North End Pot

[Badlad]

Dear all

The Space Miners, a 'chums' group of Dales diggers, would like to announce a recent extension of some 90km to North End Pot. Or another way of putting it - North End Pot has been connected to Llean Bean Aven, in the Eastern Front extensions of Large Pot. This is hot news having only been connected on Tuesday with the first trip down the pitches just yesterday.

The chums have always been open with their digs and discoveries, F'ing Hopeless, Five Ways, Mayday are examples. In any case news always leaks out, better to just let everyone know. On paper, this latest effort makes for a potentially great trip with big pitches and dry access to the delights of the Eastern Front. However, the route to Llean Bean is potentially dangerous with 30m of vertical shoring, to a rift of enormous fractured blocks, and many loose rocks on the pitches. It is not for the feint hearted.

We ask folk to keep away for the time being whilst work continues and slopes stabilise. More details and the whole story will appear on here and in Descent magazine in due course. This is unlikely to ever be an easy or even safe route into this part of the Three Counties System.

Many thanks

 

[langcliffe]

Congratulations!!!

Maybe we should organise another Three Counties Traverse!

 

[s_allshorn]

There is tonnes on loose rock on the large ledge part way, now, down llean bean aven and the gulley that leads to the eastern front. These were never cleared for heavy traffic. There are also fine mud formations at the bottom of the aven that will quickly be trashed without care.

Oh and well done.

 

[Badlad]

Grand traverse now known as the 'lesser' grand traverse

 

[Maisie Syntax]

There is tonnes on loose rock on the large ledge part way, now, down llean bean aven and the gulley that leads to the eastern front. These were never cleared for heavy traffic. There are also fine mud formations at the bottom of the aven that will quickly be trashed without care.

Oh and well done.

Already noticed and duly noted.
Apart from the (hopefully) obvious loose debris above and around the pitches, the fine mud formations were truly remarkable. Great care will be needed to preserve these features.
Having seen it first hand - that was one hell of pushing trip you did to get up there. Impressive is an understatement - Chapeau!

 

[darkdescender]

Just shows...each 'next generation' should keep revisiting 'old' digs.
Congratulations and well done everyone.

 

[Samouse1]

Well done team! Only a short way to go till Kingsdale is tied in!

 

[Pegasus]

...unnatural urge to dig

 

[georgenorth]

Grand traverse now known as the 'lesser' grand traverse

Well done Space Miners. It’s definitely worth another look up the aven just before the final choke... Think the ropes were left in?

 

[Woody155]

Congratulations. Well done to the team

 

[marsrat]

Guess I'm going to have to find 90km in Llangattock to compete now 😛

 

[Maisie Syntax]

Just shows...each 'next generation' should keep revisiting 'old' digs.
Congratulations and well done everyone.

Space Miners - The 'next generation' of cave exploration in the Dales.
They obviously have youth on their side........

 

[Badlad]

Hats off to Sam and co on a great climb. What an aven that is. No wonder you were keen on dragging the kit all the way from Rift and through those ducks.

 

[Badlad]

Where could we be....

 

[Graigwen]

Guess I'm going to have to find 90km in Llangattock to compete now 😛

Digging the last few metres to connect Aggy to Daren Cilau would be a start, that will give you a 60+Km cave.
.

 

[Goydenman]

Brilliantly news well done team.

 

[David Rose]

Congratulations on another hard-won and well deserved success! Could this enable the Kingsdale link to become a reality?

 

[Alex]

Nice one guys, I am definitely in the wrong digging team what's this 6 caves to our zero lol. One day we might be able to say Lamb trap is 90k longer but that won't be for a while

 

[langcliffe]

Nice one guys, I am definitely in the wrong digging team what's this 6 caves to our zero lol. One day we might be able to say Lamb trap is 90k longer but that won't be for a while

Is it you working in Lamb Trap? I had a look in there last year, and I was well impressed. It'll be great if it gets through.

 

[Badlad]

Congratulations on another hard-won and well deserved success! Could this enable the Kingsdale link to become a reality?

Well it won't hurt prospects but there is little to go at which the original explorers hadn't had a good look at. Epic bolting at Llean Bean and the Cumbrian, plus almost all other climbing leads. Impressive stuff when you consider most of it was done from Rift Pot. So to answer your question - not really.

I've had two trips in there now, one from Low Douk during the original exploration and one yesterday from North End Pot. Didn't look around much but there is the hole through hanging death in the end choke which looks intriguing. This is mentioned in Beardy's write up. Although how you access it without getting squashed I do not know. There are at least three streams which sink in the floor near the end choke and I guess these could lead into a lower series and a sump which might connect into Kingsdale but no obvious route in.

We have done some stabilising work around our breakthrough point and gardened the pitch a little but it is still very loose in places and you need to be very careful. Sam has a plan to resin anchor the pitch and it will be possible to tidy things up more then. So please continue to hold off jumping in whilst this is ongoing.

We have repaired some of the conservation taping but more is needed to do a proper job. All the big stuff is very well preserved and should remain that way, but the smaller stuff is much more vulnerable.

It is worth noting at this stage that some passage, the Pig Trough in particular, is disgusting. You get covered from head to toe in porridge like mud and you can't clean it off. You've then got to climb out 80m of pitches coated in the stuff. Caving is never easy.