Cave Conservation Rewards

[Mark R]

Great, I'll take it to work this week if you're around, can meet up at lunch time to make the exchange

Email me to let me know what youngest to do.

 

[Mark R]

Had a good trip up Victoria aven last night, pulled out two big tangles of bang wire and a length of pipe.
Rewarded ourselves with two pints in the Cheshire Cheese

 

[2xw]

http://imgur.com/O3WDkmy

Removed from maskhill and repurposed for dig

 

[caveMonkey]

Thank you for all your efforts in this cave conservation initiative and thank you for the exped bag! Hopefully it will encourage more participation.
As it happens, we removed some more rubbish in the form of timber during our most recent trip. I have been trying to insert the images but have failed to so far. So keep posted for the all exciting photos of timber!

 

[Mark R]

Thanks 2XW for the link, perhaps a short trip report would be good- how many were involved, hard work or easy? Did you talk to the farmer in the end about storing the rubbish on the surface overnight and if so, was he accommodating?

Give us a bit of info and you can collect your Petzl Classique tackle bag to go with the Spatha knife you have already earned

Thanks for the comments Cave Monkey- I can't wait to see those photos, they sound scintillating! Keep up the good work all!

 

[2xw]

It was a glorious sunny day, the sort that really makes you pleased to be going underground.

3 of us faffed up to the entrance and faffed down it, faffed for a bit and then I realised I forgot my saw. Faffing hell.

We loaded what we could into tacklebags, creg disapeared up the shaft and, shortly before hauling a bag up, asked us how to use a traxion. You'll all be pleased to know it worked out in the end, and quickly enough.

I have to haul my own fat arse up on a rope so compared these bits of wood were not too bad really.

It was left at the roadside with no prior discussion because I forgot and picked up early the next morning when we all went to do an o/m exchange. We had to leave a few in there, will go back for it in next few days.

 

[dudley bug]

The Dudley have been working on a digging project in Cwm Dwr II located in the same quarry as the main Cwm Dwr cave.
The cave has been subject to some previous digging and many old tools and equipment had been left to rot in the cave. Also numerous fertiliser sacks of spoil had been left piled up in the cave. The bags were emptied, spoil tidied up and all the old equipment and rubbish was taken out on our digging trip this weekend.

 

[Badlad]

That's a worthy effort guys and a first report from Wales - well done.  Take your pick from these two rewards;

A Petzl Personal Tackle bag or a copy of the Berger Book, L'esprit d'equipe.

By way of further incentive, if you post another good report from a clean up in Wales there may just be an Exped waterproof rucksack with your name on it. 

 

[dudley bug]

That's great thanks.  The book is fantastic and would make a great addition to our Club library.

 

[chunky]

Thank you so much for our prize of the Gouffre Berger book. I have just finished reading it, and by 'reading' I do of course mean looked at all the pictures  :-[

I am very much looking forward to Jess reading me the word thingys later and then it will be taken to the club and entered in to the club library for all to enjoy.

Thanks again!!!

 

[Alex]

Did a Dow to Prov trip yesterday on my own, thought I might as well be useful and pull up some rubbish its amazing what gets washed/left in a cave:
A sock - found prov side of the blasted crawl,
a knee pad - found on rocks near bridge hall (now posted in lost and found)
a bottle - found wedged between blocks in the narrows,
lots of orange plastic - Downstream and in the Narrows,
a mars bar - entrance side of blasted crawl,
a red ribbon - no idea
and capped off with an elastic band, found in bridge hall itself.

 

[undergroundHP]

Yordas top Log and Jingling pot​

Two trips on separate days.
First day. Jingling pot. i had always known this pot as a graveyard pot. last time i visited i remembered loads of bones in the pot so thought i would return to collect some for my dog.
This time we dropped down easily apart from having a tawny owl fly at us  trying to defend its nest!!
once in the pot we removed as many bones and small bits off wood leaving behind some bigger ones and scaffolding poles that i think are being used lower down near the dig?
After pulling the bag out and getting a proper sweat on we relaxed in the warm October day.

Also on this trip i used my Spancet gold rope that i had won in a UKC competition. It was a dream to use and packed well.

Day 2  -yordas pot top log.
After gaining permission from Natural England and land owner we went up to yordas to remove the top entrance log that has been very rotten for many years.
My friends believed it was not that rotten but when i was nearly able to pick the log up by myself  they believed me.
after setting up a safety line for ourselves and making sure the lower entrances were taped off and warning signs placed we proceeded to stand around and think about  moving it. Gave it a few kicks and then got on a cut it up into four pieces that were easy to lift over the fence.
The log was surprising easy to get rid off and non fell done the pot!!
We removed a dodgy wobbly rock from under where the log had been sat and cleaned up.
What do you do after getting hot and sweaty ? You need to cool off! If only we were near a cold water filled crawl and a water fall!
We descended and did a pull through of the pot with the kit and  cleared away after a good day and good deeds done.
Now no one can accidentally rig off the log and bring it down onto them in the pot.
At some point i plan to remove the logs that have washed into the system. this will take winches and more man power.
Thanks
HP

 

[Badlad]

Underground HP

Great effort on both counts.  Well done to all involved.  There is a definitely a reward in this for you and the crew.  Let me consult the the rewards committee  and we'll get back to you.

 

[Badlad]

Alex

We haven't forgotten your fine effort either. The committee  thought that it wasn't quite enough for a reward at this stage but if you followed it up with a few more you would be well on your way to earning a tackle bag.  Picking up rubbish in the course of a normal trip is a fine example of what we all can do.  Keep up the good work.

 

[kay]

undergroundHP - well done and many thanks! Did you take the opportunity to replace the broken rail on the fence, or is this work still needing to be done? All your pics are of the other side of the enclosure!

 

[undergroundHP]

We did a temporary repair of the fence but  it will need some one to take up some new wood to re build fully. sorry i did not have at the time.
HP

 

[Badlad]

The Red Rose have been organising clean ups around the Ease Gill System since 1993.  This years event was certainly worthy of a reward or two so several tackle bags and a selection of accessories were made available to the club to promote their event.  Ray Duffy has sent in the following report;

On 3rd October 2015 several members of the Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club, some NPC and others, turned out at Bullpot Farm to go and retrieve some of the rubbish left in the system, mainly by diggers it must be said. We normally remove normal litter on our trips anyway so there?s less of the sweet wrappers, cans, bottles and carbide lying around for us to pick up, thank heavens people are being a bit more conservation minded these days. However, the pictures illustrate that ?us diggers? are less environmentally friendly than normal cavers when it comes to stripping our digs, or are we really going to go back some day and finish off the dig? Among the stuff removed were 30 buckets, 2 enormously heavy muddy plastic sheets and strangely half a boiler suit, don?t ask! Several bits of tatty rope were taken out and that leads to another prickly problem ? I?ve logged at least 51 ropes in the Ease Gill area and 18 total pieces of ladders, stemples, scaffold bars, tapes and staples ? are they all necessary, who is responsible for their placing and upkeep? Is it time for some of them to come out or are they going to proliferate and we?ll finish up with a permanent ropeway through the system?
Thanks to everyone who helped and of course all those responsible cavers who take their litter home with them.

Great to see this stuff finally removed from our caves.  Well done to all.

 

[undergroundHP]

Mud,mud and a little bit more mud
​

So i finish work early and with a couple of hours to kill and the caving kit in the car i thought i would check out the caves of storrs common.
This was not a planned conservation trip but after soon seeing the rubbish my inner good person kicked in.
The main rubbish was in storrs common cave down in the hole and dig area.( wall cavern )
There was lots of general rubbish thrown in by walkers such as cans, dog poo bags, yoghurt pots.
More unusual items included a bright green old ripped up caving suit, sections of caving ladder , some old glass bottles, a section of rail way track out of a mine  and what i think looked like a scythe  and the head of a sledge hammer
There was the usual large amounts of wood. including lots of broken ply wood.
There were 4 digging buckets that had become part of the mud and were not being used and never would be.
I will keep these in case anyone wants them back.

It was sweaty heavy going but wall chamber looks allot better than it did.
It still has some digging items in there but they looked like they were being used so i left them.
If any one can inform me if the dig has stopped then i will remove the rest of the items.

Thanks for reading

HP

 

[Badlad]

Great effort UndergroundHP.  This and your previous clean ups have earnt you an Exped Waterproof Rucksack.  PM to arrange delivery.

 

[Pegasus]

Hi HP, I made your photos a little easier to see (smaller) - you brought a lot of rubbish out, well done