Lancaster University Speleological Society Freshers

Zander

New member
Over the last year, myself and a fantastic exec have been working really hard to re-establish LUSS. Thanks to the support of the BCA, other clubs and universities, as well as the wider caving community, we have been able to begin the new academic year with a great trip!

On Saturday we took 13 people underground for the first time. Inclement weather forced us to abandon our plans to base ourselves at High Birkwith in favour of less floody prospects.
We began with a peek in the bottom of Yordas, which proved to be full water. Paddling was mentioned but there were no takers. Much fun was had getting changed in the wind and rain next to Valley Entrance. Our XXXL suits catching the wind beautifully and inflating to make the freshers look like Mr. Bobby's blue and red cousins. Once within the shelter of the cave, people took to stooping and cold water with no problems at all. Natural born cavers every one of them. We carried on until the pitch and had a peek in to the streamway, then promptly turned around. On the way back we shared the cave with a friendly group  who were on an activities weekend for the visually impaired. This was wonderful for our freshers to see and really illustrated the fact that caving is for everyone.

Once out, we made the journey to Great Douk to see the impressive entrance and waterfall. The volume of water made entering an unwise move, so we turned around and headed for the safety of Thistle and Runscar.

A great day was had by all and we will be running lots more trips  and future. Our new recruits are keen to get to grips with SRT so they can get to the great vertical caving that the Dales have.

It was wonderful to see a big group of Lancaster University cavers once again trudging across the moor in the driving rain, eager to be below.
We're so very grateful for all of the help and support that we've received over the past year.

Thank you everyone.
 
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