I've been trying to get to Boxhead Pot the last few weeks but failed due to various issues. This weekend it looks wet with possibly some rain on Monday, the day I'm hoping to go. Before I apply for a permit, can someone tell me how bad Boxhead gets in wet weather? Thinking of doing the Kendal flyover to Lyle Cavetn.

I believe it is supposed to be fine in the rain (moderately at least)?

My personal advice...

Boxhead is passable via the Kendal Flyover in reasonably wet conditions. Some additional IC anchors were installed a few years ago near the top of the first pitch to allow for an extra steep deviation away from the water just a few metres down. The pitches can get a little drafty and a bit of spray (particularly on the first drop) but it's perfectly passable and equally spectacular.

I doubt the relatively light rain forecast for this weekend will cause any issues particularly after such a dry week.

In severely wet conditions though... not good! We rigged Boxhead for Eurospeleo and went to derig it at the end of the conference after the deluge of the final weekend. We peered down the entrance to see water flying everywhere! Needless to say the rope got left in for another week and came out sparkling clean!

I think the route onward to Lyle Cavern is OK in wet conditions too (although I'm less confident on this).

You can do Boxhead in any weather but only if you use the up-to-date topo and description. There are quite a few IC resin anchors which have been added and only appear on my topo. These are crucial to do it safely in wet weather.

The first deviation on the first pitch makes that pitch much drier. In very wet weather it is safe but you can't avoid the water altogether. You won't drown but you will get drenched. The trick is to go at it with confidence and get through the spray quickly.

There is a redundant anchor below the first pitch which is out of reach and which I haven't shown on my topo. It's out of reach because what used to be a very dangerous unstable boulder slope has been eroded by water and cavers's feet and is 2 or 3 metres lower than it used to be. It was unstable because it was only formed when the entrance collapsed in.

In flood there is a stream six inches deep going over the Main Shaft and you can still get down. The top section of the Main Shaft could be a death trap in wet weather but for the deviations. I showed the water on my topo to illustrate why they are important. In wet weather you must use both deviations. In dry weather you could miss the upper one but using it makes the next deviation easier to reach.

There is a rebelay after the two deviations which splits the shaft up nicely into equal sections. Ignore the anchor on the opposite wall. Just below it swing round the corner to find an IC anchor. It is carefully positioned to give a hang which avoids what used to be a difficult swing into the rift lower down. It aslo has good footholds which make it an easy standing change over rather than a hanging change over.

From the Y hang in the rift drop down onto a large ledge and walk along the ledge to the final Y hang which drops onto Kendal Flyover. Climb or abseil down to where the Kendal Extension lead off to the true right.

There is a topo for Boxhead drawn by me and one for It's a Cracker and there is a combined topo. I highly recommend the exchange trip which is one of the best expeditions you can do in the Dales for SRT junkies - your feet hardly touch the ground.

http://www.resinanchor.co.uk/6.html

Thanks all.

There is a couple of ducks on the way is there not? Though those ducks are not in an active stream I guess.

Ahhh.. the ducks are on the route via The Tube I think (the most direct route from Boxhead to Lyle Cavern), but I'd assumed Jon was talking about the route via Cresta Run and Tate Galleries... a splendid and varied route. There is one wet bit on this but I think it's more of a static pool rather than a stream.

The tube would definitely be impassible in wet weather, but  I was meaning the static pool duck on the other route, before you reach that long climb up that thick rope into Lyle caverns. But like you said the water is likely static, but we thought the mouse hole water in Rift was static until the cave proved us otherwise.