Gaping Gill: Documentary of the First Free Climb

[JackH]

Hello, new here and I come with my begging bowl...

I'm working on a documentary film about the first free climb of Gaping Gill main shaft by Paul Eastwood and Dave Hetherington completed in 1988. I know, on this forum of all places, I don't need to list Gaping Gill's stats ut I was struck by how understated the climb was. Given the impressive location, the fact that it's been almost 40 years since it was completed and, unless anyone here can tell me otherwise, I don't believe it's been repeated since - it seems crazy that more isn't know about the climb.

The film will follow the historic climb, look at the environment of Gaping Gill and see two new climbers attempt the route in 2026, Steve McClure and Olympian Molly Thompson-Smith.

Rather than being a flashy and overly produced film about the repeated attempt, this will be a film about adventure and with Molly on board, a person who is finding enjoyment in climbing and exploring for it's own sake, in contrast to pursuing medals and competition wins.

The caving and climbing communities have been so helpful already and many people (i'm sure some on this forum) have offered advice and assistance where they can.

For my day job I work as a producer at Channel 4, specialising in camera work and lighting. This project is a personal project, but hopefully my profession can show that the film will be made to a high quality! To keep the film editorially independent the funding needs to be independent too and so I've started a crowdfunder page, the link is below.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone is able to support, either directly or by sharing the link with your wider network.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/beerbottle

I'll leave you with a few stills from the footage already shot, much more to come!

Thanks in advance and any questions, i'll be happy to answer here.

 

[andrewmcleod]

It has at least been attempted...

INCIDENT 38/2021 – JUNE 23rd WED. – GAPING GILL, CLAPHAM, NORTH YORKSHIRE – CAVE INCIDENT – The Cave Rescue Organisation

cro.org.uk

I'd be surprised though if it really is unrepeated.

 

[JackH]

It has at least been attempted...

INCIDENT 38/2021 – JUNE 23rd WED. – GAPING GILL, CLAPHAM, NORTH YORKSHIRE – CAVE INCIDENT – The Cave Rescue Organisation

cro.org.uk

I'd be surprised though if it really is unrepeated.

Yes, I think it might have been Pitlamp from this forum who put me onto this incident. I had tried to track the rescued climbers down, but with no luck unfortunately. I'd be interested to hear about how it unfolded, if anyone has further details.

 

[Lankyman]

It has at least been attempted...

INCIDENT 38/2021 – JUNE 23rd WED. – GAPING GILL, CLAPHAM, NORTH YORKSHIRE – CAVE INCIDENT – The Cave Rescue Organisation

cro.org.uk

I'd be surprised though if it really is unrepeated.

I've never heard of a successful attempt and I think something this monumental would most likely make it onto UK Climbing. It was something a friend and I (both of us cavers and climbers) had toyed with back in the eighties. Somehow, something else (drier!) always seemed to come up. I used to do occasional work for Dave Hetherington's employer at the time and remember talking to him about their ascent. IIRC it was the upper reaches towards daylight that were the hardest due to the slimier rock. On paper it's 'only' E3 with some 5c technical pitches so should be well within the limits of a lot of climbers (certainly Steve McLure). But then again, it is where it is with all that means.

 

[PeteHall]

Very much look forward to this documentary!

I used to work with Paul Eastwood, but we only went caving together once (Charterhouse Cave about 5 years ago). A very modest chap considering his achievements and still puts many much younger people to shame.

 

[JackH]

I've never heard of a successful attempt and I think something this monumental would most likely make it onto UK Climbing. It was something a friend and I (both of us cavers and climbers) had toyed with back in the eighties. Somehow, something else (drier!) always seemed to come up. I used to do occasional work for Dave Hetherington's employer at the time and remember talking to him about their ascent. IIRC it was the upper reaches towards daylight that were the hardest due to the slimier rock. On paper it's 'only' E3 with some 5c technical pitches so should be well within the limits of a lot of climbers (certainly Steve McLure). But then again, it is where it is with all that means.

Speaking to Paul he's suggested that it'll be the conditions on the day that will really be the decider, judging by the only photo of him and Dave on the route it does look incredibly dry. As a few of the cavers I've chatted too have pointed out the hydrology might well have changed over the years, resulting in more water falling down that main shaft... even in drier conditions.

We're due there for a few recces over the coming months, so fingers crossed for favourable weather and good conditions for Steve and Molly!

 

[Pitlamp]

An important factor re the hydrology was when we discovered Rat Hole Sink in 1984. This was before the DH / PE climb but after some of the other climbs. Rat Hole Sink allows much more of Fell Beck to be diverted than formerly, which may have helped Dave & Paul.

But yes, there is a number of sinks in Fell beck which feed various inlets down below. The amount of water which goes down each sink varies all the time as the sediments in the beck bottom shift around from flood to flood. But they are all well known to those who operate winches. I know you're in contact with a fellow club member of mine so he can access this information to give you the best chance of drying up the route.

 

[hannahb]

Speaking to Paul he's suggested that it'll be the conditions on the day that will really be the decider, judging by the only photo of him and Dave on the route it does look incredibly dry. As a few of the cavers I've chatted too have pointed out the hydrology might well have changed over the years, resulting in more water falling down that main shaft... even in drier conditions.

We're due there for a few recces over the coming months, so fingers crossed for favourable weather and good conditions for Steve and Molly!

I recall a conversation with someone about this and the gist of it was that the successful climb took place in unusual conditions which at least partly explains why it hasn't been done again. I could be wrong.

 

[Lankyman]

Just checking in my 2005 copy of Yorkshire Limestone (YMC definitive guide) and there is some historical and route description on page 490/1. The FFA was on 11th June, 1988 so would that have meant the winch (and Fell Beck diversion) was on at the time? I possibly recall DH mentioning people going up and down as they climbed. Or perhaps I've misremembered (so much from back then seems fogged by the mist of time)?

 

[JackH]

Just checking in my 2005 copy of Yorkshire Limestone (YMC definitive guide) and there is some historical and route description on page 490/1. The FFA was on 11th June, 1988 so would that have meant the winch (and Fell Beck diversion) was on at the time? I possibly recall DH mentioning people going up and down as they climbed. Or perhaps I've misremembered (so much from back then seems fogged by the mist of time)?

No you're quite right, water diverted and the shaft was laddered too, there's an interesting description of the guys having to ask someone to politely get off Birkbeck's ledge so they could use it to belay from. From Paul's description they got very lucky with good (as good as it would ever be for climbing) conditions.

Martinr - The link seems to be working for me but can be copy and pasted into your browser if you're having trouble:

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/beerbottle

Thanks to everyone for the support so far.

 

[martinr]

The link seems to be working for me but can be copy and pasted into your browser if you're having trouble:

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/beerbottle

It was due to an outage at Cloudfare giving a 500 Internal Server Error, (since resolved which is why I deleted my post)

Cloudflare down latest: ‘Fix’ update issued after X, ChatGPT and more go down

Outage comes around a month after Amazon Web Services outage also took much of the internet offline

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Pitlamp]

Hannah wrote: "I recall a conversation with someone about this and the gist of it was that the successful climb took place in unusual conditions which at least partly explains why it hasn't been done again. I could be wrong.".

I'm pretty sure you're right Hannah.
Other than in the best conditions it can be a fairly hostile place.

 

[JackH]

It was due to an outage at Cloudfare giving a 500 Internal Server Error, (since resolved which is why I deleted my post)

Cloudflare down latest: ‘Fix’ update issued after X, ChatGPT and more go down

Outage comes around a month after Amazon Web Services outage also took much of the internet offline

www.independent.co.uk

A few friends reported the same! Glad it's all back up now.

 

[JackH]

Hannah wrote: "I recall a conversation with someone about this and the gist of it was that the successful climb took place in unusual conditions which at least partly explains why it hasn't been done again. I could be wrong.".

I'm pretty sure you're right Hannah.
Other than in the best conditions it can be a fairly hostile place.

I think so too - from my research it seems there has been a few additional attempts, all anecdotal evidence rather than anything documented, that have ended up failing due to conditions, or perhaps the preparedness of the climbers for those conditions.

We're of course being very mindful of all of the factors needed to make this go well, safety is the main priority for everyone!

 

[Cantclimbtom]

• I'm wary and skeptical of crowd funded motivation
• I was only moaning the other day about the lack of independent adventure documentaries

I've just been set straight on 2 issues.
Now hurry up and make that film, I want to watch it

 

[JackH]

I'm wary and skeptical of crowd funded motivation
I was only moaning the other day about the lack of independent adventure documentaries
I've just been set straight on 2 issues.
Now hurry up and make that film, I want to watch it

Ha!

Truthfully, it's a real challenge to find the funding for these kinds of projects, even in my day job! But after the positive response from caving/climbing/outdoor folks, it seemed like the natural way to go.

Brands have been incredibly supportive with kit, but it's hard for them to justify the hard cost and... as you point out, difficult to keep it truly independent with funding coming that way.

We'll work as fast as we can and thanks for the support!

 

[Cantclimbtom]

I greatly enjoyed watching "Into the Light" 2014 (currently available to watch on Amazon Prime). I'll watch it again, sure the locations are much the same

 

[Matt]

I had a proper look at attempting to make this film (using Dave MacLeod and his friend Alan Cassidy) in 2014!? I had involvement with Triple Echo at the time, and so took Richard Else and Brian Hall into main chamber via BPC winch (I’m a BPC member) to look at the route. Our verdict was that it would almost certainly need to be undertaken with the dams in place, unless there was a period of exceptionally dry and predictable weather, to make it climable, in addition to the challenges of filming in the waterfall. We did a costing, which included building the dams with BPC support (assuming permission could be gained from the Estate) off ‘winch meet time’, and had some long debates about lighting options and vertical dolly shots. In the end we decided that there were too many variables within the budget that were unpredictable, and so made the film in Jingling Pot and Peak Cavern instead! It’s on YouTube if anyone is interested. Many people would agree (I think!?) that it would make a great film; my belief is that the challenges involved in making it are not necessarily the climb or the technical production, but the risk associated with the financial cost of ‘creating’ (or waiting for) the weather window and the associated logistics. If you can somehow resolve that issue by having cast and crew (and BPC/CPC support) on standby I think that would present an opportunity. Best of luck with it!

 

[Matt]

I had a proper look at attempting to make this film (using Dave MacLeod and his friend Alan Cassidy) in 2014!? I had involvement with Triple Echo at the time, and so took Richard Else and Brian Hall into main chamber via BPC winch (I’m a BPC member) to look at the route. Our verdict was that it would almost certainly need to be undertaken with the dams in place, unless there was a period of exceptionally dry and predictable weather, to make it climable, in addition to the challenges of filming in the waterfall. We did a costing, which included building the dams with BPC support (assuming permission could be gained from the Estate) off ‘winch meet time’, and had some long debates about lighting options and vertical dolly shots. In the end we decided that there were too many variables within the budget that were unpredictable, and so made the film in Jingling Pot and Peak Cavern instead! It’s on YouTube if anyone is interested. Many people would agree (I think!?) that it would make a great film; my belief is that the challenges involved in making it are not necessarily the climb or the technical production, but the risk associated with the financial cost of ‘creating’ (or waiting for) the weather window and the associated logistics. If you can somehow resolve that issue by having cast and crew (and BPC/CPC support) on standby I think that would present an opportunity. Best of luck with it!

To clarify... the film we were planning to make was about an ascent of GG Rider, which is clearly a more 'adventure/action' based film than your project @JackH, which clearly has a wider focus on the narrative surrounding Molly. Felt it was worth correcting to avoid being reductionist!

 

[Matt]

Link to our Jingling/Peak film: