I am planning to go to the Gaping Ghyll winch meet this weeked for the first time

Am looking for some recomendations as to the best way to spend the day.

We are OK on SRT but only straight forward pitches at the present time, no re-belays/deviations etc.

It has been recomended that Bar pot down to the main chamber would be a good trip, coming back up in the chair. Is the route finding for this straight forward, or if not will there be enough of a crowd to follow?

Any information or suggestions would be good

Bar Pot would be fine, but a couple of pointers.

The top of the first pitch is a little constricted, easier on the way down though. Once down the pitch, the greasy slab, with the knotted rope is the obvious way down from the chamber.

Keep dropping down thru boulder chambers until a rope is seen passing above a pitch. Clip into this with cowstails and follow thru into the aven with the Bar Pot Big Pitch ( 35m 'ish ). Follow the traverse line around to the Y hang and from there it's a straight drop to the floor of the chamber.

Once on the in the chamber, the way towards the main chamber is left as you look at the wall where the rope hangs nearest. Leaving the aven to the left, beware of the hole, pass over into the South East Aven, with the last pitch of Flood Entrance. Again clip into the traverse lines and follow round the pitch until a passage leads off to the right. Take this passage, hands and knees crawling most of the time, there are a couple of junctions, which I think you keep right ( if you go wrong, you'll end up back at Bar Pot ). Then the passage will open up, keep going until an obvious T-junction with a sand bank, turn right to the main chamber ( or straight on leads to Sand Cavern, worth a visit ). Follow this passage until an aven which has a exit under the bottom right hand wall, the Portcullis. Crawl under and continue onto the main chamber.

There is plenty of evidence of this being the 'trade route' so you shouldn't go far wrong.

Hope this helps.

Robin.

The y-hang at the head of bar pot is a bit rebelay-like IIRC. Who's derigging, or is the whole system rigged for winch meets?

In terms of route-finding to Main Chamber, once you're past SE Pot (big hole in floor), just follow the wind.....

just follow the wind.....

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or, if the wet weather keeps on, follow the roar of falling water.

The last time I was in the Main Chamber there was so much water coming down the shaft that you could hardly see any light coming down, the floor was about a foot deep in water and the roar was deafening. It was awesome!

All the regular entrances ( Bar, Flood and Stream Passage ) are normally rigged during Bradford's winch meet. We were there over last weekend and Flood looked to be rigged, and Bar Pot was rigged with ladders and SRT.

Don't forget to register at the winch before going in and checking that the proposed routes are rigged !

Over the weekend we went in via Corky's, thru the Main Chamber and exited up Bar Pot, but that's not a suitable trip for novices.

Robin.

The y-hang at the head of bar pot is a bit rebelay-like IIRC. Who's derigging, or is the whole system rigged for winch meets?

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Whole system is rigged, from what I recall you can't use GG/Dihedral but other four main entrances are all rigged (not sure on the two new ones)

Bar Pot is the simplest but least interesting way in. Stream Passage is good - I don't recall any rebelays, perhaps just one or two deviations...?

The traverse between the 2nd and 3rd pitch in Stream is probably not the best idea if you are still relatively new to SRT. Depending on who rigs, there are also several deviations.

Dunc said:

Whole system is rigged, from what I recall you can't use GG/Dihedral but other four main entrances are all rigged (not sure on the two new ones

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I've heard that Small Mammal Pot will be rigged, but I haven't heard about Corky's or Hensler's.

At the weekend, Corky's was rigged with a mixture of ladders and SRT, but Hensler's hadn't been rigged, nobody had volunteered to rig it !

It must be fun ..... or not !

Robin.

Over the weekend we went in via Corky's, thru the Main Chamber and exited up Bar Pot, but that's not a suitable trip for novices.

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What did you reckon to Corky's? Good trip?

kay said:

What did you reckon to Corky's? Good trip?

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Straight forward, but well worth doing - especially for the bottom pitch. I suspect that it would be uncomfortable when wet, as one or two of the drops are quite restricted and one is forced into close contact with where the stream would be.

GetWet

There's a simple survey and description of an alternative route to get from Bar pot to Main Chamber on www.braemoor.co.uk.

Link to description/survey is

Braemoor Dales Caving Routes - GG - Bar Pot to Main chamber

The traverse between the 2nd and 3rd pitch in Stream is probably not the best idea if you are still relatively new to SRT. Depending on who rigs, there are also several deviations.

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The traverse won't be as bad as it will be rigged thus requiring use of just coswtails and not any fancy rigging techniques..
Deviations should be fine to pass even for people relatively new to SRT.

I suspect that it would be uncomfortable when wet, as one or two of the drops are quite restricted and one is forced into close contact with where the stream would be.

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I was speaking to someone the other night that had done it in wet weather, it sounded cold, damp and not particularly pleasant.. But that was a slow moving trip so maybe if you move quickly it woudn't be as bad!! :?

There's a simple survey and description of an alternative route to get from Bar pot to Main Chamber on www.braemoor.co.uk.

Link to description/survey is

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I wouldt have said mud henslers was more simple, but it is definatley a much better way. Take a good description and survey if you go for it.

Also, a simpler way than going right in SE pot (bottom of flood) is to go straight across (with a bit of care), up the other side and down again to join the main route, straight on here gets you to the right turn (with the sandy bank) into SE passage, then the portcullis...chamber etc....

tt.

Pedantic types might like to know that it's Gaping "GILL", not "Ghyll". The latter is apparently an embellishment invented by William Wordsworth to make his poetry more fanciful - and it's stuck. "Gill" is the correct version and originates from a Norse word meaning "steep ravine".

Never used the word Ghyll, always Gill in my book!!

I often wondered why there were two different spellings of that word! Theres a few "Ghylls" in the lakes too..... Stockghyll, Dungeon Ghyll - does the same apply to them? The OS shows Stock and Dungeon as Ghylls but Gaping as Gill.. :?

Brendan said:

The traverse between the 2nd and 3rd pitch in Stream is probably not the best idea if you are still relatively new to SRT. Depending on who rigs, there are also several deviations.

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Stream Passage was my first time on SRT back in 1990... that deviation on the last pitch was very interesting to say the least.

CN.