Inspired by the Fairy - Hilliers squeeze account.

Lets have some photos and nominations please.

I only knew this as Short Cut - Short Cut  ( OFD ). An ancient slide from back when we were fit.

My helmet measures 8.25 inches in width. As you can see this was less though you did have the chance of taking it bit by bit.
Subject is Pete Rose.

Most Recent.  Vurley Swallet this year. " Our Kate " forcing new ground.



A short while Back. Alison Moody in Pickwick Passage, Reservoir Hole. Scary down there for good reasons. The boulder Alison is squeezing over has since collapsed.

The tightest/most awkward one I have done recently was Strans Gill. The tightest bit (The squeeze before charity pitch) I don't have the photo for, however, the most akward pitch "Hope" I do, as well as the entrance.



The spacious entrance According to Ncaves it is 7.5inch wide, but I believe it has been widened slightly

This is the first squeeze, easy going down with a stop on a cows tail, but a bugger to get out of. The best option is to take your kit off near the top of the pitch and climb off, either that or ladder it, but I can't afford ladders.



Crawl just before hope pitch
Not that tight but it don't really get any wider before you get to the pitch



Hope pitch

Looking up the "Hope" pitch, with a rather pointless rope we put on it. Might have helped if we went up with Pantin on the rope to push off of, if only we thought of that in the cave! It took us several attempts on the way down too but was not too bad once we found the right spot.

O.R, your piccis suggest that the camera has got there before!!????

My tightest was back in the late '70's looking for a bypass at the end of Pol-na-Gollum, no room for camera's, - a body tight 100ft reverse!---.

Although I added a bit of depth to Waterfall Hole via a vertical squeeze, (again, no camera!)

If you are looking for established tight, maybe 'Bung' in Knotlow?, or 'Windtunnel' in Peak?, or 'Yoga Hole' in Dr Jacksons?---

(Or even the top two rungs of the cartwheel in the Hill Inn ?)

Alison and Kate are returning through squeezes. I had just got through the one in OFD. ( Wherever in the cave it was - somebody will know ).

If were talking about new stuff, then maybe not necessary the tightest but the scariest squeeze I have done is at the bottom of Washing machine hole in Spain. Only I was willing to go through it/fit. It starts with an awkward manoeuvre just before the squeeze. After the initial tight bit it improved in size slightly before ending abruptly at a 8m pitch. I had to partially kit up in the crawl and I rigged it off naturals before going in it. It was scary as rescue would be difficult no one who was with me could fit back through to rescue me, if I got stuck or if the natural rebelay I rigged off 1m down fell off!

http://matienzocaves.org.uk/descrip/3420.htm



Thinking about it, it was a bit silly of me to push that solo, but that's exploration fever for you.

This one was mine. Owl Hole. My ears red from forcing my head through the squeeze seconds before. Those who know me know I'm not particularly big...

Strans Gill is indeed tight. I could only get out of the entrance pitch by stripping to my underwear on a very cold night, I was pretty thin when I did it too. The head of one of the following pitches was supremely awkward on the way out, it consisted of a thrutch to get into a very narrow passage at right angles to the pitch drop. The problem for me was we were using ladders, one rung was too low to get into the passage the next rung up was impossible as I couldn't bend or raise my leg to get onto it.
The other tight passage I encountered was an early exploration of Chisholm Trail (Chisum Trail?) in Rift Pot where the way on got tighter and tighter without relief, in the end I decided that newspaper headlines and comparisons with Neil Moss weren't a good idea.

No photos, but earlier this year I pushed a horrendous squeeze up into a new extension in Drunkards Hole. I did manage it with my oversuit on, so it can't have been that tight, but given the unpolished rough limestone it was a real battle to get through! 1/4" on the front, 1/4" on the back, take a rest, try not to slip back down...

I shredded my sock in the process, as I had to ditch my left welly to get my foot through a narrow bit to the only decent hold.

One side was solid rock, the other was a large boulder which I named the "(death)trapdoor" as I'm not too sure what was holding it there. As above, a bit silly really, but exploration fever can get the better of you  :

The squeeze did at least yield over 30m of passage and provided our latest dig site in the ongoing project to connect Drunkard's Hole to Rod's Pot


As an aside, while breaking up the boulder the following week, it fell back down into the rift below, trapping my hand against the wall as I tried to stop it and blocking my way out in the process 

A few hours of adrenaline-fuelled capping and hauling saw the boulder broken apart and lifted back out.

It's still a bit snug getting up, but no real obstacle any more

bograt said:

If you are looking for established tight, maybe 'Bung' in Knotlow?, or 'Windtunnel' in Peak?, or 'Yoga Hole' in Dr Jacksons?---

Click to expand...

When the photos of the Hatton Gardens theft came out, I took great delight in telling work colleagues that getting through a hole that size was no big deal and that I'd been through something tighter (the Bung) only a few weeks previously...

Topics like this make me question whether I am a "proper" caver! Hats off to to you all but there is not a chance in hell I would go near any of those! Not Birthday Squeeze in Swildons is about as tight as I want to be getting...and I know for most of you that's just a cruise.

I think over the last couple of years I have gotten better in tighter places but I still wouldn't be interested in any tube type passage.

You are all nuts.

MJenkinson said:

You are all nuts.

Click to expand...

Paraphrased, that could be a semi-OK t-shirt,.... "We are all nuts". Just a thought.

This is one of my favourite photo's of a very tight squeeze

http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JGbBI7PyXr4/UG7Q0YD_L0I/AAAAAAAAM_8/A7G9SJLsBJE/s1600-h/image%25255B31%25255D.png

This photo is taken in Sima de Verdad (PSM - Anialarra). The caver (Rudi) is inspecting a very narrow meander in this cave. After his inspection, where he could hear an upcoming pitch, the meander was enlarged over 13m.

The following clip shows Bart in a very tight squeeze

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1068395/Movies/Diverse%20Explos%20Belgie/Ergens%20in%20een%20vernauwing.wmv

and BTW he made it

An other clip, not really tight but rather delicate, in undersuit

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1068395/Movies/Diverse%20Explos%20Belgie/TDC%20Explo%2017012010.wmv

The lady in this clip (Annette) is well known for here actions in squeezing through. Sometimes she strips even further

During the breakthrough in Trou des Cotes several tight passages needed to be passed Filmed by myself and Paul

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1068395/Movies/Diverse%20Explos%20Belgie/Doorbraak%20Cotes%2021072009.wmv

(first part of the clip)

Dagobert

Oooh I tell you where is ridiculously tight...though I don't have a photo...the dig between sump 3-4 in P8!

Tightest travelled passage Ive ever encountered anywhere, including my earlier post, Quaking, Strans Gill etc.

The only one I've ever had to give up on too...


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Last night's trip was the most committing squeeze I've undertaken.
The descent from Kentish's Cairn to the start of the Upper Traverse in Eastwater.
Mendip Underground describes it as 'a crawl below a boulder leads to a steep, very tight and awkward entrenched bedding plane'.

Any route that starts with a wreath and memorial is going to be 'interesting'...
I was first to descend the rift to the start of the Upper Traverse and at the crux my chest was pinned with the tightest bit still squeezing my bottom rib. I had my ankle in a space just big enough to be able to turn my foot over, but I wasn't sure if the space was big enough for my body, or just a shoulder blade; couldn't move my head.
Opted to push on. If it had been the latter I'd have been well and truly jammed and getting back up would have been a nightmare.
It worked out OK, but flippin heck my fears were working overtime.
Hallelujah hole was a doddle by comparison.

For reference, other Mendip squeezes I've been through are Swildons Not the Birthday Squeeze, Withyhill Green Lake Entrance, Longwood Letterbox, Hunters' Lodge Inn Sink (all of them), Swildons New Grottoes entrance, GB Great Chamber, Fairy to Hilliers and probably several others that aren't coming to mind at the mo

The squeeze to the Upper Gours in Gour Chamber in Bull Pot of the Witches is quite tight, and made more awkward by being vertically upwards.

I can sometimes get into Green Lake Grotto nowadays. A bit odd really. I think as you get older your rib cage gets less elastic or may even expand. Its not the beer gut as that remains malleable. My mate Trevor tripped over a rope at Vurley on the surface fracturing his sternum. Age related I am sure as the good Mr O' Doc will testify. I do remember the latter having bother in the Longwood Letterbox. Got worked up into quite a lather. I also remember getting stuck head down in new passage somewhere in Aggy. T'was the wretched Knife cell that caused it. In a lather of panic I asked  Trevor for assistance but he pushed off to roll a fag ( it was a long time ago ! ). " I will help you when You stop panicking " said he. Quite right of course as you are bigger when you panic. A good instructor will tell you never to fight the rock as it usually wins. Technique counts for everything. Subtle moves feeling your way. The wonderful Cap'n Chris pointed out the correct technique for passing squeezes on our Upper Flood trip. Saved a lot of lather. ( Er feet first or head first most wonderful good Cap'n ?)
Now this might beg the question of why you leave such a horrible obstruction thus in the first instance. Passable only by midgets who have little chance of salvation by the burly cave rescue crew. Well some squeezes get " tweaked " and some don't. Some get bigger by natural wear and tear anyway though I must admit to apply the odd " tweak " in one or two places over the years. The midget purists would recoil in horror at such a thing.
Here is one well and truly tweaked. That squeeze with the lithe Kate therein known to her mates as " Grindle The Spindle ".

Here I am beyond the former impassable slot though you can see that such tampering can incur other problems.



Well it is an active dig route used now for ferrying stuff to the working face.
You should see an update on Vurley on Mendip Roundup at Hidden Earth on Saturday. Dont get excited its no master cave just yet. Meanwhile my image file has reached 926 images which must be a record for such an insignificant site averaging out at one photo per centimeter . Ooo I might yet get to post a few more here one day. ( beware ).

Back to topic.

Here is Young Ruminator in a place Old Ruminator will never venture again. Daren Cilau entrance series.



I do hope Duncan Simey will venture forth to capture the commodious delights of The Time Machine.

A interesting tight sink on Old Cote Little Moor was a near do all those years ago. Way past being sensible  and at a time of doing the likes of Stands and Quaking without panic.

Photo is etched within my mind only though I suffice to say. 

Immediately following the entrance passage duck in Ogof Rhyd Sych is a wide but low, gently inclined bedding plane. Not sure of its vertical height but I'm a 38in chest and could only half inhale at the tallest parts in a 4mm wetsuit. It's sporting because although wide, there are slight variations in its height and some hard-to-see knobbles, so you have to pick your route by trial and error - 'error' equating to either chest and back abrasions if you try and mover sideways, or otherwise arkward  reversing moves. The sideways width makes it less intimidating, enabling you to focus on finding the marginally taller parts. Next comes some narrow rifts with apparently infinately deep water in their bottoms, and then a lowish hand and knees crawl over rock pinacles resembling crawling over empty milk bottle crates. Beyond is a surprisingly large streamway ending in a boulder pile, beyond which is Ogof Robin Goch and the tantalising prospect of a through trip if it were ever dug through.