dan was with me)

Other comments:

I dropped the descender because it was clipped to my side as I came through the squeeze above, Loose tooth and it must had been yanked off as I squeezed through; so when I pulled the rope through it flushed it out of the crawl and straight down the pitch.

Watch is repaired, the spring popped off the strap but thankfully stayed attached so I managed to fix it when I got home. Good thing too as it's not mine!!

keithm wrote:

Nice report Ales, tis a good trip. Did it back in 2009 with Damian and Ian Walker, think it took us about 3hrs30

That trip time doesn't surprise me I don't really have much impression that we were slow. I just see that I can do the predicted trip times which are written in the book, rather on the lower limit.

Alex, sorry for the messing up the names. I still find impressive that dropping skill

Ales wrote:

I still find impressive that dropping skill

I like how you describe that squeeze Ales, 'I don't like it but it's possible' that's how I view pretty much any squeeze.

Good trip for a wet day; there aren't enough of them in the Dales.

richardrae wrote:

Good trip for a wet day; there aren't enough of them in the Dales.

Thank god for Pikedaw

Excellent trip report Ales, sorry to hear that Alex still has this 'dropping' problem, lets hope that it is resolved when he carries the Neil Robertson stretcher when out on rescue

Let's hope that he is not going to drop the winch to Gaping Gill this weekend

Ales wrote:

Let's hope that he is not going to drop the winch to Gaping Gill this weekend

Ouch!!!!!