Peak District Rigging Guide. CCPC

pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
I've amended the Registry entry to remove the warning about the rigging, as the work has been completed. Also I don't remember a deviation between the first and second rebelays, unless it's been very recently added, though I can't think what for? It would be a long one.
 
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wellyjen

wellyjen

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I was surprised to come across the deviation when heading up. The cord is only around a metre or so long. Stainless through bolt in to the rock and a large stainless carbine hook as the carabiner. My poor memory of the route before the rebolting reckons the rope was flat against the smooth rock in places here. Not a problem, but since the rest of it has been rerigged super safe, with Y hangs for all rebelays, some one has decided to eliminate even the slightest possibility of the rope rubbing.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
The what-can-I-rig app, by @aricooperdavis is now embedded in to the rigging guide, as well as Ari's stand alone web page and downloadable web app manifest. The rope lengths for various Derbyshire trips in the rigging guide are now in there. Just plug in the rope lengths you have available and see what options you have for a trip in the Peak District. Various common and interesting shorter trips are included. For example, Oxlow Cavern to East Chamber requires much less rope than bombing all the way down to West Chamber and the sump. Please give it a try. Let me know of any problems, or suggestions.
Many thanks to Ari for writing the app and his help and patience with incorporating the rigging guide data.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
The new resin anchor at the base of Garland's Pot has been added to the first Giant's Hole topo. See
https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?threads/theft-from-giants-hole.30370/post-372569
for details. It is after midday today, so the glue should be set. I've added an extra hour before posting this, just in case @Pete K didn't figure in the clocks going forward. :)
The name of Lathkill Head Cave Upper Entrance has been changed to Lathkill Head Cave Top Entrance to match what's in https://peakdistrictcaving.info/.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

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Version 15.7 of the guide is out.
The Peak Cavern key holders have made some alterations to the anchors for rigging on the main down pitch in
the NCC Shafts in Peak Cavern. These should make rigging and following the route easier.
Our rigging topo for the NCC Shafts has been updated to reflect this.
A deviation has been moved, an extra traverse anchor added and a new deviation installed.
This will require more rope, so the recommended rope length here has been increased from 55 to 70m.
The What-Can-I-Rig app has been updated with the new rope length.
Our club have certainly had problems descending this shaft on the old route, so the alterations are most welcome.
Thanks to Michael Holliday of TSG and SUSS for sending us the information for the rigging guide.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
A couple of changes for version 15.8.
The Upper West Passage practice pitch in Giant's Hole has had defective resin anchors replaced and their placement improved to give a better hang. See https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?threads/giants-hole-upper-east-west.30091/post-378230. The Giant's 3 topo has been altered to show two different ways of rigging this pitch. Thanks to Pete Knight for the update. A new symbol has been introduced to show drilled thread belays, to distinguish them from natural threads. These seem to be getting used a lot on more recently installed routes, where they are an easy way to arrange a solid anchor, without the faff of glueing in ironmongery; provided there is a suitably positioned substantial rib of limestone. The Key and the Giant's 3, George Cooper's Aven, P8 and Snelslow Swallet topos have been updated with the new symbol. I don't doubt there are others that I've missed. Please let me know.
 
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wellyjen

wellyjen

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The DCA have been busy in Lathkill Dale. Thanks again to Pete Knight (DCA Projects Officer) for the information.
In Lathkill Head Cave Top Entrance, there are two new resin anchors. One at the base of the entrance climb, the other replacing the steel spike that was used as part of the Y hang on the first pitch. The other half of that Y hang is still on stal naturals. An extra 2m has been added to the rope length to allow for the extra rebelay ahead of the first proper pitch.
In the nearby Lathkill Head Cave Garden Path, there is an extra anchor to provide another deviation and a choice of ways of rigging the lower pitch.
The changes are now in version 15.9 of the guide.
 
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wellyjen

wellyjen

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At long last, there is a topo for Longcliffe Mine in the guide. Many thanks to pwhole for his help over several evenings of email back and forth in getting this done. I've not actually been down there yet, but hope to rectify that before too long, so I was entirely dependent on his drawings and feedback. Phil knows more about this place than any one, so the resulting diagram should be fine. If there are any problems with it, they will be from me!

The Titan topo has a couple of extra anchors added that have appeared since it was last updated. A second one to protect the traverse line out on to the balcony over the big pitch and another at the top of a short pitch on the Event Horizon route to Titan Streamway that gives a Y hang.

The page numbers have been removed from individual html and downloadable pdf topos. They don't make a lot of sense on these. The complete 55 page rigging guide pdf download still has its page numbers. The page number generation has been automated, making slipping in additional page easier as the guide expands. The latest guide is now at version 16.0.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
DCA have upgraded the anchors on Garland's Pot in Giant's Hole. Probably the most frequented pitch in the Peak District, by novice and experienced cavers alike. See https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?threads/garlands-pot-anchors.31216/.
The Garland's Pot part of our Giant's Hole - Main Route topo has been redrawn to reflect these changes and now include the option of adding an extra 5m of rope to make use of some drilled thread belays further back from the pitch head. Useful with larger and novice parties, especially in high water. There are dry and wetter weather options, though the Crabwalk and beyond become challenging when wet. The pitch head anchor positions were traced direct from one of the photographs DCA took of their new set up, so should be pretty accurate! The guide is now at revision 16.1.
 
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Tangent_tracker

Tangent_tracker

Active member
wellyjen said:
Crewe Climbing and Potholing Club have been producing the Peak District Rigging Guide as a booklet for some years. It has gone through eleven editions as new routes were added and existing ones changed. The most recent edition came out in 2012. Sales of the paper version have declined in recent years.

For edition twelve we have decided to move the guide to our web site and make it free to use by all cavers. You can still download and print your own paper copies if you wish, but the topos can also be viewed, zoomed and panned on a screen. The layout and information ties in with that supplied by the DCA, making use of the https://peakdistrictcaving.info/ web site for location and up to date access news and the Caves of the Peak District guide for more general cave info.

The guide can be found at http://www.ccpc.org.uk/rigging.html, or from a menu link on any page of the clubs web site https://www.ccpc.org.uk.

As the guide is updated with new, or altered topos you can keep your paper guide up to date by printing new pages and adding, or substituting them.

We hope you find the new guide useful. If/when you find any errors, or omissions there is a feedback form to let us know. The guide has been the product of much work by a lot of people over the years and the new version will hopefully make it useful for years to come.

Jen
Click to expand...
By far my favorite, looking forward to the new edition!
 
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wellyjen

wellyjen

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We've added the final pitch down in the NCC Shafts in Peak Cavern. The drawing of the down pitches has been stretched vertically to make it a bit easier to interpret. The whole topo really needs drawing afresh, but that will need a trip there with a sketch pad and some thought over the best way to interpret the 3D void on paper. Add it to the list...
Version is now 16.2.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

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Some minor changes to the rigging guide topo for Longcliffe Mine. Added the resin anchor for a backup at the entrance. In addition to the padlock key to open the lid, it is a good idea to have a Derbyshire key, AKA a large adjustable spanner, to help open and close the latch from the outside.

2024 is the 30th anniversary year of the very first CCPC Rigging Guide. A scan of the first edition is available to view, for those that are interested. Much has changed. Thefts from caver's cars while underground have thankfully declined. Many cavers still had to be convinced that resin bonded anchors were reliable and safe. There have been new discoveries and major extensions, along with new and improved routes in existing caves and mines. Vertical caving in Derbyshire has come a long way.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
In Odin Mine, there is a rope traverse over where the passage floor collapsed in 2011, closing access for a decade, till the DCA got permission to install deep anchors in to the crumbly shale. We reckon that the recommended rope length to take to rig this traverse is excessive and have changed this on the CCPC rigging guide topo from 25m to 16m, which should be more than adequate. This is based on measurements taken after a recent trip and adding a bit to take care of differences in rigging style.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
Son of Longcliffe has been added to a corner of the Longcliffe Mine topo page. A simple entrance shaft under the lid. The next shaft has been fitted with a few stainless steel, resin anchored foot hold staples to aid free climbing. There are some resin anchors at the top for a rope, if desired.
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
Following the recent rebolting work on the Ventilator pitches in Peak. we paid a visit and have updated the topo. We also checked out the Moosetrap series to the top of the third pitch and updated that part with what's actually there.
The ventilator pitch rigging now shows the fixed traverse lines and the rope lengths required to pull through, as this is the way the pitches are normally done. Other pull through and pull up pitches in the guide now all show the double rope length required, for consistency. This was a bit hit and miss before.
All told, the following topos have been updated:
  • Eldon Hole: Pull up to Miller's Chamber.
  • Giant's Hole: Basecamp Chamber and Crabwalk pull throughs.
  • Nettle Pot: The Flats route pull ups to Derbyshire Hall.
  • Odin Mine: Entry and Exit pull throughs in the Gorge.
  • Oxlow Cavern: Pilgrim's Way pull up.
  • Peak Cavern: Ventilator Pitches pull throughs.
 
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