Having never been caving in Yorkshire before, I was keen to get stuck into some of the classic trips. Bartek and Paulina were my guides for the day, and opted for Rowten Pot. The choice was an excellent one! After a quick lesson in setting up y-hangs, Bartek slithered over the edge of the pot, and shortly after shouted up to let me know that the rope was free. I dropped down to the second rebelay, relishing the void beneath my feet and the water spraying down the shaft. It was a good thing that the position was spectacular, since I managed to get hung up for about half an hour or so at this point. Not judging the length of the rope in the rebelay, realising I'd attached my ascending gear incorrectly, and getting in a tangle was an impressive number of mistakes, however with time - and more importantly Paulina’s advice - I eventually passed the rebelay and dropped down to Bartek.
From here on, I'm pleased to say, things went a lot more smoothly. There was an interesting abseil into a tight (ish) rift with another rebelay, a good swing across to the opposite wall as the cave bellowed out, and then another couple of pitches down to the bottom of the cave. Here we had a quick look at the sump, which is one of three. Apparently they are committing but relatively easy; nonetheless, they definitely weren't on the agenda for today. After poking around for a few minutes, we started the climb up out of Rowten. Fortunately the way out was trouble free, and before too long I picked my head over the top of the pot. This was an excellent trip, made even better by poking our heads into Yordas and Valley Entrance.
Cavers: Bartek & Paulina, Dave
Trip Report: Dave
Photos: Bartek
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