Ladders in Riflemans (Draenen)

[meanderthal]

Just a quick note to say that one rung on the top ladder up to the Riflemans dig has failed. The rest of the ladder looks to be in an equally poor state and I wouldnt advise using it. It is possble to climb up around the ladder and the horizontal bar seems to be in good shape.

The lower ladder is cleaner and drier so seems to be fairing much better.

Is there much current activity in the digs? There was a noticable draft yesterday.

When were these ladders installed?

 

[Huge]

There is still intermittent activity at Rifleman's by the original crowd and there have been attempts to get a younger generation involved.

Not 100% sure when the chain ladders were installed but it would have been some time in the late '90s, after one of the original electron ladders failed as I was climbing down it.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Had a good look there some years ago. High passage running with the fault with a long way yet to go. Looks like a mass of mud etc has run in from the side .Some progress can be made over the top. Ideal site for a drag run up by the roof. Would be good to see some photos as I did not have the camera for once.

 

[Stuart France]

The rumour mill has been working overtime. Someone (who has probably never used any of the ladders in Draenen) suggested to me today that the second-generation ladder on Balcony Pitch had a missing rung and generally was in a poor state. This is definitely not the case as I was there in November and its robustness was beyond any doubt. So I think there is confusion with the Rifleman's dig ladders, as cited in this thread.

There are no ladders in Ogof Draenen maintained by the management group. All the present ladders are the work of individuals who may or may not be actively involved in their care. In any case it is normal practice to use a safety rope on ladders whether they appear to be secure or not.