Sunday saw my second trip to Derbyshire, this time for an SRT trip in to Oxlow. Arriving at around half nine, Andy, Mel and I took a final look at the route from the West Antechamber before dishing out the tackle and heading up the hill.
We swiftly made our way down the 4 pitches to the pull through up to Pilgrims way where we paused to remove our SRT kit before continuing. Andy led the way down the hands and knee's crawl through to Mecca Aven and then on to the flat out wet crawls. Not far in, the passage became very tight, silted with gravel. After having a bit of a dig we managed to get a few feet further till a tight bend closed down again. Andy was happy that we'd achieved what he'd wanted and found our way to connect to the chamber of horror's and Mel said that she was far too intelligent to push on any further, so a wet and happy trio made our way back out to find another group coming in.
Mel was the first up the entrance shaft to find the group had put the cover back on and she had to struggle by herself to lift the steel lid.
Again another great trip, although I may have to leave the actual connection through to the slimmer members of the club!
Present: Andy Grimes, Mel Wakeman & Mark Burkey
Showing posts with label Mine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mine. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Return to Water Icicle
Unusually I had a couple of mid-week days off, so on Thursday Andy and I made plans for a week day trip. Our last visit to Water Icicle had been thwarted by bad air, so we decided to have another attempt to see the extensions.
As there was no rush I picked Andy up at 10am and off we set. The weather was horrendous on the trip over to pick up Mr Grimes and didn't ease up for the entire journey. Chatting away and with a heavy spray on the roads I sailed past my M42 exit and wound up taking a scenic route up the A444 adding almost an hour to the journey!
Eventually reaching the farm track we slipped and slid up muddy puddles, at one point with Andy donning wellies and pushing the car through a particularly deep puddle, until we decided we could get no further and abandoned the car to walk up the remaining track.
The rain had finally eased and we rigged in relative calm before descending the 100ft to check the air quality at the bottom.
Although our lighters lit we found that there were pockets of bad air in the passages that made harder work of exploring than normal. We decided to keep a check on air quality, but to continue to explore. We headed down North passage first through some very sticky wet mud until I crawled through a particularly wet contortion to find a dig face and the end of the passage. Spinning around in the small space I went back through with half my head submerged to a grinning Andy. Although I offered to wait for him, he for some reason wasn't too bothered about squeezing through the foot deep water to see a dig face....his loss. Our next passage was the North West where we quickly reached the gated extensions. After a quick look up the ladder we headed off to the Southern passage. We were soon at the breakthrough point in the great rift and at the taped extensions. These continued for 80m or so to end at a choke. Again we poked our heads in to a number of holes for a look, finding Donkey Kong Aven and then I spotted a pulley system and some rope. Popping down the hole I was soon in some flat out crawling which went and went and went until finally closing down too tight to follow (I later found out this is Olympic Stroll which goes for 65m). Realising Andy wasn't following I scampered back to him and we pulled on some very muddy kit for the prussic back up.
Finally changed and warm in the car we decided whilst we were in that neck of the woods that we'd continue on to find the location of another on Andy's bucket list 'Rowter Hole'.
We poked around a couple of big sink holes on the way over to the farm and there asked directions, which turned out to be through the farm to a tree line and then just the other side. Again getting very muddy on the way we quickly found the gated shaft and happily trotted back to the warmth of the car.
Present: Mark Burkey & Andy Grimes
As there was no rush I picked Andy up at 10am and off we set. The weather was horrendous on the trip over to pick up Mr Grimes and didn't ease up for the entire journey. Chatting away and with a heavy spray on the roads I sailed past my M42 exit and wound up taking a scenic route up the A444 adding almost an hour to the journey!
Eventually reaching the farm track we slipped and slid up muddy puddles, at one point with Andy donning wellies and pushing the car through a particularly deep puddle, until we decided we could get no further and abandoned the car to walk up the remaining track.
The rain had finally eased and we rigged in relative calm before descending the 100ft to check the air quality at the bottom.
Although our lighters lit we found that there were pockets of bad air in the passages that made harder work of exploring than normal. We decided to keep a check on air quality, but to continue to explore. We headed down North passage first through some very sticky wet mud until I crawled through a particularly wet contortion to find a dig face and the end of the passage. Spinning around in the small space I went back through with half my head submerged to a grinning Andy. Although I offered to wait for him, he for some reason wasn't too bothered about squeezing through the foot deep water to see a dig face....his loss. Our next passage was the North West where we quickly reached the gated extensions. After a quick look up the ladder we headed off to the Southern passage. We were soon at the breakthrough point in the great rift and at the taped extensions. These continued for 80m or so to end at a choke. Again we poked our heads in to a number of holes for a look, finding Donkey Kong Aven and then I spotted a pulley system and some rope. Popping down the hole I was soon in some flat out crawling which went and went and went until finally closing down too tight to follow (I later found out this is Olympic Stroll which goes for 65m). Realising Andy wasn't following I scampered back to him and we pulled on some very muddy kit for the prussic back up.
Finally changed and warm in the car we decided whilst we were in that neck of the woods that we'd continue on to find the location of another on Andy's bucket list 'Rowter Hole'.
We poked around a couple of big sink holes on the way over to the farm and there asked directions, which turned out to be through the farm to a tree line and then just the other side. Again getting very muddy on the way we quickly found the gated shaft and happily trotted back to the warmth of the car.
 |
| A muddy Andy and car after a successful trip |
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Another Croesor Rhosydd Through Trip!
As Andy drove us toward North Wales on Saturday morning he asked how much further than the lake the walk in to Croesor was, to which I replied......what lake?...so we knew that the trip could be interesting, we just didn't realise how interesting it would become!
Aside from only a minor navigational blip, the walk to Croesor was straight forward. Andy struggled a little with the steep sections and sat himself down at one point declaring he would go no further! After a little persuasion, promising him the mine was only over the next rise, we had him back on his way and were soon kitting up ready for our adventure.
Our first problem came at the bottom of the first pitch where I couldn't for the life of me remember where the second pitch was and a 20 minute scout around the chamber ensued before Mel spotted the rope coiled at the top of the pitch. Andy and I glanced at each other knowing that if it was coiled there was likely a problem and, after checking, found there was indeed a cut in the rope that had been isolated with an alpine. We had brought a 30m rope that could be used to drag people out of the water if needed, but if we were to continue it would mean using the rope in situ.
After re-checking the rope I was happy enough with the condition to use it and do a mid rope change over to pass the knot. After doing this I saw the last party had obviously ignored the mid section rope protection and could see where the rope was going to rub, so shouted up to Andy and Mel that after passing the knot they would need to remove and then replace the protection as they went past it.
Mel was next and managed to get herself hung up as her foot loop turned out to be just a little too long which in turn left her hand jumar just out of her reach. Cursing like a navvy she finally managed to free herself and came smoothly down.
Andy was next and as we watched his light come in to view a sizable piece of slate hit the floor beside us, so we quickly backed off. As we did Andy shouted "Below!" and another piece came down hitting Mel in the hand! Nothing looked to be broken, there seemed to be no swelling so Mel decided to push on.
There were no further issues as we took on the zip wire, traverses and bridges (even with half of the last bridge of death now gone!) and we were soon at the last abseil. Andy and I pulled the boats across and Andy descended first, moving backward to allow room for Mel next and sat in a nice pool of water :) Mel was next and half way down the pitch her hand spasmed and let go of the thin 9mm rope for just a second and plummeted the final 10 feet to land half in / half out of the boat! After this last scare the final prussik and exit went smoothly and we were soon in the sun making our way back to the car, happy we had managed to take on the dangerous trip, with the only fatality being Andy's kit bag which had commited Hara-Kiri between the first two absiels!
Present: Andy Grimes, Mel Wakeman & Mark Burkey
Aside from only a minor navigational blip, the walk to Croesor was straight forward. Andy struggled a little with the steep sections and sat himself down at one point declaring he would go no further! After a little persuasion, promising him the mine was only over the next rise, we had him back on his way and were soon kitting up ready for our adventure.
Our first problem came at the bottom of the first pitch where I couldn't for the life of me remember where the second pitch was and a 20 minute scout around the chamber ensued before Mel spotted the rope coiled at the top of the pitch. Andy and I glanced at each other knowing that if it was coiled there was likely a problem and, after checking, found there was indeed a cut in the rope that had been isolated with an alpine. We had brought a 30m rope that could be used to drag people out of the water if needed, but if we were to continue it would mean using the rope in situ.
After re-checking the rope I was happy enough with the condition to use it and do a mid rope change over to pass the knot. After doing this I saw the last party had obviously ignored the mid section rope protection and could see where the rope was going to rub, so shouted up to Andy and Mel that after passing the knot they would need to remove and then replace the protection as they went past it.
Mel was next and managed to get herself hung up as her foot loop turned out to be just a little too long which in turn left her hand jumar just out of her reach. Cursing like a navvy she finally managed to free herself and came smoothly down.
Andy was next and as we watched his light come in to view a sizable piece of slate hit the floor beside us, so we quickly backed off. As we did Andy shouted "Below!" and another piece came down hitting Mel in the hand! Nothing looked to be broken, there seemed to be no swelling so Mel decided to push on.
There were no further issues as we took on the zip wire, traverses and bridges (even with half of the last bridge of death now gone!) and we were soon at the last abseil. Andy and I pulled the boats across and Andy descended first, moving backward to allow room for Mel next and sat in a nice pool of water :) Mel was next and half way down the pitch her hand spasmed and let go of the thin 9mm rope for just a second and plummeted the final 10 feet to land half in / half out of the boat! After this last scare the final prussik and exit went smoothly and we were soon in the sun making our way back to the car, happy we had managed to take on the dangerous trip, with the only fatality being Andy's kit bag which had commited Hara-Kiri between the first two absiels!
Present: Andy Grimes, Mel Wakeman & Mark Burkey
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Croesor Rhosydd Through Trip
This wasn't a Dudley Caving Club Trip. We cave quite often with Richard and Rachel from WMCEG and they blog their trips on Sterling Adventures where incidentally you can read Rachel's account of the trip which is illustrated with some of Brendan's excellent photos. The Sterling Adventures bloggers meet up annually to have adventures. This year Brendan and I were asked to lead this adventure. The video tells the story of the trip.
Present: Brendan and Keith + Ian, Rachel, Richard, Pete, Tish and Dave.
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Croesor to Rhosydd Through Trip
Keith and Brendan had blogged on a through trip they had done from Croesor to Rhosydd when I first joined the club, and after reading their account it became one of those wish list trips that I have wanted to tick off ever since. So when the lads (Ben, Carl & Grant) offered up a trip I jumped at the chance.
Jess and I had stopped the night before in the van and the boys had stayed in a bothy en route so we arranged to meet up at a car park in Tanygrisiau. Having become accustomed to the tradition of a hearty breakfast before a trip I had to smile (I’m not sure where you find a hotdog vendor on a Sunday morning in North Wales, but the boys had managed it! )
Jess and I had a quick cuppa whilst the lads finished their hotdogs and then it was off up Cwm Croesor. The boys had managed to convince us that full caving gear was overkill for the trip, so we went with walking gear and waterproofs rather than furry and over suit and after an hour and a half of trekking over the hills I was quite grateful that I was in the lighter weight gear!
Climbing in through the half barred window with the guys leading the way we were soon arriving at the head of the first pitch. Not knowing what to expect I was pleasantly surprised at quality of the fixed aids in place. For the lads this was their seventh through trip this year & using Fig 8’s they were at the bottom of the 80ft pitch in seconds. Myself and jess in full SRT gear took it a little easier, carefully making sure that the ropes were hitting their protection.
At the second pitch even the guys took a little more time making their way down over the sharp slate edges. Ben had caught a shin on the first abseil & not to be outdone I slipped over an edge and took a little skin off mine too, just a gentle reminder that although a terrific amount of fun, this disused mine should not be taken lightly. At the bottom of the pitch I paused to take in just how vast the place is, as well as just how much of the ceiling is now shattered on the floor!
At the bottom of the huge gallery we arrived at the zip wire. Grant was the first to go & told us you needed to get a bit of a run up to make it across in one go as they were using traxions. Arriving safely on the other side he called across to say that there was now a fixed pulley that could be pulled back over. As mentioned their pulleys drag a little and a big leap is required to get across in a single go. With the larger fixed pulley this was no longer needed and a simple step was more than enough to get you across, a fact that Carl nearly found out the hard way as he hurtled toward the opposite wall.
Everyone across safely, our next obstacle was a very rickety ladder bridge which literally had you walking on water as you swayed at its center. It was also our first good look at the deep, clear blue waters. It was hard to tell the actual depth but It certainly wasn’t something I was in any hurry to check first hand! The first of the bridges was next and although not much of a bridge it didn’t cause an obstacle as we each skipped across the decaying wooden beams. We were then on to some interesting traverses and through to the second bridge of death, with only a bent single rail and shattered wooden beam on the other side Jess made her way to the mid-section, only to find that the short cows tail she was attached to had become so short that she was unable to move any further. Standing on tiptoe and removing all protection she carefully made her way over the half-way point and safely to the other side. With everyone safely across it was on to my personal favorite…a 20ft abseil over ice cold deep black water, (hopefully) landing in an inflatable to paddle across the underground lake. As we made our way across the still water Ben pointed out where he had previously explored by boat across the other side. Looking over with my Scurrion, you could see the huge cracked slate roof just waiting to fail in to the cold waters and shivered at the thought of paddling beneath it. On the other side all that was left was a short prusik and a walk out through the flooded passage to daylight.
This is a trip I had wanted to do for a long time and it didn’t disappoint. I would just like to say a big thank you to Ben, Carl & Grant who were great guides and helped make the trip something to remember.
Present:
Carl Knott, Ben Marklew and Grant Wilkes, Jessica Harding & Mark Burkey
Jess and I had stopped the night before in the van and the boys had stayed in a bothy en route so we arranged to meet up at a car park in Tanygrisiau. Having become accustomed to the tradition of a hearty breakfast before a trip I had to smile (I’m not sure where you find a hotdog vendor on a Sunday morning in North Wales, but the boys had managed it! )
Jess and I had a quick cuppa whilst the lads finished their hotdogs and then it was off up Cwm Croesor. The boys had managed to convince us that full caving gear was overkill for the trip, so we went with walking gear and waterproofs rather than furry and over suit and after an hour and a half of trekking over the hills I was quite grateful that I was in the lighter weight gear!
Climbing in through the half barred window with the guys leading the way we were soon arriving at the head of the first pitch. Not knowing what to expect I was pleasantly surprised at quality of the fixed aids in place. For the lads this was their seventh through trip this year & using Fig 8’s they were at the bottom of the 80ft pitch in seconds. Myself and jess in full SRT gear took it a little easier, carefully making sure that the ropes were hitting their protection.
At the second pitch even the guys took a little more time making their way down over the sharp slate edges. Ben had caught a shin on the first abseil & not to be outdone I slipped over an edge and took a little skin off mine too, just a gentle reminder that although a terrific amount of fun, this disused mine should not be taken lightly. At the bottom of the pitch I paused to take in just how vast the place is, as well as just how much of the ceiling is now shattered on the floor!
At the bottom of the huge gallery we arrived at the zip wire. Grant was the first to go & told us you needed to get a bit of a run up to make it across in one go as they were using traxions. Arriving safely on the other side he called across to say that there was now a fixed pulley that could be pulled back over. As mentioned their pulleys drag a little and a big leap is required to get across in a single go. With the larger fixed pulley this was no longer needed and a simple step was more than enough to get you across, a fact that Carl nearly found out the hard way as he hurtled toward the opposite wall.
Everyone across safely, our next obstacle was a very rickety ladder bridge which literally had you walking on water as you swayed at its center. It was also our first good look at the deep, clear blue waters. It was hard to tell the actual depth but It certainly wasn’t something I was in any hurry to check first hand! The first of the bridges was next and although not much of a bridge it didn’t cause an obstacle as we each skipped across the decaying wooden beams. We were then on to some interesting traverses and through to the second bridge of death, with only a bent single rail and shattered wooden beam on the other side Jess made her way to the mid-section, only to find that the short cows tail she was attached to had become so short that she was unable to move any further. Standing on tiptoe and removing all protection she carefully made her way over the half-way point and safely to the other side. With everyone safely across it was on to my personal favorite…a 20ft abseil over ice cold deep black water, (hopefully) landing in an inflatable to paddle across the underground lake. As we made our way across the still water Ben pointed out where he had previously explored by boat across the other side. Looking over with my Scurrion, you could see the huge cracked slate roof just waiting to fail in to the cold waters and shivered at the thought of paddling beneath it. On the other side all that was left was a short prusik and a walk out through the flooded passage to daylight.
Ben, Carl & Jess at the Traverses
This is a trip I had wanted to do for a long time and it didn’t disappoint. I would just like to say a big thank you to Ben, Carl & Grant who were great guides and helped make the trip something to remember.
Present:
Carl Knott, Ben Marklew and Grant Wilkes, Jessica Harding & Mark Burkey
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Parys Copper Mine, Anglesey
One of the largest turnout of members in recent years undertook an extensive tour of this fascinating and unusual system lasting nearly 5 hours.
Heather admiring some of the snotite formations.
Heather beneath a wall of stacked deads.
Heather, Keith and Rob by a flooded stope.
Team A: KeEd, BrMa, RoOl & HeSi + our guide Allan
Team B: MiCl, EmPo, GrSm, JoSm & DeWi + guides
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
Huglith Mine, Shropshire
A rare trip into a mine for Keith and Brendan using Silly Rope Technique. Thanks go to members of SCMC who arranged and led the trip.
The Team: MiCl, KeEd, BrMa, MiNo, EmPo, GrSm & JeSm + SCMC Members
Mineral deposits in Huglith Mine.
The Team: MiCl, KeEd, BrMa, MiNo, EmPo, GrSm & JeSm + SCMC Members
Sunday, 12 November 2006
Limestone Mines, Olwyn Gogh Shaft, North Wales
Keith with the assistance of Brendan navigating found the mine this time. (Last time we failed to find it - both believing that the other one knew where it was!) A 400 foot ladder climb led us down into the tunnel, to breath in the diesel and smoke fumes from the recently departed train. (An audible sob was heard to escape from Keith.)
We then headed to the limestone working where we spent about 4 hours taking photos in some of the larger galleries. We then headed out via the upper limestone workings.
Present: MCl, KEd, BMa, EPo, DRo & DeWi
Limestone workings in the Milwr Tunnel.
Limestone workings in the Milwr Tunnel.
Present: MCl, KEd, BMa, EPo, DRo & DeWi
Sunday, 3 September 2006
Surface walk above Dudley Limestone Mines
Surface walk above Dudley Limestone Mines and trip into Dudley tourist mine with Shepton Mallet Caving Club, Dave Bowdley and Steve who kindly led the walk, Mike Clayton and Emma Porter.
Sunday, 21 May 2006
Wednesday, 29 December 2004
Mine Trip
Adrian Stanley in the Mine.
Adrian Stanley in the Mine.
Mick Noble in the Mine.
Present: MNo, KEd, BMa, GSm, JSm & ASt
Wednesday, 30 July 2003
Cwmorthin Slate Mine
A nice walk around Cwmorthin Slate Mine to see if Mike could remember the route after his recent visit with Shropshire C.C.. Lucky for us he remembered most of it but I have yet to see the canteen.
The team.
Present: PAn, AGr & MNo
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