LarryFatcat
Active member
After yesterday's trip down a certain magnificent Derbyshire pitch, I have my candidate. What's yours?
Scariest Pitch Head in the UK?
- Thread starter LarryFatcat
- Start date
M
MSD
Guest
Dodds Pitch in Spectacle Pot.
Mark
Mark
D
darkplaces
Guest
For one guy at the bottom of a 328ft shaft it was a scary moment as he found himself suddenly heading upwards suspended by the phone wire around his ankle. Only made it up about 12-15ft apparently before one of our guys managed to shout STOP though the luckily still working phone.
For us on the bosons chair, it wasn't a scary pitch, it was a damm dizzy one as the chair spun round faster and faster.
(We had cows tails attached to the loop.)
For us on the bosons chair, it wasn't a scary pitch, it was a damm dizzy one as the chair spun round faster and faster.
(We had cows tails attached to the loop.)
LarryFatcat
Active member
BT are such ............c**tplaces said:
Cumbrian Neil
Member
Gaping Ghyll Main Shaft... rather a long way down. It is scary because you are on the moor when you set off. There's normally an audience to watch you (hoping that something will fail) in a "rubber-necky" sort of way : ). I think some re-belays are way worse than true pitch heads.
CN.
CN.
SeeJay said:I think I have the same candidate Larry, though it was on the way up for me, rather than down... Even more scary for Pipster as he "volunteered" to derig it!LarryFatcat said:
Yup, think I'd have to agree.... and derigging the pitch head certainly had a great sense of exposure.
Slightly off-topic: The scary bit for me was when I was just about to attach my hand jammer to the bottom rope, hearing a boom on the Event Horizon, making a dash for cover, and a bl**dy gret rock landed about 1/2m away which exploded and sprayed me in shards.
LarryFatcat
Active member
Pipster said:SeeJay said:I think I have the same candidate Larry, though it was on the way up for me, rather than down... Even more scary for Pipster as he "volunteered" to derig it!LarryFatcat said:
Yup, think I'd have to agree.... and derigging the pitch head certainly had a great sense of exposure.
Slightly off-topic: The scary bit for me was when I was just about to attach my hand jammer to the bottom rope, hearing a boom on the Event Horizon, making a dash for cover, and a bl**dy gret rock landed about 1/2m away which exploded and sprayed me in shards.
Jammy sod! I missed some of the fun then?
gus horsley
New member
My nomination is Nick Pot big pitch which I did on ladders. Looking down, seeing all the spray and not seeing the bottom had me really clenched, so much so that I threw up at the prospect. And there's bugger all at the bottom except a sump. One of those moments when I asked myself why I was doing this caving lark at all.
Speleodroid
Member
The alternative final pitch in Trapdoor, "They Think Its All Over." Probably would be if that slurry slope of mud and rocks got going while you were below it. One of the very few places I've been where each member of the group needed to rig and de-rig the pitch one at a time to avoid trashing the rope. Craftsmans has a nice loose pitch head as well (Dickory), but didn't think it was too bad compared to the above.....still needs plenty of care though!!
GemmaJones
New member
Titan - it's just such a long way and the hanging re-belay is really scary, especially when you are shaking like a leaf. (Yes I am a wuss.) It shouldn't be scary as you can't see the bottom on a 20m pitch either, but it's the thought of 140 metres that's scary!
footleg
New member
Malham Cove. (No-one said it had to be underground!)
I've seen more hardened cavers quiver at the lip and resort to sliding over the edge on their belly scrabbling at the rock refusing to look down than anywhere else. Similarly with tower block charity abseils. The darkness in the caves really is our friend when it comes to exposed situations.
I've seen more hardened cavers quiver at the lip and resort to sliding over the edge on their belly scrabbling at the rock refusing to look down than anywhere else. Similarly with tower block charity abseils. The darkness in the caves really is our friend when it comes to exposed situations.
