Marble Steps Pot dig/ropes

[georgenorth]

Hi all,

Just letting you know that the Misty Mountain Mud Miners have recently restarted the dig at the bottom of the final pitch in Marble Steps. As such we’ve currently got some ropes rigged in the cave - apologies for any inconvenience this causes. The dig’s going to need a fair bit of engineering, so is likely to be a fairly long term affair, but as soon as we’re done we’ll remove all of the ropes.

If you’d like to get involved with the digging then please get in touch.

Cheers,

George.

 

[georgenorth]

Apologies - that should have read that the dig is at the bottom of the final pitch of the intestines route.

There should be a few more details in the next issue of Descent…

 

[georgenorth]

By way of a quick update:

We’ve now had 25 trips to the dig at the bottom of the intestines route and things are progressing well. We started off by installing a 4” drainage pipe under the spoil heap so that the dig drains after wet weather. We then enlarged 35m of sideways crawling (partly blasted in the late 80’s) so that we could run a full size drag tray along it in a single run.

The last few trips have been dedicated to enlarging and re-shoring the final choke. The choke’s about 60m below the main chamber, and entirely composed of gritstone cobbles, and which suggests a pretty direct link to the surface (via the main chamber). The shoring in the choke which was installed in the 90’s consists of a mixture of gas pipe held together with garden wire, and bits of road sign.

The final choke is drafting, and the sound of running water ahead is spurring us on.

Dig location 60m under lower main chamber.

Pete in the final choke (now roomier).

 

[mr conners]

Good effort George. Looks absolutely grim.

 

[georgenorth]

Good effort George. Looks absolutely grim.

It’s remarkably un-grim! It’s so dry at the moment that Pete has taken to wearing his cycling clothing down the cave!

 

[Alex]

That is George until the rain starts again, I think it might get quite wet in there when the entrance stream is flowing.

 

[mr conners]

The George North subjective description of "un-grim" fills me with absolute terror. I'm absolutely sure George will prefer it when it starts raining, and he's up to his eyeballs in clart.

 

[georgenorth]

I’ve uploaded a quick video from last night showing the luxurious conditions in the choke. I’m afraid it has neither the quality, nor excitement of the Redhouse videos though. Maybe one day

There is a plan to install a shower curtain if required once the rain returns.

 

[mr conners]

Salubrious. Joking aside, looks awful but I'm impressed with the amount of graft you're putting into it.

 

[PeteHall]

The George North subjective description of "un-grim" fills me with absolute terror.

When I visited a couple of months ago, I had similar expectations, but it really was remarkably pleasant (and not just by @georgenorth standards).

I'm can't comment on the status now mind!

 

[georgenorth]

Time for an update: We’ve now had 43 trips down to the bottom of Marble Steps involving 23 cavers. Things are progressing steadily at the front and we’re currently heading downwards into the boulder choke. The choke is beginning to open up, with more space between the boulders. The draft has got to come from somewhere, so we’re hopeful of a decent length of master cave before we reach the sump ;-)

This video shows the state of play at the end of last night’s trip - it’s considerably more spacious than it looks in the video!

 

[Badlad]

Great progress, team. Looking good. Many thanks for the update and good luck.

 

[georgenorth]

In case anyone is wondering what the thundering noise is in the video, it’s the ‘Cake Chariot’. Although it started off as a bit of a joke, it’s safe to say this has been a real game changer for the dig.

 

[mr conners]

What happened to mark I and II?

 

[georgenorth]

What happened to mark I and II?

The Mk 1 chariot had a wooden chassis and plastic hubbed wheels. It gave sterling service, but eventually the wheels and frame both gave way.

The Mk 2 had a metal chassis, but the small plastic wheels dug into our track, reducing efficiency. It held up well, and is currently on standby in case of breakdown of the current Mk 3 chariot.

Bet you’re glad you asked

 

[mr conners]

The Mk 3 looks like it has a stainless frame and the heavy duty roller wheels from castors (used on workbenches and the like). Does it run on conveyor track?

 

[mr conners]

You look to be making good progress. Impressive stuff, a war of attrition?

 

[Goydenman]

Thanks for all the updates and videos. Good progress well done.... cold draft is good ....dig on

 

[georgenorth]

The Mk 3 looks like it has a stainless frame and the heavy duty roller wheels from castors (used on workbenches and the like). Does it run on conveyor track?

That’s right. They’re industrial castors. The chassis is 15mm stainless box section. The axles are just a bits of M10 threadbar.

The track is compacted gravel, with a bit of concrete in places to fill in a hole on an incline which washes out in We've considered conveyor matting, but it’s a 45m run, so would be a bit of a pain to get it all there.

It only works because the track is pretty much straight. I have considered making a version with swivelling axles which should go around corners though.

 

[Pitlamp]

Is the draught inward or outward at this time of year?

There must be more to what's beyond that choke than merely a sump connecting with Keld Head's Marble Steps Branch.