alastairgott
Well-known member
A well earned break from Derbyshire!
A trip to Nenthead had been in the offering for a number of months. Various combinations of people were invited and in the end it was down to a 7 strong team. Each day saw a guest appearance in the 7th slot for our two substitutes Edvin and Jess S.
Description followed: Mike Hrybyk with some amendments and clarifications by Benfool.
The route:
1st day= Caplecleugh- Middlecleugh Second sun vein- Barons Sump- The Ballroom- Wheel flats- prouds sump- Rampgill Entrance.
2nd day= Rampgill Entrance- Scaleburn Level- Topsill level- Brownley Hill Horizon- "The Deepest and Coldest Water in the Nent" (900m)- Brownley Hill engine shaft- "whole level in the shale...very fragile...lots of fresh slabs"- Nentsbury Hags Portal!
The Team:
Alex C. (Organiser, TSG, CUCC?), Andy F. (The Man with the good surveys, TSG, Northern Boggarts, UCET), Richard T. (UCET), Wookey (the man who knows the right time to take bearings, CUCC), Rowan (The Eldon), Alastair G. (which ladder goes to Middlecleugh?, TSG)
Substitutes: Edvin H. (Saturday, TSG, CUCC?), Jess S. (Sunday, TSG, CUCC?)
Wet...Wet...Wet...(shiver)...Wetsuit required!
Day 1
A Cambridge style start was in the offing, efficient!
Even with Edvin arriving from elsewhere in the country, we were in the entrance at 10am. Which in my experience of this thing they call "sport caving" is quite early!
Rapid Progress was made through the description with a line and a half of the description taking an hour and a half!
After much knee and knad level wading, we were soon into nipple and neck seal level.
Some calcite was seen as promised, and we were soon guessing which ladder to ascend.
I first picked an ore shute which had black calcite coming down it. on climbing this ladder we found 4 different ways on. I first climbed up the next ladder in front and soon was soaking wet due to the amount of water coming down the shaft and also staring a horrendous collapse of wood in the face, with no way forward. I relented and down-climbed to the other 3 ways on.
whilst I got my breath back, many others in the team were either climbing the ladders or searching for a way on.
we soon decided there were no ways on, and down climbed back to the water level.
We checked the ladder before, and with no obvious ladder up this, we opted to push on down the water level Eastwards and choose a later ladder.
The ladder we chose was a white calcited ladder with a few bowed in walls, making the climb up "interesting".
Muggins was first!
upon reaching the top Wookey declared that we had climbed up a long way and so he didn't expect to climb up any more ladders.
[Post-mortem we estimate that we were West of Cowhill cross vein but east of the junction with Longcleugh Vein and new Cross vein but on the correct level]
we were in a short parallel side passage to the east-west of Middlecleugh Second sun vein (MSSV). a few steps up saw us in MSSV but the wrong side of Cowhill Cross vein. The passage here was railed and with fantastic bricked arched roof and walls.
I found a ladder up into a level above, having been told by Benfool to make sure I climbed 3 sets of ladders. I estimate now that the ladder was above the Black Ore chute I pushed earlier. I pulled a short ladder down so I could access the main ladder above. and gained a higher passage above, More rails but mostly blind passage.
The passage going east entered a reasonable chamber and then a great rubble slope up, which clearly hadn't been well travelled. I sacked this option off as a bad one and climbed down the rubble slope. Back in the reasonable chamber I saw an arched passage halfway up the wall with a broken ladder coming down from it. Inaccessible to anyone who didn't have either a ladder or a scaff pole to maypole it.
I downclimbed yet another ladder! and was soon met by the others who were going to investigate the passages further West. At this point the resourceful Wookey had a good idea where we were and decided we needed to confirm this by shooting a compass bearing down none other than the Longcleugh vein (is there no getting away from the near homonyms!). His assertions were found to be correct and we were soon back on the description and Wookey was vindicated with his assumptions that we had done all the ladders already. This was found out at the Cowhill cross vein, where we met the 4 way junction and the scaffold pole sticking out of the dig.
We were soon in the realm of where Andy and Richard had passed before, and soon we were at a junction and being told we could see an amazing Cathedral underground!
So we made a choice to have a detour to Baron's Sump, Well worth a visit on a trip of its own and would be a great subject to take photo's of. (take the passage with the jumper on it and climb up and down a few times using old rail lines propped to provide a ladder!)
Following this we detoured to the Ballroom, the Hydraulic sump and wheel flats.
Two exited via Smallcleugh Portal and the other 5 of the Saturday crew pushed on down prouds sump and approximately an hour later were exiting the Rampgill portal on the opposite side of the car park!
Day 2
Some car faff and decisions on pull through vs fixed rigging were had, but still we maintained the 10am Cambridge style efficient entry time.
Fixed rigging and one car at both Brownley Hill Portal and Nentsbury Haggs Portal was decided upon.
Rapid Progress was made into Scaleburn and a detour was made to the Horse whimsy!
Quickly at the topsill level, we then followed Benfools amendment of going down the left hand passage which wasn't immediately after the top of the Steps. (ie Second left!).
Following this passage to its conclusion (right to the end, taking no turns), a pitch with a bolt in the right hand wall and a scaff bar bracing the passage was found. clearly set up for pull throughs.
At the base of this pitch the description said "I think the way on is right", it most definitely was.
I was very soon crawling down under the right hand wall and rigging the second pitch.
Down into the water I went, and soon into the "deepest and coldest water of the nent!".
More passage passed by as per the description and we were at the portal at 2pm, an efficient trip!
Car faff ensued and soon 2 teams of 2 were reentering the mine to derig or do some more touristing down Rampgill vein.
Our lovely leisurely trip times:
1st day- just shy of 7hours 30mins (with some route nav and several detours)
2nd day- 4 hours (not including derigging time)
I think I will return at some point to try and run the whole trip in one go.
Question is, Which ladder should you use to get into the middlecleugh vein?
Knowing this and avoiding detours may enable me to cut the 1st half down to 4 or 5 hours.
but I'm sure there are more interesting ways of Spending 8 or 9 hours in the Nenthead system, so I might have to find some obscure cool things to go and see before I return for the full traverse.
A trip to Nenthead had been in the offering for a number of months. Various combinations of people were invited and in the end it was down to a 7 strong team. Each day saw a guest appearance in the 7th slot for our two substitutes Edvin and Jess S.
Description followed: Mike Hrybyk with some amendments and clarifications by Benfool.
The route:
1st day= Caplecleugh- Middlecleugh Second sun vein- Barons Sump- The Ballroom- Wheel flats- prouds sump- Rampgill Entrance.
2nd day= Rampgill Entrance- Scaleburn Level- Topsill level- Brownley Hill Horizon- "The Deepest and Coldest Water in the Nent" (900m)- Brownley Hill engine shaft- "whole level in the shale...very fragile...lots of fresh slabs"- Nentsbury Hags Portal!
The Team:
Alex C. (Organiser, TSG, CUCC?), Andy F. (The Man with the good surveys, TSG, Northern Boggarts, UCET), Richard T. (UCET), Wookey (the man who knows the right time to take bearings, CUCC), Rowan (The Eldon), Alastair G. (which ladder goes to Middlecleugh?, TSG)
Substitutes: Edvin H. (Saturday, TSG, CUCC?), Jess S. (Sunday, TSG, CUCC?)
Wet...Wet...Wet...(shiver)...Wetsuit required!
Day 1
A Cambridge style start was in the offing, efficient!
Even with Edvin arriving from elsewhere in the country, we were in the entrance at 10am. Which in my experience of this thing they call "sport caving" is quite early!
Rapid Progress was made through the description with a line and a half of the description taking an hour and a half!
After much knee and knad level wading, we were soon into nipple and neck seal level.
Some calcite was seen as promised, and we were soon guessing which ladder to ascend.
I first picked an ore shute which had black calcite coming down it. on climbing this ladder we found 4 different ways on. I first climbed up the next ladder in front and soon was soaking wet due to the amount of water coming down the shaft and also staring a horrendous collapse of wood in the face, with no way forward. I relented and down-climbed to the other 3 ways on.
whilst I got my breath back, many others in the team were either climbing the ladders or searching for a way on.
we soon decided there were no ways on, and down climbed back to the water level.
We checked the ladder before, and with no obvious ladder up this, we opted to push on down the water level Eastwards and choose a later ladder.
The ladder we chose was a white calcited ladder with a few bowed in walls, making the climb up "interesting".
Muggins was first!
upon reaching the top Wookey declared that we had climbed up a long way and so he didn't expect to climb up any more ladders.
[Post-mortem we estimate that we were West of Cowhill cross vein but east of the junction with Longcleugh Vein and new Cross vein but on the correct level]
we were in a short parallel side passage to the east-west of Middlecleugh Second sun vein (MSSV). a few steps up saw us in MSSV but the wrong side of Cowhill Cross vein. The passage here was railed and with fantastic bricked arched roof and walls.
I found a ladder up into a level above, having been told by Benfool to make sure I climbed 3 sets of ladders. I estimate now that the ladder was above the Black Ore chute I pushed earlier. I pulled a short ladder down so I could access the main ladder above. and gained a higher passage above, More rails but mostly blind passage.
The passage going east entered a reasonable chamber and then a great rubble slope up, which clearly hadn't been well travelled. I sacked this option off as a bad one and climbed down the rubble slope. Back in the reasonable chamber I saw an arched passage halfway up the wall with a broken ladder coming down from it. Inaccessible to anyone who didn't have either a ladder or a scaff pole to maypole it.
I downclimbed yet another ladder! and was soon met by the others who were going to investigate the passages further West. At this point the resourceful Wookey had a good idea where we were and decided we needed to confirm this by shooting a compass bearing down none other than the Longcleugh vein (is there no getting away from the near homonyms!). His assertions were found to be correct and we were soon back on the description and Wookey was vindicated with his assumptions that we had done all the ladders already. This was found out at the Cowhill cross vein, where we met the 4 way junction and the scaffold pole sticking out of the dig.
We were soon in the realm of where Andy and Richard had passed before, and soon we were at a junction and being told we could see an amazing Cathedral underground!
So we made a choice to have a detour to Baron's Sump, Well worth a visit on a trip of its own and would be a great subject to take photo's of. (take the passage with the jumper on it and climb up and down a few times using old rail lines propped to provide a ladder!)
Following this we detoured to the Ballroom, the Hydraulic sump and wheel flats.
Two exited via Smallcleugh Portal and the other 5 of the Saturday crew pushed on down prouds sump and approximately an hour later were exiting the Rampgill portal on the opposite side of the car park!
Day 2
Some car faff and decisions on pull through vs fixed rigging were had, but still we maintained the 10am Cambridge style efficient entry time.
Fixed rigging and one car at both Brownley Hill Portal and Nentsbury Haggs Portal was decided upon.
Rapid Progress was made into Scaleburn and a detour was made to the Horse whimsy!
Quickly at the topsill level, we then followed Benfools amendment of going down the left hand passage which wasn't immediately after the top of the Steps. (ie Second left!).
Following this passage to its conclusion (right to the end, taking no turns), a pitch with a bolt in the right hand wall and a scaff bar bracing the passage was found. clearly set up for pull throughs.
At the base of this pitch the description said "I think the way on is right", it most definitely was.
I was very soon crawling down under the right hand wall and rigging the second pitch.
Down into the water I went, and soon into the "deepest and coldest water of the nent!".
More passage passed by as per the description and we were at the portal at 2pm, an efficient trip!
Car faff ensued and soon 2 teams of 2 were reentering the mine to derig or do some more touristing down Rampgill vein.
Our lovely leisurely trip times:
1st day- just shy of 7hours 30mins (with some route nav and several detours)
2nd day- 4 hours (not including derigging time)
I think I will return at some point to try and run the whole trip in one go.
Question is, Which ladder should you use to get into the middlecleugh vein?
Knowing this and avoiding detours may enable me to cut the 1st half down to 4 or 5 hours.
but I'm sure there are more interesting ways of Spending 8 or 9 hours in the Nenthead system, so I might have to find some obscure cool things to go and see before I return for the full traverse.