Swildon?s this weekend

adamgeens

Member
Hello all, bringing some Mendips newbies to the Wessex this weekend and planning the short round trip. Would be grateful for any news/tips, ie is mud sump passable (wasn?t last time) etc. Thanks very much, hope to bump into a few club members, it?s always a pleasure  :)
 

PaulW

Member
Hi Adam
John Cooper will likely reply to this here, I will also post a link on the Wessex FBpage aswell for John and other to see
 

badger

Active member
conversation I had with John Cooper last weekend just gone, was that the Mud Sump at the moment is not passable. But best get the info confirmed by John
 

adamgeens

Member
Cheers John, Badger, Paul - appreciated.

3 of us were bailing mud sump for nearly an hour on our first trip in there a few years ago. Gave up with no significant water level change! The newbies are not new to caving, just to Mendips so brought them along to help with the bailing....

We'll have a look and see how it goes. Will also have a look out for the fungal growth. Is there any suggestion that it could be dangerous, or creating bad air? I have no intention of eating it, before that's mentioned  :LOL:
 

darren

Member
Last time it was boailed it was a team of 4 to 6 people for 2 hours.

8 people were involved at various stages.
 

andrewmcleod

Well-known member
Assuming the Mud Sump is still closed, is a Priddy Green Sink through trip (obviously going through the Troubles and Sump 1) a bad idea?

Also anyone know what the current state of the mystery hydrocarbon smell in Swildons (near Sump 1??) is?
 

adamgeens

Member
Cheers Paul, we?ll assume it?s closed and see what happens.

Andrew, the Priddy Green entrance is definitely on my to do list, but not the right group this weekend I?m afraid. Good tip though cheers, I?ll be back down again soon.

Then again, might not make it out of the Peak if It keeps snowing like this!
 

PeteHall

Moderator
andrewmc said:
Assuming the Mud Sump is still closed, is a Priddy Green Sink through trip (obviously going through the Troubles and Sump 1) a bad idea?

Also anyone know what the current state of the mystery hydrocarbon smell in Swildons (near Sump 1??) is?
Or you could free-dive out the streamway. It's been so dry lately, I imagine the water will be very clear and pleasant  :)

As for the smell, last time I was down there (new year's day) it was pretty smelly in Swildon's 4, but had improved on the previous week, so potentially improving... I can't speak for the area around the troubles as I have not been up there for a while.
 

mikem

Well-known member
Mud sump could still do with bailing (we were the wrong side), first trouble had a small airspace, second was fine, third duck had no airspace at all & took quite a while to bail.
 

Duncan Price

Active member
PeteHall said:
As for the smell, last time I was down there (new year's day) it was pretty smelly in Swildon's 4, but had improved on the previous week, so potentially improving... I can't speak for the area around the troubles as I have not been up there for a while.

Swildon's 2 was clear on Sunday and the water in Sump 2 looked inviting.  Wookey was crystal clear on Friday night.
 
Last weekend the Mud Sump was dry.

This weekend, following the heavy rain of the past week, water was flowing up out of the Moles' Dig and the Mud Sump was full.

At the the inlet just below Barnes' Loop the names "Niall" and "Erin" had been carved into the surface stal . If you have had novices with those names down there recently please educate them about conservation.
 

PaulW

Member
JohnMCooper said:
Last weekend the Mud Sump was dry.

This weekend, following the heavy rain of the past week, water was flowing up out of the Moles' Dig and the Mud Sump was full.

At the the inlet just below Barnes' Loop the names "Niall" and "Erin" had been carved into the surface stal . If you have had novices with those names down there recently please educate them about conservation.

thanks for that info John. was going to contact you this week for the current conditions. shame to hear about the last paragraph
 

Mr Cosmic

Member
The graffiti has now been removed. It took a few hours but a little bit of 'Wet and dry' plus some elbow grease has restored the stal to its previous condition.
 
Hello - Wondering if the hive mind can help me.  Haven't caved in ages and am planning a trip tomorrow morning.  Does anyone here know if the mud sump is still closed? Wondering if the short round trip is still a practical option for a weekends morning.

Thanks for your help.  (y)

Tom
 
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