First...have some "snow" covered Christmas trees underwater....


And...I went with the Huntsville Grotto to the Christmas room in Tumbling Rock. Here is our caver tree. *conservation note it is an inactive formation and care is taken not to bother it during decoration*


Ohhai me... =)


Also is tradition to light up Topless Dome with huge-arse lights, 396ft and without the megalights it does seem topless...not bad for a 8 sec hand held exposure stitched image, eh? I really should get a tripod some day.

Tumbling Rock Christmas 21 by Sunguramy, on Flickr

Was looking carefully for Santa abbing down the chimney in that fourth picture...  Maybe I'm a bit too early? 

Happy Christmas, Amy, and good caving in 2012.

Thanks =) Do ya'all have any holiday caver traditions? Party at Hunter's or something? Stealing Bertie the Bat again? lol

As to no santa....it's a dome (I think Les told me the term there is "aven") and it's only been climbed once. There are no major passages/leads up there from my understanding. I'd be shocked to see a Santa rappelling it! How'd he get up there?!?!

Also, beards + Rappelling is a bad idea...this is why should wear ascending gear too...silly Santa needs to take some proper vertical courses
Santa's caught at Mall

Happy Christmas to you Amy and everyone else on here.

The usual way of celebrating the Christmas break for most UK cavers is to have a trip on Boxing Day. For some its a gentle trip, and for others a desperate day out...

Oh yes I forgot ya'all have Boxing Day! What is that all about anyway? We dont have it here in the states.

You asked

Arguments abound on the origins of the name Boxing Day.
?A ?Christmas Box? in Britain is a name for a Christmas present.
?Boxing Day was a day off for servants and when they received a ?Christmas Box? from the master. The servants would also go home to give ?Christmas Boxes? to their families.
?A box to collect money for the poor was placed in Churches on Christmas day then opened the next day.
?Great sailing ships when setting sail would have a sealed box containing money on board for good luck.If the voyage were a success the box was given to a priest, opened at Christmas and the contents given to the poor.

I had to google it to find out though

Merry christmas

Mike

Traditionally, the whole country gets the day off.
Some may go caving.
Some go to the pub and try to drink the christmas hangover into submission while watching odd locals perform Mummers plays and folk dances.
Most, however, drive to out-of-town shopping centres and fight each other for parking spaces and the leftover tat in the sales.

Maggot said:

Traditionally, the whole country gets the day off.
Some may go caving.
Some go to the pub and try to drink the christmas hangover into submission while watching odd locals perform Mummers plays and folk dances.
Most, however, drive to out-of-town shopping centres and fight each other for parking spaces and the leftover tat in the sales.

Click to expand...

And before you ask, Amy, here's an example of the Winster Guisers our village's examples of Mummers.

Hi Amy, Owd Git will be out today to leave a mince pie and a wee drink (probably some of his home brew cider!) for T'owd Man in one of the Masson lead mines.

Christmas day drinkies at the Centre of the Universe... 

He means Ingleton, obviously!

Happy Christmas y'all.