Where do the ropes go in Giants?

[JonP]

Went to Chert hall for the first time yesterday, quite alot taller than I expected with a rope hanging down. When and who climbed this? Also does it go anywhere? Does the inlet at the far end go aswel? only had a breif look.

Another rope hanging down in between the climbs before ghost rift. where does this go? im sure i remember someone saying there was a dig up there?

Last question...

At the top of Magins rift (The Death series) you have a left and a right passage. Ive followed the left one before to a choke but the right one had silted up enough not to fit through. does this go very far?

 

[alastairgott]

maginn's rift (the left side) apparently leads to two squeezes to 30ft high aven, "beware of loose rubble" (according to my book from 1984) it doesn't say anything about the right hand side!

the book gets rather confusing when it talks about chert hall and doesn't make much sense.

but ghost rift "can be climbed with the use of a 14m scaling pole" to ghost rift series which is 176m long. this high level passage leads to a blockage but before the end a tight awkward passage on the left can be followed to pitches of 8m, 2m and 3m, where the way on is too tight but takes a small stream which probably goes to five eighths inlet.

hope its of some help and thanks to my book "caves of derbyshire" (1984)

 

[alastairgott]

i can write down exactly what it says about chert hall in the hope you may know what it's talking about.

 

[JonP]

sound.

Yeah ive been up the left branch to the end but the right branch was a very restricted crawl in a pool that you could see beyond into a wider space where water could be heard (poss small inlet in an aven?) The floor was only wet silt just needed five minute with a trenching tool or someone slightly smaller.

The rope is before Ghost rift. I thinks its in between the two handline climbs in North-east swallet? Looked pretty short so would have to bridge to get yourself on it.

Chert hall - Yeah type it on here it might make sense. Well it seemed pretty straight forward being there. lol.

 

[alastairgott]

at bottom of garlands pot, high and narrow crabwalk, which is 688m long to second stream sump can be followed passing after first 30m chert hall which can be reached via short crawl at roof level on right. after further 164m the 14m climb up to the upper series is reached.

 

[Brains]

Heading upstream towards the wind pipe, ghost rift goes up from the end of the chamber. To the left in the chamber there is a lot of brown flowstone that comes from an aven that has been climbed to a too small continuation. A rope was left in this upper aven belayed to a bolt of dubious vintage. Downstream from the chamber there is the letterbox, another enigma.
Chert hall is a series of decreasing wet crawls, with a rope up into some avens but they were very tatty when I was there so I didnt go up...

 

[JonP]

The rope wasnt near ghost rift. Far from it with no flowstone about. Its just hangs and ascends into the darkness.

 

[Scud]

Another rope hanging down in between the climbs before ghost rift. where does this go? im sure i remember someone saying there was a dig up there?

I think Matt Ryan from Crewe had something to do with this rope but can't remember what.  Matt now lives in China, maybe somebody from Crewe Caving and Climbing Club could help you.

Wayne

 

[alastairgott]

guy called ronaldjprice is ccpc (crewe climbing and pothole club) i'm sure he could put you in contact with someone if you personal message him!
if you email ccpc he will be the person who will reply to you so i suppose you may as well get him on here!

 

[zippy]

The ropes in Chert hall go to the top!

Went up there a few year back - you go up, and up, and up, and eventually get to a pleasant, airy spot at the top.  Doesn't go anywhere though, just pinches in - there's space for a couple fo bods, but that's about it.

At risk of stating the bloomin' obvious - when I went up the fixed ropes were just about acceptable, but to be safe(r) we took our own and rigged them for all but the first team member up / for the route back down...    Unless they've been replaced recently, they've been there for a few years!

Z!

 

[T pot 2]

The other set of ropes that dissapear into the blackness before the junction of Northeast passage and letter box passage lead up to the extensions that the Crewe pushed some years back. The passage at the top goes to a sump that could be pumped dry, this then lead to a further squeeze. Don't know if it was ever surveyed. Speak to one of the Crewe for a full report.

T pot

 

[Ralph]

The rope 50m beyond the 8m cascade (heading towards The Eating House from Ghost Rift) leads to Jublilee Passage. It was dug from the far end (above the 8m cascade) through a mud sump to a passage that now limks to where the rope can be seen. Break trhough was at the time of queen's silver jubilee hence the name. Sadly the two most ardent diggers (Rob Heath and Tony Reynolds) are no longer with us- they are digging in "the great master cave in the sky!.
If you climb the rope (it's about 10 - 15years old attached to substantial rawl-bolts, I'll give you some new rope if you want to replace it, you will come to a low bedding plane on your left which after 5m turns sharply left where there is a squeeze. Numerous attempts were made to get through this but all proved unsuccessful. (it was prior to the discovery of modern techniques- we even tried a form of fire setting using propane but only succeeded in almost asphixiating the operators!). About 8-10 years ago Matt Ryan got thropugh the squeeze - then disappeared to cave in China, he never returned. The good news is that Matt is alive and well and now runs a successfull trekking company based in Chengdu. If you are anorexic with lots of bottle it's there for the taking. Matt even managed to turn round which can't have been easy. Let me know how you get on.
Best wishes,
Ralph J

 

[ronaldjprice]

Hi Alistair,
              In Reply to your post which was correct until recently.

"guy called ronaldjprice is ccpc (crewe climbing and pothole club) I'm sure he could put you in contact with someone if you personal message him!
if you email ccpc he will be the person who will reply to you so i suppose you may as well get him on here!"

I have very little to do with introducing novices to CCPC these days, it might be better to try Ralph or Al
both are contributers to uk caving

Hope you are well.
Take care
Ron

 

[alastairgott]

ooops my bad. sorry if you got many people PM'ing you

 

[ronaldjprice]

Dont worry about it, that was the situation, but times change, and you were not to know that.