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CRTT - No rope of Croesor 1st Pitch

AKuhlmann

Member
The in situ rope on the 1st pitch in Croesor had to be removed when it was discovered it was too damaged to rightfully be left behind.

Consequently, any persons attempting the through trip should pack a rope (40m pitch off the top of my head) to either hard rig it and plan on returning to de-rig or bringing two ropes to pull through. Whatever you choose to do a reverse through trip is currently impossible without pre rigging the 1st pitch in Croesor.

Personally, I’m of the opinion the pitch should stay de-rigged but I won’t be surprised if someone replaces the rope within a few months
 

Wayland Smith

Active member
And, strangely enough, this weekend a rescue callout to Croesor to assist a group that could not retreat because the rope had been removed.

 

Stones

New member
The in situ rope on the 1st pitch in Croesor had to be removed when it was discovered it was too damaged to rightfully be left behind.

Consequently, any persons attempting the through trip should pack a rope (40m pitch off the top of my head) to either hard rig it and plan on returning to de-rig or bringing two ropes to pull through. Whatever you choose to do a reverse through trip is currently impossible without pre rigging the 1st pitch in Croesor.

Personally, I’m of the opinion the pitch should stay de-rigged but I won’t be surprised if someone replaces the rope within a few months

Personally, I think it should be left rigged because it's only going to send the unprepared onto the high level route, which could have more serious consequences
 

AKuhlmann

Member
And, strangely enough, this weekend a rescue callout to Croesor to assist a group that could not retreat because the rope had been removed.

Yes, that is the case, albeit not quite. Maybe in my tiredness from the very late night I didn’t hint enough that I certainly wasn’t the cause for the rescue :)
 

Samouse1

Well-known member
And, strangely enough, this weekend a rescue callout to Croesor to assist a group that could not retreat because the rope had been removed.
I think if it was the case that the rope removal caused the rescue (which it didn’t), it would perfectly illustrate why in situ ropes shouldn’t be relied upon. If someone wants to be in charge of making sure that the insitu ropes are always in good nick and never removed, then that’s another matter
 

JoshW

Well-known member
I think if it was the case that the rope removal caused the rescue (which it didn’t), it would perfectly illustrate why in situ ropes shouldn’t be relied upon. If someone wants to be in charge of making sure that the insitu ropes are always in good nick and never removed, then that’s another matter
If you put in a load of via ferrata staples and some cables, people could always retreat and nobody would need to look after the rope :)
 
I think if it was the case that the rope removal caused the rescue (which it didn’t), it would perfectly illustrate why in situ ropes shouldn’t be relied upon. If someone wants to be in charge of making sure that the insitu ropes are always in good nick and never removed, then that’s another matter
I recall a lengthy discussion on the pros and cons of in situ ropes being had before on here. Nothing will ever convince me that in situ ropes are a good idea.
 
Probably not the place to ask, but it's sort of related.

Would anyone be up for a trip through Croesor on the 18th of May?
I'm comfortable with SRT, just don't know the mine or how to navigate through 👍🏻
 

Stones

New member
Probably not the place to ask, but it's sort of related.

Would anyone be up for a trip through Croesor on the 18th of May?
I'm comfortable with SRT, just don't know the mine or how to navigate through 👍🏻
There's a few members from UCET that will be going on that date. You'll be more than welcome to join us, we will be doing the high level route so you will need a tandem pulley for the Tyrolean's. I will PM you when I have the meet location and time
 
There's a few members from UCET that will be going on that date. You'll be more than welcome to join us, we will be doing the high level route so you will need a tandem pulley for the Tyrolean's. I will PM you when I have the meet location and time
Ah that would be fantastic! Thank you. I don't own a tandem pulley, but will try get my hands on one for that weekend.
 

Handsome88

New member
Because the rope on the 1st pitch in Croesor had to be taken out, it's crucial for future trips to bring their own rope for safety. Some may choose to keep it de-rigged to avoid risks.
 
Wasn't the in situ rope left snagged out of reach when the first group's rope was taken out? This raises issues when there are multiple groups in the mine. As the second group do you use the first group's rope or remove their's and rig your own? If you rig over their's then you run the risk of yours being compromised in the same manner should you need to return.
 

Samouse1

Well-known member
Wasn't the in situ rope left snagged out of reach when the first group's rope was taken out? This raises issues when there are multiple groups in the mine. As the second group do you use the first group's rope or remove their's and rig your own? If you rig over their's then you run the risk of yours being compromised in the same manner should you need to return.
Rig your own, and when you pull it up, make sure any other ropes on the pitch aren’t compromised. Same thing as if there were multiple groups on a down and up trip.
 

wellyjen

Well-known member
Is a pull through not possible?
The boat across the flooded chamber just before you enter Rhosydd is the problem. It has hung up, or sunk in the past. See a previous thread. There have been modifications to improve the reliability, but not something I'd be willing to trust being there and working, without an option to turn back. Taking your own backup boat is a sensible precaution. One that saved us having to retreat on our most recent visit.
 
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AlanClark

New member
Hard rigging P1 works well in theory, only downside is if you've walked up from Tanygrisiau someone has to walk back across to Croesor and then back to Rhosydd along that not exactly delightful path while the rest of your party either makes their way back to the road or stands about getting cold for an hour. And a pull through just doesn't seem a sensible option given the propensity of bits to fall down making route finding at the Rhosydd end 'interesting' or the chance of the boat not being there/stuck.
 
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