Longest UK dig?
- Thread starter Pie Muncher
- Start date
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
mulucaver said:
Ahh. But does that not count because it had been dug out by somebody else before hand. ?
Some ground rules here on this one I think. :-\
cavermark
New member
Maybe we need a website to collate some league tables.
We could have different categories: dug out "natural" cave, dug out old mines, Blasted/enlarged passages/shafts. vertical/ near horizontal, Volume/weight (for digs that record number of kibbles/sandbags) human powered vs mechanically assisted digs etc. etc
If anyone can be bothered!
I don't have the skills.
We could have different categories: dug out "natural" cave, dug out old mines, Blasted/enlarged passages/shafts. vertical/ near horizontal, Volume/weight (for digs that record number of kibbles/sandbags) human powered vs mechanically assisted digs etc. etc
If anyone can be bothered!
I don't have the skills.
paul
Moderator
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
mulucaver said:
Maybe more than one definition would be needed for completeness, though it's not obvious which kind of dig would be the more difficult (even thinking just of largely horizontal digs through roughly similar material).
I've been on a long 'total excavation' where the passage was completely full, but where there was ample space for spoil only a few metres from the start of the dig.
And I've dug in places where digging was in non-full but still impassable passage, with intermittent fully open sections maybe even big enough to take a little spoil, but where in general, the further the dig got, the further back the spoil had to move as initial stacking spaces got filled up.
Length, volume, and distance to spoil heap(s) would all seem to be factors.
What about the extreme example where there's a short dig, but at the end of unhaulably small/awkward natural passage which spoil has to be manually dragged along in order to be dumped?
Or the long dig in an almost-filled large tunnel with a bedding-plane shaped profile remaining, where fill has to be dug out all the way along to progress, but where there's room in the bedding plane to dump it to the side without hauling?
I've been on a long 'total excavation' where the passage was completely full, but where there was ample space for spoil only a few metres from the start of the dig.
And I've dug in places where digging was in non-full but still impassable passage, with intermittent fully open sections maybe even big enough to take a little spoil, but where in general, the further the dig got, the further back the spoil had to move as initial stacking spaces got filled up.
Length, volume, and distance to spoil heap(s) would all seem to be factors.
What about the extreme example where there's a short dig, but at the end of unhaulably small/awkward natural passage which spoil has to be manually dragged along in order to be dumped?
Or the long dig in an almost-filled large tunnel with a bedding-plane shaped profile remaining, where fill has to be dug out all the way along to progress, but where there's room in the bedding plane to dump it to the side without hauling?
I suppose in a mine you often know where you're going, but then I guess that in caves you often know (or have a damn good idea) what you're digging towards.mulucaver said:
And it is possible to spend considerable time digging out a nice deep mineshaft and then on the 'breakthrough' trip, pop through into a few feet of open passage that ends in a short blind pit.
Been there, done that.
On the time front:
Mike
from http://www.cravenpotholeclub.org/CavingCenturyDetails.aspx?Group=Archives&Item=1900-1909
Mike
cavermark
New member
bograt said:
As I've just been sat next to Moose on a lump of rusty metal in the North Sea, I picked his brains (and survex file) to put this to bed (having woken it up from a long slumber!).
The surveyed vertical range from the top of the dug out entrance shaft to the bottom of the internal shaft dig is 72.3m (Moose says there is another 3 or 4 metres depth not on the survey. So call it 75m.
Must be pretty close with Templetons for a continuosuly dug out vertical range....
Clive G
Member
Les W said:cavermark said:
It is pretty close, Templeton is currently claimed to be 250 feet deep (as of Wednesday night), which according to google converts to 79.2m...
Either Google is up the spout or you misread the result. It should be 76.2 m - a difference (or otherwise), therefore, of 1.2 m . . . on the lower estimate . . . but, on the higher estimate, 72.3 m + 4 m = 76.3 m, and Templeton would be 10 cm short of the record . . .
cavermark
New member
It's the shaft denoted by a single verticalish line on the left of the picture for those of you who are confused
http://www.peakdistrictcaving.info/survey_titan_20130301_m24_f037_big.jpg
http://www.peakdistrictcaving.info/survey_titan_20130301_m24_f037_big.jpg
pete h
New member
Clive G said:Les W said:cavermark said:
It is pretty close, Templeton is currently claimed to be 250 feet deep (as of Wednesday night), which according to google converts to 79.2m...
Either Google is up the spout or you misread the result. It should be 76.2 m - a difference (or otherwise), therefore, of 1.2 m . . . on the lower estimate . . . but, on the higher estimate, 72.3 m + 4 m = 76.3 m, and Templeton would be 10 cm short of the record . . .
Even if your maths is right Templeton is an active dig, Monday and Wednesday 10 cm is about a spade depth so Monday will see it deeper. :ras:
Les W
Active member
Clive G said:It is pretty close, Templeton is currently claimed to be 250 feet deep (as of Wednesday night), which according to google converts to 79.2m...
Either Google is up the spout or you misread the result. It should be 76.2 m -
[/quote]
It was a mistype, 6 and 9 are right by each other on the keypad... :-[
Google put it at 76.2m...
tony from suffolk
Well-known member
Templeton's a fascinating place, isn't it? Fantastic work you folks have done to excavate it to that depth & I'd love to visit it someday.
Elaine
Active member
Visitors are most welcome to come Monday or Wednesday evenings only. I am quite happy as are most of the other diggers to bore you stupid with fascinating detail about every bucketful of gloop and rocks! 250ft was only a guess. I will try and come back next week with a more accurate depth. A good weeks digging can mean 9 inches deeper.
The ever increasing amount of infrastructure can delay us by needing repair and maintenance, but at least we don't need to pump as much as we used to.
The ever increasing amount of infrastructure can delay us by needing repair and maintenance, but at least we don't need to pump as much as we used to.
tony from suffolk
Well-known member
Thank you for your very kind invitation Elaine, I'd love to come and visit sometime.
Before my anticipated visit I'd be grateful for some general information, such as parking arrangements, on-site restaurant facilities (sample menus if possible) and the type and size of lift installed (Otus are a favoured type with me). I'm very claustrophobic so it'd need to be of the larger type please. Also, in case I encounter any mud or somesuch, I presume you supply shoe protectors (to cover size 12 brogues)?
Yours etc. etc.
Before my anticipated visit I'd be grateful for some general information, such as parking arrangements, on-site restaurant facilities (sample menus if possible) and the type and size of lift installed (Otus are a favoured type with me). I'm very claustrophobic so it'd need to be of the larger type please. Also, in case I encounter any mud or somesuch, I presume you supply shoe protectors (to cover size 12 brogues)?
Yours etc. etc.
