Caving highlight of 2018

Pegasus

Administrator
Staff member
I was listening to BBC Radio 5live this morning. People were phoning in with their sporting highlight of 2018...got me thinking, what was mine?

Horse riding wise, it was (surviving) a week long jumping course, great fun  ;)  Caving - a rather surreal one, I cooked dinner for Dr Richard (Harry) Harris and Craig Challen.  After a dive in Wookey and a trip in Swildons, they were in the Dales to meet Geoff Yeadon & Geoff Crossley, dive in Keld Head, see Sleets Gill and visit CRO in Clapham.  As we know the Geoffs we met them all for a beer and turns out Harry and Craig were at a loose end the following evening - so I invited them for tea - roast lamb dinner.  A couple of nicer blokes you couldn't wish to meet  :)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-24/thai-cave-rescue-australian-divers-receive-bravery-awards/10029542

So what were you caving, or otherwise, highlights?
 

Laurie

Active member
Simple - Spending time at the MNRS among the best friends anyone could ever hope to have.
 

Goydenman

Well-known member
Going to Hidden Earth and honouring UK divers for the Thailand Rescue then meeting Jonathan Volathen and Rick Stanton and to my surprise them remembering me. Getting back into cave diving and diving in upstream New Goyden. Running a paperless cave surveying course with Nick. Progress made in Guscott dig. New members (great people) joining the team (great people) of Black Sheep Diggers. Getting money fro Christmas to buy new caving gear.
 
Highlights caving wise have to be my first ever expedition, to anywhere, out to the Pena Colorada in Mexico with some amazing people, getting to have a peek in Mossdale (a cave I never thought I would go to), and then something closer to home - learning more of Ease Gill, something I never thought possible when I first saw the the extent of the surveys in Bull Pot Farm.

"Real life" wise - I had a daughter which is the most magical, sleep depriving, hilarious, time consuming, rewarding and generally shell-shocking thing I have ever experienced. 
 

Caver Keith

Active member
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of my YouTube channel and reaching 12 million video views - helped just a little bit by the publicity generated by the cave rescue in Thailand. Winning the Tom Zannes award for best video in show at the NSS convention. Listening to Rick Stanton address a packed lecture theatre at Hidden and presenting my own session, which wasn't quite so well attended. It's been quite a year.
 

David Rose

Active member
Going to the bottom of the Gouffre Berger on an exhilarating bounce trip with Madphil Rowsell, finding and then descending the 180m shaft that proved to be the key to connecting Agua de Carrizo to the Sistema Huautla, and an aquatic excursion up the Grotte de Gournier streamway in wild white water conditions with my son Daniel and Paul Mackrill. 
 

benshannon

Active member
Joining my university club (NUCC) visiting moss chamber and the swildons round trip have to be my highlights. I'm hooked now and desperate for more exploring. just wish i had got into caving sooner.
 

nearlywhite

Active member
I had quite a good 2018... it's hard to choose

Caving wise it's probably one of these:

Finding huge unsurveyed cave in Tennessee (6+ miles!), first kayaking through trip in Rumbling Falls, Blue Spring and Cumberland Caverns. Broke Therion. Going out to Meghalaya... beautiful river cave to crumbly sandstone death, surveyed another 5 miles. Finally bottoming the Berger (after a poor attempt 5 years ago). Hitting 500 caving days (I've had so many people say that's so low for how long you've been around?! - 10th year of caving!). Seeing Lancaster University Speleological Society revived. Publishing my book of caving songs and raising a bit of money for the GPF.

Getting round to doing the 14 peaks (solo), didn't die.
Hiking in the dolomites (and nearly killing my little brother).

You can tell I've been unemployed for a fair bit of it...  ;)
 

yrammy

Member
Hidden Earth Defo!

The presentation on the Thai rescue is something I will never forget. Also, I got to see Sid Perou again for the first time since 1987!!!!
M
 

Keris82

Member
So many highlights as I've only been caving for a year and really crammed in loads! Derbyshire and Vercors are at the top of my list. Also Wild Wookey and did an srt course last week there too. Also, went to Walewds last week and went to Craig and OFD.
 

Barny

New member
I guess it was finding this. Prospecting in the snow does pay dividends.

https://youtu.be/VGyDQk_xYSc

https://youtu.be/4Ewci8l7Y5I
 

FionaH

Member
Would have to say it was the through trip in R?seau Christian Gathier in the Vercors, from the Trou des Anciens to Scialet du Brudour. Amazing trip!
 

Benfool

Member
Getting back to my van, after badly dislocating my knee beyond 2 sumps in Otters Cave, in the northern dales. Only had 120m to swim, 50m to crawl and a mile to hobble to get back.

Only downside was having to not go caving or diving for 4 months while I recovered!
 
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