Swildons hole in "sporting" conditions

CandnPearce

New member
Swildons hole, Sunday 4th October 2020, Christopher Pearce, Kay Matthews
An infamous day of exceptionally high water levels at Swildon?s hole, with many cavers declaring pure recklessness for going caving in Swildon?s in those conditions. There was a amber warning in place, however there had also been one in place on Saturday which had a similar rainfall as Sundays was predicted. Saturday?s water levels had been high but not particularly unusual, so with the rain forecast to lighten after 1pm we changed and headed to the cave at about 11 to 11:30am. The river level was 3-4 inches below the second pipe, so while definitely the highest I?d ever seen Swildon?s I didn?t think it would be an issue. After a blasting from the entrance stream we headed down the wet way, which was an exhilarating experience, while fairly easy the current in the well and the Ubend was strong enough to convince us we wouldn?t be returning this way. At water chamber we meet a group from the Wessex returning from the double pots where they had turned around, they described it as passable albeit very ?sporting?. The water rift was a chasm of spray, but both me and Kay were happy with water so it was passed without issue, an aquatic but passable stroll brought us to the head off the 8 foot. We hadn?t planned on putting a handline, so we rigged a pull down handline to see if it was essential, after both of us had tested getting back up we decided to leave the handline as the climb was doable but the handline was essential. Here Dan and Mum caught up with us with Dan adamantly declaring he wasn?t going further, however as both me and Kay had succeeded on getting back up we decided to head to the 20 foot. With hindsight this was a mistake, the main problem being I had misidentified the crux hazards of the trip, believing the 20 foot would be critical when the 8 foot and the water rift would actually cause the most problems on the way back. However at the time I didn?t know that the rain was increasing nor the magnitude of the water rise.  Soon we were at the 20 foot, as we now lacked a lifeline Kay refused to go down,  a sentiment I planned to agree with if the ladder went in the water as the current and the rocks washed down the waterfall would be very dangerous. However by flicking the ladder into a groove I made the descent virtually dry and free climbed back up to Kay. After a chat we decided I would make a quick solo down to the double pots before heading back and then we would head out. I?m sure many would think that decision  far too risky, and again with hindsight I would not have done it as the extra time allowed the water levels to rise more. But at the time I couldn?t see the levels rising and I knew a group had just been so it must be passable, so I quickly descended and reached the double pots, the second was a whirlpool and with no easy way back up so I turned round to head back to Kay. The current against me was considerable but it was uneventful progress to the crawls below the 20, on the way in I had been blasted through here so I suspected they were going to be problematic. The first few required an bit of a struggle but one of them was particularly ?entertaining? requiring a several attempts to position myself out of the water to prevent water backing over my head and then washing me downstream . These constrictions would definitely be one of the first places to become impassable and a hazard I hadn?t accounted for when I had descended the 20. Back at the 20 a quick breath to clear some of the adrenaline caused by the constrictions followed by a free climb back up to Kay. Heading out from there was strenuous but not problematic, upon nearing the 8 foot I joked to Kay that the 40 foot was our backup to the 8 foot if it was impassable. Kay got up with a fair struggle so I passed the bags through to here then went for it, however I blocked the water more then Kay did so it backed up, the force just increased and increased until the strength drained from my arms and I was hurtled back down to the bottom. Again and again the same thing happened,  a struggle to the top and a dive through before the inevitable tumultuous fall back to the bottom, except I was now certain water levels were rising, I attempted to shout to Kay to rig the 40foot with the rope she had but communication was impossible. So before I lost the strength to do so I began to climb the 40, the climbing was fairly easy with good handholds but still far from ideal when cold and tired. Thankfully I spotted a hole 6m up which led via a squeeze down to Kay, relieved to be up we packed up the bags and began to head out during which time the remaining airspace at the 8foot had halved. Upstream the going was slow, the current kept washing Kay off her feet so I stood behind here to help push her up. At the final section of the water rift the maelstrom had tripled in ferocity with a slow careful creep required to make progress. The flow was mind numbing, every shred of concentration solely focused on inching forwards while not getting swept away. Upon reaching a chockstone we climbed out. At this point the kit bag was washed away into the torrent, back at the water chamber we meet Peter Glanvill and his team who had been videoing us as we fought the torrent. They then left to check out the wet way while we took the ?dry? way out, amount of water entering old grotto was exceptional with lakes of brown foamy water over normally dry stal combined with thundering water falls. Obviously there was no peace for the wicked as the reminder of the dry way was a strenuous fight against the current which climaxed at Jacobs ladder which had a sizeable waterfall chucking down on us, because we?d clearly not had enough excitement on this trip so far. At the top the water in showerbath chamber was tremendous; easily triple or quadruple the flow of when we entered, once we?d climbed up into the entrance chamber we attempted the blockhouse though aware that the tree exit might be our only option. However I saw Kay vanish so I followed, emerging to be told abruptly to get out, slightly bewildered I did and it was only when mum stood up and released the flood of water she had been blocking that I realised why.

So overall it was hugely fun in places and mildly terrifying in others, although we got out safe I will admit the margins of safety if one of us got injured was too tight. So the lessons I would take away from that is that the crux points in high water can be very different to those you expect, pick reference points so you can easily tell if water levels are rising or falling and act accordingly. Personally in those conditions I would still say it was safe to go into Swildon?s as the tree entrance was always passable , but with a great deal of caution and not going below the water chamber. Additionally the forecast was not particularly accurate, with huge local variations in rainfall making it harder to predict water levels.
 

mikem

Well-known member
At the 40 you can also carry on up through a series of holes (as long as you're not too big) & then traverse well above the stream for most of the way to the water chamber.
 

PeteHall

Moderator
Nice write-up, thanks for sharing.  (y)

I was really tempted to make an evening dash down to Mendip when I saw Paul's pictures from earlier in the day, but alas it was a little late by then.

The tree is a good route when it's wet and you can then avoid a good bit more water by taking the Zigzags to the top of Jacob's Ladder.

The approach to the old 40 is dry, then as Mike says, there are a few holes to get you easily back down to the eight foot drop. I've never had to bypass the eye hole as I've never seen it wet enough, but I can picture your problem and it sounds like you took the right route.

If you are bold, the free-climb route up the 20 actually keeps you well out of the water (and isn't particularly difficult), but it is pretty exposed and I reckon that the final move with your foot in the full flow of the stream might have been a bit ballsy!

As you say, it's the narrow bits after that, that are probably the first critical obstacle. I've always thought that they would be the first place to become completely impassable and it sounds like this is probably the case...

Worth thinking about all these and getting familiar with the various options when it's not so wet, so when it is, you're well prepared  ;)
 

Alex

Well-known member
Wow an exciting read. I have been in a few caves in the wet, like County when you could easily get washed away if you are not careful, but can't say that was as bad as this trip sounds!
 
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