scurve
Member
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu, I to II through trip
Saturday 29th September 2012
People present: Chris Scaife, Duncan Jones, Alex Ritchie, Pete Brookdale.
Weather ? The bluest skies, as if they thought of rain.
After a late night at the S.W.C.C. we decided to explore the cave whose entrances sound like adverts in a gay dating agency, the choice being: Tops, Bottoms or the Cum Door. We decided to ?go all the way? as it were, ploughing straight through from Bottom to Top. Good plan.
Not being in Yorkshire, this cave is entered via fixed ladders, which lead down into a very pleasant walking section. It?s almost as if the cave were once a show cave. We soon got our feet wet in the main stream and danced our way to the upstream sump. A bit of climbing and some easy squeezes brought us to Dip Sump, sadly not the way on, and after some mud formations we looked around a bit for the way on, which happened to be a rather uninviting hole in the floor, leading to a flat out crawl. A bit more climbing, crawling and squeezing kept us busy en route to the Letter Box. This was an enjoyable obstacle, with an easy climb up to the right, and a narrow slot to enter in the otherwise blank wall. Duncan and I entered head first, but Alex and Pete bravely launched themselves feet first to penetrate the magnificent orifice.
A bit of flat out crawling followed before Divers Pitch, where a big thick rope aided the climb down. Before long we were into one of the UK?s finest underground streams, which we followed all the way to the Top Waterfall. Dunc, Pete and I were jumping deep into the pools, often fully submerging; whereas un-neoprened Mr Ritchie bravely pussy-footed around the edge of all but the shallowest sections, perhaps still scarred by his experiences on Total Wipeout. The Top Waterfall itself is a glorious sight and if I ever hear of anyone doing a trip in OFD II and not making this extension to the journey I will wince with agony.
A lovely little climb out of the main stream leads to a fixed ladder and some narrow passage and death-defying climbing led to the Salubrious Stream. Unfortunately, owing to Dunc?s recent meal choices, a less than salubrious odour accompanied us in this section. Alex photographed the elegant formations and then some easy progress got us to within sight of the World, but we decided to go and find the Mini Columns, which were reached via a low crawl on the right when facing the Top Entrance, then a slippery climb up. Pete and Dunc bravely waited at the foot of the climb, while Holey Moley Alex and I got to see the tremendous calcite, before heading back to the sunshine.
That night, we stayed in the S.W.C.C. again and joined some Exeter students in a game of Pick up the Cereal Box in Your Teeth. Naturally I?m far too modest to reveal the Black Rose winner, but all this pales into insignificance compared with Alex?s own personal game of Get Yourself Physically Wedged in the Bench. At least half an hour of all of our lives was spent trying to succour the TV superstar on how best to get through the gap in the bench, where he was held at roughly diaphragm-level by two unforgiving planks of wood. He briefly removed his jeans, but the reaction his effeminate underwear produced soon inspired him to replace them. I left the room for a few moments and when I returned, one of the Exeter lot had got a jack out of their car and managed to widen the gap just enough for the battered and bruised Holey Moley to emerge, grinning, and quip, ?Right, who?s next??
Saturday 29th September 2012
People present: Chris Scaife, Duncan Jones, Alex Ritchie, Pete Brookdale.
Weather ? The bluest skies, as if they thought of rain.
After a late night at the S.W.C.C. we decided to explore the cave whose entrances sound like adverts in a gay dating agency, the choice being: Tops, Bottoms or the Cum Door. We decided to ?go all the way? as it were, ploughing straight through from Bottom to Top. Good plan.
Not being in Yorkshire, this cave is entered via fixed ladders, which lead down into a very pleasant walking section. It?s almost as if the cave were once a show cave. We soon got our feet wet in the main stream and danced our way to the upstream sump. A bit of climbing and some easy squeezes brought us to Dip Sump, sadly not the way on, and after some mud formations we looked around a bit for the way on, which happened to be a rather uninviting hole in the floor, leading to a flat out crawl. A bit more climbing, crawling and squeezing kept us busy en route to the Letter Box. This was an enjoyable obstacle, with an easy climb up to the right, and a narrow slot to enter in the otherwise blank wall. Duncan and I entered head first, but Alex and Pete bravely launched themselves feet first to penetrate the magnificent orifice.
A bit of flat out crawling followed before Divers Pitch, where a big thick rope aided the climb down. Before long we were into one of the UK?s finest underground streams, which we followed all the way to the Top Waterfall. Dunc, Pete and I were jumping deep into the pools, often fully submerging; whereas un-neoprened Mr Ritchie bravely pussy-footed around the edge of all but the shallowest sections, perhaps still scarred by his experiences on Total Wipeout. The Top Waterfall itself is a glorious sight and if I ever hear of anyone doing a trip in OFD II and not making this extension to the journey I will wince with agony.
A lovely little climb out of the main stream leads to a fixed ladder and some narrow passage and death-defying climbing led to the Salubrious Stream. Unfortunately, owing to Dunc?s recent meal choices, a less than salubrious odour accompanied us in this section. Alex photographed the elegant formations and then some easy progress got us to within sight of the World, but we decided to go and find the Mini Columns, which were reached via a low crawl on the right when facing the Top Entrance, then a slippery climb up. Pete and Dunc bravely waited at the foot of the climb, while Holey Moley Alex and I got to see the tremendous calcite, before heading back to the sunshine.
That night, we stayed in the S.W.C.C. again and joined some Exeter students in a game of Pick up the Cereal Box in Your Teeth. Naturally I?m far too modest to reveal the Black Rose winner, but all this pales into insignificance compared with Alex?s own personal game of Get Yourself Physically Wedged in the Bench. At least half an hour of all of our lives was spent trying to succour the TV superstar on how best to get through the gap in the bench, where he was held at roughly diaphragm-level by two unforgiving planks of wood. He briefly removed his jeans, but the reaction his effeminate underwear produced soon inspired him to replace them. I left the room for a few moments and when I returned, one of the Exeter lot had got a jack out of their car and managed to widen the gap just enough for the battered and bruised Holey Moley to emerge, grinning, and quip, ?Right, who?s next??
