With Team 1 heading down to take a look at sump 2, Mel,
Jess, Keith, Chloe and myself headed off to do the round trip.
It had been some years since Keith had done the route and I
had been a little preoccupied worrying if I’d get through the squeeze the last
time I did it to take much notice so wanted to use the trip to learn the route.
Allowing the others a head start, we ambled down the lane
and followed in at a leisurely pace until we could hear the unmistakable shouts
from Mr Grimes as he verbally assisted his team down the pitch.
I’d remembered Steve finding a bypass to the rift on a
previous trip, so at this point Keith and I popped over the top whilst the
girls took the lower more awkward route.
Soon we arrived at Tratman’s Temple and on to the Greasy Chimney
where Jess managed to defeat her nemesis and got up without issue. Mel and
Keith followed with Chloe playing snakes and ladders before finally admitting
defeat and treading all over me…….again!
Soon we were at the first of the troubles, which was nothing
more than a damp crawl. Continuing on we were offered a number of alternatives.
Splitting up we each took a route to see if anyone recognised anything and
after going a short way up and down some slippery slopes I turned around, sure
I hadn’t been there before. Re-grouping we continued to retrace and search for
the way on ‘till Keith took a look at the way I had been and announced that he
had us back on track…Doh!
Down the slippery slope and around the corner we found the
drop down to Blue Pencil passage. I had heard tales of this awkward, tight
route and fancied giving it a go. We all made our way down the steep climb to
the head of the rift where Keith dropped down first explaining the way through
was on your side, legs first, then once around the tight dog leg bend you
needed the turn face down and make your way on to a tight ledge (on Keith’s
first visit he had gone head first through the rift and had a very scary moment
having to lean out in to thin air over a 15ft sheer drop, hence the advice of
doing the passage backward)
After a little grunting Keith was through. I followed
shuffling my way down the passage until firmly wedged with my kneecaps bent
slightly the wrong way. Fortunately I’m getting a little more used to this type
of predicament and so little by little I wriggled this way and that, shaving a
little here and there until eventually my legs released and I was around the
corner. The aforementioned ledge proved too tight for me to get fully on top,
but I managed to get one half of my bulk on the ledge and one leg in the tight
rift, then shuffle backward till Keith called out that I was at the precipice
of the drop. Fortunately there is a chain to assist to the stream way at this
point.
Mel followed; as usual skipping through spaces that I had
struggled and making the obstacles look easy!
Once in the stream way we ran up and down to take in Sumps 3
and 4, as well as the aptly named Cowsh Aven before making our way back to
re-group with Chloe and Jess.
At this point it was decided that with the lost time navigating
and the time spent doing Blue Pencil Passage, the other team may be concerned
if we continued on and exit late. Happy we had learnt the route to the main
ducks, and having ticked off Blue Pencil we made our way out to be greeted by
the rest of the team, who were indeed not far from worrying about our timings.
Present: Keith Edwards, Chloe Burney, Mel Wakeman, Jessica
Harding & Mark Burkey
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