hillocks [ whalf pipe ] climbing shaft : saftey issues ?

Andyj23UK

New member
hi - simple question - is the hillocks [ whalf pipe ] climbing shaft [ the one in the small copse ] safe to use ?????????????

i dunno who put this idea in my head - but i has never done the entrance - cos the first time i visited - i had ropes bagged for all the shafts - and was told to put that kit back in the car because :

unsafe - due to loose ginging

that must hae been at leat 8 years ago

and i has nevver attempted it - and just repeated the mantra - we cannot use that ent. its unsafe

has it been reseolvved - or is the entrance still " off limits " ??????????
 

Benfool

Member
Its fine, I've been down it loads of times.

I seem to remember Alan, Ann and others from the TSG doing some work fairly recently to stabilize the ginging at the top of the shaft.
 

AR

Well-known member
Yes, there was some systematic gardening done a few years back so the shaft is fine to use now.
 

alastairgott

Well-known member
AndyJ, it's safe, we used it for SRT practice a month or two ago, and no more than usual SRT awareness is required. i.e. don't chuck rocks at your mates.

Edit: It's all written up on the club forum Andy (search for Whalf concrete), the last report was:

"Wed Aug 19, 2015 6:26 pm

Wednesday 19 August

Present: AS, JS, AB

After last week's trip, the three of us returned armed with more SDS bits, bigger washers and longer ropes - plus a bag of postcrete and some water!

While AS and JS shuttled the various bits and bobs into position, I dropped the full climbing shaft and retrieved the screwdriver I'd "lost" on our previous visit. Returning and de-rigging, I met up with Ann and we set about placing more screws and washers into the mesh around the pack-wall until it was firmly fixed in position. Once these jobs were complete, the drill was dispatched to the surface, and shuttering was placed above last year's underpinning slab and around the footings of the mesh. AS and JS then manhandled the heavy bag of postcrete down to me and I cut it open and poured it into the shuttered area. Water was then delivered from the surface in plastic bottles, using the butty line, and liberally sprinkled on the postcrete.

We'll leave this in position now, but will pencil in another trip, possibly as part of a through trip to either Hillocks or Knotlow, when we'll remove the shuttering and do any necessary tidying up to finish the project."
 

skippy

Active member
Andy,
Is that not the way we came out when we did the meccano through trip about 6 years ago?
 

al

Member
Today I met Roy at the Knotlow Triangle for what we expected might be the last session for this job. Armed with a bit more rope than last time, and much fewer tools, we didn't need to use Roy's van to get it all over to the coe in the copse; we simply had to walk and carry.

Of course, I forgot something (my Petzl rig descender) so the journey had to be made twice, but soon we had the lid open, and I could start rigging.

Down at the work face, the angles and the board were still performing their shuttering functions, and there were no clues this time hinting of people having been down the shaft. One of the screws was obscured by the shuttering board, so, as well as a screw driver, I brought along a small compact bolt cropper, and, as the other screw appeared to have had its cross-slot filled with postcrete, I had to use this on both sides. This wasn't easy in the confined space, and at an awkward angle, but they were soon cut through, one piece of angle dropping the length of the shaft before I could grab it.

Once the shuttering board was removed, we could see that the concrete underneath had set to a nice finish, and all we needed to do was get the bits and pieces back to the surface.

Having cleared the site, I carried on rigging down to the foot of the main climbing shaft. Roy followed me down, and we inspected the bolts on the way, and made sure that the foot of the shaft hadn't been blocked by any of the falling rocks. There certainly is more down there, but it isn't blocking the passage to the pitches further down.

Once the check was completed, we re-ascended, de-rigged the shaft and removed the "keep out" notice from the lid.

As always, it's impossible to say any mine is totally safe, especially ones which necessitate passing through stopes as this one does, but we can say that the packwall which collapsed a month ago is stable now. We will carry on monitoring the site, and will probably make a few minor improvements depending on how the repair stands up.

We would appreciate other cavers keeping an eye on things too. And if you do notice anything which looks dodgy, or requires attention, email Pete Knight projects@thedca.org.uk and he'll make sure that the problem gets addressed.

That's one of the many things DCA does!
 

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