Samouse1
Well-known member
Quakings reputation precedes it. So it was with some trepidation that three of us set off from Storrs common towards Ingleborough. The other two had been to the crux and back a month before but it was my first time in this infamous pot. At Crina Bottom we ran into Martin H, a CRO DC, and he wished us luck. Just shy of ten o'clock we were in the shakehole, and I was sent in to rig, being the most confident rigger.
The first two pitches flew by, then some thrutching got us to the head of the third. This is a lovely pitch, and fun to rig on a mixture of bolts and naturals. The next section, including a pitch, were relatively easy, and soon we were at the Skydive, Coitus Corner, and the Crux. Alice was just about small enough to fit through the Bypass, so she was in charge of ferrying bags along. Buck went through the Crux first, then it was my turn. I found it to be wider (well, less tight) then I had imagined, but the threat of slipping down into the narrower bit was everpresent.
With a cheer we were all through, and laboriously moving bags along the roof traverses in Explorers Perjorative. Buck rigged the next pitch/climb, and then I took the lead for 6 and 7. These are narrow at the top but widen out nicely. The W bends were next, and damp they are. While we were climbing up into Fly Crawl, we heard a yell from behind us. It turns out Charlotte, who has wanted to come along but couldn't bag the day off work, got to work in the morning to find that she couldn't do anything anyway, and was sent home to "study". So naturally she drove to Yorkshire and soloed down to catch up with us down Quacking. Madness if you ask me.
Fly crawl was quick and then we were in the bigger stuff. A few slopey pitches and we were in the streamway leading us to the final pitch into Gormenghast. Pleased to be at the bottom, we had a quick snack, looked around at the boulders, and decided it would be a very committing place to dig.
The way back out was where the tiredness got the better of me. Most went smoothly, pushing each other up a few squeezes, until we reached the Crux. I was going first, and was halfway up the climb when Alice reappeared, having managed to get turned around in the Bypass and thinking she was past it. I made a meal of staying high enough in the rift, and spent far longer than I really should have done, partly due to fear of getting stuck, and partly from tiredness, but finally I popped through. The others showed me up with how quickly they managed it, and we pressed on out at a steady, if slower than usual, pace.
I finally emerged, physically and mentally tired, into the freezing night air at 11pm, thirteen hours after first going in. A very good trip to tick off, and next time more food is definitely required, and not pussyfooting around on the way back through the Crux.
The first two pitches flew by, then some thrutching got us to the head of the third. This is a lovely pitch, and fun to rig on a mixture of bolts and naturals. The next section, including a pitch, were relatively easy, and soon we were at the Skydive, Coitus Corner, and the Crux. Alice was just about small enough to fit through the Bypass, so she was in charge of ferrying bags along. Buck went through the Crux first, then it was my turn. I found it to be wider (well, less tight) then I had imagined, but the threat of slipping down into the narrower bit was everpresent.
With a cheer we were all through, and laboriously moving bags along the roof traverses in Explorers Perjorative. Buck rigged the next pitch/climb, and then I took the lead for 6 and 7. These are narrow at the top but widen out nicely. The W bends were next, and damp they are. While we were climbing up into Fly Crawl, we heard a yell from behind us. It turns out Charlotte, who has wanted to come along but couldn't bag the day off work, got to work in the morning to find that she couldn't do anything anyway, and was sent home to "study". So naturally she drove to Yorkshire and soloed down to catch up with us down Quacking. Madness if you ask me.
Fly crawl was quick and then we were in the bigger stuff. A few slopey pitches and we were in the streamway leading us to the final pitch into Gormenghast. Pleased to be at the bottom, we had a quick snack, looked around at the boulders, and decided it would be a very committing place to dig.
The way back out was where the tiredness got the better of me. Most went smoothly, pushing each other up a few squeezes, until we reached the Crux. I was going first, and was halfway up the climb when Alice reappeared, having managed to get turned around in the Bypass and thinking she was past it. I made a meal of staying high enough in the rift, and spent far longer than I really should have done, partly due to fear of getting stuck, and partly from tiredness, but finally I popped through. The others showed me up with how quickly they managed it, and we pressed on out at a steady, if slower than usual, pace.
I finally emerged, physically and mentally tired, into the freezing night air at 11pm, thirteen hours after first going in. A very good trip to tick off, and next time more food is definitely required, and not pussyfooting around on the way back through the Crux.
