Warnings re Longwood

mrodoc

mrodoc

Well-known member


Went down it on Sunday.  Firstly the current padlock is not very cooperative. Ten minutes fiddling to get the key to turn and ditto on getting out plus a struggle to lock it and free the key without sending it on its way to Cheddar. This may get fixed soon.

Secondly, coming out via the Showerbath and at the climb after the short traverse beyond it there is a breeze block size and weight triangular slab half way up on the right which is loose. If you grab it you will fall and it will land on you or you'll end up with a crushed foot. It is fairly obvious now. I didn't dislodge it down the drop as it was on a pile of boulders and didn't want to find out what the vibration did. Please be warned.

Otherwise the trip was fine if a struggle with two and all the kit plus camera gear - but there you are.

 
mrodoc

mrodoc

Well-known member
No, August was very damp. Plus I forgot to mention something else which is equally important. Some helpful person has put a hemp rope on the traverse into Longwood Great Chamber.  They have belayed it at the upstream side but the other end is just loosely wrapped around a boulder. So if you use it  for the traverse and lean back expect a short flight and a hard landing. This seems a remarkably dumb thing to do.  We didn't remove the rope (proably should have) but it shows unofficial fixed aids need to be treated with suspicion. This is from the man who once abseiled off stal pitch in Cuthbert's on a rotting piece of hauling rope and lived to tell the tale.
 
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