Nettle Pot: Muddy and (sometimes) tight

The club's February trip was arranged for the Peaks, and specifically a trip to Derbyshire Hall in Nettle Pot was the objective. Much has been said about the entrance pitches and how difficult they are due to being so tight. In reality, though, they really weren't that bad. George said that parts of Mayday Hole were tighter and I reckon he's right. That doesn't mean that it wasn't a bit of a struggle - particularly going back up - but progress wasn't that minimal, nor that hard to make. 

Having dropped down to the Flats, we crawled along these past a few deep pots. This crawl is absolutely covered in thick mud that gets everywhere. By the time we reached the next pitch down, we were covered in it. There's no point trying to avoid a complete covering, nor any point trying to remove it. In fact, a particularly large piece got stuck under my nose and - not having any part of my body that wasn't also covered - I couldn't wipe it off. Instead I simply ended up smearing it across my face. The only other cave that comes close to being so muddy (in my experience) is Otter Hole. And at least there you can have a good scrub in a streamway after you've negotiated the entrance series.

Anyhow, at the end of the Flats, there were a few more pitches: down, up, up, down (if I've remembered correctly), all of which continued the theme of being muddy. Before long we arrived at the infamous Freeze Squeeze. Dave J. was the first to give this a go. Being behind George in a narrow passage, I couldn't see how much progress he was making. However, the grunting, groaning, and puffing told me that he wasn’t finding it that easy. Before long, he admitted defeat and it was George’s turn to have a go.

George also made a valiant effort, and was determined not to be beaten easily. Despite his best attempts, however, he just couldn't fit under the low bulge that makes up the roof of the squeeze. Finally, it was my turn to give it a go.

The best way looked to be on your front, over to the right of the squeeze, where the roof was a little higher. However, the floor also sloped up here, which meant that I tended to slide back towards (and under) the low bulge. What made things worse was that my left shoulder got progressively bent back against itself as I tried to enter the squeeze. As I didn't like the idea of a dislocated / fractured shoulder, I decided to back out and try on my back.

This time, I realised it was impossible to avoid the large bulge, and ended up going more or less directly underneath it. I had to back out fairly quickly when I realised the zippers on my over and under suits were getting pressed painfully into my ribcage. Having rectified this, I gave it another go, but it was clear I wasn't getting through. The roof was pressed tight onto the upper part of my ribcage, and I couldn't make any progress. With difficulty, I wriggled my way out and acknowledged defeat. 

After this, all that remained was to complete the journey back out, negotiating the liberal coatings of mud on the way. We emerged after five-ish hours underground to the satisfaction of competing another classic caving trip. Although George is already planning a return to Freeze Squeeze, this time with a wetsuit and a slim companion to show him how it's done!

Cavers: Dave, Dave & George
Trip Report: Dave
Photo: Mark B