The passage was about a metre diametre and mostly filled to within a few inches of the roof. The digging was always the easy bit. A few inches of dried cracked up mud on the top and then layers of fine silts and sand. Originally the passage was open on the Ireby 1 side for a total of 58m of crawling until the sand rose too close to the roof. This was dug over the years for a further 60+m to where the connection was made on sunday. All the spoil from this side was bagged and then transported between 'laybys' about ten times before being lowered down the pitch into Duke Street where it was piled up on the bank away from the stream where it was safe from being washed into the sump.
Obviously this became more and more tedious as it progressed. A dig was started from the other side, beyond sump 1 in Duke Street 2. This was where the Grand Days Out started as to get the required amount of diggers there involved pumping out 18,000 litres of water from sump one. The corresponding passage in Ireby 2 starts in the roof of Canal Passage which is about 4m high. All the spoil was dropped over the edge into the canal. Initially this was easy and quick progress was made, until the distance on this side grew to 60+m and required ten people to dig it. I should say that it wasn't until the first GDO in January that a proper survey showed just how far apart the two ends were, and it was a 'we,ve started so we'll finish' sort of thing.
One of the good things about this dig was that any amount of people could help out from a team of 40+ helpers on the GDOs, to six, four, two or even solo diggers could all make progress from the Ireby 1 side. Apart from the ratholed connection all has been made hands and knees size. This has been a very low tech dig which relied on caver power to succeed. Obviously there have been a number of stalwarts who have done many, many trips but without the great numbers of other involved, some for just one trip, then it would never have succeeded at all.
This might sound like a big effort but it was nothing compared to the monumental effort by only a few cavers who broke through the Cripple Creek route earlier in the year.
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