caving_fox
Active member
Attending: CCCC - Me, Jane, Mike, Gordon, Gareth and Mark.
Location: SWCC
Once upon a time about a decade ago, on a late Friday night, beer in hand a bunch of people stared at the vast survey for OFD on the wall of the SWCC common room, and talked about where they should go caving the next day. Options were discussed, and dismissed, "been there already", "that bit's really horrible", "takes way too long to get there" a lone voice (I think it was me) piped up "what about over there"? "Northern Lights? Don't know much about it really". Well we tried, but didn't find it. 6 Months later after talking to the locals about what to look for we tried again. We got to the right part of the cave but still couldn't find it. Over the intervening years, this became a sort of personal challenge. We didn't always try and go to NL, but at least once a year we'd push our knowledge a little bit further. We'd get to the end of Lavender Way, and then some of the party be too tired to continue, or a late start would not allow sufficient time to explore, or even make a basic navigational error right at the start for the trip further reducing the opportunities.
This time the ever
Jane, woke us up Early with tea and breakfast, and in the pleasant warmth of a sunny May, waving to Mark who was walking, we started off up the hill. In the Top Entrance, through to Gnome, left and down to Salubrious and along the pleasantly damp streamway to the end, and we hadn't even had to get the survey out yet! The traverse to the ever beautiful and not to be rushed trough Selenite Tunnel, Cross Rift and Shatter Pillar were all equally uneventful, and detailed survey studying begun. A long but un-named fairly easy passage, with a few slithery downclimbs brought us to the head of Midnight round the corner and up through a slot and there we were! The low muddy crawl that marks the beginning of Lavender Way. 1 hours caving so far! we couldn't believe how smoothly this had gone. Whole trips had been spend not to get this far before. Although it's very short the 6" of liquid mud is always unpleasant, then climb up, round, and slither feetfirst down the tube. We're into Lavender Way. Now this is proper caving, no formations, no walking passage, just bowels of the earth fighting through the rock, thrutching, squeezing, slithering, crawling, climbing and swearing.
The entrance to the third chamber along the Way is a particularly entertaining pair of steps in a flat out crawl. In order to pull yourself over them you naturally lift you body gaining some footholds, which wedges you into the narrowest part of the tunnel. Keeping your body low, you find yourself without a foothold and much wild flailing of feet as you try and move forwards and upwards. On the third attempt Gordon made it through, though the look on his face as the way on was another low crawl made me wonder we'd be soon turning around on another fruitless trip. From Chamber 4 along the Way, the entrance to NL proper is gained. This is an interesting climb up to a slot which you launch yourself through. A handline is in situ which sort of helps a bit, though the most help is to be found by not having any bags jamming you half in and half out of the slot. Gareth shot through, no problems at all. I reached the slot, fought with my bag, wedged myself, wiggled and made it through. I was IN Northern Lights! Mike made it to the slot but couldn't free his bag and himself without letting go (not to be recommended) and eventually gave up. Jane and Gordon declined to even try, but passed the survey up. They weren't cold or wet and generously gave Gareth and me 45min to explore NL. Ready, Set, GO!
The first main chamber is large and a welcome relief from the constraints of Lavender Way, it leads quickly on to Moontide chamber, where there evidently was in times past was a lake at about eyeheight that has left a level deposit of moonmilk? all around in as a very notable tidemark. A few crawls and we realised we'd missed the way on, doubling back it appeared it had to be a very wet looking small hole in the floor. Lying on my side in a few inches of cold water Gareth obligingly confirms the way on seems to be through this and up, a fairly obvious climb back down again and suddenly we're in large walking sized well decorated passage! This is worth all the previous struggles. Always conscious of the ticking clock and the rest of the group getting cold, we leave Pete's playground for the return, ignore keyhole passage entirely for being much too small, and proceed to the far end - Tiptoe Traverse. Which is also well decorated. A few minutes left, we rush up to Ferret's end, back down past Pen and Ink that seems as small as Keyhole, dash down the pretty Pete's Playground, and start heading back. The cold water in the crawl is a welcome relief! The handline on the climb back into Chamber 4 is useful, and not as difficult as I thought it might be! We'd made it, after 10 years I'd finally seen Northern Lights!
The return was fairly uneventful, we took some photos in Selenite, we looked at Edward's Shortcut, but decided Cross Rift is longer but easier, Jane made a graceful slow pirouette onto some boulders in Salubrious
un-damaged. And of course we nearly got lost 3 minutes from the entrance taking a wrong turn from Gnome, again. :-[ Fortunately this was only a few minutes and we emerged after 6 and half hours caving into the sunshine very pleased, and looking forward to a celebratory 
and cake!
Sunday:
Pant Mawr.
A gentle couple of hours caving seemed to be in order after yesterday, and a walk in the sunshine an added bonus. A group from Hades were also heading that way, and we discussed ladder etiquette, and would have made an early start bar some faffing. Most of the party walking up in shorts carrying their caving gear, and I walking up in an unzipped furry, but with the ropebag A pleasant hour later we saw Hades in the distance looking in the wrong area for the shakehole. Mike's GPS was very helpful and eventually proved the grid reference to be only a few meters out. The description in the guides is very unclear! Hades disappeared into the gloom while we got changed and sorted ladders and lifelines. Mike opting to lie in the sun. A long ladder climb into the impressive pot. A well decorated series of chambers with annoying boulder floors, a bit of a scrabble here and there, a quick stomp down a fine streamway to the sump (has this been dived? Does it go anywhere? It looked (to a non-diver) like it should be fairly passable?) and back to the ladder - left insitu by Hades, thanks! And out into the bright warm sun. Stomp back down the hill enjoying the fine weather. Tea and cake! And rush off to catch the train.
Thanks to Jane and Gareth for routefinding, Gordon Mike and Mark, for driving and company, and all the CCCC who've been on so many trips to the same area, we don't need to go anymore! Thanks also to SWCC (and Hades) for another weekend's pleasant stay in one of the best caving huts in Wales.
Location: SWCC
Once upon a time about a decade ago, on a late Friday night, beer in hand a bunch of people stared at the vast survey for OFD on the wall of the SWCC common room, and talked about where they should go caving the next day. Options were discussed, and dismissed, "been there already", "that bit's really horrible", "takes way too long to get there" a lone voice (I think it was me) piped up "what about over there"? "Northern Lights? Don't know much about it really". Well we tried, but didn't find it. 6 Months later after talking to the locals about what to look for we tried again. We got to the right part of the cave but still couldn't find it. Over the intervening years, this became a sort of personal challenge. We didn't always try and go to NL, but at least once a year we'd push our knowledge a little bit further. We'd get to the end of Lavender Way, and then some of the party be too tired to continue, or a late start would not allow sufficient time to explore, or even make a basic navigational error right at the start for the trip further reducing the opportunities.
This time the ever
Jane, woke us up Early with tea and breakfast, and in the pleasant warmth of a sunny May, waving to Mark who was walking, we started off up the hill. In the Top Entrance, through to Gnome, left and down to Salubrious and along the pleasantly damp streamway to the end, and we hadn't even had to get the survey out yet! The traverse to the ever beautiful and not to be rushed trough Selenite Tunnel, Cross Rift and Shatter Pillar were all equally uneventful, and detailed survey studying begun. A long but un-named fairly easy passage, with a few slithery downclimbs brought us to the head of Midnight round the corner and up through a slot and there we were! The low muddy crawl that marks the beginning of Lavender Way. 1 hours caving so far! we couldn't believe how smoothly this had gone. Whole trips had been spend not to get this far before. Although it's very short the 6" of liquid mud is always unpleasant, then climb up, round, and slither feetfirst down the tube. We're into Lavender Way. Now this is proper caving, no formations, no walking passage, just bowels of the earth fighting through the rock, thrutching, squeezing, slithering, crawling, climbing and swearing. The entrance to the third chamber along the Way is a particularly entertaining pair of steps in a flat out crawl. In order to pull yourself over them you naturally lift you body gaining some footholds, which wedges you into the narrowest part of the tunnel. Keeping your body low, you find yourself without a foothold and much wild flailing of feet as you try and move forwards and upwards. On the third attempt Gordon made it through, though the look on his face as the way on was another low crawl made me wonder we'd be soon turning around on another fruitless trip. From Chamber 4 along the Way, the entrance to NL proper is gained. This is an interesting climb up to a slot which you launch yourself through. A handline is in situ which sort of helps a bit, though the most help is to be found by not having any bags jamming you half in and half out of the slot. Gareth shot through, no problems at all. I reached the slot, fought with my bag, wedged myself, wiggled and made it through. I was IN Northern Lights! Mike made it to the slot but couldn't free his bag and himself without letting go (not to be recommended) and eventually gave up. Jane and Gordon declined to even try, but passed the survey up. They weren't cold or wet and generously gave Gareth and me 45min to explore NL. Ready, Set, GO!
The first main chamber is large and a welcome relief from the constraints of Lavender Way, it leads quickly on to Moontide chamber, where there evidently was in times past was a lake at about eyeheight that has left a level deposit of moonmilk? all around in as a very notable tidemark. A few crawls and we realised we'd missed the way on, doubling back it appeared it had to be a very wet looking small hole in the floor. Lying on my side in a few inches of cold water Gareth obligingly confirms the way on seems to be through this and up, a fairly obvious climb back down again and suddenly we're in large walking sized well decorated passage! This is worth all the previous struggles. Always conscious of the ticking clock and the rest of the group getting cold, we leave Pete's playground for the return, ignore keyhole passage entirely for being much too small, and proceed to the far end - Tiptoe Traverse. Which is also well decorated. A few minutes left, we rush up to Ferret's end, back down past Pen and Ink that seems as small as Keyhole, dash down the pretty Pete's Playground, and start heading back. The cold water in the crawl is a welcome relief! The handline on the climb back into Chamber 4 is useful, and not as difficult as I thought it might be! We'd made it, after 10 years I'd finally seen Northern Lights!
The return was fairly uneventful, we took some photos in Selenite, we looked at Edward's Shortcut, but decided Cross Rift is longer but easier, Jane made a graceful slow pirouette onto some boulders in Salubrious
un-damaged. And of course we nearly got lost 3 minutes from the entrance taking a wrong turn from Gnome, again. :-[ Fortunately this was only a few minutes and we emerged after 6 and half hours caving into the sunshine very pleased, and looking forward to a celebratory and cake!Sunday:
Pant Mawr.
A gentle couple of hours caving seemed to be in order after yesterday, and a walk in the sunshine an added bonus. A group from Hades were also heading that way, and we discussed ladder etiquette, and would have made an early start bar some faffing. Most of the party walking up in shorts carrying their caving gear, and I walking up in an unzipped furry, but with the ropebag
A pleasant hour later we saw Hades in the distance looking in the wrong area for the shakehole. Mike's GPS was very helpful and eventually proved the grid reference to be only a few meters out. The description in the guides is very unclear! Hades disappeared into the gloom while we got changed and sorted ladders and lifelines. Mike opting to lie in the sun. A long ladder climb into the impressive pot. A well decorated series of chambers with annoying boulder floors, a bit of a scrabble here and there, a quick stomp down a fine streamway to the sump (has this been dived? Does it go anywhere? It looked (to a non-diver) like it should be fairly passable?) and back to the ladder - left insitu by Hades, thanks! And out into the bright warm sun. Stomp back down the hill enjoying the fine weather. Tea and cake! And rush off to catch the train.Thanks to Jane and Gareth for routefinding, Gordon Mike and Mark, for driving and company, and all the CCCC who've been on so many trips to the same area, we don't need to go anymore! Thanks also to SWCC (and Hades) for another weekend's pleasant stay in one of the best caving huts in Wales.
