Judi Durber
Member
Our educational trip down Rhino Rift
Thursday 23rd June 11
Andy P, PJ (Paul James), Steve White, Nick (Guest) & Me.
Thursday 23rd June 11
Andy P, PJ (Paul James), Steve White, Nick (Guest) & Me.
If you get out of work early enough you can beat the 5 o?clock bulge down the motorway and surprise everyone by arriving early.
It doesn?t matter how early you start organising a trip finding the right number & lengths of rope will thwart your start time.
Just because you have been to the entrance before doesn?t mean it will be in the same place when you go again. (I could have sworn it was directly above Longwood.)
Don?t ignore the arrows on the ground guiding you to the entrance (left by your wonderful leader) thinking there is a scout group in the area.
It might be a big hole you are going to but the entrance will always entail a crawl. (The bit my mind had blanked.)(Due to a picture of the big hole you have to dangle over that is seared on my brain.)
Doesn?t matter how many people you have hunting for spits you won?t find them if you are looking in the wrong place.
The leader might have started rigging an hour before you arrived but he won?t get far without the next bit of rope which is on your back.
You might look fab & cool straddling the rift but my legs are just NOT going to reach.
Don?t re-order the equipment on your harness just before a big trip (without prior trying it out) as jamming one bit against another can happen.
If you need to use up energy & like re-jigging foot jammer & cowstails rig your descenders a long way from the knots.
Chest ascenders like creeping up rope to kiss the knot when you are not looking.
You only find the nice ledges to stand on on the way up having missed them all on the way down.
The route might be shorter & prettier but it won?t be used if there are mid rope knots to get round.
I don?t like hanging off rope in big open spaces (although it is easier to work in the middle of a big open pot than to be bumping against the sides.) even if it is pretty.
You find the spits when de-rigging (there?re obvious, why didn?t we see them before)
Nick takes better (and more (now that takes some doing)) photo?s than me and Andy has endless patience.
Thank you for a great trip
