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Giants Round Trip, with a small detour to East Canal (trip report, 1st Feb)By the bright (read: overcast) and early time of about 1pm, after a characteristically slow Saturday morning, we were at the entrance to Giants Hole and groaning about the other cars parked outside. The lineup: Russell (this trip’s moustache-less mastermind and bearer of the luncheon), myself (Buck, the extemporary and somewhat interpretive navigator), Joe (the hardened SRT veteran who’d survived the post New-Years’ trip, already back for more), Darcy (the horizontal caver we were about to throw down some pitches), and Matt (the bright-eyed fool we conned into going to East Canal for his first trip underground). With chattering teeth and high spirits, we kitted up and entered the cave. Quickly reaching the top of Garlands pitch, we found it already rigged with both rope and a ladder. I rigged our own rope beneath Aberystwyth’s whilst Russell made sure everyone was acquainted with their SRT harnesses, then he headed down the pitch whilst I brought up the rear. Next came the Crabwalk, a delightful narrow streamy passage with countless twists and turns, interrupted by a handful of climbs down small waterfalls. Overall an excellent bit of caving. My favourite part was forcing myself through a very small and pointless oxbow about a metre off the ground. There was also a small arm-sized hole that connected two ends of a meander which you can stick your hand through to grab your friends as as they come round the corner. Theoretically. After introducing Matt to his first sump, we headed through Eating House and under the small waterfall to look for the way onwards to Geology Pot. This involved a partially-rigged rift traverse around 5 or more metres above the floor. In hindsight, we should’ve climbed down to the floor, walked along the bottom, then climbed back up where the rope started, but instead we elected to traverse along the whole way, which was awkward but doable. After this, we soon reached the top of Geology Pot. I descended first, then waited whilst Russell oversaw the others on their way down. Geology Pot is marked as 11m on the survey, but it looked more like 15m at least to me. Regardless, it’s a lovely pitch, and we decided it was the perfect place to gorge ourselves on the feast sequestered within Russell’s daren drum (we definitely weren’t just putting off the Far Curtain duck we knew was coming soon). For lunch we had Russell’s signature pitta bread and Big Beans, along with my chocolate flapjacks, all of which were very well received, and we exited the group shelter feeling energised and ready for the upcoming duck. After descending one more short pitch, there we were, the tunnel sloping down to meet the water ahead of us, a tiny pocket of airspace remaining at the ceiling’s apex. On hands and knees, we charged through. It was a fairly nice duck, as far as they go. Turning my head to one side, the water only just reached as high as the corner of my mouth, and it was only a couple metres long at most. We were, of course, all thoroughly drenched, so didn’t hesitate to forge on quickly towards East Canal in the interests of staving off the cold. East Canal is a magnificent flooded chamber, at least 10m tall, with the water stretching off into the darkness towards the sump to the left. Staying close to the right-hand wall, we managed to wade through the water and mud to a ledge from which you could shine your torch all the way to the far, sumpward end of the chamber, in which there was a small hole, which appears on the survey to lead to another, much smaller chamber, also flooded. Once we felt we’d adequately appreciated our destination, we turned around and began the journey out. We quickly made it back to and through the duck, and made it back up the pitches with only some minor issues (Joe’s glasses fogged up as he was climbing off the pitch head before Geology Pot, and, sensing his struggle, his light attempted to jump ship). Another moment of particular note was at the top of Geology Pot, as me and Matt waited for the others to ascend. I asked Matt how the trip compared with what he’d been expecting. His answer was’ I thought it would be harder.’ It was at that moment that I remembered Matt was the only one of us on the trip who hadn’t worn a wetsuit, and I suddenly began to wonder whether my trembling was from cold, or from fear. Feeling a bit more sensible, we climbed down from the traverse once we reached the end of the ropes this time, and climbed back up a short way on the regain the higher-level passage. Once back near Eating House, we looked around for the 3m climb up into the even higher-level passages that would let us bypass most of the Crabwalk on the way out. Russell sniffed it out and we ascended, and I proceeded to confidently lead us for twenty minutes up a large vadose passage before realising it was starting to look a lot less like the way out and a lot more like someone’s chossy boulder choke. Turns out we were in Maginn’s Rift, and not on our way towards Giant’s Windpipe. It was a very nice rift up until that point, but by now it was getting a little late, so we quickly turned tail and made our way out, Russell in the lead this time since he’d done the round trip before. Back on track, we soon encountered the ominous sign heralding the Giant’s Windpipe. With little hesitation, we got on our stomachs and began dragging ourselves through. I’m not going to say it was a pleasant bit of cave, but it certainly wasn’t bad, especially given we were already soaked anyway from the duck earlier. After slithering through, our higher-level passage began to closer to the lower-level route, until we reached the section with a hole in the floor and a metal ring rigged to allow for pull-throughs down into the beginnings of the Crabwalk. Russell, however, assured us there was a natural we could rig off further on, which would provide a better descent down, so we traversed overtop this hole and continued to the next one. In the interests of time, Russell and I decided to belay the other three down the 14m rift to the Crabwalk, then free-climb down after them, as the walls were sufficiently close that an uncontrolled fall would’ve been quite difficult. The plan went smoothly, and soon we reached the bottom of Garland’s Pitch. Given it wasn’t far off 8pm by this point, we agreed that Russell and the other three would head out whilst I de-rigged. However, on my way out, I was surprised to see lights ahead in Boss Aven. At first I assumed my group had decided to wait for me, but it turned out to be around 20-30 children, plus some instructors, all in caving gear, just sat in the chamber. At 8pm on a Saturday??? Well, nevermind, I wanted to rejoin my group, so I jogged past them with a wave and caught up with the others just before the entrance. Spirits were nice and high as we exited the cave, even in the face of the cold changing experience waiting for us at Russell’s car. However, the post-trip high quickly turned to panic as a line of lights appeared in the distance, marching towards us whilst we were all half-naked outside the car. We hurriedly finished changing as the army of children came past and boarded their minibus. With that disaster just about narrowly avoided, we loaded up into Russell’s car (the seat warmers in that thing are truly amazing) and were on are way back to the warmth of the caving hut. Oh, wait, nevermind, we’re at the Orpheus! -- Buck Blake, Feb. 8, 2025. Category: Caving |
A quiet weekend in the Peak (weekend report, Orpheus, 31st Jan to 2nd Feb)Due to last minute car disasters and also some cancellations, we left Cambridge with two cars rather than three, and only nine people between them. The Blue Box was very roomy indeed during the relatively short drive to Derbyshire, what with all the club kit stashed in the roof box, and one of the back seats down to accommodate the food and personal bags. We chatted almost the entire time, Alice driving, myself in the passenger seat, and Darcy and Matt in the back, and it wasn’t even 9pm by the time we arrived at the Orpheus! Harry and Charlotte had cycled all the way from Sheffield earlier that day, with Hannah and Lucy joining them by car, so the place was already unlocked, but no sooner had we entered the hut than we were reminded of the deathly cold that constantly pervades that place. Most of us huddled around the tiny fireplace, trying to get it going, but Alice and I were intent on finding a mysterious gift Lucy had told us was left at the hut for Alice by a ‘secret admirer’. She of course refused to tell us where this gift was. After searching far and wide (and with a couple small hints from Harry) Alice eventually found a pack of Haribos on the cutlery draw addressed to her. Apparently they’d forgotten she’s vegetarian! As the night progressed, more and more people arrived. It wasn’t full by any means, but it wasn’t quite as quiet as we’d feared either. Russell’s car arrived, with Lawrence, Jago, Ollie, and Joe. Lara and Rostam also joined us, having fled the carnage unfolding at the TSG. All in all an excellent night, if somewhat less energised than most caving weekend Fridays. The next morning was a slow one, the main highlight being Jago forgetting we were driving to the caves this weekend, and fully kitted up before alice had to tell him he wasn’t allowed in her car like that, and he had to get changed again. Russell and I spent a while working out what ropes we needed for our trip to East Canal, but eventually, by the bright and early time of about 1pm, we were at the entrance and groaning about the other two cars parked outside. Accompanied by Darcy, Joe, and Matt, we made good time to East Canal, stopping for lunch at the foot of Geology Pot before the Far Curtain duck. As usual on Russell’s trips, the lunch was an excellent one (Big Beans were of course present) and we soon found ourselves gazing across the waters of East Canal towards the sump. The way out was a little less straightforward. After climbing into the higher level passages, I proceeded to confidently lead us for twenty minutes up a large vadose passage before realising it was starting to look a lot less like the way out and a lot more like someone’s chossy boulder choke. Turns out we were in Maginn’s Rift, and not on our way towards Giant’s Windpipe. It was a very nice rift up until that point, but by now it was getting a little late, so we quickly turned tail and made our way out, Russell in the lead this time since he’d done the round trip before. The rest of the trip went smoothly and we were out just after 8pm, having passed a large group of children and instructors in Boss Aven on our way out (at 8pm? On a Saturday???). Spirits were nice and high as we exited the cave, even in the face of the cold changing experience waiting for us at Russell’s car. However, the post-trip high quickly turned to panic as a line of lights appeared in the distance, marching towards us whilst we were all half-naked outside the car. We hurriedly finished changing as the army of children came past and boarded their minibus. With that disaster just about narrowly avoided, we loaded up into Russell’s car (the seat warmers in that thing are truly amazing) and were on are way back to the warmth of the caving hut. Oh, wait, nevermind, we’re at the Orpheus! Back at the hut, we found dinner already cooked (thanks Harry, Hannah, and Charlotte!), and, best of all, THERE WERE TWO DOGS IN THE HUT. A couple friends of the Sheffield contingent’s had brought them and they were absolutely lovely. Once again we were joined by Rostam and Lara, along with Ben and Rachel. Alice’s group filled us in on the chaos of their trip to the incredibly muddy Nettle Pot: not only had they brought the wrong rope lengths, but on the way out Alice had managed to accidentally pull the rope up the main pitch after her, leaving the rest of the group stranded until Ollie managed to free climb 6m above a 30m drop and unsnag it. The main highlight that evening for me was the discussion of the evolution and di-verse-ity of various songs, interspersed with Rostam’s frequent singing. The next morning was a little more efficient than the last. Alice and I set off in the Blue Box, once again along with Darcy, Joe, and Matt, intending to do Red Rake mine. However, when we arrived, we found a large group of Aberystwyth kitting up outside, who told us they already had yet another group already in the mine. Fearing SRT traffic jams, we turned around and hurriedly began thinking of other plans. The first suggestion was Jug Holes, but Alice then suggested Streaks Pot, which Ben had recommended to her. After having a look for the location online, I found coordinates for ‘Streaks Cave’, which Alice assured me would be the same place. We drove there, then called Ben to ask some questions about the cave. He told us there was one pitch at the beginning, but you could traverse across the top then use an in-situ handline to descend without kit. He ended the call with ‘but make sure you go in Streaks Pot, not Streaks Cave, Streaks Cave is just a miserable crawl’. Luckily, the two were located close together, so only had to drive a short ways to find a suitable parking spot. Reluctantly changing into our wet kit (except Alice who’d had a nice dry, if a bit muddy, trip the day before) and walked up the side of the gorge. It was also around this point that both Joe and Matt announced their knees weren’t feeling great after yesterday’s trip. Good thing today’s caving would be fairly short! After finding the small entrance to Streaks Pot, I crawled in and started across the traverse. Blimey, I thought, this traverse a bit wide and exposed! And it’s 15m up too! Skeptical, I exited the cave and asked Alice to take a look in case I was being overcautious. She took one look and declared she wasn’t even sure her legs would bridge the gap. Time to come up with a different plan! Luckily Alice had noticed we were near Carlswalk Cavern, which apparently Charlotte had told her was shit, but with little other option, we set off walking down the road (it was luckily quite a sunny day, so none of us were too put out by all the walking around aboveground!). We eventually found what I believe to be the Gin Entrance on the survey, and set off exploring with no clue as to what the cave had in store for us. Alice tried forcing herself through small holes whilst Darcy poked her, then we climbed down a hole into a crawl that ended in a 3m climb between two perfectly smooth walls (which we elected not to attempt). After climbing back out the hole, we continued down the wide, just about walking-sized passageway as it became increasingly full of water and lowered to a stoop. Eventually Matt’s knee grew too uncomfortable, so him and Alice headed out whilst Darcy, Joe, and I continued exploring. Given the shape of the passageways, we concluded that if Carl really had walked down here, he must have been shaped like a pancake with very short legs. After crawling around for a while, the passages getting smaller and smaller, we eventually turned back, singing increasingly deranged versions of ‘head, shoulders, knees, and toes’ as we did so. We ran into Alice and Matt on the way out, pretty much where we’d left them (turns out they’d just had a poke around some less crawly passages), and the five of us left the cave together and returned to the car. After changing and warming up, we embarked on an impressively talkative journey for a Sunday drive home. Thank you to everyone who went for a brilliant weekend caving! The caving on the first day was much more successful than the second, but the company was excellent on both. -- Buck Blake, Feb. 8, 2025. Category: Caving |