Bad air / pollution / bad bolts / etc

This topic only for updates on current alerts. Keep all discussion regarding any particular alert to seperate topics please.

P8 high level route from 'First Pitch' to 'Alternative Second Pitch' (also known as 'Old Iron Ladder Pitch'.)

There's a traverse that can be rigged on Spits and Natural connecting P8's First Pitch with the Alternative Second pitch. Was in there yesterday and the two Spits that protect the step across the passage are knackered. Bolts will screw into them but as you expect them to go tight they loosen off and just keep spinning. Shame cos they were handy for novices.

Cheers,
Jules.

Mods - this can be removed once someone's next been down - short-term relevance only!

Coming out of JH late last night, de-rigging Bitch Pitch, the rope snagged and there followed a fairly significant series of rumbles and bangs. I think I may have dislodged one of the sets of stacked deads; so please keep an eye out for any extra bits of loose rock.

If you go down and find it's all fine and dandy, please post here so's people know it's not been made worse.

Was in JH at the weekend (24th Feb) and all was fine and dandy on Bitch Pitch and everywhere else. 

Thought I heard an account of loose rocks being kicked down onto people on Bitch Pitch during your trip.  :-\

It was only one small rock and the others who had been there before said it was no worse than usual.  There was no evidence of a recent large fall.

Just inside Wapping Mine entrance - about 5m in - a block has fallen from the right hand wall as you go in. It has come from about 3 or 4m up the wall from just above a toadstone wayboard and is about 1m x 1m x 0.5m. It is on the usual path past/over the collapsed timbered level and is recognisable by the large amount of toadstone clay on it and around it. Looks like there is another big flake/block cracking away from under the wayboard in the same place. Needs poking with a big iron bar... :-\ Any locals with an engineering eye care to give it a glance and a second opinion?

Hi all.

Have been wondering whether to post something about this since our trip and have finally decided it might save someone some bother...

On 9/3/2008, Darfar P.C. went down Knotlow intending to do the round trip via Crimbo Pipe and East Level. Water levels were higher than normal so I was prepared to turn around if things became too aqueous! Anyway, part way along Crimbo Pipe, (prob. just before the waterfall), where it pops out into the base of a rift, the way on at stream level was found to be blocked with boulders sufficiently that I had to spend several minutes moving them out of the way to make it possible to even get through. (Could have been the recent earth movements.) Our smallest member then went through and declared there to not be enough air space to continue, though we could clearly hear a waterfall beyond.

Now it's been a long time since I was last in this bit of Knotlow, but the boulders must have been causing the water to back up more than was normal before.

To cap all this off, a sizeable rock then (without warning) fell out of the roof and hit first mine, then two other members helmets in turn, leaving one with a cut forehead. I couldn't see the state of the roof due to the water vapour, so can't report on what it looks like, but needless to say we got out of there very quickly!

SO, if you go up there in the near future, basically take extra care, and be prepared to not be able to make the round trip. (At least not without some digging and redistribution of boulders!)

Cheers,
Martin.

Message from Chris Broome (DCA)

DO NOT DESCEND LONG RAKE MINE, BRADWELL MOOR UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

On the weekend of 24/25 May 2008 two cavers were taken seriously ill with Carbon Monoxide poisoning in Long Rake Mine on Bradwell Moor. The source of the Carbon Monoxide is not known and DCA are advising that cavers should not descend Long Rake until further notice.

http://www.thedca.org.uk/

As part of my ongoing DCA audit of Stoney Middleton Dale I have put a warnings section of the Chesterfield Caving Club website.  Current entries relate to:

- Streaks Pot
- Nickergrove Mine
- Merlin Mine
- Carlswark Cavern

http://chesterfieldcavingclub.org.uk/news.html 

I will endeavor to keep this as up-to-date as possible, so please let me know of any specific issues relating to the Dale which you feel cavers/the DCA should be made aware.

Mark C

DCA has just received a report of quite bad CO2 problems in Nettle Pot in the Dratsab area below Beza and Crumble Shafts. 

If you do visit this area of Nettle, be wary and be ready to turn back if you find yourself being affected - shortness of breath, headache, puffing and panting and general feeling grotty are the standard symptoms.

Please would clubs warn their members about this one.

Jenny P said:

DCA has just received a report of quite bad CO2 problems in Nettle Pot in the Dratsab area below Beza and Crumble Shafts.

If you do visit this area of Nettle, be wary and be ready to turn back if you find yourself being affected - shortness of breath, headache, puffing and panting and general feeling grotty are the standard symptoms.

Please would clubs warn their members about this one.

Click to expand...

Bit behind the times there Jenny - it was reported on here on Oct 2nd!
http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php/topic,7089.0.html

I think this is probably the best place to put this:

Streaks Pot.

Unless we were in completely the wrong place, the Lower Entrance has collapsed! There are still two oil drums, both very very rusty and full of holes. A very careful descent of these found the base to be completely choked with loose rock. You can feel it still settling as your weight lands on it. Attemting to climb out of the oil drums was interesting  with small rocks falling out of the holes in the drums. The drums themselves also are not very secure the whole lot could come down/in around you very very easily. Do NOT attempt the through trip from the Upper Entrance!


I'll put a full trip report up later.

we had a good look at Streaks lower entrance on 26/12/08 after speaking to two guys who said it had collapsed!

it looks OK to us, you could still get through.

Streaks lower entrance only has 1 x 3/4 length barrel (about a 6-7 foot drop in total then a crawl under) are you sure you wasn't looking at Sunday mine? 4 oil drum entrance shaft...pretty unstable!?

Hi Jon, might well have been us you were talking to!

Yep about a 6' drop, definetly wasn't a 4 barrel entrance. Are there any others it could have been?  Maybe Neil was just being a complete wuss then, as he was down first and based on his account I only looked without climbing in. But thoses drums looked very ropey to me, and didn't see any gap to crawl through.

Jon

Have you got any of the Flower Pot blue pipe left, would it fit inside the oil drums before they do eventually collapse?

caving_fox..

I strongly suspect you are at the wrong hole, there is another oil drum lined entrance not far from the streaks entrance (I think it may be called Sunday mine - but not sure). Its only a matter of 20 or 30 yards away, and is just down dale.

Pretty sure streaks would be OK.

Could you discribe where the lower entrance you found was?
I was driving past Streaks today so went to have a look.
I didn't have a torch with me but climbed in the entrance and thought it looked the same as normal. However didn't go beyond daylight if that was where you found the collapse?
Katie

Sounds like we were in the wrong place then.

Not easy to describe, from the road going up as you leave the road there is a road sign and a felled tree, and a small path that goes through a fallen tree, up a steepish bank to arrive at a sort of dell with the drums in the middle. Maybe 10-15 m from the road. If we were at Sunday mine it certainly isn't 4 drums deep now.

Hmm, sounds like you were in the wrong place! Steaks lower entrance is about 7m from the road - it is the entrance clearly visible from the road, covered by a bit of wriggly tin type stuff - Maybe 100m down dale from the 'Max 30 mph - Sharp corner' sign.
However I don't know what you found instead!!!