Dick heads in Swildons

[wallop]

We done the round trip in Swildons last night and were meet at sump one by
what can only be described as complete idiots. The reson being that they had
been drinking larger, which could of been a problem for a novice coming out
of Swildons fullstop. We then left this group who were going though sump one.
As we made our way out we came across 2 larger cans and the smell
of weed, and a half eaten bag of crisps  we could not beleve it. The worse thing was the broken stall above Barnes Loop, which was a heart dropping moment. Then at the entrance there was more rubbish.
I really don't understand these people at all. This to me was very sad.
I went past the barn at about 12.30am to see if anyone was there, but they had gone.
Its very frustrating that we can do nothing to prevent this. Very very sad indeed

 

[Peter Burgess]

Intoxicating substances and caving DO NOT MIX! Which famous French speleologist was it who banned anyone from going underground with him if they consumed any alcohol within 24 hours of the trip?

 

[jasonbirder]

banned anyone from going underground...if they consumed any alcohol within 24 hours of the trip?

Blimey...that would certainly put a dint in my caving activites

 

[Peter Burgess]

I suspect you're not alone in that, JB.

 

[AndyF]

Intoxicating substances and caving DO NOT MIX! Which famous French speleologist was it who banned anyone from going underground with him if they consumed any alcohol within 24 hours of the trip?

Wow no more caving holidays for me then....in fact no more caving at all.....

Not sure I have EVER been caving and not consumed alcohol in the preceeding 24 hours...

But throwing empties in a cave is just not good. Any idea who they were? I'd have probably tried to find out...

 

[Peter Burgess]

It was in Guy de Lavaur's book "Caves and Cave Diving" that this was said. It was Guy's caving mentor who had this rule, but I can't recall who it was.

 

[Peter Burgess]

It was in Guy de Lavaur's book "Caves and Cave Diving" that this was said. It was Guy's caving mentor who had this rule, but I can't recall who it was.

Lavaur started caving with Robert de Joly in 1929. Just thought you'd like to know that.

 

[paul]

This is one time it would have been excusable to empty some bags of quick-drying cement into Sump One while they were all the other side...

 

[gus horsley]

You do get them don't you.  I remember going into Llygad Llwchwr just after a "party" had exited to find that a crawl reeked of piss, there were 4 empty cans of lager jammed into the roof near the entrance, several items of litter and a disintegrating packet of polos in a pool, and obcenities scrawled on a boulder near the first river chamber.  They didn't seem to have found their way further into the cave which was just as well, otherwise the curtain in the fourth chamber might no longer exist.

Gus

 

[Peter Burgess]

The strange thing is I was thinking of starting a thread on drink-caving, and lo and behold! up pops this topic.

andymorgan said:

Hmm, most uni cavers (and most cavers)get tanked up the night before any trip!  Its the main part of caving (apart from going into caves, and playing with fire in huts).

The majority of the cavers I go away with don't over-drink. There are a number of possible reasons for this, two of which are: Most of us live far enough from good caves that we don't want to waste precious caving time by making ourselves ill on Sunday morning. We are also not based that close to a pub, so a few have to refrain in order to drive the rest back. There are exceptions, and it's not so uncommon for one or two of us to be 'unavailable' on Sunday! I also like to think that most of us realise that over-drinking is not a social activity, it is anti-social, and rather selfish. It imposes risks on yourself and others, and, if you are going underground while not 100 pecent with it - a risk to the cave as well. It also adds peer pressure on the less self-confident members who think they have to join in to stay with the in-crowd.

Having said all this, with a certain amount of self-righteous pomposity(!), we do have a regular drinking hole on Mendip, with an excellent relationship with the current landlord, and it's not unknown for us to have a 'good time' there!

 

[cap n chris]

This thread has pre-empted our own findings from doing the round trip this morning: there were three empty cans of lager at Priddy Green, further rubbish at the cave entrance including a discarded pair of gloves (which were collected); I was shocked to find the broken pure white stal pieces at the top of the Twenty and we located where they had come from - Barnes Loop; the damage involves at least four separate pieces of white curtain (see photo for scale).

There were two more empty cans at Tratmans Temple which rather suggests that whoever did this knows their way around the cave quite well; further rubbish was found at the sump including batteries and sweet wrappers; other sweet wrappers were in the water rift below Barnes Loop. The Wookey Hole sign had been taken back through sump one and left at the approach (this has been placed back in its usual location). There was a discarded reefer butt at Tratman's Temple also and a very strong smell of tobacco/other at the sump on coming through it.

Enquiries so far suggest that these people have not hired equipment (providing their own); two males were seen at Priddy Green last night wearing knee-length/cut-off wetsuits (but this may not be the people responsible for the damage - likewise the various bits of "evidence" aren't necessarily down to the same people but it looks strongly like it probably is them).

I shall endeavour to find out who these people were: it would help tremendously if anyone can provide descriptions of them and/or their vehicle(s), number plates etc..

Personally I would gladly damage their faces to the same extent that they appear to have damaged the cave. It's the only morally fair thing to do.


The handiwork of braindead fuckwits


Wallop, how many of them were there? How old did they look? What kit were they using (helmet colours, manufacturer, type of lamps, colour of overalls, wellingtons etc.)? Did they sound local/have distinct accents? etc. etc..

At the very least they can be blacklisted; there's plenty of unofficial stuff which could happen to them too of course but that's up to other people to organise.

 

[graham]

At the very least they can be blacklisted;

From Swildon's? How?

 

[Cookie]

I was at the Wessex until late last night. I saw a group of lights (3 or 4) coming back across the fields towards the hut. However they never arrived at the Wessex and must have gone elsewhere. I would say that was midnight or a little before. Was this your group Wallop?

Then as I drove home I saw a group (2 or 3) on the green, 1 car. I would say they were just about to depart. That would be about 12:30 am. Can't give much of a description cos I didn't stop and it was dark.

Sorry, not much to go on  :-\

 

[wallop]

That was my group coming back towards the hut.
I well pissed off about this

 

[AndyF]

This is a really shocking story. It can't have been people other than someone reasonably familiar with the system

They will probably reappear at some point in some other cave, if anyone comes across them, try to get some names.... also,on exit, take any car registration numbers in the area. They need to be identified. If they have done damage in an SSSI they may be able to be prosecuted.

One can only guess where and how they came to be there, and how they knew the route. I can well imagine how angry the Mendip peeps are going  to be about this sort of thing....

 

[cap n chris]

At the very least they can be blacklisted;

From Swildon's? How?

Easy. Once you know who they are you get photos of them (simple, with a modern digital camera) they then get their faces put up all over the place so that everyone knows what they look like. Then they are unlikely ever to go down a cave again (just in case someone recognises them  ) OH and they will NEVER get access to locked/leader systems since I'm sure all access controlling bodies would gladly have them barred. That's my idea of blacklisted. What's yours?

 

[graham]

I have no problem with the locked caves bit, but never go down Swildons again? Who will stop them?

 

[cap n chris]

You're quite right, of course, Graham. There's little that can be done to restrict access to open systems, alllowing some people in and barring access to others simply can't be done. It's not surprising that people are upset about this vandalism and I'm the first to admit that I may have over-reacted (although I still don't think I have, actually!).

I suppose I see it as a simple situation. People who go underground and purposively break caves either through maliciousness or wanton negligence (i.e. getting drunk/stoned and then stumbling into them*) should be disallowed, as much as is reasonable, from being able to do similarly again.


* There is no doubt in my mind that the damage to the stal was not done accidentally. The location of it in a high recess surrounded by other undamaged stal suggests strongly that the items were selected as being "unlikely to be noticed as missing" and removed on purpose; the weight of the objects being sufficiently great that by the time they reached the top of the twenty they dumped them there**.


** This is a guess.

 

[Stupot]

5 broken stals = 5 broken limbs each

2 legs
2 arms
1 spine

Oh I missed that tiny little piece of Stal in the picture, we can swap that for their dicks 

Stu.

 

[MJONES]

We were down Swildon's last night doing the Short Round Trip and also came accross the empty bag of Crisps, empty cans of larger at the entrance and in barn.  We too remarked about the odour along the cave passage - pretty unbelievable really! 

Wallop - did you or any of your party lose a wallet last night, found one in the Barn?