Franklin
Member
Gaping Gill
Wednesday, 20th May, 2015
Team: Tim Allen, Roo Walters, Chris Howes, Judith Calford, Pete O'Neil, Mark Wright, Joe Giblin, Steve, Mike, Frank Pearson, and the Bradford PC Winchers.
The Reigl VX-400 Laser Scanner was lugged up to the Gill with the rest of the gear and merged with that other mighty piece of kit - the Bradford Winch; Alien, Prometheus, Star Wars - they had nothing on this trip - science fiction couldn't keep up. We were living the dream, that strange land were high tech merges with cave life - and we'd all had surreal for breakfast. And to top it all, the Little Green Men of Bradford had been cleared of any involvement in the Hatton Garden jewellery heist.
The winch whirred and dropped the team and all the gear into the floodlit main chamber. Roo, Tim and Steve set up the scanner, camera, batteries, tripod and computer over by the Mud Hall connection end of the chamber while Chris and Judith set up their photography equipment. The rest of us - the mules, looked on, half expecting a laser light show as the large tin can began to rotate. No light show but the computer began to record the walls of the chamber - very impressive. As Chris and Judith began taking photographs, the scanners began moving from station to station around the chamber - ah, but where are the compass-clinos and mud-clogged tapes of yesteryear?
With such futuristic machinations going on, the mules (Pete, Mark, Joe and I) decided on what John Hutton in his 1780 cave guidebook called a 'maunder' (a bewildered ramble). A quick visit to Bar Pot and Stream Passage brought us back into the present, and down to earth - marvellously bewildered rambling in such a fine hole. Returning to the chamber, we found the scanning and photography team joined by Mike, and now stationed next to the waterfall - 20 scans done. Up and out on the winch to the spring sunshine and yellow wagtails went team and kit for the next stage of the exercise.
The scanner was tipped on its side from the gantry overlooking the shaft - bound with tape and ropes. Calls from the viewing platform cast doubt not on the pin holding the scanner to the tripod but the casing it was pinned to - more tape was being added at this point. Mock phone calls to Andy Eavis (one of the project partners) were auditioned: "There's good news and bad news - the good news is that we still have one of the handles of the scanner ... !" (Only joking, Andy - perfectly safe) The scan was completed without incident, phew. Tim and Mark then abseiled down to Birkbeck Ledge and the scanner was lowered to them by a now paranoid group of haulers. Scan done on Birkbeck and hauled back up, followed by Tim and Mark. Further scans were completed around the top of the shaft, the sink hole and Fell Beck.
Back in the New Inn the team were disappointed that Roo hadn't already stitched all the scans together and created a fly through from Google Earth - including the Bradford winch tent. Perhaps there are parts of the process we don't quite understand yet ...
Great day - many thanks to all the Bradford PC cavers for making it possible.
Wednesday, 20th May, 2015
Team: Tim Allen, Roo Walters, Chris Howes, Judith Calford, Pete O'Neil, Mark Wright, Joe Giblin, Steve, Mike, Frank Pearson, and the Bradford PC Winchers.
The Reigl VX-400 Laser Scanner was lugged up to the Gill with the rest of the gear and merged with that other mighty piece of kit - the Bradford Winch; Alien, Prometheus, Star Wars - they had nothing on this trip - science fiction couldn't keep up. We were living the dream, that strange land were high tech merges with cave life - and we'd all had surreal for breakfast. And to top it all, the Little Green Men of Bradford had been cleared of any involvement in the Hatton Garden jewellery heist.
The winch whirred and dropped the team and all the gear into the floodlit main chamber. Roo, Tim and Steve set up the scanner, camera, batteries, tripod and computer over by the Mud Hall connection end of the chamber while Chris and Judith set up their photography equipment. The rest of us - the mules, looked on, half expecting a laser light show as the large tin can began to rotate. No light show but the computer began to record the walls of the chamber - very impressive. As Chris and Judith began taking photographs, the scanners began moving from station to station around the chamber - ah, but where are the compass-clinos and mud-clogged tapes of yesteryear?
With such futuristic machinations going on, the mules (Pete, Mark, Joe and I) decided on what John Hutton in his 1780 cave guidebook called a 'maunder' (a bewildered ramble). A quick visit to Bar Pot and Stream Passage brought us back into the present, and down to earth - marvellously bewildered rambling in such a fine hole. Returning to the chamber, we found the scanning and photography team joined by Mike, and now stationed next to the waterfall - 20 scans done. Up and out on the winch to the spring sunshine and yellow wagtails went team and kit for the next stage of the exercise.
The scanner was tipped on its side from the gantry overlooking the shaft - bound with tape and ropes. Calls from the viewing platform cast doubt not on the pin holding the scanner to the tripod but the casing it was pinned to - more tape was being added at this point. Mock phone calls to Andy Eavis (one of the project partners) were auditioned: "There's good news and bad news - the good news is that we still have one of the handles of the scanner ... !" (Only joking, Andy - perfectly safe) The scan was completed without incident, phew. Tim and Mark then abseiled down to Birkbeck Ledge and the scanner was lowered to them by a now paranoid group of haulers. Scan done on Birkbeck and hauled back up, followed by Tim and Mark. Further scans were completed around the top of the shaft, the sink hole and Fell Beck.
Back in the New Inn the team were disappointed that Roo hadn't already stitched all the scans together and created a fly through from Google Earth - including the Bradford winch tent. Perhaps there are parts of the process we don't quite understand yet ...
Great day - many thanks to all the Bradford PC cavers for making it possible.
