Apparently Aristotle once said: “those who overcome their fears will truly be free.” When he spoke those words, I doubt he was thinking of the fear that comes from finding yourself leaning at full stretch over a yawning abyss. Or having found yourself in that position, the fear that the sagging at your stomach might outstrip your slow, painful inching towards safety, with the inevitably unpleasant (albeit mercifully brief) result. No, I'm fairly sure he wasn’t thinking of that kind of fear. That's the sort of fear you don't want to be free from, because it stops you doing daft things.
Maybe the Dudley are just a bit soft in the head. After all, the reputation of OFD3 is well known in the club. The “head-banging” traverses are documented in the club blog, as are photos of cavers stretched over seemingly impossibly-wide traverses. Yet I still found myself suggesting a trip there, and Bartek and Jas found themselves readily agreeing that it was a good idea.
Of course, it’s all Jas’ fault really. Recently he confessed - with great embarrassment - that he is daunted by my physical prowess. (At least, that's what I told him, and after he finished laughing so hard that he choked, he admitted that this is indeed the case). Maintaining my reputation for great physical ability is no mean feat. This must explain why I suppressed a perfectly sensible fear, and clicked “send” on that daft email invite. And that is how - of all the places we could be - Jas, Bartek and I found ourselves on the infamous OFD3 traverses, along with a couple of non-Dudley colleagues.
The first traverse set the tone well for what was to come. Here leaning across the chasm with feet on the ledges on one side and hands on the opposite wall was the way to proceed. A cheeky little foot-swap halfway along added a bit of spice. There was nothing too bad here.
The second traverse was much longer, and was negotiated by bridging with hands and feet on opposite sides of the rift. The ledges were of decent size, however, and offered good foot placements; or at least they did until they became too steep, forcing a drop down the rift for a few feet onto larger ledges. It’s interesting how a manoeuvre that you'd do without a second thought becomes ten times harder over a deep drop. Nevertheless, all members of the party executed it without undue fuss. Again, there was nothing too bad here. In fact, there may even have been a hint of exhilaration creeping in!
Arriving at the third traverse, it was clear that we’d reached a fairly major crux: a wide rift requiring a full body bridge. Martin (our leader and OFD aficionado) showed us how this was best done, before inviting us to follow. At this point, Bartek uttered the words: “oh wow, this is a bit committing.” Hearing this from the mouth of someone who chews up and spits out the nastiest cave trips for breakfast did not make me feel good about what was to come. For a moment, I seriously doubted that I would make it across, and I had visions of me plunging head-first towards the ground at break-neck speed. (Incidentally, I also had visions of Jas making a similar plunge, but for some reason these were far less disturbing.)
One by one we nervously placed our hands on one wall while lifting a foot to brace against the other. Balancing on one leg on a pile of rocks above a huge drop isn’t the most soothing of experiences. Fortunately, to quote the wily cave wizard: “nobody died or nuffink.”
After negotiating this fear-inducing move, we reached the safety of some jammed boulders. From there on, things were easy: a slither down a rift, a very tight squeeze up through boulders, a balancing act on a scaffold pole above the streamway and the eventual climb down into the stream itself. Half an hour or so of wading up the stream ensued before we arrived in Smith’s Armoury. We didn't stop here as we were worried we'd be pushing our call-out time; instead we commenced the return trip by heading rapidly back down the streamway.
On completing the traverses for the second time, we agreed that they were much easier in reverse. (Actually, they weren't that bad at any point, really, with the exception of the heart-in-mouth committal to starting the third one). Nonetheless, there was still occasion for nerves to be tested, as having crossed the big traverses, Bartek managed to slip on a much shorter one (though still above a big drop). Fortunately, his feet only slipped a couple of inches before he found his grip again. After another couple of hours we found ourselves at Top Entrance and started the trudge down to Penwyllt.
So, having conquered our fears, did we find freedom? I can't speak for Jas or Bartek (in fact I doubt either of them were afraid because they're not wimps like me), but I don’t think I'm free. I hoped I could lay to rest the nagging thought of having to conquer all those exposed free-climbs, but now someone (Mr Burkey!) has suggested the Midnight Traverses 😡. I've always said there's no way I’d do those, although I think a trip just to take a look might be in order…
Anyway, now we've done battle with the traverses, I prefer the words of the wily cave wizard over Aristotle’s: “remember, we do these caves so you don't have to.” If only he'd said that about OFD3!
Cavers: Bartek, Jas and Dave (plus Mitch and Martin)
Photos: Bartek
Trip report: Dave
