Christmas pot

alastairgott

Well-known member
I joined a team of clapdale veterans for a lovely trip down Christmas pot, some interesting pitchheads and much less mud than in wiz caz that we visited 2 weeks ago.


A lovely sunny day out and a walk up long lane, which I didn?t know was a thing brought us to clapdale bottoms with much talk of the old clapdale (Lancaster) hut on route. What an amazing place this would have been to have a hut.


Soon we were at the entrance and proceeding down a cave with lovely pitches, some breakdown passages and some passages with lovely formations. And then we arrived at the bottom of the cave where there was evidence of much supermarket caught ring pull fish! Peskytarians!


I was pointed at the drainpipe where I was told it was a thing, but three of us tried it and didn?t fit today. One of our team said he?d been down the cave 50 times, this was revised to 20times when I quizzes him about how many times he?d done the drainpipe. Either way, fairly impressive and determined to have done that bit of passage 20 times, let alone at all! Hats off!
 

mch

Member
Thanks for that post Alastair. I did Christmas Pot once, about 35 years ago (on ladders in those days), and had forgotten all about it. Reading your description reminded me what a great day out it was!
 

Fulk

Well-known member
I think that there has been a collapse of sorts that has led to the partial blocking-up of the Drainpipe; can anybody confirm this? (Several years ago two of us tried to get through from the other (Grange Rigg) end, but failed to do so; in my case progeress was hampered somewhat by my having a broken rib, but the other guy was slim and 'whole'.)
 

alastairgott

Well-known member
I don?t really know, It was tight on my backside with my legs free on the other side, I worried that if I popped down through and couldn?t get my chest through I would struggle with the return.

From first looks it does look like a solid rift with bedrock making the sides, I would guess it has possibly always been as small. Some of the people that do quite well on squeeze machines probably wouldn?t struggle.
 

langcliffe

Well-known member
I looked into it 18 months ago, and it didn't look as if it had changed from the time we were working at the bottom of Grange Rigg in the late 1960s.
 
The one and only time I did Christmas Pot was 16 March 1991 - all ladders and no lifelines  :chair:(bar the entrance pitch). Must go back - I remember it being a great trip.

I put in my journal - "the continuation along the drainpipe was found to be blocked" - although I have no memory of trying it myself. I also scrawled an undated note in NC2 about a rock fall nearby??

 

rsch

Member
There was some very exciting and substantial rock fall on the final vertical section of Christmas Pot in November 1991 which led to a rescue call-out, so your note on that subject seems accurate.
 

skippy

Active member
alastairgott said:
I don?t really know, It was tight on my backside with my legs free on the other side, I worried that if I popped down through and couldn?t get my chest through I would struggle with the return.

From first looks it does look like a solid rift with bedrock making the sides, I would guess it has possibly always been as small. Some of the people that do quite well on squeeze machines probably wouldn?t struggle.

From what you are describing, that does not sound like the drainpipe. Was this in the choke below the last pitch. Last time I was there(about 3 years ago) I noticed a fair bit of movement in the choke..and some of the boulders were a little 'active'.
I looked at the slot and although the left wall was solid, it appeared a slab on the right had closed the gap(Slightly) .There seemed to be more room around the right but looked far more unstable. I felt I could not fit through without drama.
NFTFH does describe the above as being a downward, slanting squeeze below the choke.
Speaking to others afterwards, they agreed there had been movement in that choke.




 

alastairgott

Well-known member
I was pointed at the squeeze by two of the LUSS diggers who were active in there, ?back in day?. It was just below the rusted up acroprop.
 

alastairgott

Well-known member
I?ve seen nobrotson playing squeeze machine and he?s fairly good. I don?t push my coccyx as I?ve damaged it before and it flares up for a week if I push a squeeze, so he?s more than welcome to be 1up on me!  (y)
 

alastairgott

Well-known member
PI has dug out some survey notes from 1985 and from deduction says the ?squeeze? used to be 0.5m wide, it is now certainly less than 0.3m wide...
 
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