Swildons Hole video by Michael Perryman & Nick Thorne

[bagpuss]

Just watched this excellent video by Michael Perryman and Nick Thorne from the MCG that was added to You Tube yesterday. Really well put together and useful resource for anyone wanting to learn about the cave. It always amazes me how just two people can create a film in a cave. Thanks Michael and Nick!

 

[Fulk]

A nice film; I'm intrigued to see that people are still using ladders/self-lining.

 

[Badlad]

Excellent. Liked the style. Showed the caving trip very well and hats off to the lighting.

 

[Fulk]

hats off to the lighting

And the steady camera; it must have been on a tripod most of the time.

 

[cavingbiker]

Absolutely brilliant. Gives a real feel of being in the cave. The narration is informative without being intrusive. Well done lads.

 

[spelfish]

Brings back wonderful memories! I don't think I've ever seen Swildon's in such detail. Really enjoyable...
Only one query - should one be encouraging people to go through Barnes Loop, which is rather fragile?

 

[mrodoc]

For short pitches as in Swildons it is ladders every time. For one it is much faster and secondly for each person to carry a load of ironmongery into the cave doesn't really make sense. Trouble is people are not learning how to climb ladders nowadays! I have done my share of big shafts on SRT where it is useful allowing the user to rest en route.

 

[mrodoc]

Just had a quick glance. Nice filming well lit.

 

[Fulk]

"For short pitches as in Swildons it is ladders every time."

Well, the thing about the above video is that the caver was using self-lining, which means that he has some sort of harness plus safety cords (you can see him use one) plus a chest-jammer. It strikes me that if you're kitted up like that you might as well ditch the ladder and carry a foot-loop jammer and prusik out. Presumably each member of the party was carrying 'a load of ironmongery' anyway in order to self-line, so why carry the extra burden of a ladder?

Anyway, I'm not convinced that laddering is much quicker (unless you don't bother with life-lines), and I find that setting up a life-lining system involves a lot more faffing than does SRT.

 

[mrodoc]

I confess that much of the time when younger I didn't use a line. A number of people free climb the pitch too although having done it once never again!

 

[Ian Ball]

Holey moley what a quality production that is!

 

[Redmire]

Great video. Brings back happy memories of exploring Swindon’s as a schoolboy in the late 1960s. Well done Nick and Mike.

 

[mikem]

If first person self lines then you don't need a double rope, as they can belay rest of group up - so doesn't require lots of personal kit, just stuff from the club (& yes, it apparently was done on tripod, but Michael still wasn't free to belay Nick / would have messed with continuity)

 

[Fulk]

If first person self lines then you don't need a double rope, as they can belay rest of group up - so doesn't require lots of personal kit,

Fair point, mikem.

 

[wormster]

Y'know -

I loved the video, it reminded me of many things:

Tratman's Temple, its by far the easyiest way on, the water rift is a pain going in, or coming out!

Commando rolls through Creep 1 with MAD FEE! on the way out during a "Racing Snake" trot (short) round (as fast as you like)

Having 120 quids worth of Stumpy's light washed off at "The Shrine" on the way out wen the cave was in full flood!

Remembering my Dad's old Mate Robin, from Aldermaston CC nearly dying at Sump 2 ( he's the fellah mentioned in the swildons book - Dad always told me the Robin "SUDDENLY" gave up caving after that incident!)

Working my back from the landing LEFT handed, to the bottom of the water rift with a broken collarbone after F*****G up nav on the short round and coming down the pot insted of the corkscrew - Never make THAT mistake again!

Baynes hooting and making funny noises on a Wednesday Short Round Gym Trip!

One thing I always wanted to improve on the BEC Swildons 20 Ladder was to make some 75mm stand offs for the rungs on the ladder where it comes over the Stal Boss -I prefer to flip the ladder to the Right (from the top -stops you pinging your fingers under the rungs!

Wanting to sit in the entrance chamber (Before LesW -dug out the floor ona hot day with a deckchair, book and beer!

She's had 3 "Go's" at trying to off me - hypothermia (my own fault early on ineadequte kit and getting wet, nearly getting stuck in the pipe up to the Lavortory Pan solo - Low Water conditions fortunatley - BAD scrapes on my back! - and - landing on the Landing and breaking my collarbone

I bloody love the cave!! Eastwater is S***E by comparison!

 

[Brains]

Watched this with the good lady wife. Excellent production! Both been to S1, but she refuses point blank to go through. A phobia about water in the face, even in a swimming pool! Not sure I currently have the fitness for the short round again at present, but I have hope
Found putting a crab on each rung that lies on the boss gives ample finger space without getting nipped

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Totally brilliant. The silly old argument re SRT and Ladders has to emerge plus niggles about the way things are rigged. In Vurley there were often arguments about using SRT and ladders. The SRT people refusing to let the ladder people use their hangers. What is wrong with a ladder and a lifeline ? I cant see that the Swildons 20 as an SRT pitch. Nor in fact the Frozen Deep pitch. The younger generation think that they know best but sometimes the " old " ways are simpler. So as we dont want this to continue the old argument thats my say and perhaps best not pursued to distract from the comments re this super film.

 

[mikem]

Although I have used SRT for frozen deep a few times, swildon's would be a lot more hassle with rebelays.

 

[ZombieCake]

Very nice film indeed.

 

[cap n chris]

Although I have used SRT for frozen deep a few times, swildon's would be a lot more hassle with rebelays.

Many years ago (waaay more than a decade) CSCC looked at the possibility of placing SRT anchors higher at the Twenty to create a traverse and pitch which would completely avoid immersion in the waterfall. Try as we might there was simply no good rock for drilling so it was ditched. Nowadays (and the precedent has existed for yonks) it is commonplace for via ferrata staples to be placed. This paragraph is going to end now because there's probably a predictable backlash if the sentence was to continue.