Memories of student trips

[hannahb]

The "Forgotten things" thread has got me remembering some student trips.

I have a definite memory of descending or ascending wet pitches where you had to look down to breathe, but I can't think of where that would have been, apart from it would have been in the Dales. It's possible it only happened once or twice and it stuck in my mind, and it's entirely possible we were in a cave in too-wet weather.

I have murky memories of doing SRT trips without enough kit to go round, and having to pass it from one person to another somehow.

And my abiding memory of student trips is always being freezing cold. Two members owned a VW Transporter and I never graduated to sitting in the front where all the heat was. On one occasion I didn't warm up until I got to lectures the next day.

I sometimes wonder why or how I carried on caving. The good company must have been worth it.

Wondering what memories other people have of their student or beginner trips?

 

[Tritim230]

I remember the cold. One evening on Leck Fell in a blizzard with a friend de-icing his gloves on his motorbike. I recall we had gone down Ireby Fell and concluded a Grade 3 cave and Grade 5 change. Must have been early 80's, so wetsuit and the zip froze.

 

[langcliffe]

I have a memory of getting cold burns from the electron ladders I was carrying returning from Notts Pot one very cold and crustal clear night in 1970. It was before the days of gloves, and my hands were so cold I hadn't realised that every time I changed my grip on the ladder I was tearing more skin off.

 

[paul]

I well remember my first caving trip in Goatchurch Cavern followed by Swildons the next day and then Manor Farm Swallet and Cuckoo Cleeves man years ago with a couple of school friends. We were living in North London at the time and rode our motorbikes (still on 'L' plates so not motorways) to Mendip staying in Youth Hostels for a week and having a great time during the Easter holiday from school (so still students)!

 

[Chocolate fireguard]

In the mid 1960s the only person in our small club who had transport was into mining history more than caving, so if we wanted to go on the Yorkshire weekends we had to agree to look at mines on the Saturday and we could do a cave on the Sunday (although the driver usually missed that trip).
My memory is of wading through waist or chest deep water for miles to look at some rusty bit of machinery somewhere in Arkengarthdale (I think).
The next day after a night's camping we put on soaking wet long johns and boiler suits to do a proper cave.
It seemed to happen a lot.

 

[PeteHall]

Several years, we did a night trip after exams were over. One has been mentioned in the "forgotten things" thread, but the first time I did a night trip was to Bar Pot. I remember walking up in the evening sun and @IanWalker saying "I nearly said a silly thing, but then I thought it was just silly. But I'm going to say it anyway (puts on Rambo voice) I'll sleep when I'm dead "

 

[PeteHall]

Climbing in and out of the window of Landy Andy's 1970's Range Rover to open the gates on Turbary Road because the locks had frozen and we couldn't open the doors!

 

[RobinGriffiths]

This time of year 41 years ago. First trip as fresher with Liverpool Uni to Heron Pot. Kingdale Beck was in spate, and it was chucking it down. A rope across the river didn't stop one student being washed away, but luckily they got to the bank. We got as far as the first pitch and that was it. The reverse river crossing was a bit more sucesfull. And after a look at a flooded Yordas, it was to the chippy and pub, where the true joys of caving became apparant. Was also my introdution to Ingleseport and Bernies.

The following week, it was County, with a group including a lad with a hand axe on his belt who was never seen again.

 

[davel]

My first trip with MUSS (Manchester University Speleological Society) was in October 1968 with the Freshers' trip to Great Douk and Hardrawkin Pot as far as the pitch (deemed too wet that day to descend). The following weekend was Kingsdale Master Cave (as far as Rowten sump). Both weekends done with a helmet but no light, so involved following closely on the heels of someone else. (They are annotated in my log as "Fun" and "More fun" respectively.) The next weekend trip, by which time I had acquired a light, was Lost John's Master Cave via Dome route (on ladders of course). A somewhat intensive three-weeks introduction to caving in the Dales! (The next two weekends were Swildons to sump 1 and Bar Pot, again on ladders, to Gaping Gill main chamber.)

 

[davel]

Following on from the above post, transport tended to be 'interesting'. For my first two trips with MUSS the Society, transport was a Bedford OB motor coach. For some reason the destination blind on this was usually set to "Blubberhouses". If I remember correctly, the coach had one headlight that only worked on main beam and the other headlight only worked on dip – which led to us being stopped by the police in the centre of Manchester one evening when returning from the Dales.

Transport for the Mendip trip was the Society's five ton Austin lorry 'Edith'. The truck had a box body fitted with bunk beds and a gas stove and generally had a flat battery, necessitating parking facing downhill or push starts (with many pushers) on the flat, much to the amazement of onlookers.

October 1969 year saw the hire of the Manchester University Drama Society's bus (complete with driver) for the Freshers' meet to Sunset Hole. The bus was bright yellow with psychedelic purple swirls - possibly rather a conspicuous paint scheme, especially when the Drama Soc's driver hit a bridge parapet on the return trip. It was felt necessary to retrieve the distinctly-painted and potentially incriminating detached spare wheel cover from the middle of the river, which caused the only injury of the incident – while retrieving the cover, the person on the bridge managed to drop it on the head of the person handing it up to him, who of course was not wearing a helmet. (The injured person reports no apparent long-lasting effects.)

I don't recall any other particularly notable transport-related stories – I think subsequent Freshers' trips generally relied on commercially-hired coaches or minibuses and otherwise more people acquired their own vehicles.

 

[mrodoc]

I was a medical student in London in the very early 70's. We formed a caving club which meant we got a grant for some decent kit. The Dales were a bit of a stretch for a weekend but we visited South Wales and Mendip quite a few times. Whilst we did little vertical caving anything else was fair game and after finding our way around OFD2 a bit we decided to do the Marble Showers traverses. We had a route finding problem and ended up overdue meeting a search party in Gnome Passage having reversed the trip then instead of leaving via Cwm Dwr ploughed on up the streamway.to Top Entrance. Undeterred we did the trip properly 4 months later doing a complete round trip from Top entrance to the traverses down to Piccadilly then back up the streamway - inside our call out time on that occasion!

 

[hannahb]

Blubberhouses

Random! I live relatively near Blubberhouses and I can't think why that would be a destination

I'll let Pete tell our transport-related tales, most of them involved him!

 

[Boy Engineer]

Forty seven years ago I was shivering in P8 during a Derby College of Art and Technology Caving Club trip. Shivering because my cotton boiler suit was soaked, despite wearing a cagoule . I don’t think I’ve ever been as cold; fortunately one of the leaders spotted my descent into hypothermia and we headed out. It was my first cave, and I’d made the cut because I’d got my own lamp (a Youle from Caving Supplies). It was almost enough to put me off caves for life. Fortunately, it didn’t. Not saying that mines are best (but they are; discuss ) but have been down a cave or two since. Having watched the Dave Webb video on Titan, I’ve decided that’s a bucket list item, so hopefully will achieve it before the wheel falls off the bath chair. If only I knew someone who might let me tag along……….

 

[cap n chris]

Caving anecdotes are the sort of thing that would give insurers nightmares. Thankfully caving is nothing like it used to be, s'all proper profeshnule now.

 

[PeteHall]

I'll let Pete tell our transport-related tales, most of them involved him!

There were certainly a few adventures involving a Triumph Herald and later an E28 BMW.
Exhaust knocked off on Bull Pot Lane, wiring issues for the lights, forgetting to bolt the roof back on , collapsed shock absorbers, more knocked off exhausts (got to love all the jumps on Yorkshire roads), sledging down Kingsdale (in the car), and other such fun!
We always made it home though!

 

[Rachel]

I remember being shouted at by an irate Mrs Morphet, who ran the caravan park under the viaduct. All we did was cram 20 students into a 4 berth caravan, then get the uni minibus stuck on the grass, leaving a couple of trenches behind.

 

[RobinGriffiths]

The caravan park.... Spent many a happy week there. Always intended to to take a rope onto the viaduct and abseil in through a skylight.

 

[JAA]

I was never a student caver but I did start relatively young at 13 (a terrifying 30 years ago) and have fond memories of near disasters and what felt like epics!…

First ever club trip to Hagg Gill Pot and completely running out of arm strength at the top of the ladder in the slight constriction and somehow ending up with a Whillans harness draped uselessly around my wellies as I tried very hard indeed not to fall off the ladder!

Juniper Gulf and 15 yr old JAA being convinced the sump was entirely freedivable and finding out it very much wasn’t and isn’t after I’d got wet!

Penyghent Pot the same year a trip where I was so tired I fell asleep in the canal on the way out and complained incessantly for the entire trip that my wetsuit was making my knees itch (is that a thing?)

A White Scar trip where I forgot I couldn’t really swim while crossing the lakes in a borrowed wetsuit and doing an admirable impersonation of a foundering ship with much spluttering and drowning noises

First cave dives where it didn’t occur to me I’d be rather buoyant (in my borrowed “ladies” wetsuit complete with a large bust area, it wouldn’t have looked out of place in an Amsterdam window) and having managed to fight my way along the roof and down, letting go of the line and reappearing in the sump pool like a torpedo to the great amusement of my “Sherpas”

18th birthday in Snatcher Pot with Ursula Collie of Starless River fame now, complete with a bottle of wine and cake!

Falling asleep at school in lessons as I’d spent the entire weekend underground or in the Marton Arms being bought pints of Dent

Wouldn’t change it for the world.

 

[alanwsg]

Coming out of King pot in Kingsdale after a very long trip and having to pi$$ on the car locks as they had frozen shut.
Then having to do the same on my friend's boot laces.

 

[mikem]

Not quite actual caving as I was in the canoe and climbing clubs at Lancaster late 1980s, but we had several shared pub crawls across campus and stayed at clapdale house, so there was failing to finish the barrel because we didn't get out of the new inn before 1am. One time the club president fell off the top of a 6 foot stile without any ill effects, thanks to pre-administered anaesthetic, and we were there when LUSS failed to complete an exchange SRT trip and one half had to be rescued. Of course there were also the traditional drinking games, I especially remember spoons and Lancaster bomber! Another minibus incident was it getting scraped along a wall due to avoiding pedestrians, with the immortal line " I wasn't looking at the bridge, coz I was concentrating on his bum"...