Ireby water conditions

[testgerbil]

Hey all,

I remember reading in an old CNCC rigging guide it said that some routes in Ireby were doable when water levels were high...is this still the case?

The only reason I ask, is that I also seem to remember someone mentioning that the water course had changed over the last few years too, so the guide I read might not be applicable.

I've never done Ireby before and am going to be in up in the Dales this weekend for my first caving for quite some time....and it's currently pissing it down

Paul

 

[Fulk]

It's worth bearing in mind that 2 or 3 years ago two cavers died on the third pitch in high water conditions, and several parties have been trapped below the pitches down there.

 

[Pitlamp]

and the fell is very wet at present . . . .

 

[dunc]

The water course has changed, probably more than once. If it's quite an old guide it may be refering to Shadow, more recently it was the case that Bubbles was ok, but neither are now - so unless something has changed again no route can be considered doable in wet conditions and as above it is quite wet at the moment..

Unless the weather suddenly improves it might be worth considering other options!

 

[susie]

and having to free-dive what is normally a crawl under the formations in the main stream way is not an experience that I want to repeat!

 

[spikey]

Slightly OT, but;
As I was involved (on the periphery) of the incident to which Fulk is referring (loading the Sea King with sandbags and timber, due to being parked at the top of the Turbary Road at the time), I thought I'd check when it was - February 2001. Certainly doesn't seem that long ago.

If memory serves me correctly, whilst the weather on the Sunday was awful (and hence the reason for not caving) the rest of the weekend had not infact been that bad. It was an extremely sobering reminder of how much conditions can be affected by what, on the face of it, was a day of rain.

 

[Fulk]

I thought I'd check when it was - February 2001.

Bugger; time flies faster the older you get!!!

 

[susie]

It's three years since a "Grand Day Out", when we had to free-dive the duck when taking down the diving bottles. I'll never forget Brian Judd's perfect response when I asked him what on earth made him go down on such a day. "Well", he said, "I thought there would be safety in numbers!".

 

[testgerbil]

Cheers for the info guys, will indeed be looking for A.N. Other trip.

What's Boggarts like?

P

 

[damian]

What's Boggarts like?

Bottom end can get quite damp. The rest of the cave is pretty dry and is probably one of the easier trips in the  Not For The Faint Hearted guidebook.

 

[NOZ]

All of the routes take a lot of water. If rigged as best possible, with plastic to divert water on the third pitch, the limiting factor in the cave is probably the calcite duck. Though; both the dry and wet routes, down Well pitch, take a huge amount of water when conditions are at their worst. Speaking from experience of being down there when it was probably as wet as it has ever been.

 

[Alex]

Just to be aware I think NOZ is talking about Ireby because that does not sound like Boggarts

 

[Benfool]

yup hes talking about ireby!