anfieldman
New member
My first attempt at this fantastic trip which was suggested by Pete Buckley.
CAVERS: Pete Buckley, Pete Hillier? Hellier? (Sorry Pete), Tim Ball and Mark Whyte
I was most amazed at the complete and utter lack of faffing by us all when we met up at HQ. A quick cup of tea and ginger nuts (no not Stu Gardiner) whilst Tim familiarised himself with the trip he had done ages ago. Then it was to the tackle store for ropes and ladders and that sort of mullarky.
We were soon changed and on our way to rig the 20' for later. The lack of water in Swildons did not go unnoticed and also the lack of people as well.
After rigging the 20' we made our way to the green. Ladder down in we go. I was expecting an absolute stench but it was surprisingly sweet. The lack of rain had prevented more animal by product from being washed in.
We followed down Fault Plane Passage but this was obviously too boring for Pete B who decided that kicking planks down toward my face would liven things up! passing by RAF aven down toward Blasted Bastard. I was thinking that it was a bit tight and really bloody awkward having to push or pull a bag too...........until Clitoris Crawl where I stopped thinking that it was tight and awkward. I knew it was.
I must say that I was the most prolific swearer on this trip but If I'm honest with myself I actually did ok really.
On we went to Tin Can Alley before we got our harnesses on. The gloopy shitty pool before El Crapitan was foul. This was the worst part but the rest was a lot better than I was expecting.
Down El Crapitan we made it to Ken's Crawl along to Bladder Pot.
The descriptions in the Swildons book make the pitches and avens seem huge and imposing but in reality they are a lot smaller. I really liked the shape of some of the passages we were seeing especially Ken's Crawl.
We continued on down Bladder Pot, Boss Pot and Little Pot. So far so good.
The talk in the Upper Pitts was of a hairy traverse which I hate to say did unnerve me a bit. The Dawe - Thompson traverse is actually quite easy. This is not boasting as anyone who has been caving with me will testify. I am a wimp on climbs and traverses. Give me a tight squeeze anyday. And no that is not an invitation unless you are female, attractive and my wife cannot see us.
We then had a final descent to the streamway which was a welcome site because we had already agreed to have a break there. We could also wash all the sh*t off ourselves too. We had a quick run down to sump 4 to see how much water was not there. I loved seeing the Tate Gallery again. Especially as I was not standing there for ages posing for Pete Glanvill like last time!
A quick suck on some orange flavoured gel for me and then it was a crawl up the chain into Blue Pencil Passage. The last time I was there it was a rusty old chain.
The Double Troubles was not a welcome thing when you are tired. Tired is ok, tired, wet and cold is not ok. But through it we soldiered on. We found ourselves at Sump 1 sooner than I thought and it had more water than the last time I was here when it was more of a duck than a sump. The water was noticably colder than what was in the Double Trouble series. Brrr!
We then took the usual route out choosing the rift instead of Barnes Loop picking up our ladder from the 20' on the way.
As I said before, a top trip for anyone of a certain size or less and I thought it was great.
Many thanks to the Pete's for their company and to Tim for his excellent (and extremely quick) rigging.
Refreshments were partaken in the Queen Victoria and very good it was too.
Cheers
Mark
CAVERS: Pete Buckley, Pete Hillier? Hellier? (Sorry Pete), Tim Ball and Mark Whyte
I was most amazed at the complete and utter lack of faffing by us all when we met up at HQ. A quick cup of tea and ginger nuts (no not Stu Gardiner) whilst Tim familiarised himself with the trip he had done ages ago. Then it was to the tackle store for ropes and ladders and that sort of mullarky.
We were soon changed and on our way to rig the 20' for later. The lack of water in Swildons did not go unnoticed and also the lack of people as well.
After rigging the 20' we made our way to the green. Ladder down in we go. I was expecting an absolute stench but it was surprisingly sweet. The lack of rain had prevented more animal by product from being washed in.
We followed down Fault Plane Passage but this was obviously too boring for Pete B who decided that kicking planks down toward my face would liven things up! passing by RAF aven down toward Blasted Bastard. I was thinking that it was a bit tight and really bloody awkward having to push or pull a bag too...........until Clitoris Crawl where I stopped thinking that it was tight and awkward. I knew it was.
I must say that I was the most prolific swearer on this trip but If I'm honest with myself I actually did ok really.
On we went to Tin Can Alley before we got our harnesses on. The gloopy shitty pool before El Crapitan was foul. This was the worst part but the rest was a lot better than I was expecting.
Down El Crapitan we made it to Ken's Crawl along to Bladder Pot.
The descriptions in the Swildons book make the pitches and avens seem huge and imposing but in reality they are a lot smaller. I really liked the shape of some of the passages we were seeing especially Ken's Crawl.
We continued on down Bladder Pot, Boss Pot and Little Pot. So far so good.
The talk in the Upper Pitts was of a hairy traverse which I hate to say did unnerve me a bit. The Dawe - Thompson traverse is actually quite easy. This is not boasting as anyone who has been caving with me will testify. I am a wimp on climbs and traverses. Give me a tight squeeze anyday. And no that is not an invitation unless you are female, attractive and my wife cannot see us.
We then had a final descent to the streamway which was a welcome site because we had already agreed to have a break there. We could also wash all the sh*t off ourselves too. We had a quick run down to sump 4 to see how much water was not there. I loved seeing the Tate Gallery again. Especially as I was not standing there for ages posing for Pete Glanvill like last time!
A quick suck on some orange flavoured gel for me and then it was a crawl up the chain into Blue Pencil Passage. The last time I was there it was a rusty old chain.
The Double Troubles was not a welcome thing when you are tired. Tired is ok, tired, wet and cold is not ok. But through it we soldiered on. We found ourselves at Sump 1 sooner than I thought and it had more water than the last time I was here when it was more of a duck than a sump. The water was noticably colder than what was in the Double Trouble series. Brrr!
We then took the usual route out choosing the rift instead of Barnes Loop picking up our ladder from the 20' on the way.
As I said before, a top trip for anyone of a certain size or less and I thought it was great.
Many thanks to the Pete's for their company and to Tim for his excellent (and extremely quick) rigging.
Refreshments were partaken in the Queen Victoria and very good it was too.
Cheers
Mark
