Cavematt
Well-known member
These last few weeks has seen an unusual flurry of excitement in the North York Moors.
We have found ourselves this year in a bit of a situation. Jenga Pot, and the 2020 Covid Extensions has failed to entice us this year, other than a trip last month (reported HERE) to confirm the near-surface connection. We have three undived sumps, but the hour of challenging caving and the muddy conditions makes diving unfeasible. A dig downstream of Jenga has failed to deliver. Our other project at Cawthorn, several miles east, is still going strong, and is over 100m long, but is not relenting in the non-stop boulder ruckle needing relentless work to progress.
Three weeks ago, 18 years after we first discovered Excalibur, we are back, to look with fresh eyes for new projects there.
In fact, it’s been so long since we’ve been down Excalibur as a digging team, several of our regulars who have been digging with us for years, have never actually been down Excalibur and seen the rewards on offer. Unlike many of our other projects, Excalibur is a really good cave, with an excellent main streamway.
Two weeks ago (Wednesday 6th August), we headed down equipped with three Excalibur virgins, and a team of regulars, to continue a small draughting dig from the week before in the upstream Main Streamway, and to recce several areas of the cave again. This was really enjoyable, and I always forget how excellent the streamway is, hundreds of metres of easy walking with some very good formations.
I love showing people the streamway for the first time and seeing their surprise as their very low expectations are exceeded
The evening was to become much more exciting than expected, when myself and two of our Excalibur virgins, Chris Curry and Dylan Kocher (also a North York Moors caving virgin) went to the furthest upstream end of the Excalibur streamway.
My recollection of this from when we originally explored and surveyed was about 10m of diminishing streamway, becoming flat out in the water with no way on. For 17 years, this has been the furthest upstream end of the system. Tonight this was to change!
Just back from the termination point on the left was a small tube going off into the darkness. It was small, wet and gnarly and not very inviting at all, certainly not an enticing prospect, but a surprising omission from our original exploration – as it was just about body sized. All I can assume is that it may have been more choked with cobbles or mud when we originally explored (the system will have flooded countless times since), or perhaps we were just clumsy to miss this?
I quickly discovered that there is no digging tool better than a younger, thinner and more enthusiastic caver. I sent Dylan in, and he battled his way 4m along this tube (I was pleased to not have gone first). He was followed by Chris, until they were suddenly almost out of sight! I told them to crack on and explore, and waited patiently for their return, expecting it to only be a matter of a few minutes.
They returned over 45 minutes later (sufficiently long that I had already started picturing the associated cave rescue) recounting having pushed two more tight squeezes to return to the streamway upstream of the previous limit. They then explored upstream for about 40m, with various chambers and avens! True gentlemen as they are, they turned around at a fork in the streamway, with two crawling inlets going off into the distance, to leave something for us to return to the next week.
Full report of that first session here:
yorkcavingclub.org.uk
With open virgin passage awaiting us, we returned enthusiastically last night, me and Dylan, plus Conor Morrison, as Chris was not available.
Full report here:
yorkcavingclub.org.uk
In summary, the Excalibur streamway has been extended, we estimate by at least another 100m from the previous upper limit. The MEGA Extensions (Make Excalibur Great Again, in tribute to Dylan’s nationality) are certainly not stomping streamway, but they are rather good fun, have several standing sections, a real atmosphere and a mixture of squeezing, crawling, and even a climb. Both inlets were pushed to an eventual and inevitable closedown, as we are almost certainly underneath the sinks now, so there is little scope for further cave upstream.
It’s amazing what a revisit to an old haunt with a fresh pair of eyes (and the passage of considerable time) can achieve. Even better if you return with a younger, thinner and more hardcore caver who is happy to carry the tools and keen to make their impression on the area.
Surveying is the next job, hopefully in one session over the coming month.
We have found ourselves this year in a bit of a situation. Jenga Pot, and the 2020 Covid Extensions has failed to entice us this year, other than a trip last month (reported HERE) to confirm the near-surface connection. We have three undived sumps, but the hour of challenging caving and the muddy conditions makes diving unfeasible. A dig downstream of Jenga has failed to deliver. Our other project at Cawthorn, several miles east, is still going strong, and is over 100m long, but is not relenting in the non-stop boulder ruckle needing relentless work to progress.
Three weeks ago, 18 years after we first discovered Excalibur, we are back, to look with fresh eyes for new projects there.
In fact, it’s been so long since we’ve been down Excalibur as a digging team, several of our regulars who have been digging with us for years, have never actually been down Excalibur and seen the rewards on offer. Unlike many of our other projects, Excalibur is a really good cave, with an excellent main streamway.
Two weeks ago (Wednesday 6th August), we headed down equipped with three Excalibur virgins, and a team of regulars, to continue a small draughting dig from the week before in the upstream Main Streamway, and to recce several areas of the cave again. This was really enjoyable, and I always forget how excellent the streamway is, hundreds of metres of easy walking with some very good formations.
I love showing people the streamway for the first time and seeing their surprise as their very low expectations are exceeded
The evening was to become much more exciting than expected, when myself and two of our Excalibur virgins, Chris Curry and Dylan Kocher (also a North York Moors caving virgin) went to the furthest upstream end of the Excalibur streamway.
My recollection of this from when we originally explored and surveyed was about 10m of diminishing streamway, becoming flat out in the water with no way on. For 17 years, this has been the furthest upstream end of the system. Tonight this was to change!
Just back from the termination point on the left was a small tube going off into the darkness. It was small, wet and gnarly and not very inviting at all, certainly not an enticing prospect, but a surprising omission from our original exploration – as it was just about body sized. All I can assume is that it may have been more choked with cobbles or mud when we originally explored (the system will have flooded countless times since), or perhaps we were just clumsy to miss this?
I quickly discovered that there is no digging tool better than a younger, thinner and more enthusiastic caver. I sent Dylan in, and he battled his way 4m along this tube (I was pleased to not have gone first). He was followed by Chris, until they were suddenly almost out of sight! I told them to crack on and explore, and waited patiently for their return, expecting it to only be a matter of a few minutes.
They returned over 45 minutes later (sufficiently long that I had already started picturing the associated cave rescue) recounting having pushed two more tight squeezes to return to the streamway upstream of the previous limit. They then explored upstream for about 40m, with various chambers and avens! True gentlemen as they are, they turned around at a fork in the streamway, with two crawling inlets going off into the distance, to leave something for us to return to the next week.
Full report of that first session here:
YCC Blog: Excalibur streamway extended!
With work in the Jenga Extensions paused, Pandemic Pot (downstream, of Jenga), and the River Dove dig both temporarily mothballed, and our project at Cawthorn still going nowhere fast, attention...
With open virgin passage awaiting us, we returned enthusiastically last night, me and Dylan, plus Conor Morrison, as Chris was not available.
Full report here:
YCC Blog: Exploration of the Excalibur MEGA extensions
We had an awesome night down Excalibur on 13th August, probably one of the most exciting nights of new exploration since the 2020 Covid Extensions in Jenga Pot. Last week set...
In summary, the Excalibur streamway has been extended, we estimate by at least another 100m from the previous upper limit. The MEGA Extensions (Make Excalibur Great Again, in tribute to Dylan’s nationality) are certainly not stomping streamway, but they are rather good fun, have several standing sections, a real atmosphere and a mixture of squeezing, crawling, and even a climb. Both inlets were pushed to an eventual and inevitable closedown, as we are almost certainly underneath the sinks now, so there is little scope for further cave upstream.
It’s amazing what a revisit to an old haunt with a fresh pair of eyes (and the passage of considerable time) can achieve. Even better if you return with a younger, thinner and more hardcore caver who is happy to carry the tools and keen to make their impression on the area.
Surveying is the next job, hopefully in one session over the coming month.
