Rowten Pot Sump Lines

[Daniel Rose]

Hi all,
The CNCC website says that the dive lines running through the 3 sumps in Rowten are down to a few threads

Does anybody know if these have been replaced/are planning on being replaced?

Thanks

 

[the morganism]

I would also be interested to know.

Someone mentioned replacing the 8m one recently but not the 2m ones. I'm not sure whether the cncc warning refers to the state of the 2m lines or if the 8m line has already deteriorated.

 

[Pitlamp]

Whatever, bear in mind the deluge which took place on New Year's Eve may have rendered any information from before then suspect.

 

[thehungrytroglobite]

My friends replaced one of them recently, can't remember which one it was. Think it may have been the 8m

 

[IanWalker]

Long sump relined in October, but other lines said to be in poor condition:

Rowten Sumps

We did a trip last night (Friday) to have some practice goes through the Rowten Sumps in KMC. There is a bit of sheath wear on the rope through the 8m sump, underwater 1-2m or so in from the Rowten side. We didn't have any spare suitable rope with us to replace it with. As a bit of trip report...

ukcaving.com

 

[Daniel Rose]

Dived them today and all three lines are in good condition as of 11/01/2025, for anyone else wondering who finds this thread.

 

[PeteHall]

Dived them today and all three lines are in good condition as of 11/01/2025, for anyone else wondering who finds this thread.

I would question your definition of "good condition" @Daniel Rose.

The line on the furthest upstream (8m) sump is in excellent condition, having been recently replaced, however the line through the two shorter sumps is completely through the sheath at the anchors and I don't imagine this has occurred over the last couple of months. I'll add that I had no concerns about using it as a freedive line and it's not about to break, but it's a long way past what I'd call "good" condition.

The line is tied directly through the old aluminium Troll type hangers, which are designed for use with a maillon or carabiner. Clearly, it's lasted a while, but when it's replaced, the addition of two (stainless) maillons would help.

 

[Daniel Rose]

I would question your definition of "good condition" @Daniel Rose.

The line on the furthest upstream (8m) sump is in excellent condition, having been recently replaced, however the line through the two shorter sumps is completely through the sheath at the anchors and I don't imagine this has occurred over the last couple of months. I'll add that I had no concerns about using it as a freedive line and it's not about to break, but it's a long way past what I'd call "good" condition.

The line is tied directly through the old aluminium Troll type hangers, which are designed for use with a maillon or carabiner. Clearly, it's lasted a while, but when it's replaced, the addition of two (stainless) maillons would help.

Yeah this is true. I meant that, when I dived them, they were certainly not at any risk of breaking, although the two lines of the shorter sumps were coreshot. I remembered this around half an hour after I posted that, but I couldn't edit the post to add that by then. But yes, 'good' is probably an overstatement, but not at risk of breaking immanently. (Although of course this is liable to change in the future)

 

[Pitlamp]

Since Daniel's post on 11th Jan we've had Storm Eowyn, less than a fortnight later. It was a bit rough up here in the Dales (floods & gales). That may well have changed things from how he described it above.

 

[Samouse1]

Just wish we'd had more spare rope on our trip, or we'd have replaced the lot on one go!

Although I seem to remember being the last one on the rowten side and my light stepping down and flashing to tell me it was running out of charge. So maybe hanging around wasnt the best of ideas.

 

[PeteHall]

Just wish we'd had more spare rope on our trip, or we'd have replaced the lot on one go!

Although I seem to remember being the last one on the rowten side and my light stepping down and flashing to tell me it was running out of charge. So maybe hanging around wasnt the best of ideas.

Do you recall if you used a stainless of galvanised maillon on the line you replaced? It looked in perfect condition, so I assumed it was stainless, but perhaps it was just because it hadn't had time to rust yet.

Either way, good job!

 

[Samouse1]

The consensus between me and the guy who actually provided the hardware and rope is that it is most likely stainless, since that would be sensible, but we can't remember for certain

 

[IanWalker]

What condition are the spits and bolts in?

 

[PeteHall]

What condition are the spits and bolts in?

Rusty, but not loose (by hand). I didn't take a spanner to check them more thoroughly.

 

[KBrook]

Switched out the smaller sumps rope today. All lines are in good condition and the sump is currently clear.

 

[PeteHall]

Good job!

 

[porgzilla]

What the likelihood of encountering bad air in the Rowten sumps?
Is it potentially dangerous when there's little rainfall like now?

 

[PeteHall]

The upstream air-bell is pretty big and the downstream one has an air connection to the rest of the cave, so I suspect bad air is extremely unlikely. Personally, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

 

[langcliffe]

The upstream air-bell is pretty big and the downstream one has an air connection to the rest of the cave, so I suspect bad air is extremely unlikely. Personally, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

Ditto.

 

[Al S]

What the likelihood of encountering bad air in the Rowten sumps?
Is it potentially dangerous when there's little rainfall like now?

This was preying on my mind as well! As others have said though, the air bell between the first two sumps (coming from Rowten) is pretty big. Went through on Monday evening. Good visibility, lines in place and secure (thanks to those who've replaced things recently) and there's nearly a foot of airspace in the last sump.