Daren Cilau Through Trip

A repeat of the Daren through trip was high on Anne’s to do list (or at least a visit to the Urchins was) and foolishly I agreed to go with her. The entrance series was as tortuous as ever, particularly as I was carrying a bag this time. However, by cracking on we made reasonably light work of it and the calcite squeezes weren’t nearly as bad as I remember. There was an incredibly tight squeeze towards the end of the crawl which played the xylophone on my rib cage. I was about halfway though and on the verge of becoming stuck when Anne popped her head over and asked why I had gone under rather than over? The answer being that I was so used to putting my head down and squeezing that I hadn’t looked up to see the obvious (and spacious) route over the top. Fortunately I was able to push through and squeeze out the other side, which is just as well as going back would have been very, very difficult.

Once out of the crawl we made quick progress to the first boulder choke, making a quick detour to see the dried out crystal pool towards the end of the old main chamber. This was very impressive and well worth the five minutes it took to view it.

We wriggled through the first choke out into Jigsaw Passage where nice easy caving brought us to Big Chamber Nowhere Near the Entrance. More easy caving down Epocalypse Way took us to the White Company where we stopped to get a couple of photos of these very beautiful formations. Carrying on we managed to mistake the entrance to Urchin Oxbow, do a complete 180 and end up back at the White Company! This was no hardship as they are very beautiful 😊

We did a better job second time around and clambered up the climb into Urchin Oxbow where another couple of photos were in order. Shortly thereafter the long trudge along Antler Passage started. Antler Passage is rather interminable with lots of boulder hopping and regular obstacles to climb up and through, including 4 laddered sections.

Just before one of the climbs we passed a handline coming down from Man in the Roof. This is a route I’d like to go and see at some point, however making the exit using just the handline looks like sheer lunacy. It must be 6 to 7 metres high with just a thin cleft in the face of the rock for footholds. This route may require some planning, and going with someone who has prior experience of it…

We ploughed on and eventually reached the fourth laddered climb (with a very slippery approach!) which took us up into Busman’s Holiday. Thereafter easy caving took us through Prices’ Prophecy to the exit via Cnwc. While Cnwc is tight and crawly it is nothing in comparison to the entrance series and before long we arrived at the gated exit and emerged to a beautiful sunny afternoon.

Total time was 6 hours, which isn’t bad as my first attempt took over 7 hours.

Cavers: Dave & Anne
Trip Report & Photos: Dave

Ogof Craig a Ffynnon

Having missed the Dudley’s July trip to Craig a Ffynnon I was keen to finally make it through to the elusive Helictite Passage.

Water levels were extremely low; the first choke was dry and Gasoline Alley a mere puddle. But the second choke was as muddy as ever, and a very slippery corkscrew climb had to be squirmed up with great difficulty. This was by far the most arduous part of the route in, but a delight to slide down on the way out!

The entrance to Travertine Passage provided a few more specimens of mud (who but cavers truly appreciate the wide variations in mud?) with the treacherous welly-eating squelchy mud, fun mud-slide mud and just enough caked on mud to make boulder hopping a precarious pursuit. Travertine Passage and the Hall of the Mountain King were as stunning as ever, but we pressed on into Hurricane Highway (initially a slippery mud but increasingly more Velcro mud), and were back at the fourth choke where the navigation had defeated us on our first trip. The way on was embarrassingly obvious when you know where…

Then finally, into Helictite Passage! It was certainly worth the mud, the squirming and the squeezing. A stunning array of formations. I particularly appreciated the pom-pom. Definitely a must see for any calcite enthusiasts out there. 😊

On the way back we made use of the low water to wade through to visit the crocodile in North Western Inlet. He was cheerful as ever, welcoming unwary cavers in with gently smiling jaws. Needless to say we backed off hastily.

Back at the car park, we had the usual conversation with a passing motorist who couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to go caving. I’m sure if more people were introduced to the joys of calcite, and mud, mud, glorious mud, it would all make much more sense!

Trip Report: Anne
Photos: Dave

Peak Cavern: White River Series - Attempted

Today's trip was meant to be to the White River Series. On the roster were Mark, Jess, Mel, Johnny and Dave and after setting off we soon find ourselves deep in the bowels of the Devil's Arse. Jess chose to emphasise each hop, skip and jump between boulders in the Upper Gallery with a dainty “ooh”, which added some amusement, as I had visions of her dancing between the boulders like a ballerina. Before long, we were into the trenches which were thick with mud and very slippy. Here Jess’ dainty “oohs” were replaced with a less dainty “phwurgh” (you're not meant to drink the mud, Jess!) before we squeezed through a constriction to arrive at the start of Colostomy Crawl.

While this by no means lived up to the “colostomy” part of its name, it certainly lived up to the “crawl” part! Here bags that were being dragged got stuck in various rocks and in various crevices, and it was with great relief that we arrived at the fixed ladders leading down Egnaro Aven. Having all arrived at the Lower Bung streamway, we made quick progress via the bypass to the start of the White River Series.

First up the initial pitch was Mark, followed by Mel and then Jess, while Jonny and myself waited at the bottom. After a while, we saw people coming down again; unfortunately Mel's mind had decided (not unreasonably!) that dangling from a piece of string, over a huge void, several hundred metres underground was not a particularly sensible thing to do. This was a good thing in the end. While we may not have seen the White River Series, we did manage to be out of the cave in time by turning back, and this definitely wouldn't have happened had we pushed on.

However, we now had the delights of Colostomy Crawl to repeat! Fortunately, it was much easier in reverse as it sloped downhill, making dragging the bags much easier. Before long we were through the Trenches, Upper Gallery, Mucky Ducks and the Wallows, and back at Buxton Water Sump. Here the obligatory wash and scrub down saw us fit to exit the cave, and a quick trudge back to the TSG led to showers and then a pub meal. Both of these were a welcome end to a muddy, tiring trip, but one that was well worth it nonetheless!

Cavers: Mark, Jess, Mel, Johnny, & Dave
Trip Report: Dave