1mm of rain in 18 days....

Rob

Well-known member
So, there's Big Dig in Carlswalk, Lathkill Head to Waiting Room, Cales Dale...

What trip ideas do people have that we should be making use of this dry weather with?
 
E

emgee

Guest
Rob said:
So, there's Big Dig in Carlswalk, Lathkill Head to Waiting Room, Cales Dale...

What trip ideas do people have that we should be making use of this dry weather with?

Probably not dry enough for long enough yet but P8.
 

zomjon

Member
P8! Are we talking about the sump opening up? Now that would be good. Myself, I've always fancied a chance to enter ladyside or Darfur Pot.
 

Marcus

New member
zomjon said:
P8! Are we talking about the sump opening up? Now that would be good.
Not a chance. Water is low generally, but the downstream sump pool is at the normal level. 1 & 2 are wide open, but 3 gets a little snug just before breaking surface (lacked b@lls today). The entrance of each sump has very soft silt (which feels more like quicksand) and the exit to each sump is coarse gravel. No water flow.

But if the dry weather keeps up, you never know. Not sure where the water drains to though. :-\

On the plus side, I did find my lead from 11 or 12 years ago! ;) :blink:

Marcus
 

Rob

Well-known member
Don't suppose anyone has been underground recently and noticed any low water conditions?
 

martinm

New member
Hi Rob.

I've been trying to register for a few days now. Anyway...

Ladyside has been accessible for about 2 weeks. (We went down there while the river was flowing through the sunday before last.) So you'd be able to explore the cave between the first upstream and downstream sumps.

The sump in Darfar Pot was at top of third (top entrance) pitch last wednesday. Should have gone down another 60ft or so by now. So will be below the top of Pedigree Pot.

I'll be down there on sunday, so can report in more detail after.

Cheers,
Martin.
 

SamT

Moderator
Rob - you texted me about Namraed.

Pool chamber was down - but there was no draught - so Namread must still be up.

Historically, it doesnt tend to drop till august september. But will ask john to check for a draught at the gate tomorrow.
 

Rob

Well-known member
Tis interesting as it shows how slow it must respond. As a way of escaping uni work (very succesfully i might add) i have come up wit these fugures, comparing when i went through Namreed with you in 2005, and now.

from 30/8/05
80 rain total = 186mm
101 rain total = 230mm

from 12/8/05
80 rain total = 139mm
101 rain total = 299mm

(Figures from HnH, 101 chosen as longest period before no data section between 6-22/05/05)

I know, i'm sad!  :-[
 

Rob

Well-known member
Or maybe this just proves the effect of seasonal evaporation rates on groundwater levels  :coffee:
 

SamT

Moderator
Namread responds to filling very very quickly - almost immediatly. If its down - and you go through - and its starts raining on the surface - it could well be back up by the time you return. Happened to moose and tony R once.

Cant remember the dates - but I went through once on a monday - and it was bone dry.
Returned it rained on thursday overnight. On Saturday - it was half full (i.e. a lot of water).

However - it is very very slow to drop. Some years it doesn't even drop.

Will keep an eye out for a draught over the next few months.
 

Moose

New member
Re. Namread - It's about time someone blew the bloody roof of the damn place, better still bypassed it, what a god forsaken spot. You can talk rainfall all you like Sam/Rob, get your finger out!
 

Johnny

New member
About 10m and it would be a grim dive.
Its low and the vis would be zero, there are low alcoves on both sides all the way through and plenty of protrusions from the roof to get snagged on.
Next time it empties I am going to bolt a line to the floor to mark the best route through.
 

Rob

Well-known member
Nipped down Lanthkill Upper Entrance today with BatGirl and Jeffers to check the Lathkiller Hall sump level and attempt to come out Lathkill Head. Although upstream was all a lot drier than the last time i was there it was still sumped by at least 60cm.  :chair:

However, that gave us plenty of time to run over to Lower Cales Dale Cave, tis good fun in there, nice thick mud!  :clap: Really hope that sump drops this summer!
 

martinm

New member
zomjon said:
P8! Are we talking about the sump opening up? Now that would be good. Myself, I've always fancied a chance to enter ladyside or Darfur Pot.

Hi Zomjon. The sump in Darfar Pot is well below the top of Pedigree Pot, (the final 55ft pitch), so most if not all of the cave is now accessible. I didn't go down any further as I was on a solo surveying trip. (Ugh, spits out mud!) You'll need two 25ft ladders for the 1st and 3rd pitch of the top entrance way in. The second pitch is just a scramble and has a knotted handline on it.

Cheers,
Martin.
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
That sump sounds grim Johnny.  Then again, if it's possible to get a solid line through it (during a drought), in exactly the right place, then it'll be slightly more reasonable. 

By the way, those two tanks from Steve in the Dales were delivered to the Chapel on Saturday morning; did you get them OK?
 

SamT

Moderator
Yes moose - need to get back to that dig at the end of sump one. I think a by pass is order of the day. Too much bloody arduous passage between namraed and the objectives at the end.
 

Rob

Well-known member
In case anyone's interested, Big Dig in Carlswalk was fully open last night, hardly got wet going through. Didn't look like we were the first there since it'd dropped either.
1mm in 28 days now. Come on summer!  :D
 

seamoose

New member
Rob said:
Nipped down Lanthkill Upper Entrance today with BatGirl and Jeffers to check the Lathkiller Hall sump level and attempt to come out Lathkill Head. Although upstream was all a lot drier than the last time i was there it was still sumped by at least 60cm.  :chair:

Went down top entrance last night.
Downstream was still sumped at the bottom of the Lathkiller choke.
Upstream was completely dry.

As a side issue where do people rig the deviation sling for the final section of the pitch?
I tied one round a bit of a flake but when we saw Bob in the pub after he says there's an 'iron peg' which he is adamant is still there - but me and Pete couldn't see it...
 
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