georgenorth
Active member
Sat 4th October: An unusually damp day down Ireby Fell Caverns
Hopefully I?ve given this report enough time after the event that my words won?t be reproduced in any newspapers! I'm not going to go into any of the debates about what should and shouldn't have been done I'm afraid! We were there and this is more or less what happened to our group - obviously other people stuck in different parts of the cave will have a very different story to tell.
I must admit that I was feeling a bit rough on Saturday morning having had a long session drinking ?gas chamber? cocktails in the NPC with DUSA the night before. The fresh breeze and light rain which accompanied the four us on our walk across the fell
was therefore more of a refreshment than a concern. At the entrance we met a group of seven non-digging cavers from the Newcastle area who kindly let us nip in ahead of them. The water levels in the cave were actually pretty low on the way down and we made rapid progress to the sump, a journey of about 45 minutes with the cave rigged. Fortunately the sump had been emptied the night before so there was no more than a foot of water in the bottom by the time we went through ? all very comfortable! We all took our SRT kits with us in anticipation of exiting Ireby II via Cripple Creek to complete the round trip if time allowed.
Once in the dig our arrival brought about a changing of the guards as three cavers left to make there way out in time for the Super League Grand Final, and two went for a ?quick? trip up Escalator Rift to look at the majestic Jupiter Cavern. I think there may have been some muttering about ?deserters?! Our little group spread ourselves out through the 50m long dig to fill the gaps and help in the efficient removal of sand away from the front (a lot of people are needed for this job, hence why there were so many people in the cave). After about an hour, just as we were beginning to get into a steady rhythm we were disturbed in our endeavour as word spread up the passage that the cave was flooding. At the end our reaction to this news was fairly sceptical and we tied to get some more information on quite how badly the cave was flooding. The shout of ?get out now!? soon persuaded us that this would be a good course of action.
The hurry was needed in order to get back through the sump before Duke Street started flowing ? as soon as this happens the dam quickly overflows and the sump rapidly reverts to its natural, more aqueous state. Fortunately this had not yet started to happen, which would ultimately have resulted in ten or so cavers being trapped in Ireby II rather than two. Once we were all through, a quick walk upstream soon lead us to the front of the flood pulse which was moving down Duke Street at a steady walking pace. Walking back downstream alongside this mini wave was quite something, and well worth the break from digging. Once this bit of entertainment had passed it became obvious that the two cavers beyond the sump probably weren?t going to be getting back through in a hurry. It was only 15 minutes later that after a rapid increase in flow the sump filled to the roof. Somebody commented that we were now stranded ? nobody else would be getting in or out. Rather surreally the seven Newcastle cavers promptly turned up commenting that it had indeed seemed a bit damp on their way down!
Expecting a fairly short stay five of us decided to head into the Ireby I side of the dig to make productive use of our time. The plan was that after a couple of hours we would make our way out and a couple of us would go into Ireby II via Cripple Creek to show our stranded comrades the dry way out. I thought that if I was lucky I still might make the RRCPC stomp at the Dalesbridge, for which I had splashed out ?15 the previous week. After a couple of hours digging, and a couple of meters progress we decided to head out. The deep rumbling noise that grew louder as we approached Duke Street didn?t bode too well for our plan. Upon reaching the pitch down I was in for quite a shock when I looked down to see brown water swirling around the base of the ladder, clearly the flood was going to be a little bit more problematic than we had imagined! The sump had actually risen by 1.5m in our absence and had extended up Duke Street beyond Whirlpool chamber. After admiring this sight for a while and deciding that the water was definitely still rising we decided to head back to the dig for a few more hours of shifting sand. This had several advantages over sitting still, as well as being warmer and less boring there was also the possibility that we would be able to dig our way out of the cave (hence much whistling a la The Great Escape). Eventually after another 6 hours (it was about 11pm by this time) and about the same number of meters dug we tried to exit for a second time. We were a bit surprised to meet four of the Newcastle group at the exit from Duke Street. After a bit of a wait we teamed up and continued on our way.
The water levels were still high, but Rope and Well pitches were both passed without too much drama. The relief at having safely made it past Well Pitch was short-lived however as we bumped into a group of seven sitting on a ledge not far beyond. There wasn?t really any need to ask what the problem was, as it wasn?t entirely unexpected ? the duck beneath the calcite was still taking too much water to be passable. Yet more waiting was called for, only this time in a slightly less comfortable spot than previously. A careful eye was kept on the level of the stream beneath us and even though there didn?t seem to be any noticeable drop enough time had passed that the duck had to be worth another look. Three of us went for an inspection and decided to go for it. The main problem was the heavy current that looked as though it could flush you out, rather than the lack of airspace. Having agreed with the others that if we didn?t return quickly then they were to follow, we continued out of the cave. It was immediately beyond the duck that we made Dave and Richard, the first of the rescue party. Beyond them was a continuous stream of diggers and CRO people, most of them managed to only take the piss quite gently. Eventually at about 04.30 we left the cave after what will prove to be a memorable 15 hours underground.
Anyway, a massive thankyou to all the all the people who helped on the rescue. I think 25 cavers are now somewhat wiser following this event.
George.
Hopefully I?ve given this report enough time after the event that my words won?t be reproduced in any newspapers! I'm not going to go into any of the debates about what should and shouldn't have been done I'm afraid! We were there and this is more or less what happened to our group - obviously other people stuck in different parts of the cave will have a very different story to tell.
I must admit that I was feeling a bit rough on Saturday morning having had a long session drinking ?gas chamber? cocktails in the NPC with DUSA the night before. The fresh breeze and light rain which accompanied the four us on our walk across the fell
was therefore more of a refreshment than a concern. At the entrance we met a group of seven non-digging cavers from the Newcastle area who kindly let us nip in ahead of them. The water levels in the cave were actually pretty low on the way down and we made rapid progress to the sump, a journey of about 45 minutes with the cave rigged. Fortunately the sump had been emptied the night before so there was no more than a foot of water in the bottom by the time we went through ? all very comfortable! We all took our SRT kits with us in anticipation of exiting Ireby II via Cripple Creek to complete the round trip if time allowed.
Once in the dig our arrival brought about a changing of the guards as three cavers left to make there way out in time for the Super League Grand Final, and two went for a ?quick? trip up Escalator Rift to look at the majestic Jupiter Cavern. I think there may have been some muttering about ?deserters?! Our little group spread ourselves out through the 50m long dig to fill the gaps and help in the efficient removal of sand away from the front (a lot of people are needed for this job, hence why there were so many people in the cave). After about an hour, just as we were beginning to get into a steady rhythm we were disturbed in our endeavour as word spread up the passage that the cave was flooding. At the end our reaction to this news was fairly sceptical and we tied to get some more information on quite how badly the cave was flooding. The shout of ?get out now!? soon persuaded us that this would be a good course of action.
The hurry was needed in order to get back through the sump before Duke Street started flowing ? as soon as this happens the dam quickly overflows and the sump rapidly reverts to its natural, more aqueous state. Fortunately this had not yet started to happen, which would ultimately have resulted in ten or so cavers being trapped in Ireby II rather than two. Once we were all through, a quick walk upstream soon lead us to the front of the flood pulse which was moving down Duke Street at a steady walking pace. Walking back downstream alongside this mini wave was quite something, and well worth the break from digging. Once this bit of entertainment had passed it became obvious that the two cavers beyond the sump probably weren?t going to be getting back through in a hurry. It was only 15 minutes later that after a rapid increase in flow the sump filled to the roof. Somebody commented that we were now stranded ? nobody else would be getting in or out. Rather surreally the seven Newcastle cavers promptly turned up commenting that it had indeed seemed a bit damp on their way down!
Expecting a fairly short stay five of us decided to head into the Ireby I side of the dig to make productive use of our time. The plan was that after a couple of hours we would make our way out and a couple of us would go into Ireby II via Cripple Creek to show our stranded comrades the dry way out. I thought that if I was lucky I still might make the RRCPC stomp at the Dalesbridge, for which I had splashed out ?15 the previous week. After a couple of hours digging, and a couple of meters progress we decided to head out. The deep rumbling noise that grew louder as we approached Duke Street didn?t bode too well for our plan. Upon reaching the pitch down I was in for quite a shock when I looked down to see brown water swirling around the base of the ladder, clearly the flood was going to be a little bit more problematic than we had imagined! The sump had actually risen by 1.5m in our absence and had extended up Duke Street beyond Whirlpool chamber. After admiring this sight for a while and deciding that the water was definitely still rising we decided to head back to the dig for a few more hours of shifting sand. This had several advantages over sitting still, as well as being warmer and less boring there was also the possibility that we would be able to dig our way out of the cave (hence much whistling a la The Great Escape). Eventually after another 6 hours (it was about 11pm by this time) and about the same number of meters dug we tried to exit for a second time. We were a bit surprised to meet four of the Newcastle group at the exit from Duke Street. After a bit of a wait we teamed up and continued on our way.
The water levels were still high, but Rope and Well pitches were both passed without too much drama. The relief at having safely made it past Well Pitch was short-lived however as we bumped into a group of seven sitting on a ledge not far beyond. There wasn?t really any need to ask what the problem was, as it wasn?t entirely unexpected ? the duck beneath the calcite was still taking too much water to be passable. Yet more waiting was called for, only this time in a slightly less comfortable spot than previously. A careful eye was kept on the level of the stream beneath us and even though there didn?t seem to be any noticeable drop enough time had passed that the duck had to be worth another look. Three of us went for an inspection and decided to go for it. The main problem was the heavy current that looked as though it could flush you out, rather than the lack of airspace. Having agreed with the others that if we didn?t return quickly then they were to follow, we continued out of the cave. It was immediately beyond the duck that we made Dave and Richard, the first of the rescue party. Beyond them was a continuous stream of diggers and CRO people, most of them managed to only take the piss quite gently. Eventually at about 04.30 we left the cave after what will prove to be a memorable 15 hours underground.
Anyway, a massive thankyou to all the all the people who helped on the rescue. I think 25 cavers are now somewhat wiser following this event.
George.
