Rod's Pot - The Murlis Loop

[Burt]

I tried the loop last week, still too tight but a bit of forward progress nevertheless. However James, our tame whippet, managed it and even found a place to turn around. He is very skinny, though. Here's 2 pics of him in he squeeze; the first shows his legs after going through the squeeze, the second is him coming back.





ChCC will be making this bigger with a bit of chiselling soon, so the "normal" caver will be able to enjoy it.
Watch this space.

 

[James Hall]

Nice photos - it gets slightly easier each time. The birth of a cracking, sporting trip!

 

[synchrosteph]

Looking forward to helping on the digging again next year!

 

[jmc]

Just did the loop today, was very enjoyable trip  . Well done for all the hard work finding it

 

[Ali M]

Excellent trip  - well done Andy and the Cheddar Diggers. 
The squeezes were fun and the worst bit of the Loop was the strenuous scrabble up the first vertical tube near Rod's Main Chamber.  Our advice is not to wear thermals under your furry!

Hopefully you will get a link to Drunkard's in the future as this would be great addition to the Rod's - Bath through trip.

 

[whitelackington]

Congratulations on the find, but might I ask the reasons for enlarging it? It's been done, it can be done & making it bigger will remove a challenge now available to our thinnest and fittest.

Why?

Quite, I agree with Graham, it should be kept for the Elite Dwarfs.
Just like Upper Flood Swallet, Pierre's Pot and Battery Swallet.
Why should fat people be allowed to go caving.

 

[Thomas Tom-Thomas]

Evening Troglodytes.  I have a vague plan to try "The Full Monty" on Friday night.  Beyond the obvious tightness and general muddy squalor is there anything I need to know (Bolts missing/knackered handlines/angry dragons etc)?

Would be very grateful for any advice before I go abbing into anything 

Cheers

Tom

 

[Thomas Tom-Thomas]

OK.  Perhaps if I try a more specific question someone might jump in...is the handline in the second blind pot still in place?  Would be nice to know if it's there.

Thanks people.

Tom

 

[maxf]

Yes it is

 

[Andy Sparrow]

Sorry missed this or would have replied sooner.  There are P bolts in place in Bath for a pull-through (20 meter rope will do).  Purple Pot has fixed rope which you can use as a handline and/or for self protection.  There are no bolts in Eyeball Aven (despite what it says in MU).  The critical corner in the Murlis Loop is only passable by slimmer cavers and is tricky for the long-legged (it's still not my size).  There are anchors above Capitoff to pull through and the bottom 5 metres are climbable so 20 metre rope should do it.  There is a fixed handline in place on the Second Blind Pot.  For the complete Full Monty you need to include a trip to the dig face in our extensions (down the rubber matting from the bottom Capitoff),  Enjoy, and please let us know how you get on.

 

[Thomas Tom-Thomas]

Hello Max and Andy.  Thanks very much for you advice.  I saw them before we left, so both very useful and reassuring. Felt a bit unsure as I haven't caved in a year or so

We had a great trip from Bath, into Rods, down into the Bearpit (Eddie managed to get himself lost coming out of the bearpit), and round the Murlis loop.  That tight little turn to the left seems to have got a lot wider since I last did it (I think we went through a few days after the first person back in 2011).  It seems fairly roomy now compared to what I remember.

Setting the ab into El Capitoff was quite awkward - I took a good few goes to thread one of the bolts despite it being about 3 inches from my face, due to wedged elbows, head, hip etc.  Actually getting my lower body over and into the pitch was excellent fun too.  Once at the bottom of the pitch we had a good look at your dig face Andy.  We both felt that this was a particularly worthwhile side trip due to the unusually slippery and fine texture of the abundant mud that we found therein.  Without your suggestion we would have missed out on this delectable and characterful "Exposition Du Merde"  :-\

And then up and out.  I love squeezes and small passages, so I loved the trip.  A good work out with fun free climbing, crawling, abbing and squeezing.  Reflected on the way out that the trip is the result of an awful lot of work from the Cheddar diggers.  All much appreciated by us.

Completed the trip with a pint and a Pizza in the Plume.  Good times.

Thanks again for the advice.

Tom

 

[Judi Durber]

Has anyone done this recently?

This enlarges where a tube rigged with a traverse line leads off to the right.  This is The Nit Picker, a tight tube emerging directly over the 15 metre El Capitoff Pitch - make sure you clip to the line!

I wondered if this was still there?
And is it still best Anti-clockwise?

 

[PeteHall]

Definitely best done anticlockwise. The tightest squeeze is then in an uphill direction and marginally less committing. Rope was there last time I looked and no reason to think it would have been removed.
Let me know when you are going Judi, I might join you