Peter Burgess
New member
Amy said:
In Wales it's called "I can't believe it's not raining."
Hello & I'm visiting the UK from the US....
- Thread starter Amy
- Start date
In Wales it's called "I can't believe it's not raining."
Ok guys what gives? What did you do to me?
So I'm finally not totally missing ya'all just semi missing you all but my thoughts transitioned to TAG in january mostly so I was distracted in my cave-brain-thoughts.
I open up the right side of my closet. The side that has my cave gear on the floor. Mind you, it is packed and put away neatly inside my cave sack thingie which I shoe-gooed back up so it's nice and watertight again. One sniff. ONE LOUSY INHALE because I gotta breathe, ya know? And what do I smell? Indeed. Your caves.
*wistful sigh*
Now I wanna be there again. I'm actually just yammering on in the IRC to my TAG friends again about ya'all and your caves. I think they might be *slightly* tired of hearing about it haha. Oh well, they gotta deal!
So I'm finally not totally missing ya'all just semi missing you all but my thoughts transitioned to TAG in january mostly so I was distracted in my cave-brain-thoughts.
I open up the right side of my closet. The side that has my cave gear on the floor. Mind you, it is packed and put away neatly inside my cave sack thingie which I shoe-gooed back up so it's nice and watertight again. One sniff. ONE LOUSY INHALE because I gotta breathe, ya know? And what do I smell? Indeed. Your caves.
*wistful sigh*
Now I wanna be there again. I'm actually just yammering on in the IRC to my TAG friends again about ya'all and your caves. I think they might be *slightly* tired of hearing about it haha. Oh well, they gotta deal!
Bumping because....
*drumroll*
I just turned in my tax forms and I get some refunds this year so heyyy that with the tiny bit I got from the calendar (that was a bust, but still fun to do haha!) looks like I have enough to make it back over there!
You may now vote on the best times. Cheap flights to London are usually in March, April, Sept, Oct, and early Nov.
I am defending next month and March and April are pretty well set for cave trips to southern Indiana and Kentucky.
I hope to move to TAG in October.
So probably Sept/Oct are good months to look at. Of course, a cheap flight in a summer month if I come across one would be fine too!
How about it? When would you all recommend?
I'll of COURSE be in Mendip and the Dales again. Dales folk, you better hang around more this time and not abandon me at the dump! :chair: just kidding One Amp and Steph and Joe were great rescuing me on Monday night. Let me say, that place is a bit creepy to be in by yourself.
OH I think Gaping Gill looks like a lot of fun to see...is that whole dealie in Sept, right? maybe I should shoot for that?
On my list of things to do:
- Gaping Gill
- OFD through trip
- Swildon's short round
- basically anything because I love all the photos you all post in the wezzit threads (feel free to recommend!)
New this year for me includes the fact I now have vertical training and gear. Although I wouldn't mind trying out this thing ya'all call a "stop" basically because I still wonder if I'd like it better than my rack but no one around here really knows them at all and just says to not use them. But please, let's try it on a training tower and not in-cave like ya'all tried to do to me last time (looking at you, dales people!). :tease: I do plan on bringing my kit because I'm still feeling unsteady on vertical stuff but I know my gear therefore I feel (basically) safe with it. I haven't done anything that huge *yet* (about 70 ft is the most I've climbed at once haha) but that may and hopefully will change before I get over there. Gaping Gill is what...350 ft or so? Yeah I need some more practice before I do that! I only frog I don't have a ropewalker system! But my friend just set back up his treadmill so I can go train!
*drumroll*
I just turned in my tax forms and I get some refunds this year so heyyy that with the tiny bit I got from the calendar (that was a bust, but still fun to do haha!) looks like I have enough to make it back over there!
You may now vote on the best times. Cheap flights to London are usually in March, April, Sept, Oct, and early Nov.
I am defending next month and March and April are pretty well set for cave trips to southern Indiana and Kentucky.
I hope to move to TAG in October.
So probably Sept/Oct are good months to look at. Of course, a cheap flight in a summer month if I come across one would be fine too!
How about it? When would you all recommend?
I'll of COURSE be in Mendip and the Dales again. Dales folk, you better hang around more this time and not abandon me at the dump! :chair: just kidding One Amp and Steph and Joe were great rescuing me on Monday night. Let me say, that place is a bit creepy to be in by yourself.
OH I think Gaping Gill looks like a lot of fun to see...is that whole dealie in Sept, right? maybe I should shoot for that?
On my list of things to do:
- Gaping Gill
- OFD through trip
- Swildon's short round
- basically anything because I love all the photos you all post in the wezzit threads (feel free to recommend!)
New this year for me includes the fact I now have vertical training and gear. Although I wouldn't mind trying out this thing ya'all call a "stop"
basically because I still wonder if I'd like it better than my rack but no one around here really knows them at all and just says to not use them. But please, let's try it on a training tower and not in-cave like ya'all tried to do to me last time (looking at you, dales people!). :tease: I do plan on bringing my kit because I'm still feeling unsteady on vertical stuff but I know my gear therefore I feel (basically) safe with it. I haven't done anything that huge *yet* (about 70 ft is the most I've climbed at once haha) but that may and hopefully will change before I get over there. Gaping Gill is what...350 ft or so? Yeah I need some more practice before I do that! I only frog I don't have a ropewalker system! But my friend just set back up his treadmill so I can go train!carabeener
New member
Missing out Peak District? With the delights of peak system, Titan and the likes?
barrabus
New member
Amy said:
You should visit Ease Gill on Casterton Fell, England's longest cave system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easegill_System
http://www.rrcpc.org.uk/easegill/
I don't know whether you have looked at http://cavemaps.org/.
Lots of surveys of Ease Gill, although the most recent aren't available full size on the web.
http://cavemaps.org/cavePages/Ease%20Gill__Ease%20Gill%20Caverns.htm
This one is good but drawn in 1967 so missing many major discoveries.
http://cavemaps.org/deepzoom/BCRA%20T9-2%20Ease%20Gill.htm
See here for some route descriptions.
http://braemoor.co.uk/caving/directory.shtml
Sounds fun!! I bouncing with excitement already!So the list is now...
- Gaping Gill
- OFD through trip
- Swildon's short round
- Ease Gill (probably not the whole thing though
)- Dan Yr Ogof (someone PM'd me I should see it)
Keep idears coming!
My max is definitely caving 3 days in a row I just get too tired going longer than that! I need a breather day then. So figure 2 weeks there making it max 12 trips (but probably 2 less because of day incoming and day outgoing, plus have to give travel time between areas...so maybe 8 is more likely). But still, we can get a list going and categorize which are in the same areas and then I can plan around that! Erm, ya'all will be around during the week...righttttt?
And if I can con them into going, I'll drag some of my TAG friends with me
Don't worry, they're all better cavers than me so anything i can do they can do, lol.Hidden Earth conference/party is "at the end of Sept" in South Wales this year: http://hidden-earth.org.uk/index2.html
Plenty of worthwhile evening trips to do on Mendip, including Hunter's Lodge Inn Sink, which is under the pub...
Gaping Gill has several less vertical routes in (still requiring SRT). Alum Pot is a worthwhile alternative if you haven't got the time or legs for the walk up to GG.
Mike
Plenty of worthwhile evening trips to do on Mendip, including Hunter's Lodge Inn Sink, which is under the pub...
Gaping Gill has several less vertical routes in (still requiring SRT). Alum Pot is a worthwhile alternative if you haven't got the time or legs for the walk up to GG.
Mike
Peter Burgess
New member
I echo Mike's suggestion af attending Hidden Earth, if you are happy to exchange two days caving for two days "meeting people". You will learn more about UK caving in two days at Hidden Earth than two weeks getting underground, not that two weeks getting underground is a bad thing, of course. Plus Hidden Earth is a lot of fun.
September is probably better weather than Oct/Nov..
- all entrances are vertical to some degree or another with GG itself being more or less straight down and up ~100m. Stream Passage Pot is a very pleasant way in and a few people on here would say it's the best way in.
Plenty of options, depends on your SRT knowledge and length of trip you wanted - a couple of worthy trips would be to abseil down Lancaster Hole and do the through trip to Wretched Rabbit taking in a few side-trips/detours along the way, or drop a short ladder down County Pot which gives numerous options for long or short trips with very little equipment.- Ease Gill (probably not the whole thing though
- did they say a trip in the cave or just a stroll around the show cave? A trip in DYO (beyond the showcave) requires a leader, plus insurance (not sure if you have any, can get any on a temporary basis, someone else will know the details of what's accepted etc!) so may be more tricky to organise.
Well, whatever way is gooddunc said:
350ft might be a long way to frog for me but that is in (if we assume Sept) 6 months from now still which is a lot of time to work on it. People frog Ellison's here which has Fantastic (586 ft) and Incredible (440 ft) although more seem to tend to use a ropewalker system for that. Once I get better at SRT I am TOTALLY doing that trip. [quote author=dunc]
Plenty of options, depends on your SRT knowledge and length of trip you wanted - a couple of worthy trips would be to abseil down Lancaster Hole and do the through trip to Wretched Rabbit taking in a few side-trips/detours along the way, or drop a short ladder down County Pot which gives numerous options for long or short trips with very little equipment.[/quote] SRT knowledge currently at beginning levels for sure. I can go up and down and change over both directions but have not yet practiced passing knots or rebelays (although conceptually I'm guessing it's same as a change over just keep going the same direction, haha.) but I have raised & shown rabbits since 1999 if there is a place called Wretched Rabbit I want to see it!!- Ease Gill (probably not the whole thing though
Google-fu tells me Lancaster Hole is only 110 ft which that is totally do-able.[quote author=dunc]
- did they say a trip in the cave or just a stroll around the show cave? A trip in DYO (beyond the showcave) requires a leader, plus insurance (not sure if you have any, can get any on a temporary basis, someone else will know the details of what's accepted etc!) so may be more tricky to organise.[/quote] They didn't say but yeah I saw it was a show cave on google-fu and asked. What do you mean insurance? Health insurance? Yes I have health insurance. Everyone in the US does lol. Mine does cover me internationally in emergency situations (if I get a cold, it won't cover me going to get antibiotics, but if I break a bone, it would cover an ER trip sort of thing). Is that what you mean? We don't have any specific caving insurance here for people to carry that I am aware of.
Oh and hidden earth sounds like a blast. Who wants to be my partner for the olympics!?
I have photos I could enter too!! Caves you've probably never seen mwhahahaha. Maybe I'll get the best UK newcomer prize :tease: I'll work on getting a funny cave photo I like that category. The funniest I have right now is a fun one of my arse but I didn't take that one.
I have photos I could enter too!! Caves you've probably never seen mwhahahaha. Maybe I'll get the best UK newcomer prize :tease: I'll work on getting a funny cave photo I like that category. The funniest I have right now is a fun one of my arse but I didn't take that one.
kay
Well-known member
Amy said:
Public liability insurance. So if someone sues you for injury, or the landowner sues you for damage, you are covered.
You should possibly check your health insurance and make sure it covers "hazardous activities" like caving. Insurance companies are much happier covering broken bones if you're just walking around sightseeing, where it's not very likely you'll break anything, than they are when you're heading down a big drop on a single bit of rope.
Les W
Active member
Hi Amy,
some sites here require that you have BCA insurance for access. I'm not sure that you can get it as you are not a resident, but I guess there must be some sort of arrangement for visiting cavers. I'm not sure what but if Nick Williams comes along then I am sure he can clarify what is available.
There are only a few sites that require this but unfortunately Dan yr Ogof is one of them.
some sites here require that you have BCA insurance for access. I'm not sure that you can get it as you are not a resident, but I guess there must be some sort of arrangement for visiting cavers. I'm not sure what but if Nick Williams comes along then I am sure he can clarify what is available.
There are only a few sites that require this but unfortunately Dan yr Ogof is one of them.
barrabus
New member
Amy said:I have raised & shown rabbits since 1999 if there is a place called Wretched Rabbit I want to see it!!
During the early exploration a passage was pushed to the point where a rabbit skeleton could be seen and the explorers knew they were near the surface. When they finally accessed the skeleton it turned out to be a fox!
Lancaster Hole to Wretched Rabbit would be a good trip for you to do as Dunc suggests.