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Why you should be worried about slate...

I've always been in two minds about slate. I only ever climbed the once on Llanberis slate but a lot more on Lakes slate. There was a big collapse at Parrock Quarry near Tilberthwaite back in the eighties which destroyed a few of the early bolted routes which had been established there. I had a sobering underground experience next door in Hodge Close after bivouacking overnight in a large cavern with a youth group (1990-ish?). Altogether, there must have been over thirty of us. We'd gone in wading along the tunnel which leads to a short ladder used by divers to access the open quarry pool. A few weeks later I happened to go in again (solo). The entire cavern seemed to have collapsed.
 
Was that pushed down deliberately? Seems a bit of a coincidence for someone to be filming a quarry face at the exact moment otherwise
 
No I don't believe that would be possible - as Chris says, slate let's you know before it gives way
 
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He explained why he started filming when heard falling rocks (locals say biggest in 3 decades):
www.dailypost.co.uk

Gut-lurching moment huge rockface collapses near walkers at popular slate quarry

'I kept filming as tonnes of rubble and debris crashed down. Then I ran'
www.dailypost.co.uk www.dailypost.co.uk

From another FB post (original reports said landslide as they were just viewing dust cloud from village):
Caused by increased pore pressure of water from increased precipitation, ie; rainfall drains through slate heap into cracks of slate beneath, once in cracks pressure build and the rest is in the video....

Mountains are changing, no longer a safe place due to climate change 😉
Click to expand...
The Great Fall was when they were still actively destabilising the rock though.
 
Certainly you should treat slate with respect, but any mine (ok pedants... quarries as well) need care as the mine engineer won't necessarily have worked on the basis of providing safe and stable access to "intruders" like us, a long while after the mine closed
 
alanw said:
www.bbc.co.uk

TikTok and Instagram beauty spots creating work for rescue teams

Mountain rescuers rush to save a young couple stranded in a quarry after watching a TikTok video.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
Click to expand...
From what is gleanable (unless I missed it in the article) this bit of silliness happened back in April but did shoehorn in the rather latter rockfall perhaps to show how 'dangerous' Dinorwic is.

There was another bit (the Guardian perhaps) I think about a fatal rockfall in Pakistan or rock falls in the Italian Jura that suggested a wetter and hotter climate may be destabilising steep rock faces generally.

JIm
 
In the higher mountains more ice is melting which was "holding" the rock together - climber friend of mine only goes to the Alps now in winter, as they are more fally-down than previously

Latter incident may have been March:

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