Descent 299

[Chris Scaife]

Cover: Rachel Smith in Terra Ronca 2, Brazil. Photo: Martyn Farr

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In the Newsdesk we have reports of a giant sinkhole that opened up on a football pitch, the 14th International Cave Rescue Meeting and Floyd Collins, the musical heading to Broadway.

In Regional News: several finds in Scotland, including a Blue Hole. Little Waterfall Swallet in the Peak District has been extended and the Forest of Dean has a new roadside pot called Hole in the Verge. There are plans to create a cycle route through Abernant Tunnel in South Wales and a probable first sport climbing ascent of an aven in Yorkshire’s Dentdale.

Features:

Breaking Through Slaughter
The Forest of Dean has long been home to a number of committed diggers. Their recent connection in Slaughter Stream Cave, as reported by Ian Healey, has created what is sure to become one of the UK’s classic caving trips.

The Great Round Trip in the Forest
Chris Scaife describes the first ever Long Round Trip in Slaughter Stream Cave – an event that was supposed to be a ceremonial procession, but turned into a Poseidon adventure.

Eric Holland: Hero or Villain?
Eric Holland has a complicated legacy. The author of five books, but with a writing career heavily tarnished by plagiarism scandals, he was also an inspirational figure to some, as Phil Murphy writes.

São Desidério and Terra Ronca
If you were impressed by the formations in the first part of Martyn Farr’s Brazil article, in Descent 298, just wait till you see these!

North by North End Pot
Tim Allen reports on another great find by the Space Miners: a surface dig that turned into an archaeological site and then broke into the Three Counties system.

Violet Smith and the Fairlawn Hotel
Simon Brooks writes about a hotel, and its owner, that played a major part in shaping the Meghalaya caving expeditions.

Johnny B. Goode and the Dave Gill Demons
Following the death of Dave Gill, Stuart Weston and Andy Maloney remember a tale of hallucinations and jungle disappearances, in which Dave was a lifesaver.

Putting Your Feet Up at the Buttertubs
Peter Ryder describes his first foray into SRT, a 15m descent with his feet pointing vertically upwards against the rock wall.

 

[Chris Scaife]

The connection in Slaughter Stream Cave between the Remelt Series and Kuwait Passage has created one of the longest and finest underground journeys in Britain: a round trip of almost 5km. You can read Chris Scaife's account of the first ever completion of the Long Round Trip in Descent 299.
In the photo: Catherine Christopher and Dan Jackson traversing in Dog's Grave Passage, Slaughter Stream Cave, by Chris Scaife.

Descent (299), August 2024 – Descent Magazine

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[Chris Scaife]

If you were impressed by the photography in the first part of Martyn Farr's Brazil article, don't miss the second part in Descent 299, in which he travels to São Desidério and Terra Ronca.
In the photo: Rachel Smith in Brazil's São Mateus Cave, by Martyn Farr

 

[Chris Scaife]

North by North End Pot is another great find in the Yorkshire Dales and a new entrance for the Three Counties system. In Descent 299, you can read Tim Allen's blow-by-blow account of this digging project.
In the photo: Geoff Yeadon, Frank Pearson, JJ Beavan and Dave Gledhill with the North by North End Pot dig in full flow, by Tim Allen

 

[Chris Scaife]

Today SRT may be commonplace, but back in 1971 it was quite the novelty. In Descent 299, Peter Ryder describes his first foray into this technique on a trip to the Buttertubs in the Yorkshire Dales.
In the photo: The descent of Peter Ryder, by Phil Robinson