Ireby Fell

[Wren]

Any one been down in the last couple of months?
Are the rumors of the enterance having fallen in true?
Intend to go next week.  Wren

 

[Horace]

We went down a few weeks ago. The entrance has been impressively shored up in the last year, and an iron ladder fitted in the concrete tube. One of our group complained it lowered the grade of the cave by a full notch because getting back out of the tube used to be the most difficult part of the trip!

 

[dunc]

There was some movement and I'm sure I read somewhere (can't recall where now) a while back that the slope to the first pitch had been shored (as Horaces experience says)..

and an iron ladder fitted in the concrete tube.

Well, how miserable, wheres the fun in that!? :thumbsdown:

 

[newcastlecaver]

A mixture of people from RRCPC and Alan S from YSS were involved in shoring it up so I heard, no harm in making it safer... 

 

[Pete]

Any one been down in the last couple of months?
Are the rumors of the enterance having fallen in true?
Intend to go next week.  Wren

As Horace said, nicely sured up and now with Iron ladder, no need to have a handline for the entrance any more. Still a bit unstable (but no worse than anywhere else) the other side of the tube, just have to be careful not to kick cave down on people in the pitches!

 

[Hammy]

We did Ireby Fell last night and I can confirm an impressive job has been done in 'solidifying' the entrance!!

PS I left my shorts (green Columbia) outside the cave so if you find 'em Wren please let me know - I wouldn't mind having them back!

 

[Wren]

Thanks to all. Wren

 

[Hammy]

Very near the entrance to the cave in all the new shoring I noticed this enticing gap in the scaffolding

http://tobyspeight.fotopic.net/p30387318.html

As you can see it appears to be called the Bubbles Route. Has anybody any further information as to where it leads?

 

[newcastlecaver]

I heard something about this, The present entrance is downstream (only slightly) of where the water from the stream sinks- thus the entrance has always intercepted the stream lower down, when the entrance was being stabilised they found a passage leading upstream in the boulder choke, I don't think it goes far but was previously unentered as far as I know.

 

[Hammy]

My curiosity has now been satisfied by the most recent 'Descent' magazine which has details of the Bubbles Route.

Hope to check it out soon!

 

[Colin the Caver]

My curiosity has now been satisfied by the most recent 'Descent' magazine which has details of the Bubbles Route.

Hope to check it out soon!

How about some info for those of us who havn't got the latest edition of 'Descent'.

Colin

 

[cap n chris]

OK, Colin, here's some info.

You can purchase Descent for £3.85. 

 

[Colin the Caver]

OK, Colin, here's some info.

You can purchase Descent for £3.85. 

Not where I live you can't. I was hoping for some info before I go to Yorkshire at the weekend

Colin

 

[cap n chris]

Colin, I've sent you a message with some info 

 

[Colin the Caver]

Ta

 

[Hammy]

Here you go Colin - some more information for you!

Popped up to Ireby to retrieve my shorts today so thought I'd have a peep in the 'Bubbles' to see what it's all about.

Well I was all alone and made the mistake of wearing my SRT kit on the way in and having a fairly heavy tackle bag with me. It's not tight as such but awkward, and after a while I sort of thought it was the kind of place that would be nice to have some company in so I shamefully bottled it.

I got down the three climbs - 2m, 3m and 2m and headed on a bit of a rift traverse where my SRT kit caught on everything and the tackle bag was being a real pig to carry - peering round a corner I could see the rift continuing for a few more metres which must have been fairly close to the pitch but by then I'd had enough so out I went.

Not wishing the trip to be totally abortive I decided to do Shadow since I had enough gear with me but the main pitch was under a significant flow of water at the deviation.

It's interesting to see where the surface sinks reappear underground! It must have been a pretty wet night last night.

 

[cap n chris]

Did you collect the blue tackle bag stuffed under the ledge where your shorts were?

Also, did you find the collection of beetles (probably dead by now) that I put in your right hand rear shorts pocket?....

 

[damian]

My wife went down the Bubbles Route a couple of weeks ago and she reports it as "good fun". She says there is nothing horribly tight, but medium-sized people to need to remove SRT kits. That said there is plenty of space before the pitches to put on an SRT kit, so it is probably best to carry it in a sack. The pitches were rigged when she was there. She seemed to enjoy it as an alternative to the traditional routes.

Damian.