Peak Cavern rigging

SamT

Moderator
Off to do Ride of the Valks on Sunday. Does anyone know if the small pitches from the Fingernail Chamber down into Balcombes way are still rigged.

Also - are the Vortex 1 and 2 rigged & are they worth the effort.

Cheers
 

Rob

Well-known member
SamT said:
Also - are the Vortex 1 and 2 rigged & are they worth the effort.
Vortex 2, the 23m up pitch just above Fingernail Chamber is rigged. This leads up to the Total Perspective Vortex, giving you access to:
  • Vortex 1 - 30m pitch to wet boulderchoke, not rigged
  • Vortex 3 - 45m pitch dropping into Balcombe's Way, not rigged
  • Balcombe's Way Aven - 30m pitch dropping into Balcombe's Way, not rigged
None of these are P-bolted, nor surveyed since original explorers...
And yes, surely all are worth doing considering they are big dangly sporting pitches in the best cave in Derbyshire, if not the world...  (y)
 

SamT

Moderator
Cool cheers.

Can either the Vortex 3 or BW Aven pitches be rigged as pull throughs allowing a little round trip above Fingernail chamber?

 

Rob

Well-known member
Sorry, got Vortex 1 and 3 muddled there. Should be like this:
Rob said:
Vortex 2, the 23m up pitch just above Fingernail Chamber is rigged. This leads up to the Total Perspective Vortex, giving you access to:
  • Vortex 3 - 30m pitch to wet boulderchoke, not rigged
  • Vortex 1 - 45m pitch dropping into Balcombe's Way, not rigged
  • Balcombe's Way Aven - 30m pitch dropping into Balcombe's Way, not rigged
None of these are P-bolted, nor surveyed since original explorers...
And yes, surely all are worth doing considering they are big dangly sporting pitches in the best cave in Derbyshire, if not the world...  (y)

SamT said:
Can either the Vortex 1 or BW Aven pitches be rigged as pull throughs allowing a little round trip above Fingernail chamber?
Not sure, never actually been down either of them, only V3. Pitlamp or Moose would know much better. Survey looks like it should be possible. Bolts for spits would certainly be required...

In fact, don't suppose there's space on your trip for another little one?
 

SamT

Moderator
Rob said:
In fact, don't suppose there's space on your trip for another little one?

yeah - sure, so long as you don't hold us up on the pitches  :LOL: ;)

Meeting at the TSG about 8:30/9.
 

Rob

Well-known member
Pitlamp said:
Let us all know how you get on Sam.
The two pitches down from Fingernail Chamber to the Ride were both rigged, as was Vortex 2 (although still on the original hangers, rather than the nice shiny P-Bolts next to them!).

Vortex 1 and Balcombe's Way Aven were both neither rigged, nor bolted with anything other than rusty spits. Would be a really nice place to start the pull throughs from...  (y)

And Western Highway is now 3 buckets closer to going (which actually looks like it might be soon, been heading steeply uphill for about 10m now).
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Good news about Western Highway - best of luck with it.

About Vortex 1; It may be that this has never been descended. When we explored that area I abb'd down it for about 10 or 15 metres and we decided it just connected with Balcombe's Way. (I seem to remember stones dropped down it appeared in Balcombe's Way.) The first part of Vortex 1 slopes so it'd have meant spending time sorting out bolts, so we never bothered as there was so much else to explore thereabouts.

I don't know if anyone has been down it since (has anyone?) but if not then there's a fine shaft of about 45 m depth waiting for someone to bag the first descent. Definitely don't trust any in situ bolts.
 

SamT

Moderator
Been meaning to write this up, soz.

Its basically as rob says.

Arrive in Fingernail Chamber, Window down into balcombes way is on your left is rigged.
straight ahead, in-situ rope rigged up over boulders leads to W-Highway passing hanging rope, this is the rope up Vortex 2.
Up this leads up, then across a rising traverse over a muddy boulder pile. Rope ends at a huge bedding plane very reminiscent of the far flats in nettle. The rope is indeed rigged on old plate hangers with rusty mallions. New Resin Bolts are in place ready to be rigged on. However, I suspect a set of bolt croppers is needed to remove the old mallions, and stainless mallions needed to rig the (new?) rope to the Resin Bolts.

When you arrive at the end of the rope, ahead and slightly to the left is a crawl in the bedding through to Vortex 3, A blind, 30m deep pot.. see http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php/topic,4536.0.html

To the right, a flat out crawl in the bedding leads shortly to Vortex 1, As Pitlamp says, there are just 2 manky old spits at the start of the slope down into Vortex 1.
The Crewe Rigging Guide should not be believed, as it suggests that this pitch is easily rigged with one re-belay. New bolts are needed.

A flat out crawl in the bedding  traverses the left edge (somewhat un-nervingly) of Vortex 1 round to a small climb down (6 foot) into a small boulder strewn chamber, across which is the start of another large Pothole, This is Balcomes Way Aven, again, there are only a few manky old spits. These are in fact the ones used to climb the aven originally.

Pitlamp, Am I right in thinking that this was the original way up (it was the only place I could see evidence of climbing bolts). It would explain the Naming of the pots, as then, in order its up BW Aven, Vortex 1, then 2 then 3.

Back down in Fingernail Chamber, as you drop though the window on the way to balcomes way, you pass under Vortex 1 which does look like a fine aven, then down another little rope and under BW Aven which looks even finer.

I think it would be a great addition to the already splendid SRT antics to be able to go up Vortex 2 and then either drop down Vortex 1 on a pull through, or BW aven on a Pull through.

Wouldn't mind getting involved in the re-bolting of it either.

Jules ??
 

Ralph

New member
Quote: To the right, a flat out crawl in the bedding leads shortly to Vortex 1, As Pitlamp says, there are just 2 manky old spits at the start of the slope down into Vortex 1.
The Crewe Rigging Guide should not be believed, as it suggests that this pitch is easily rigged with one re-belay. New bolts are needed.

On several of the pitches in FSE the original 8mm spits have NOT been replaced (including Vortex 1 as you quite rightly point out). If you have a burning desire to replace them get in touch- I'm sure something can be arranged!
Fixed ropes are always a contentious issue since "someone" has to inspect and maintain them - which costs money!
The fixed ropes on the "down" pitches are not inspected or maintained and should be removed. The fixed ropes on the "up" pitches are maintained but should be treated with caution.

 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Yes Sam, you're right. Balcombe's Way Aven (note the word "Aven") was how this area was first climbed into, by self and Jim Davenport. That's why the Vortex pitches were named 1, 2 and 3 as one progresses away from the top of Balcombe's Way Aven. The bedding was named after a scene in a Douglas Adams book as this area was found on a hard and very dehydrating 15 hour bolting epic via Far Sump. By the time we finally stepped off the top etrier into new stuff we were absolutely exhausted - like we'd just experienced the "Total Perspective Vortex" from "The Restaurant at The End Of The Universe". On the carry out from Peak in the wee small hours Jim collapsed into a deep pool in the Peak streamway, looked up at me - and said "If this is living, roll on death!". I think he really meant it!

The full exploration story is in TSG Journal 14 pages 14 - 20 (but note that the schematic diagram in the article contains one or two errors - a corrected version was published in a CDG Newsletter 2 or 3 years later). So there you go folks; the TSG doesn't just limit itself to trips down P8!
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Further notes:

various people have told me they've replaced ropes on all these pitches but I've not heard that this has happened for some time. I don't think bolts / ropes in the area should be trusted unless a proper job is done (a la DCA rigging scheme). I have all the original maillons and hangers here in the shed from Balcombe's Way Aven - which were presented to me by a friend who rerigged the pitch.

Sam's useful summary of the area above doesn't mention that by tiptoeing across the boulder floor of the chamber at the top of Balcombe's Way Aven (in the opposite direction from the Total Perspective Vortex) it is possible to reach a low crawl. This has been voice connected to a similar low crawl which goes off just above the floor level in Donatella's Aven (above Cascade Aven). I once tried to get through but with a thick diving wetsuit on I couldn't make it. A thin racing snake might get through though.

 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
. . . in fact, before I forget to mention it, there is another large and probably still undescended pitch in that area of Far Sump Extension. If you set off abseiling down the original exploration route of Ride Of The Valkyries (i.e. the unsatisfactory route down the gully rather than the better more recent route which is further out) about 10 to 15 metres down is a small oval hole leading back under Balcombe's Way. It leads almost immediately to yet another great shaft which enters Stemple Highway between Salmon's Cavern and the crawl through to AI Passage. We never descended this pitch when we found all this stuff because we knew where it went after dropping stones down it - plus the Ride Of The Valkyries is such a magnificent shaft it kind of stole the show. If no-one's ever done this other shaft (has anyone?) it might be worth one of you local lads exploring it because, although its destination is known, there is still a hint of a chance of something interesting (though no promises). It might not have escaped your attention that this area of Far Sump Extension is very close to the big natural stuff up the Pit Props incline in Speedwell. You might just get lucky and find something going off in the wall of this pitch in the Speedwell direction? I just wish I lived a bit nearer and wasn't so busy with umpteen projects in the Dales and various other projects in Peak. Anyway, there's something worth a look if one of you has a free afternoon.
 

JonP

Well-known member
On the carry out from Peak in the wee small hours Jim collapsed into a deep pool in the Peak streamway, looked up at me - and said "If this is living, roll on death!". I think he really meant it!

Sounds like an epic trip.
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Aye - it was a good 'un. One other thing I do remember was that we never bothered eating any grub afterwards; we just had several cups of strong Horlicks. The next morning we didn't have quite the same kicked all over feeling you'd expect after a hard trip. There must be some sort of nutritional message here!
 

Chad

New member
What was the final verdict on the Vortex stuff?

In-situ ok, type of hangers (p- /spits) or take you own ropes etc...

Just after a conclusion

:)
 

SamT

Moderator
Oh - err - good point, thought I'd posted somewhere.

Right - Vortex 2 is rigged with insitue off old spits/hangers/mallions (bizarrely with brand new resin bolts placed adjacent, ready and waiting for someone to turn with bolt croppers to remove old mallions and put some new rope on stainless mallions on the new hangers.

Up the ropes lands you on a rocky area with rope continuing up a tricky little climb (use your hand jammer as a backup).

left/straight on leads to Vortex 3, not rigged but leads to blind pot (see rob eavis's posts some time ago).
right leads through a far flats style crawl to Vortex 1, huge hole - no bolts.
navigate the bedding to the left round this leads on to balcomes way aven, huge hole, but only the very old dodgy spits used to climb the aven in the first place - no use for rigging off.

Needs all sorting out with new Ps
 

alastairgott

Well-known member
so whats your plan :D then chad (given you don't want to tell anyone on the club forum :tease: )
but i suppose you'll be saturdaying so's you can sunday somewhere else...
 

MikeyP

Member
Rob said:
The two pitches down from Fingernail Chamber to the Ride were both rigged...

Has anyone been up there recently and know if the 2 short pitches still are? Want to do ROTV, and being lazy, don't want to carry excess ropes...
 
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