The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
I think that you all deserve a photo splodge after all the bickering and wittering over caving related acronyms. Of course after the lockdown as well. Peter Glanvill wanted to do a third clean up session in Barnes Loop with the battery pressure washer so I said that I would come along and help carry the kit and hope for a few photos.
Pete Rose kept ringing up saying that as it was the 52nd anniversary of the great flood we were doomed and a hurricane was coming in. I was starting to get the jitters. Well, we arrived at the Wessex hut in the pouring rain so backed up to the washroom to change. Peter's special weather app said that the rain would stop at Priddy after 25 minutes and it did. Off across the field carrying all the kit after putting the cave fee in the box in the porch. I decided on a simple photo set up as the pressure washer would soon mist up everything. TG 4 camera, Youngnuo slave flash, and Skyray torch. I thought about the on-camera flash exclusion box but did not take it. Peter had brought a rope for the " Old Forty " climb. A certain Mendip caver had fallen down it on a solo trip breaking a leg. He had to crawl out of the cave and across the fields to summon help. We safely arrived at the bottom of that though the only belay point that I could find was a thin bit of stal. Peter wanted to look at Rolling Thunder the inlet at the bottom of the climb. I waited as it looked to be a very wet grovel. At the Twenty we found it already rigged so left our ropes and ladders there. We arrived at Barnes Loop without incident and Peter commenced two hours of pressure washing whilst I endeavoured to get some photos in the foggy wet atmosphere. After a while all the camera gear got soaking wet and that was it.
On the return we met the other party who kindly lined us up the Twenty first. I did explain that at age 73 my ladder climbing technique might be a bit slow. It was good to see three young people caving. One was on his first trip. On the way out I managed to fall into one of The Double Pots and Peter's camera and flash set up stubbornly refused to work. Nothing much has changed in 55 years. We met two more cavers having a trundle around the upper series then the walk back to the Wessex to change. The soggy rope bag and my big camera box were getting a bit of a trial by then.
In the upper series.
P7090003 by Nicholas Chipchase, on Flickr
Pete Rose kept ringing up saying that as it was the 52nd anniversary of the great flood we were doomed and a hurricane was coming in. I was starting to get the jitters. Well, we arrived at the Wessex hut in the pouring rain so backed up to the washroom to change. Peter's special weather app said that the rain would stop at Priddy after 25 minutes and it did. Off across the field carrying all the kit after putting the cave fee in the box in the porch. I decided on a simple photo set up as the pressure washer would soon mist up everything. TG 4 camera, Youngnuo slave flash, and Skyray torch. I thought about the on-camera flash exclusion box but did not take it. Peter had brought a rope for the " Old Forty " climb. A certain Mendip caver had fallen down it on a solo trip breaking a leg. He had to crawl out of the cave and across the fields to summon help. We safely arrived at the bottom of that though the only belay point that I could find was a thin bit of stal. Peter wanted to look at Rolling Thunder the inlet at the bottom of the climb. I waited as it looked to be a very wet grovel. At the Twenty we found it already rigged so left our ropes and ladders there. We arrived at Barnes Loop without incident and Peter commenced two hours of pressure washing whilst I endeavoured to get some photos in the foggy wet atmosphere. After a while all the camera gear got soaking wet and that was it.
On the return we met the other party who kindly lined us up the Twenty first. I did explain that at age 73 my ladder climbing technique might be a bit slow. It was good to see three young people caving. One was on his first trip. On the way out I managed to fall into one of The Double Pots and Peter's camera and flash set up stubbornly refused to work. Nothing much has changed in 55 years. We met two more cavers having a trundle around the upper series then the walk back to the Wessex to change. The soggy rope bag and my big camera box were getting a bit of a trial by then.
In the upper series.
P7090003 by Nicholas Chipchase, on Flickr
There must be some secret Mendipian technique that I don?t know about. Excellent pics, by the way.
