Whenever we think about the weekend after fresher?s week, all that comes up is a huge party, silly games, drinking and an even bigger hangover. But when we talk about a caving society freshers? weekend you have all that, and then the day after (or I'd say couple hours after) you go caving. And under those circumstances, after a delicious cooked breakfast, we were ready to make our way to the cave "not suitable for first timers"- Eastwater Cave. But hey! It was supposed to be dry, and after doing Swildons the day before, of course we wanted to do something dry. That was still before I found out the cave was a site of a fatal accident, but let's leave it for another time. We were all excited, pumped for a new exploration, for "the next level" of caving. There was a short, pretty walk to the cave, which was very enjoyable in the sun. We went in, through the boulder field, going deeper and deeper down into the ground. We were having a great time! The cave was getting a little smaller, a little tighter, in one chamber where the five of us together barely fit, we were told that's the biggest chamber we're gonna see in the cave. Yay adventure! And then we got to the rift. Correction- I got halfway through the rift when our leader said: "try to not slide down because it's gonna be a pain in the ass to take you out of there" (or something like that). So I was there, my back on a 60% grade wall, crunching my knees and palms into the wall in front of me, and quietly talking to myself "just don't let go, just don't let go". I got to the end, with adrenaline pumping in my veins. Person behind me gave up, she wanted to leave. The penultimate member of our group joined us on the other side of the rift, and we were just sitting there, waiting for the second to get back for 15-20 minutes, drawing muddy drawings on rocks. The adrenaline went away, it was getting chilly, the tunnel after the rift wasn't very big, so there wasn't much space to move and warm up. But here he was, we could continue! We went through some fun squeezy corridors and little climbs, all the way to Dolphin Pot. There was unfortunately not enough time to go down it since we had one person waiting for us in the car, but we found some time to take a couple of silly pictures. And then it was time to make our way back. But hey, guess what was standing now between us and the fresh air? You're absolutely right! The rift 
I wanted to get it done, I waited for the second to go first (that sounds silly) and set up the camera gear (of course, you gotta get pictures of those terrified faces), and then was my turn. But there was no one to follow... I tried one hole, I didn't fit, it wasn't it. "It's another one", they said. "Go head first, just like the first time". I tried. Ended up with my face looking straight down a very narrow passage. No way, I didn't want to slide down there my face first. So I went legs first, my helmet kept getting stacked, I didn't see where I'm going. But after couple squeezes and much more swearing I eventually got to the pretty upward position. I thought "just a short squeeze through the rift and we're free". They said it's gonna be easier on the way back, since it's "downhill". Was it? One look at my face on the picture was enough of an answer. But Eastwater Cavern was a fun, eye-opening trip, and we finished it with some new skills and a handful of interesting photographs!
By Klaudia Pyc (Hardcore fresher #1)
I wanted to get it done, I waited for the second to go first (that sounds silly) and set up the camera gear (of course, you gotta get pictures of those terrified faces), and then was my turn. But there was no one to follow... I tried one hole, I didn't fit, it wasn't it. "It's another one", they said. "Go head first, just like the first time". I tried. Ended up with my face looking straight down a very narrow passage. No way, I didn't want to slide down there my face first. So I went legs first, my helmet kept getting stacked, I didn't see where I'm going. But after couple squeezes and much more swearing I eventually got to the pretty upward position. I thought "just a short squeeze through the rift and we're free". They said it's gonna be easier on the way back, since it's "downhill". Was it? One look at my face on the picture was enough of an answer. But Eastwater Cavern was a fun, eye-opening trip, and we finished it with some new skills and a handful of interesting photographs!By Klaudia Pyc (Hardcore fresher #1)
