Wessex Cave Clubwessex-cave-club.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Wessex... · 2016-09-15 · Wessex Cave Club Journal 332 Page 183 Contents th 184‐187 Home Close Hole ‐ The Early

Wessex Cave Club Journal 330 Page 182

WessexCaveClub

Journal332


Opinions expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the club or any of its officers. Photographs by article authors unless otherwise stated.

© Wessex Cave Club 2013. All rights reserved.

Wessex Cave Club Journal Volume 33: January 2015

Cover Unnamed Moulin M4, Gorner Glacier Photo by Josh Bratchley

Editorial

Welcome to Journal 332. It’s been a long time since our last Journal! As I keep on reminding members, I am only able to edit and publish a Journal when I have articles and photos available. I also only have certain ‘slots’ of time to prepare our Journal; this can mean that there is a lag between issues. As Maurice Hewins points out in his piece on the 80th Anniversary, our Club is in rude health. The Wessex is an active caving club; if you turn up at Upper Pitts you will find some caving activity most days. Our club is particularly busy most weekends – with both caving trips and digging. There is a lot of digging work being carried out by Club members. Who knows what 2015 might bring? As a Club we also cave further a field – trips to France, Greece and Lanzarote are common. Ice caving anyone? Some of these trips, such as into Marras, are shared with members. However, there are also lots of trips that are not shared. To make our Journal one we are all proud of and packed full of all our caving activities, we should submit small write ups and photos to help build the next issue(s). Once again, a huge thank you to all contributors to this Journal. Without them, literally, there would be nothing to publish. Happy Caving in 2015 Pete

President: Donald Thomson

Vice Presidents: Sid Perou

Derek Ford James Hanwell

Chairman: Les Williams

51 Churchill Road East Wells Somerset BA5 3HU 01749 679839 chairman@wessex‐cave‐club.org

Secretary: Frank Tully

16 Bedminster Rd Bedminster Bristol BS3 5PD 07890 862709 secretary@wessex‐cave‐club.org

Membership Secretary: Barry Wilkinson Treasurer: Aubrey Newport Caving Secretary: Jude Vanderplank HQ Warden: John Cooper Hut Administration: Connor Roe Sales Officer: John Gisborne Tackle Officer: John (Tommo) Thomas Ordinary Members: Noel Cleave Colin Shapter

Hut bookings: Ali Moody Librarian: Phil Hendy Webmaster: Chris Milne Journal Editor: Pete Buckley editor@wessex‐cave‐club.org

ISSN 0083‐811X

Headquarters Upper Pitts, Eastwater Lane, Priddy, Somerset, BA5 3AX, 01749 672 310


Contents 184‐187 Home Close Hole ‐ The Early Days. A Reappraisal Tony Audsely outlines the initial work at Home Close

187 Obituray – Paul Weston

188 ‐ 189 Eighty Glorious Years Maurice Hewins’ personal thoughts on the 80th Anniverasry.

189 ‐ 190 Wessex Summer Camp Mark Helmore gives details of the arrangements for a summer trip to the Réseau Felix Trombe ‐ Henne Morte.

191 ‐ 192 Maaras Kev Hilton reports on a recent trip into this very impressive massive streamway – beyond the normal show cave.

193 Hidden Earth 2014: A Personal Account. Geoff Newton describes his experience of Hidden Earth 2014.

194 – 196 Wessex Christmas Caving Special Ali Moody organised a very varied day of caving for over 60 members. There are various accounts of trips that fomed part of this very successful weekends caving.

197 – 200 Chartreuse Various write ups are inclcuded to give a good account of the 2014 Wessex summer camp in the Chartreuse.

201 ‐ 203 From the Logbook Selected transcripts from the Upper Pitts Logbook.

204 New in the Sales cupboard

Membership News A warm welcome to Lawrence Myatt, Calum Langan, Henry Male, Christopher Male, Thomas Brock, Georgina Henry‐Brock, Jessica Brock, Frances Warren, Peter Hall, Jeremy Rawlings , Abigail Cheverst, Josh White, Nicolas Butler, Samantha Storrar , Jonathan Da'Casto, Natallia Paliakova, Paul Clouston, Maxwell Fisher, Antonio Emmanouilidis and

also to rejoining members, Kevin Gurr, Tony Audsley, Russell Mines and Hazel Barton

Diary January 10th Singing River Mine January 24/25th Devon Weekend @ DSS February 14th Eastwater Cavern – 13 pots March 14th Spider Hole

March 20th Yorkshire weekend @ BPC April 11th Swildon’s Hole – Black Hole Series May 9th Fairy Quarry Caves – Hilliers/Fairy & Balch June 13th Off Mendip for some Llangattock trips Aug 14th to 27th Summer Camp – Felix Trombe

Hut Bookings Jan 15‐16th Kent Uni (12) Jan 21st Grenville House OEC (9) Jan 23rd Imperial College Caving (15) Feb 13‐14th Cambridge Climbing and Caving (8) Apr 2nd CPC (12) April 10th RDCC (5) July 6th to 27th Archaeology Students (30) Thanks to Ali Moody for all her work keeping the hut bookings well managed.

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY

As at 28th November 2014 Bradford Pothole Club ‘Bulletin’ 7, 4 (Nov 2013) Bristol Exploration Club ‘Belfry Bulletin’ 59, 5 (550) (Apr 2014) 60, 1 (Nov 2014) BCRA Cave and Karst Science 41, 1, 2 (Apr, Aug2014) Cave Diving Group N/L 192 (Jul 2014)(Incl. Survey of White Keld, Yorkshire) and 193 (Oct 2014) Chelsea Speleological Society N/L 56, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10

(May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Oct/Nov 2014) Craven Pothole Club ‘Record’ 113, 114 (Jan, April 2014) Derbyshire Caver 134, 135 (Spring, Autumn 2014) + Annual Report 2013 (Also Caving, Land Managers and Liability document). Descent 238, 239, 240 (June/July, Aug/Sep, Oct/Nov 2014) Gloucester S.S. N/L ‘The Journal’ 2, 2014 Grampian S.G. ‘Bulletin’ 5th Series 1, 1 (March 2014) MCG ‘News’ Un‐numbered (60th Anniversary issue, April 2014), 374, 375 (May, Oct 2014) M.N.R.C. Newsletter 139, 140 (Spring, Summer 2014) NSS ‘News’ (USA) 72, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 11 (Apr, May, June, July, Aug, Sep, Nov 2014) Journal of Cave and Karst Science 72, 2 (Aug 2014) Plymouth Mining & Mineral Club Journal 43, 2, 3 (Oct 2013, Feb 2014) Speleological Union of Ireland ‘Irish Speleology’ 20 (Oct 2013) University of Bristol Spelaeological Society ‘Proceedings’ 26, 2 (2014)

(Great Oone’s Hole survey, Cathole Cave) Westminster Speleological Group N/L Dec 2013, May 2014 White Rose Pothole Club N/L 32, 4, 33, 1, 2, 3 (Dec 2013, Jan, June, Sept 2014) Gouffre Berger L’esprit d’équipe. Wright, Shone et al. 2014 Wessex Cave Club Gouffre Berger 2012 Ed. N. Cleave Wessex Cave Club Chartreuse Summer Camp 2014 Ed. N. Cleave


Home Close Hole ‐The Early Days ‐ A Reappraisal (Tony Audsley) Preamble: I was recently readmitted to the Club having made a promise to write something about the Home Close Dig. Now, some articles have already been published in other places on the subject of this particular hole, but I don't think that it is a good idea just to leap in and go on about the current situation there without some form of introduction to the story and, therefore, that it would be more useful to start by reviewing the beginnings of the project. Hopefully, this new view will be more balanced and informative than the old, having benefited from a degree of hind‐sight. Certainly, it will give more details of the site itself and concentrate less on the physical aspects of the digging which seemed so important at the time. I am not going to scatter references to previous work through this article, but will list a few of the more significant ones at the end. The beginnings: There are several threads to this story, but the earliest started, as the best ones do, in Hunters'. In this case, with conversations between Tony Jarratt (J‐Rat) and Chris Jewell about diving prospects in Wigmore Swallet. Now, during the original exploration of the Wigmore streamway, the sumps were notorious for their lack of visibility. Despite knowing this, Tony somehow managed to fire Chris with enthusiasm for the place, but then that was Tony's special talent. Thus encouraged, Chris undertook a series of dives in Wigmore, which led eventually to his discovery in September 2007 of an air‐space above the now clearer waters of Wigmore sump 7. This in turn led to the subsequent exploration of Young Bloods' Inlet, Wig's Hall and The Generation Game by Chris, Stuart Gardiner, Simon Cornhill, John Maneely and Duncan Price. The discovery of these passages caused a considerable amount of excitement, particularly so as an aven in Young Bloods' / Wig's Hall was climbed to a height of something like 26 metres. At this point, the only way on was an impossibly tight rift heading south east, but 26 metres is 26 metres and is about one third of the way to the surface. Furthermore, The Generation Game formed a by‐pass to sumps 8 and 9 and gave direct access to the known end of the cave. If it were possible to reach the aven from the surface then Wigmore Ten would be accessible to non‐divers, or so the theory went. So, still fired by enthusiasm, in February 2008, a radiolocation exercise was conducted. The underground team was Chris Jewell, Stu Gardiner and John Maneely, with support from Duncan Price and Matt Jones while the surface team comprised John and Charlotte Riley, Phil Hendy and Brian Prewer. Photograph (c) Phil Hendy. Charlotte Riley, John Riley and Brian Prewer over the aven. Depression 1 in the background.

The radiolocation indicated that although the downstream passage of Wigmore Swallet lay largely below Eastover Ground, the Young Bloods' / Wig's Hall passages were immediately to the south of this, somewhere below the high ground in the midst of a group of three contiguous depressions in the north of the field known as Home Close, some 335 metres west of Wigmore Swallet and close to the east/west (ish) boundary hedge‐line. This sounded promising and if nothing else, with three depressions, it's one up on Twin‐Titties. The second strand of the story was running more or less at the same time. Around about the beginning of March 2008, when J‐Rat had returned from the Meghalaya expedition, he was feeling unwell and, most unusually, he had not really enjoyed his time in India. As the year progressed, he deteriorated further and the shove‐halfpenny table witnessed the discussion of various projects and ways of cheering him up. These conversations increasingly centred around Wigmore, and the possibility of connecting the aven to the surface. At the time, none of us was fully aware of the seriousness of his situation and the time constraints that this imposed. Stoical as ever, Tony did not let his malaise or even the eventual dire prediction; "You won't see this Christmas" stop him. He was keen to see the 'Dry to Wigmore Ten' project start and as he wrote in his log:‐

"The rest of July then becomes somewhat epic [...] a couple of promising extensions being made above the downstream end of Wigmore Swallet and my diagnosis with incurable lung cancer. [...] Dave 'Tusker' Morrison suggested on 4/8/08 to start a Hymac dig [...] we are both in low spirits and this is the obvious cure".

The advantage of this project was that the initial phase would be a short‐term affair. He could cope with that. So Tony and Dave organised the start of the dig and on 21st August 2008, Mark Crook turned up with an Hitachi Zaxis


excavator and started by stripping off the top level of turf from depression (3). Fig1: Location and surface geology

The start of the dig: Fig 1 shows the location of the dig in the northern section of Home Close ground, marked as depression 3. It also shows the approximate location of the Wigmore streamway, which lies largely under Eastover ground with Young Bloods' Inlet branching off from sump 7, heading for depression 3. This positioning is at best an approximation to the truth, as it relies to a certain extent on guestimation from the survey and the radiolocation fix was subject to interference by the mineralised nature of the ground. However, it's a workable hypothesis. The Geological Survey shows the boundary of the Dolomitic Conglomerate and the Mercia Mudstone (better known to old folk as Red Marl) running between the large depression (1) and the dig depression (3), with the Dolomitic Conglomerate to the right (east) of the boundary. However, the excavation uncovered a Mercia Mudstone wall trending E/W on the north face of the excavated pit, to the right (east) of the boundary, i.e. on the 'wrong' side of the boundary, such is life. This wall was horizontally bedded and horizontally etched, giving the impression of wind erosion. As the cliff face was followed down, the excavation was enlarged laterally to give the digger access to the lower reaches. Photograph 2 shows the (approximately E/W) hedge‐line between Eastover and Home Close, the extent of the

original excavation and also the two adjacent depressions to the west and north‐west of the excavation can be seen (marked '+').

At this stage, on the north west of the excavation, towards depression 2, there was an area of stone‐free fine brown silt, whereas in the east face of the pit there was a very striking V‐shaped funnel of yellow stained ground with a high proportion of angular (?) Harptree Bed fragments. I took a sample bag of this material ‐ since misplaced ‐ (but it may well turn up ‐ nothing at home is lost for ever). All the remaining areas of the hole were lined with multicoloured clays, reds, purples, blue/green; very mixed. By the time that the half‐way point of the machine time had been reached, the hole was some ten metres deep and there was the mudstone cliff on the north, the yellow V‐shaped structure on the east side and an

(assumed) Dolomitic Conglomerate rock wall on the west of the hole. The assumption that this west wall was Dolomitic Conglomerate was made on the basis that later excavations under this wall were certainly in Dolomitic Conglomerate. At the time of the excavation, however, it was not obvious and it was not examined in any detail. The difficult area to define was the south face of the hole. During the excavation it was difficult to get a good look at this as the excavator was operating from this side of the pit in the latter stages of the dig and the material under its tracks kept collapsing back in to the hole, with all that that implies. All credit is due to Mark Crook for continuing to work under these conditions.

Photograph 2 (c) Stuart McManus. Aerial photograph looking north.


Figure 2. Sketch plan of the excavation.

There are two possibilities for the area to the south. One, that the conglomerate wall continues heading south to form a trench, implying an L‐shaped structure overall. The second is that the wall swings to the east and that the whole structure is lozenge‐shaped. For what it's worth, I originally favoured the second possibility and now marginally incline towards the first. During the excavation we did not have long to examine the various structures as there was the continual danger of collapse and the site had to be worked as rapidly as possible before either piping or backfilling it. In normal circumstances, backfilling would have been the sensible thing to do, for there was nothing at the bottom of the excavation that could be used as a seating for a shaft and no indication of a possible way on. The rock walls on two sides appeared to continue downwards and the bottom of the hole consisted of a mixture of clay and small rubble with stones roughly the size of a fist. This was not ideal for supporting a ten tonne stack of concrete pipes. However, these were not normal circumstances. This was J‐Rat's last project and he had attended every day in his Land Rover wearing his, by now essential, oxygen mask. It would have been totally unthinkable simply to backfill it. So ten concrete rings were stacked on the mud, the excavation was backfilled and the depression regraded. The penultimate entry in Tony Jarratt's log reads as follows:‐

25/8/08 Home Close Hole (Red Quar). [...] Here endeth stage one of the "Dry to Wigmore Ten" project. The next phase will be nowhere near as easy, but should be technically fascinating for those destined to be involved. Tony A. already has some good shoring ideas in hand.

Tony died less than a week later, 31st August 2008. Acknowledgement: I am very grateful to the Waldegrave Estate for granting permission to dig at this site and for their continued support and tolerance. Background references: Jarratt, A.R., 1977. Wigmore Swallet Dig ‐ Provisional Report ‐ The Story so Far. Bel. Bull. 356. McDonald, M.C., Jarratt, A.R., Savory, K.N., 1997, A History of the Discovery and Exploration of Wigmore Swallet, Red Quar, Somerset by the Bristol Exploration Club. B.E.C. Caving Report No. 23. Jewell, C.A.S & Gardiner, S., 2008. Wigmore Extended. Bel.Bull, 530 Jarratt, A.R. & Morrison, D., 2009. On Digging to Wigmore Ten in Style. Bel. Bull. 531, 28‐30. A. Audsley 29/10/2014


Obituary ‐ Paul Weston Paul Weston A Brother’s Thoughts Paul’s caving started in 1959 when he was 18. Having just enrolled as a student nurse at the Mendip Mental hospital, there must be some connection! He joined the MNRC and caved with such luminaries as Ron Teagel, Ray Mansfield and Tony Oldham. Early trios included digging on Valentines Landing, Lamb Lair and GB. He also joined me and the Westinghouse apprentices on trips to Aggy, Stoke Lane, Longwood etc and our dig to reopen Cuckoo Cleaves with the Sidcot boys including the ‘Tims’ – Atkinson and Reynolds. John Church was also one of our members. We also met Steve Wynn Roberts at this time who was working in the Valve Division of Westinghouse ‘making foreigners’!! In the winter of 61/62 in pristine snow we walked from Wells to Shipham and back, good days. There was one trip to Aggy when we shared the’ Old Darren Sunday School’ with the ‘Chelsea’, but the memory of events has completely gone! When we reached our 70’s we went no more below but contented ourselves with rambles across the Levels and some bird watching, quiet days. Garth Weston

Maurice Hewins writes: I first remember Paul at Hillgrove, soon after he became a Wessex member on 20th January 1963, and he continued participating in club events until the time of his death. On one occasion Judy and I took Paul and John Jones over to

Ubley Hill Pot crammed into our old Reliant three‐ wheeler. I also remember several trips to Swildon’s: once with the old “Friday Nighters”, and again when I kept him waiting, while I tried to take photos.

Paul was a very sociable man and he was always good company, as on Wessex trips to the P.S.M and the Herault, where he got the nickname, Greywolf. He also joined us on a surfing trip to Newquay arranged by Dominic Sealy. In later years, he and Garth re‐explored the Bath stone mines and they took us down Ridge Mine to take some video. Both Weston Brothers published articles in the Journal over the years. Paul was a man of many interests and his house was full of works of art and there was often a machine part on the table. He was a keen cyclist and motor cyclist and took part in, or marshalled at trials and hill climbing events. He loved tinkering with cars and bikes and he went on regular motorcycle tours, both in the U.K. and aboard. Paul’s bird watching passion led him to joining specialist wild life trips to Spain and Eastern Europe. Music was another of Paul’s passions and in recent years he seriously took up the violin and viola. He subsequently joined the Somerset Russets, playing in local halls and churches. However he had an argumentative side and once he got quite upset when he attempted to play his violin at a club barbecue, only to have the Mickey taken! It was a great shock when Paul died suddenly in May at the age of 72. Ironically he died following an operation to reduce his chances of having a stroke. The Wessex was very well represented among the huge crowd at his funeral and the following “wake” at the Hunters. We have lost a loyal and great hearted friend. Maurice Hewins


Eighty Glorious Years (Maurice Hewins) Some personal thought on the Club’s History

Only a club with the confidence of the Wessex could allow another significant birthday go by without a fuss. Adrian did make a passing remark at the A.G.M. as he passed the baton to our new Chairman, Les Williams. Alan Butcher also referred to it in his speech at the dinner, but that was it really. It was also revealed that the Wessex is now the largest club in the country and that our funds were healthy enough to transfer £30,000 to the hut sinking fund. Best of all, the A.G.M. was by far the shortest any one can remember. There can be no doubt that the Club is, at present, on a ‘high’ because of the way that Adrian and his committee have handled our affairs over the last few years with a minimum of animosity. Alas, over the years that was not always the case. It was also universally agreed that we have never had a better dinner, to which our thanks must go as usual to Wendy Williams, the quiet power behind the throne. Sitting there surrounded by the many friends I have made over the years my thoughts inevitably turned the first A.G.M and dinner I attended in 1960. Dinners were usually fully reported on in those days in the Journal. (No 78, Vol. 6). As very much a new boy I was immediately over‐awed by the formal way the meeting was conducted by Luke Devenish and the front row of “Elder Statesmen”, Oliver Lloyd, Hywell Murrel, Frank Frost (who was shortly to become President) and others that we had already heard heroic tales about. With due wisdom, we voted £5 into the Hut Sinking Fund.

Our Farnham Group were among the 75 members and guests at the 1960 dinner. Oliver Lloyd gave Grace (in Latin), while Guest of Honour was Dr Allan Rogers who spoke of his experiences on the Fuchs team on the British Trans‐Antarctic Expedition. It reads a bit staid today, perhaps, but it was in the days when it was expected that missiles were thrown during dinner. I believe this started as a pre‐emptive strike, with bread rolls, at a speaker (Murrell) and over the years the “tradition” moved on to include wine bottle corks and menus made into paper darts. At the time of the Arab Israeli War, Mike Yorke decorated these with the Star of David. Sadly the “Flower Power Dinner” at Wookey Hole degenerated badly, when flowers (acceptable) and pepper bombs (un‐acceptable) were thrown; one getting in the eyes of a member. After that, moves were made to settle things down and this year total disarmament seemed to be in force. The ethos at headquarters has also varied greatly over the last 55 years. Hillgrove was essential basic and homely, with a tank for water collected off the roof, and a shed with an Elsan toilet. The stove was the one currently at Upper Pitts. There have been periods when the huts were often a bit of a tip, whilst at other times it was commented that it was too much like a country cottage. All the while though cavers kept on caving, and the Wessex was usually at the centre of things. Remember the “Wessex Challenge” was first held to celebrate our first 50 years.

There were also some periods, particularly in the 1980’s and 90’s, when parties got out of hand, with indoor sofa rugby (using a sofa as a ball) resulting in some damage. The broken sofa was ceremonial burnt outside afterwards. This was also the time of regular


gate crashings and pranks by a certain rival club. On one occasion we came back from a dinner to find all the windows painted black and on another the front door was “bricked up”.

Perhaps these excesses are best left in the past but I, for one, miss the time when cavers could sing, even to the extent of remembering the words. A good session in the Hunters Back Room was an experience to remember. New songs about caves and individual cavers were written on a regular basis and these songs were not full of obscene words, unlike the ‘Forces or Rugby songs which invariably followed. One of the great social changes that have taken place over the lifetime of Upper Pitts has been the advance of “political correctness” and the virtual outlawing of “They Words”. Songs and monologues, often with a century’s long folk history, are rarely heard these days, but Bob Lawder could usually be persuaded to recite his version of “The Boatswain”, after the Dinner. Items like these are of course kept in folk archives or specialist libraries. It will however be a sad day when the authentic caving material of the past is devalued and never sung. I am glad I was lucky enough to take part in fifty five of the Club’s Eighty Glorious years. (Photos courtesy of Maurice Hewins)

WESSEX CAVE CLUB SUMMER CAMP 2015 AUGUST 14th – AUGUST 27th The intention is to visit and explore the Réseau Felix Trombe ‐ Henne Morte. This is the longest cave in France, with (currently) some 54 entrances, 117 km of passage and a total depth of just over 1000 metres. With so many entrances it offers a multitude of round, and through, trips, with masses of choice of difficulty and duration, from a couple of hours easy sight‐seeing to 12 hour epics. The cave is located close to the small town of Arbas to the South West of Toulouse in the Ariège region of the French Pyrenees. The dates for the Wessex summer camp in 2015 are Friday August 14 until Thursday August 27. Accommodation Accommodation in the area is rather limited. Whilst a camping site is available near Aspet, for those that would prefer camping, it is, however, several miles away from the caving area. Fortunately, there is a large group Gite available in the perfect location for us in a tiny hamlet called Bardeque, 3kms South of Arbas, where our accommodation will be in

the

Chalet de Palourmère. This is a recently upgraded and modernised farmhouse complex similar to the “Gîtes d’étape” found in most French mountainous areas, and the one we use for PSM holidays. The Wessex has reserved the whole Chalet, so we will be the sole occupants. Our accommodation costs should be something less than €10 per day.

We are trying to arrange for professional catering, with the provision of a cooked breakfast and a good evening


meal, which will, of course, be an additional cost (somewhere in the order of € 9 per day). There is no camping available at the Gite and motor homes are also not allowed to be used for sleeping accommodation. For more information on the Gite see http://chaletdepaloumere.jimdo.com/ The caving area is located close to the Gite with only a five minute drive to the main parking area. Depending on which entrance you are using there is then a 30 ‐45 minute walk through the woods.

With the multitude of entrances come a number of great trips in stunning cave scenery. There are caving trips to suit all abilities from easy stomping in large fossil passages to long and arduous through trips. The caving is not generally weather dependant, other than the main streamway ‐ which can get quite damp, so there is still plenty to do if the weather gods aren’t smiling upon us. The cave is rigged for the pull through trips with traverse and pitch head ropes in place and maintained (in a French fashion, that is). You may also come across some steel traverse wires over bottomless pits if you venture deeper into the cave. Most of the entrances require rigging for SRT but are fairly friendly in nature with short simple dry pitches and plenty of room to swing around in. A number of us have caved here before so there is a good knowledge base to pull from which should, hopefully, save some time and effort.

Walking For non‐cavers there are the usual well posted GR routes criss‐crossing the wooded hills behind the Gite which eventually open out into glorious open scenery heading towards Spain. From the Gite there is a good circular walk down into Arbas and back taking in a few small communes (and bars) en route which makes a great day out. There is additionally no end of superb walking within an hour or two’s drive – we will be in the Pyrenees after all ! Whilst bookings and deposits are not yet being taken if you are interested in joining the trip or need any further information / advice please let me know so that we can get a better idea on numbers before making a firm and final booking. Email [email protected] A more detailed information sheet will be available at Upper Pitts and on the WCC website. (Photos courtesy of Mark Helmore)

_________________________________________________________

John Phillpott 1940 – 2014

I am writing to inform you that sadly my father John Phillpott has passed away. As you will no doubt be able to see from your records, he had a keen interest in caving for many years. Dad went on many caving expeditions, predominately in his youth but always retained his interest in caving when not able to participate! I know Dad enjoyed being part of the Wessex Cave Club and held the club in high regard. I will always remember how delighted he was to be made an Honorary Member of the Club. I will also always remember his tales of Gaping Gill and my aunt’s tales of the dry ‘Goon’ suit. Rebecca Thomas


Maaras (Kev Hilton) This was big. No, I mean really big. Don’t think London Underground or even GB. Think Gaping Gill and then not as a chamber but as ongoing passage. And sliding across the floor with silent purpose a wall to wall river. Knee deep on the sandbanks, waist deep at the crossings and in the channels, well, we were swimming by then. The formations were not to be out‐done by the river either. On the oxbows, grand stalagmites stare down with lofty indifference. White crystalline flows cascade down the walls and ethereal stalactites disappear up into the void. This was a grand cave in every sense of the word. Now for everyone who thinks that I am just waxing lyrical take a peep at Clive’s picture.

What do you think? But of course in true caving trip fashion it wasn’t quite the long weekend and relaxing caving that we were expecting. You Tube clips showed a couple of ducks and very pleasant walking passage. The terminal sump was 7½ km in and this felt like a comfortable objective before heading back out for beer and sunshine. In the run up to the trip the conversation centred on whether to neo‐fleece or just fleece and go a bit quicker on the dry stretches. Lightweight over‐suits were de rigueur. Squeezy Jet was the airline of choice (actually it would be more accurate to say necessity as no one else was flying up to Thessaloniki in Northern Greece) and Gatwick the departure point. I must say that for a large group of cavers behaviour on the flight was impeccable. I think that the early start and scattering ourselves throughout the cabin helped. A swarm of hire cars buzzed out of Macedonia International Airport and we were on our way. Five minutes later we had all lost sight of each other and were

scattered through‐out urban Thessaloniki. All was not lost however and the chosen rendezvous on the coast proved to be a good meeting point and place for the first, obligatory, holiday ice cream. The entrance to Maaras Cave (also known as Aggitis Cave after the river Aggitis that resurges there) is on the outskirts of a sleepy village close to the town of Prosotsani in the region of Drama. The catchment area ranges across three massifs collectively known as the Falakro mountain. Keen to have a look (or to get to the show‐cave bar) we headed straight there. It proved to be more than we could have expected. A leafy terrace with restaurant and bar, the river chuntering away below the veranda, the cave entrance just

round the corner ‐ what a great place to relax! Although we were not caving that day, our hosts opened the show cave when we arrived and we couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a look in. The show cave is not as grand as the passage further upstream but it is still impressive. The water lapping just below the walk‐ways and the stalagmites carving arrows in the surface of the river as it rushed away towards the entrance didn’t really register… Accommodation was the local primary school in the village. A loo, a shower, a dry place to sleep and within walking distance of the cave – we couldn’t really ask for more. A good night’s kip and we were raring to go. First team in and stepping off the end of the show‐cave walkway. Mmmm – the water’s a bit deep; three steps and a good whack to the shins from a submerged rock. Time to wake up.

Now the first stretch is fairly low and narrow by Maaras standards. Very quickly the water has gone from tugging hesitantly at the legs to sweeping them out from under us and we are alternating between swimming and tiptoes when the bottom is within reach. The passage pulls down tighter and less than 10 minutes in, impasse! The lead man, out of depth and with no handholds can’t get past a low arch. The water is strong and powerful. Let go or lose a footing and we are off down the passage. The surface turns with boils and eddies from submerged rocks and undercuts. Rethink and a fresh man to the front. New strategy. Swim flat out, duck the head and then make a grab for a handhold on the other‐side of the arch. It works. First man is through. We all take our turns running the gauntlet but not without incident. The cave takes a wellie for keeps. This stretch of passage certainly won’t be for everyone.


Then the cave relents. Swimming becomes wading. Wading becomes walking and then, just splashing along in the shallows. The passage becomes huge and we start off upstream. The river doesn’t give up altogether though. Progress is from one side of the passage to the other picking out eddies and sandbanks for a footing. The flow of the water is a constant drag on the legs but the views are spectacular.

After 2.5km the ceiling starts to pull down and the walls come closer. We are approaching the first duck. As you can probably imagine it was a great deal more than a duck. Lines were underwater; we were literally out of our depth and there was no indication of how deep and long the duck had become. This was going to be our turning point. We sat on a sandbank chewing on chocolate. Were we disappointed? Perhaps a little bit but the cold was starting to creep in. It had taken far more than expected just to get here. It was right to turn round. Going downstream was of course far easier. In the deeper parts we just had to keep up with our feet as the river pushed us along like unwanted guests. We didn’t speak of it but there was a growing apprehension as we worked our way back down towards the undercuts, eddies and the arch. And then the roof pulls down and the walls close in. The water speeds up and deepens. Leaving plenty of space between each man, it’s a case of getting the line right. Swim out into the flow, aim for the arch, blink and you’re through, arms windmilling and legs flailing for hand holds

and foot holds. We are all well down the passage before we are standing up again. Interestingly the same rock that whacks our shins on the way in whacks our shins on the way out. “Mind the rock” goes up the line. And then it’s the show cave and stepping up onto the walkway. Terra firma. From here the exit, 30 degree plus heat, change and then round to the bar. What a way to finish an exhilarating trip.

The water did drop slightly the following day and by rigging a hand line through the arch it made it a safer entry and exit. This enabled a photography team to get in and photograph. Another team went to visit a rather drier cave on the other side of the valley. And then our two days caving were over and we were travelling again. I can’t finish without a huge thank you to Vassilis (our man on the ground out in Greece) and Nickos (our contact at the show cave) whose hospitality knew no bounds. Lastly thank you to Malc for putting it all together. Would I go back? Oh yes! The UK Team: Malc Foyle, Jude and Adrian Vanderplank, Nik‐nak (Simon Richards), Jon Beal, Russ Brooks, Nicky Stock, Mike Thomas, Gerick Rhoden, Jon Williams, Pete Hann, Andy Judd, Kev Hilton, Mirek Kopertowski and Clive Westlake Photos by Clive Westlake.


Hidden Earth 2014: A Personal Account (Geoff Newton) Having returned to caving after a gap of 15 years or so, it has also been a similar period of time since I last went to the annual BCRA conference, Hidden Earth. This year it was held in North Staffordshire at Leek High School in the old market town of Leek on the edge of the Peak District. That’s a long way from Mendip, let alone from the South Coast. So it’s not surprising that many Wessex members preferred to carry out real digging and caving trips rather than engage with the virtual world of lectures, films, slides etc. However, some Wessex members, like Les Williams, do play a major role in the conference organisation, so Wessex would be represented. I was keen to renew old acquaintances, to see how things had changed during the intervening years and to buy myself a state of the art light source. The LED Lighting Revolution was just about to take off when I stopped caving and my old SpeleoTechnics lights were barely serviceable even then. They naturally have deteriorated further since then. They are now also well obsolete. The journey up from Bournemouth was indeed rather trying. Friday is never a good day for travel, and congestion, road works and accidents added over two hours to my already long journey. However after registering and having a few beers this was forgotten and I eventually pitched my tent in what I hoped would be a quiet corner of the field next to the venue. Beer may assist sleeping but it also means getting up at intervals during the night. My sleep was also broken by the sound of heavy traffic and by a bout of singing which broke out well into the night and only finished about 3am. I could hear every word even though I was at the other end of the field. I did indeed enjoy talking to a host of old friends and acquaintances over the weekend. A lot of us were considerably greyer and some were greater of girth than before. No names, no pack drill. Alas, a few who would normally have been there, such as Steve Tomalin, had passed away. Another reason not to go to Hidden Earth this year was that there have been no major discoveries in UK cave exploration this year and strangely this also seemed to apply to cave exploration abroad as well. People are of course still beavering away digging and diving. This means that the lectures were mostly about work in progress, but there were few if any “must see” lectures. Needless to say, with lectures often proceeding simultaneously in four separate rooms / halls, there were times when I missed some lectures I wanted to see due to a clash. However given my long absence from the scene there was still plenty of interest for me. The organisation generally went very well although there was one occasion when a lecturer (Goon) was waiting for his audience at the wrong venue,

wondering why nobody was interested in his talk, whilst the audience at the scheduled venue were wondering if he was going to turn up. Fortunately, a search eventually united him with his audience. Although I had not pre booked the BCRA Dinner (or indeed attended the Dinner before) I found that some of those I used to cave with had done so and I was able to pick up one of the few returned tickets from people who had cancelled. The dinner was a no nonsense good value affair with no choice of main course apart from a vegetarian option. Just lots of different roast meats and vegetables piled high on the plate. Not exactly cordon bleu but a reasonable standard of cooking. No starters and a choice of traditional deserts. The guest speaker was Rick Stanton who gave a short humorous talk drawn from his caving and diving career in the same vein as Tav’s “Is that so?” I have to end this account on a dark note. At round about 10pm on the Saturday night a small gang of local youths on bikes appeared, roaming around the camp site and the immediate vicinity. Needless to say with most / all of the cavers being well beered‐up by then, they were told to leave on no uncertain terms. Very soon after that, one of the tents pitched in a dark corner of the field (not very far away from mine) was set on fire by one of these unwanted visitors, rapidly destroying the tent and its contents (including a lap top), perhaps in revenge for the loss of face they had incurred. Fortunately nobody was sleeping in the tent at the time and nobody suffered a knife between the ribs either. If anyone had been in a sleeping bag in this tent at the time they would have almost certainly suffered an agonising death. The fire was put out fairly quickly by the cavers but it would not have been quick enough for any one inside the tent. The events were surrounded by some confusion given the fact that it was pitch black on the camping field and the campus is fairly large. The fire brigade did attend the scene and a police car was seen shortly afterwards on a couple of occasions although I did not actually see the occupants of the police car stop to take statements or investigate in person. When challenged the gang had said “this is our school” to justify their presence. In theory therefore it might be possible to identify some of the gang but as the caver witnesses will be scattered all over the country by now I doubt that this will happen. If my memory serves me it will be the turn of Mendip to host Hidden Earth next year. Hopefully by then some of the digs and expeditions will have yielded more significant finds to entertain us and we will enjoy a Hidden Earth also free of arsonists, thieves and vandals. Oh yes, I also bought a new light as planned.


Wessex Christmas Caving Special – Saturday 13th December Ali’s Christmas Special Events have become a very pleasurable tradition for the Wessex. Normally these involve easy caving, fancy dress and lashings of Ginger Beer. This year was very different! Ali arranged access permissions, keys and leaders for some of our less visited and less accessible caves, large and small, famous and obscure for Saturday 13th December. She then did a brilliant job of matching up people and caves so that at the end of the day everyone had had the most enjoyable day’s caving. Then instead of mince pies and lashings of her special Ginger Beer (capitals, of course!), tea and sensational cakes greeted us back at Upper Pitts, and later Jacky, Brenda and Marion laid on the most superb supper, involving colossal quantities of Chillie, Lasagne, baked potatoes, garlic bread and all the trimmings imaginable. I think it’s fair to say that we fell to with a vengeance! Needless to say, Ginger Beer was replaced by the Hop variety and much wine as well. It’s worth listing the details of the day’s caving, if only to show how much organisation was involved. At the end of the day there had been 69 “Person‐Trips” underground, so almost exactly a quarter of our total Wessex membership went caving. Caves visited: Charterhouse Cave – 2008 Extensions Mark Helmore (leader) (Phase 1) Cookie (leader) (Phase 2) Charterhouse Warren Farm Swallet Ali Moody (leader) FAIRY CAVE QUARRY TRIPS Withyhill Cave

Jude Vanderplank (leader) (Phase 1) Fernhill Cave Jude Vanderplank (leader) (Phase 1) Fernhill Cave Martin Grass (leader) (Phase 2) Withyhill Cave Martin Grass (leader) (Phase 2)

Shatter Cave Rich Warman (leader) Lionel’s Hole Round Trip Andrea Russe (leader) Nine Barrows Ali Moody (leader) Priddy Green Sink Kev Hilton (leader) Read’s Cavern – Lads’ Luck Pete Buckley (leader)

St. Cuthbert’s – September Series etc Pete Hellier (leader) Swildon’s Hole – Misc John Cooper (leader) Swildon’s Hole – Swynne‐Puke Round Trip Tom Chapman (leader) Upper Flood – Neverland Andrew Atkinson (leader) (Phase 1) Lee Hawkswell (leader) (Phase 1) Upper Flood ‐ Midnight Streamway Richard Carey (leader)

Cavers: Maxine Bateman; James Collings; Paul Wilman; Andy Jackson; Mark Adams; Tony Seddon; Andy Morse; Emma Gisborne; John Bennetts; Will Read; Flo Crowther‐Smith; Ali Crowther‐Smith; Chris Seal; Nigel Graham; Jon Da’Casto; Beth Berriman; Charlotte Hilton; Abby Cheverst; Keith Biner; Laura Everett; Annabel Flores; Jack Haines; Rich Carey; Nigel Graham; Jon Da’Casto; Geoff Newton; Mike Kousiousnis; Max Fisher; Sarah Payne; Dave Walker; Nick Butler; Gerik Rhoden; Tony Molski; Allan Kingshott; Sam Storrar; Jake Parrish; Mak Kellaway; Bif; Chris Milne; Clive Westlake; John Hurst; Noel Cleave; Jed Waldren; Stu Waldren; Bev Forde


Swildon’s Hole – Swynne‐Puke Round Trip. Tom Chapman and Jake Parrish. We got down through Mud Sump to Shatter Pot quickly and easily, climbed up through and up to the bottom of the 42ft rift. From here we headed off to the Sidcot U‐tube, passing Maypole Aven, 'Leaving it for another trip'. Tom was very knowledgeable about the history of that whole section, and enthralled me with many tales of derring‐do. I declined the offer of going solo through the U‐tube sump, so we headed back to the infamous 42’. Tom led the whole thing first, complaining that it was 'Not as he remembered it', I followed on a welcome lifeline. Although never in any danger of slipping out of the rift to the floor below, I found making progress strenuous, and arrived sweaty and breathing hard at the top. Squeezed into a small chamber to the left of the top of the 42’ as it looked as if someone had been moving mud recently, then headed round the Swynne‐Puke, finally descending into the top of Shatter. Tom pendulumed gracefully, I dangled less so. On the return journey, I had a quick look at the progress made up Rolling Thunder and got very very wet crawling out. Jake Charterhouse Cave – 2008 Extensions Leader – Cookie Tourists ‐ Tony Seddon, Mark Adams & Andy Jackson Mark and I met Tony and Cookie at the Wessex and bundled into the Cookie mobile after emptying all the mini beer kegs from the car (sadly all empty) and headed over to Charterhouse Farm. The weather was cold but with a super clear blue sky. We quickly got changed and headed across the field to the cave. It was Mark's and my first trip to Charterhouse so we were expecting a similar feel to GB, so as it turns out we were in for quite shock. The way in felt a bit odd after the initial descent to then climb back up to find ourselves just below the surface with tree roots clearly visible above our heads. We soon found ourselves at the squeeze through the old gate. Cookie advised that if we could get through this it proved we would fit through the narrows further on! We soon passed through the wallow and the curly wurly (yes I was thinking of chocolate already). Next we headed to Splatter Chamber and soon ran into the other party who were climbing up into the Citadel. It's pretty amazing to think the Citadel is so close to the gorge in GB, what an amazing through trip that would be! Next we headed through the Boulder Choke, a very impressively dug route; it's hardly surprising it took 26 years to get through this! We reached the flow stone and thought the choke was over, wrong, on we went finally reaching the 2008 series. Next we found ourselves at The Narrows, which we were not looking forward to on the return. We finally reached Dragon Pitch and then on to the confluence where the water from GB joined us. We soon reached The Blades and the Frozen Cascade, which were very impressive. At this point Mark and I were happy to turnaround and head for home, however were easily persuaded to push on through the damp flat out crawl to reach Portal Pool pump. At this point we had a well earned bite to eat and then headed for home retracing our route with a short detour into The Citadel.

Finally reached the entrance after a great, albeit tiring trip, with a few bruised knees to show for it. Headed back to the club house for tea and cake. The apple cake was amazing! Thanks to everyone for making this a great day out. We've been club members for many years and never been to Charterhouse and was well worth seeing. Andy A pleasant trip at a reasonable pace to Portal Pool, combined with a visit to the Citadel on the way out. Speaking as a leader, it was great to have a team who competently just dealt with the obstacles, leaving me free to enjoy the trip. Cookie Lionel’s Hole Leader Andrea. Annabelle Flors, Laura Everett, Charlotte Hilton and Jack Haines. A freezing and frosty day, so we took shelter in the cosy tunnels of Lionel’s Hole. We went down the first bit, left, then along a bit and past some rocks, through a tight bit and then re‐grouped. Next under, through a gap and over a puddle. Got stuck, got unstuck. Down, then a bit more tight stuff........ in short I have no idea where we went! But with Andrea leading it was a damn good trip. Hats off to the WCC for being so accommodating. Laura Charterhouse Old Cave Leader Mark Helmore. Maxine Bateman, James Collings, Paul Wilman. We headed off to the cave for our first time. We decided on a trip in just the old cave as Maxine was still feeling poorly. The squeeze past the old gate was fairly tight on Maxine and Paul ‐ but we got through. We reached the Singing Stal then headed back via the Citadel and Midsummer Chamber. A great trip and a taste of the cave, which James and Paul will probably go back and explore another day. Maxine. Priddy Green Sink Leader Kevin Hilton. Mike Kousiousnis, Geoff Newton, Sarah Payne, Max Fisher.

Geoff, Max and Kev dropped down to below Clitoris Crawl but despite repeated and valiant attempts Max could only get as far as the start of clitoris crawl. Sarah kindly offered


to take Max back out whilst Geoff, Max and Kev completed the through trip. Pollution levels were not too bad ‐ there was no need to wrestle with writhing worms or fight giant leeches to get through! Sarah and Max went back into Swildon’s via the usual entrance to extend their days caving and afterwards over tea and excellent cake we all agreed that we'd had a good day. Thanks to Ali for organising and all those that toiled away in the kitchens producing the delicious evening meal. Kev Warren Farm Swallet. Leader Ali Moody. Emma Gisborne, John Bennette, Andy Morse. A superb trip. The squeezes were no problem on the way down. We thought Bone Chamber was quite pretty until we saw the real formations. Amazing formations ‐ suffering from Calcite Blindness! Coming back up was a little more challenging, but I got there in the end. Andy

Upper Flood Swallet Leader Lee Hawkswell. Clive Westlake, John Hurst, Noel Cleave. I’d developed a dread/phobia about the infamous “13 Squeezes” although everyone reassured me that the squeezes weren’t and that I’d have no trouble. Nevertheless the boulder choke remained an intimidating prospect. The entrance crawls and Midnight Chamber were fine..... and then at the Red Room we met Chris Milne retreating with Si Flowers, Chris having decided that one look at the boulders was enough. I had a moment of doubt! Lee was great, however talking and guiding, and the boulders were challenging, up and down, over and under, but not tight and we popped out into the main passage about 1 hr 20 from the entrance. The stream passage itself is sporting and very fine. We met up with Andy, leading Biff and Mak at Royal Icing Junction on their way back from Neverland. Just before Neverland there was a distinct wiff of bang fumes. Neverland itself was everything anticipated..... and more. We spent a pleasant 25 minutes doing Clive’s photographic thing, ooooed and aaaaahed over the Pork Pies and all the other pretties, and then headed homewards, meeting another inbound party (MCG not Wessex) at RI Junction. The boulder choke in reverse was every bit as thrutchsome as inbound with a couple of especially awkward contortions. “Knowledge dispels fear” and it was not intimidating.......merely knackering. Another 80 minutes of physical effort and we were out into the most glorious freezing night of crunchy grass and icy puddles for the walk back to MCG. 6 ½ hours. Personally I was whacked. My immediate feeling was: “Been there, done that, never again”. Retrospectively, the boulder choke was fun caving, a return to one’s caving roots! With so little caving this last year, I had aches in places where I don’t even have places, on Sunday. Huge thanks to Lee for his guidance and help in the boulders, and to Clive and John for putting up with the old slowcoach. A truly wonderful trip. Noel Nine Barrows Swallet Leader Ali Moody. Rich Carey, John de Castro, Nigel Graham.

Having visited the cave only once before (in 197x), it wasn’t as I remembered it! There’s actually a bit more to it than Rich and I thought, with Crystal Chamber more impressive than I’d recalled. Hardest part of the trip was re‐locking the gate; eventually solved by Ali pulling it shut with a sling whilst I locked it. Thanks to Ali for the guidance and for obtaining the key and permission. Nigel

Reads Cavern Leader Pete Buckley. Nick Butler and Dave Walker. Down through Zed Alley (bypassing the squeeze) and onto Splash Pot. Visited most of the cave, including LADS Luck, Alzheimer’s Pool, Chattering Slope and the BS Sump. Dave took photos in the Main Drag. Water levels at the wet entrance were low (summer levels?). In cave 3 hours. Nick


Chartreuse 23rd August – 6th September 24 members and family visited the Chartreuse for two weeks, 23 August to 06 September 2014 for a summer camp arranged by NikNak. The participants were: ‐ Chris and Carmen; Clive; Noel; Ross; Adrian and Jude; Andy and Wendy; Tomaz; Rich and Andrea; Pete and Jan; NikNak; Will and Floss; Wayne; Colin and Joanna; Andy and Rachel; and Adrian and Julia. We camped at our old campsite, Camping la Martinère, where we were made most welcome by Brice and Céline Gaude, the owners, who are Wessex friends from several previous summer camps. Brice allowed us to “Cram” our tents onto the emplacements to reduce the cost, and Noel had arranged to hire a ‘fridge for the duration. Ade and Jude provided their magical Coleman “Events Shelter” as a social and catering centre so from a practical viewpoint the camping aspect could scarcely have been more comfortable and successful. The same is true of the caving as newcomers made the acquaintance of the Dent de Crolles digestive system and previous visitors happily renewed the pleasures of this hollow mountain. Needless to say, days off involved Via Feratta, the Massif des Bauges and the obligatory visit to the Vercors to “Do” the Choranche show cave. NikNak, anticipating, perhaps, a period of domesticity rather than caving, did 12 trips in the 14 days, but the rest of us, mere mortals, did varying amounts of caving. New this year was the Guiers Mort “Round‐Trip” and the Trou Pinambour (above St. Pierre d’Entremont). The camp Log‐Book was well filled; some entries are reproduced below. Noel 26th August 2014 ‐ Grotte du Guiers Mort Round Trip Andy Morse, Wayne Starsmore, Pete Hellier, Ade Bennett, Ade & Jude VDP, Will Reed, Flos Crowther‐Smith, Nik Nak A big team of nine; five of us intent on completing the Round Trip and four enjoying a trip up the streamway, turning round once they had had enough. It had been raining since early morning, so we all started the trip damp. After the Grande Salle we anticipated climbing up the pitch in the Salle de l’Escalade, not wishing to get wet in the temporary siphon (it was open when we looked; a cold draught blowing over perhaps waist deep water). However, we couldn’t see a rope up and not wishing to get soaked from the start managed to find the third alternative, a low rocky crawl. The walk up to the Guiers Mort is steep and the sudden punishing crawl not far from the entrance understandably caused our comrades on the shorter trip to retreat. Andy, Wayne, Pete, Ade Bennett and I carried on. Continuing against the draught, oddly at one point it changed direction before reaching a walking sized passage. We came to a traverse line and pitch (on the left) and other cavers down below. For seconds we thought they might be French, until they called up to us! Jude, Ade VDP, Will and

Floss could now see the rope we had missed, aged to the exact same colour as the rock. We bid farewell to our friends and continued on our journey. It wasn’t long before we reached the pitch down into the streamway, not much larger than Swildon’s, its crystal clear water adding to its aesthetics. Following the description, the pitches and climbs were as detailed until we reached Puits la Plage. Expecting a 12m pitch, an in‐situ rope crosses over a ‘flake’, drops around 4m and is then followed by a slope down to regain the streamway. Only around 50m of streamway and we entered what we thought was Galerie du Bivouac; it was the correct passage. However, it is described as ‘adorned with stal’, which it isn’t until the very end and there is no mention of how small it is. We were becoming doubtful and about to turn back, until Ade pushing on at the front reported it was getting bigger. The description was now back on track. We soon reached the junction to L’Escalier de Service (back staircase), the others stopped whilst Pete and I went to investigate vire des Stalactities and a pitch down into the streamway. I wanted to ensure this was rigged for a possible future ‘Classic TDG to Guiers Mort Traverse’; it was. We had passed five pitches and the sixth was rigged. I had carried six short lengths, averaging 20m, in case they were required and now realised I was carrying 120m of rope in order to give it a days outing; oh well! Whilst not technically difficult, L’Escalier de Service (a climb of 30m in a narrow rift with a rope) requires a lot more effort than at first sight. I am sure each of us was relieved, on finally reaching the top. A little crawling past some deep shafts, the passage gradually increased in size. We were looking to take a passage on the left to Puits Noir but somehow missed this and entered Le Metro. This is probably the most beautiful part of the Cave, both for its passage shape and stal. We turned left, following the passage to ensure it was Le Metro, and at it’s end found a pitch up. It did not seem far up; I convinced the others and myself that this was Puits Laurent (8m). We should go back the way we had come and find the turn to Puits Noir; we did and arrived back to the same pitch! I had not read the description fully; ‘to the left a short section of passage soon arrives at the base of Puits Noir and one end of the Le Metro’ – sorry guys. I was first to go up the mud caked rope; re‐belayed in three places. The first two re‐belays were fine, but the third was a nightmare to get off, the rope transferring behind. It didn’t help that I had the ‘day tripping’ rope bag on my back, which practically destroyed my arms by the time I reached the top. It took a little while for all five of us to reach the top. Noel had suggested that we take Galerie du Solitaire to reach Puits Isabelle, very pleasant, easy walking passage following all the hard work to reach it (thank you Noel). Puits Pierre, Reseau Sanguin with its tight crawls, we arrived in the Grande Salle to the sound of rushing water!


The low crawl into the Salle de l’Escalade was now sumped and a heavy stream was flowing out towards the entrance. The previously opened temporary siphon was now around six metres under water. Throughout the Cave there were many small streams that were not there the day before. Total trip time was a valiant 7¾ hours. NikNak September 4th 2014 The P40 – Then and Now… Rachel and I were very pleased to be able to join the Wessex trip to the Chartreuse this year. I had not visited the system since the early ‘90s and it was a real delight to enjoy some classic trips in excellent company. I write about one of the trips we undertook – that being from the P40 to the Trou de Glaz, but, before describing our journey through the mountain, I’d like to delve into the history of this particular trip, which is a truly remarkable tale of endurance and determination. The Gouffre Berger, Pierre Saint Martin (PSM) and the Dent de Crolles are the three most popular French cave systems for visiting UK clubs. It’s no coincidence that each was the subject of books that were highly influential to previous generations of British cavers. Cadoux and Casteret vividly described the Berger and PSM respectively; huge awe‐inspiring vaults with an immediate and obvious attraction. Chevalier’s ‘Subterranean Climbers’, the history of the exploration of the Dent de Crolles, had a slightly different appeal. This was a story of adventure, of gritty determination and comradeship prevailing over immense physical challenges. It was a tale that resonated with the cave explorer; a book regarded by many as the greatest ever written about our sport. Excluding the PSM, there are five French cave systems that exceed in length the Dent de Crolles, systems that boast superior formations, larger chambers and more exhilarating streamways. However, it is the Dent de Crolles that endures as a top three choice for UK cavers, even though the book that inspired this relationship now gathers dust in club libraries. I find it rather sad that many cavers visiting the Dent de Crolles have not read this classic work. Quite apart from the fact it is an excellent read, being familiar with the story adds a whole dimension of interest when caving in the heart of this iconic mountain. The driving force behind the exploration of the Dent de Crolles was Pierre Chevalier and Fernand Petzl (who later founded the Petzl company). Their campaign began in 1935, the initial objective being the connection of the Trou de Glaz (alt. 1697m) to the Guiers Mort (alt 1311m). The successful liaison of these caves in 1941 was the culmination of an epic story that is the focus of the opening chapters of ‘Subterranean Climbers’. During the connection trip, which lasted 29 hours, Petzl took a serious fall when a ladder failed. Badly bruised and shaken he endured a gruelling exit.

Having forged this link, the explorers took on a new challenge – to connect the ‘Glaz’ to the P40, the latter being an open pot on the plateau of the Dent de Crolles (alt. 1969m). The P40 was choked at the bottom so the team resorted to techniques all too familiar to Mendip cavers – they dug. In Chevalier’s own words: “..the loamy earth was coming away in great slices and we uncovered a horizontal vault; we imagined that this must be a siphoning passage, and that a gallery no doubt lay beyond. But at that day’s end water burst in and flooded our workings… we had to break off just when we had high hopes…”

This was 1942 and life in occupied France was becoming progressively more difficult. Petrol was almost unobtainable and to make matters worse some members of the team, including Petzl, were laying low from the occupying Germans (young Frenchmen were being sent to Germany to do compulsory labour). None of these difficulties were sufficient to deter the team…

“If we took the train from Lyons on Saturday morning we somehow managed to reach the Glaz at the day’s end. Thereafter we could devote the next eighteen or twenty hours to the job… Sleep had to be dispensed with.”

The digging operation at the P40 was not neglected…

“On the 1st of November 1942 eight of us went up to the plateau through driving snow, and we had foreseen that we had to work in relays all through the night, as we had brought only one small tent. But none of us had the hardihood to pitch it outside in the teeth of the storm, so all went down the shaft when night fell; there we were at least out of the reach of wind and piercing cold.”

At the bottom of the shaft, the tent, which only slept two, was erected on a rubble slope. It was a miserable, long and cold night. In attempt to keep warm some of the team tried a new dig site and worked feverishly when a hole was opened. They found themselves peering through a crevice too tight to penetrate and gave it up as a hopeless job. After logging a hundred hours of work in the P40 the dig was abandoned and the team tried a new approach to their problem. One branch of the great fossil gallery of the Glaz ended below high avens where water cascaded down from


far above. The team set about scaling these formidable shafts by designing and building a scaling pole.

In the course of several overnight expeditions the team completed a series of precarious manoeuvres, bridging the 60 metre Balcony Shaft from ledge to ledge, and finally entering a tight and winding meander. This difficult passage was explored for two hundred metres before, cold and exhaustion forced a retreat, the team emerging after 28 hours underground. The next pushing trip lasted 29 hours and saw the team pass the sinuous meanders to reach a ledge partway down a wide and well‐watered shaft (The Three Sisters Shaft).

The heavy sections of the scaling pole, dragged and manhandled laboriously through the meanders, were assembled and an ascent made into a wider gallery. This was pushed to a conclusion during the course of the next 35 hour expedition. The team, now tantalisingly close to the plateau, and 21 hours into the trip, began digging at the terminal boulder choke, while Charles Petit‐Didier forced a narrow chimney.

“The two teams were working quite a distance apart and we had to yell if we wanted to be heard, as words carried poorly. Suddenly a shout reached us –

“Daylight! I see daylight!” Unbelieving we chaffed Charley about his visions he was seeing. “No I’ve put my lamp out, and it still looks the same. Just ahead there’s a narrowing… then it gets wider. I’m going to break some of it away with the hammer.”

But time slipped away, the rock was unyielding and only splinters were coming away now. Charley had to admit defeat and give up his scheme forever. But before he left the fissure he wrapped a pebble in his handkerchief and cast it upwards to be his witness latter.”

Hopes were high but when the bottom of the P40 was searched there was no sign of the handkerchief at the shaft bottom. It would take yet another 29 hour expedition before the matter was resolved, and this time a mining bar was cast through the daylight fissure. Another examination of the P40 followed; this time the narrow crevice opened on the stormy night in 1942 was included in the search, and the bar was found. The link was made, the connection forged, and the Dent de Crolles system became the deepest in the world.

Please do note that this brief summary of events is a very poor substitute for the original. ‘Subterranean Climbers’ is superbly written with a delightfully quirky translation that

may have you occasionally reaching for a dictionary. For all that it’s an easy read, and a great story well told.

So, moving on to the 5th September 2014, and my visit to the cave in the company of Thomas, Niknak, and Clive. It was yet another fine day as we slogged our way up the long meandering path leading to the summit of the Dent de Crolles. It didn’t take long to find the P40 and the rope was quickly rigged. It’s a beautiful shaft, clean and fluted, tapering out to leave you dangling in space. I can only assume that the ‘40’ refers to the original depth of the cave, as the pitch is a little under 30 metres. Hidden away in a corner is the 1942 crevice. It’s an ample size now, but the narrow chimney first ascended by Charles Petit‐Didier

remains unmodified. My first attempt to descend this in complete SRT kit proved optimistic, and removing my descender didn’t help much, so off it all came, and down I slid.

Here’s a top tip if you have any porkers in your team – make sure they fit down this hole before you pull the rope down. The way on is through some low beddings and up a short fixed rope to enter the York Gallery. Chevalier explains that the entire population of Lyons existed on tins of ‘York’, an imported American spam, during the winter of 1945/46.

The trip was not entirely without incident. NikNak had also been obliged to take off his SRT kit for the squeeze and now, halfway through York gallery, realised that his descender still resided there. While he beat a hasty retreat to retrieve it we came to the brink on Three Sisters Shaft and rigged a rope, double for pull‐through. The anchors were well set back, so much so that I, descending first, ran out of rope three metres above the floor.

A quick change‐over and I was on my way back up. A convenient ledge offered a temporary refuge to myself and Clive while we waited for NikNak to come back and save the day, which he duly did, and then Thomas and I were off into the meanders. We squirmed along for 20 metres or so, and then heard NikNak shouting. The shrink‐wrap tag on the Three Sisters Shaft rope had jammed in a crevice and was irretrievably stuck. He needed a knife, which Clive provided, and the rope, now a little shorter, was recovered.

This first set of meanders snake along and don’t offer too much resistance, but spare a thought for the original


explorers carrying a mountain of kit and a section of cast iron scaling pole each. They had to pass the constrictions heavily laden, and in both directions, while we were on a one way journey and lightly burdened. We came to a short pitch, The Fireman’s Shaft, where we regrouped before engaging the next set of meanders. The shaft was named after ‘The Fireman’s Song’, sung here, according to Chevalier, to raise the spirits of a weary team as they passed by at three in the morning.

Now the ‘fun’ really began. We were struggling along the top of a deep canyon, never quite sure if we had the optimum level. Shifting up or down wasn’t easy in the tight rift, and a good deal of effort was required to gain new routes, which usually proved to be less desirable than the original. After a good deal of struggling, cursing and sweating we were able to drop

down to the lowest level and make easier progress. We came to another short pitch and it was Clive’s turn to realise that his descender was missing. Fortunately it was soon found, having detached while we were at floor level, and had not dropped down some impossible fissure.

Finally we were on the brink of the mighty Balcony Shaft, which was descended in three sections. It defies imagination that this great 60 metre gun barrel had been

beaten into submission on those epic all night trips using a 10 metre scaling pole. There are a few rusting pitons scattered through the cave, still wedged firmly in their cracks, the only evidence of those pioneer days.

One more 20 metre abseil down a conveniently fixed rope brought us to the galleries of the Glaz. It’s actually quite low‐roofed in this area and rather stoopy until you meet the junction with the main gallery. NikNak went to de‐rig the Lantern Pitches while Thomas and I strolled out of the Glaz and into the warm sunshine. It’s a splendid panorama that greets you as you step out, a welcome sight after our six hours; it must have been like re‐birth to Chevalier and his team staggering out after one of their 30+ hour epics.

The P40 to Glaz traverse is harder work than the other through trips, and there is little to see along the way, but it is a sporting trip through territory hard‐won all those years ago by a determined and resourceful team.

This was to be our last trip in the Glaz before the camp broke and we went our separate ways. It brought to mind Chevaliers final words as he brought his own story to a

close:

“It was time to switch our attention to other chasms, for we were not ready to bid a final farewell to subterranean exploration, sometimes so agonizing, but so rich in happy memories, so productive in firm friendships… But whatever came our way, we should not live again those superb hours we had passed far under the Dent de Crolles, and which we shall always treasure as amongst the most wonderful of our lives.”

Andy Sparrow The general feeling was that it had been a most excellent holiday… and when and where could we do it again!! Noel


FROM THE LOGBOOK Editor’s note: Please record your trip in the logbook at Upper Pitts. There has been a lot of work in Spider Hole and Longwood Valley Sink – some of these entries have been omitted. (Thanks to Noel Cleave for transcribing). Tuesday June 3rd 2014 Eastwater. West End pretties. Terry Waller & Derek Sanderson. Visited Wardour Street by mistake ‐ not to be recommended ! Then back to Regent Street. Pretties still worth a visit. Put down visiting them first time for age and lack of eyesight! Terry 2 ½ hours. Thursday June 5th 2014 Limekiln Dig Colin, Aubrey, Maurice. You can wait years for an interesting dig to come along and then two turn up within weeks. I somehow got roped in for a session in Limekiln. Originally I only intended to pull stuff up from the surface, but ended up by hauling buckets up from the lower slide, which were filled by Colin. Surprisingly, we managed 53 buckets. At the end I descended the ladder (first for about 6 years) and crawled up to the end, where Aubrey was setting charges. It slowly dawned on me that we were not even following a recognisable crack! The whole blasted dig is in solid Limestone. At least it is nearing the “Chamber” we predicted in 1968 with the Georesistivity Meter. Keep digging lads!! Thanks to John Cooper for loan of belay belt and life‐line. Maurice Saturday June 14th 2014 Longwood Valley Sink Pete Buckley, John Cooper, Geoff Newton. Spoil clearing trip from the crystal clear pool at the wide‐open end of the ongoing rift. Andrew had left a few rather large rocks, some of which refused to shrink ‐ however a determined attack by the three of us rendered the end clear after 3 hard hours. John Cooper made a few holes in the rift face. Pete Saturday June 14 2014 Rod’s Pot. Jude, Richard, Wayne. Despite forgetting my undersuit, went down Rods, through Purple Pot into Bath Swallet to look at the dig. Return journey back up Rods. Wayne and I decided to go down the Blind Pots to look at the Cheddar Dig. It’s very muddy, but easy going along the conveyor belt. Then up and up to Erratum Chamber. A quick round‐trip and then back out. Wayne had a quick look at Ever‐Ready passage, as far as El Capitol. Rich Saturday June 21st 2014 and Saturday July 5th 2014 Otter Hole Badger, Helen Dear, + various from Forest clubs + Footleg. Filming project in Crystal Ball Passage and Tunnel Rift. Paul Taylor (GCC) had been given permission from the Otter Hole committee to film in these two passages normally not frequented on Otter trips due to the delicate nature of the passages. Both trips 12 hours plus, the tidal sump behaving itself, opening and closing allowing the filming teams through. Having been into both passages it is clear that these passages must remain out of bounds, as they would quickly become spoilt and the formations damaged. CBP also requires careful caving through loose boulders ‐ the comment from John Elliot (one of the cavers who found CBP) was that when they were digging through the boulders the whole thing dropped 2 to 3 feet. They were hard trips, transporting a lot of film kit, but very rewarding being able to witness some unique formations. Badger Tuesday July 15th 2014 Swildon’s Hole John Cooper, Emma Gisborne. Did a circular trip. Up Maypole Aven and down the 42 foot rift. We used the in‐situ rope to haul a 10 m ladder up Maypole. Once at the top we went along the rift with a bag containing a 20m rope (my personal box of goodies). Once we were in Lower Terminus Chamber I took the end of the rope up the climb and lifelined Emma up and into Terminus Chamber itself. Packed up the rope, then down the crawls and a left turn to the top of the 42 foot rift. Used the rope to descend, then Emma packed it away while I returned through the crawl to Maypole Aven and retrieved the ladder. Out after a very enjoyable 3 ¾ hours. John Saturday August 2nd 2014 Swildon’s Noel Cleave + 2 Grandsons, Sebastian & Cameron, both 11 ½. Both boys are Swildon’s “Veterans” of several trips to the 20 and Sump 1. Alas, on the drop down from Barnes onto the boss, Cameron let go of the handline and slid alarmingly down to the stream. He biffed his elbow and was frightened. Almost as soon as I had calmed and reassured him the cavalry arrived in the form of Andy Sparrow with a mob of hairy heavies. They promptly lifted Cameron back up into Barnes for me and he rapidly recovered his caving enthusiasm on the way out! There was the usual queue at the 20, but the manpower littered around the scene meant that neither boy had to actually climb the ladder, merely pat the rungs on their way past! Out via the Wet Way for 3 hours of adventurous fun. Delighted to see Maurice and some youngsters (!) At the entrance. Noel Thursday August 7th 2014 LVS Pete Buckley, Ali Moody Cleared the workspace at the end of Triassic Tunnel. Two metres of progress has been made since the stinking pool. Holes drilled and various charges put in. Very appreciative Cheddar residents on the surface. 4 hours. Ali Saturday August 16th 2014 Spider Hole Jude & Ade VdP, Pete Hann, More digging. At present we are approximately 4m down in the new bottom shaft. East and West walls are solid, about 1.2m apart. South wall heavily stalled rocks and North side large rocks which have required cement. Draft still coming out from the floor. The way on is still downwards with the boulders getting much larger with enticing gaps! Ade


Saturday September 6th 2014 Charterhouse Cave Pete Buckley, Pete Hann, John Cooper, Geoff Newton. Carried in a ladder and a 2.5kg lead weight. Checked the state of Portal Pool ‐ open, but we syphoned it dry anyway. On to Diesel Duck, about 30cms of airspace through. Downstream a channel was taking a bit of water from DD. Quicksand Chamber had water right round and the lower way in was completely sumped. Continued on to Skeleton Passage to check if the floods had done anything. Approaching the static sump we found the purple gardening bucket; it had been washed right through Quicksand Chamber sump and was wedged in an undercut on the right in Skeleton Passage. The sump had changed a bit, but still felt to be open underwater. Left the lead weight on the right‐hand wall just down from the bottom of the SP Pitch. Slow trip out. 5 ½ hours. ps. Steamy photographs of the DD area taken. John Saturday September 6th 2014 Longwood Swallet Claire Cohen, Kevin Hilton. The plan was to dive the sump in Longwood Swallet. After a few wise words from the senior members it was decided to “Look at” the sump. Good progress but when push came to shove, Reynolds Passage really is extremely tight and rather sinister. I really don’t know how those early divers got their dive gear in, let alone themselves. We slightly redeemed ourselves by having a look at the oxbows for future possible explorations. We also managed to finish off with a round trip with Longwood ‐ August. With bags....... proper ‘Ard. Kevin Saturday September 13 2014 Fester Hole Maurice, Tommo, Jon Williams & Emily. We went to inspect progress. Jon agreed that it is more promising than Lime Kiln! We made about 2 feet of forward progress, following the roof. Interesting diversion, when a large boulder, which Tommo was excavating, fell rather sooner than intended and held his leg against the wall. At the end of the session we pushed a metal rod into the soft fill of the roof for over 1 ½ feet (Sorry: geriatrics don’t do metric). Rock One, Tommo Nil. Maurice Derbyshire Weekend Friday October 31st 2014 to Sunday November 2nd 2014 Jude VdP organised the Derbyshire weekend and our accommodation at the TSG in Castleton. Jude, Malc, Wayne, Maxine, James, Noel, Marcin, Tony, Charlotte, Mark, Bean, Mike, Pete (Hellier), Clive, Simon, Cheryl, Aidan, Thursday October 30th 2014 The hard core motored up to Castleton to do a Friday rigging trip (and to avoid the last‐weekend‐of‐the‐schools‐half‐term traffic). Friday October 31st 2014 Charlotte, Cheryl, Jude, Kev, Clive. Rigged JH in preparation for various through‐trips. A falling stone and “Below” caused some alarm and excitement. Friday October 31st 2014 was, of course, Walpurgis Nacht, and the traffic gremlins were out enforcing mobile parking on the M5 and M6. For the record (or at least claimed as one) just the 6 hours from Malmsbury to Castleton for a 2030 arrival. I found the mob eating and drinking, so contributed a bottle of wine to the fray and ate an execrable microwave meal. Drank wine. Felt better (but starting from an abysmally low base‐line!). Produced, nay flourished, a Wessex Log Book hoping to influence assembled multitude to describe weekend activities. Extracted article promise from Bean...... Hmmm. Noel Saturday November 1st 2014 We were kept awake by the irresponsible students and their “Revelries”. Unfortunately the Wessex Log Book was a slight casualty but I did my best to save it. The original entries had something quite rude written on the back, but all in good fun and with no ill intent towards the Wessex. Charlotte After a hard slog of a trip into JH yesterday, I wanted to go back for another go. Got to the Slot, and nearly didn’t go down.... but did. Got to Bitch Pitch and nearly didn’t go down...... but did. Sat in the Workshop eating my Apricot Flapjack (Thanks, Jude) then came out ‐ slowly ‐ but actually enjoyed it! Charlotte Marcin, Tony, James, Wayne, went down Titan and across and up JH, de‐rigging JH in the process. No write‐up as such, but both Marcin and Tony agreed that JH was an awesome place, and loved the ascent. Marcin much relieved that the duck between Titan and Excalibur was virtually dry ‐ he is not a fan of ducks! Before Marcin, Tony, James and Wayne de‐rigged JH. Mark, Bean, Aidan, Maxine, Pete, Mike did the JH to Peak traverse. Malc took Jude and Noel on a tour of the Peak main streamway with a diversion to look at the Treasury Sump. The cave was moderately busy with parties doing similar trips but they kindly let us pass. I’d heard that the main streamway was very fine, so this was a visit that I’d long wanted to make. I had completely forgotten the Mucky Ducks (which were fun), and how slippery some of the passage rocky floors are. The main steamway upstream of the entry ladder is magnificent, but it pales into insignificance compared with the downstream section. Think railway tunnels, think the Bakerloo Line in DyO, then treble the diameter and run a stream down it on a worthwhile gradient. It was fabulous. We needed a photographer. Seeing the three sumps, and hearing Malc describe the multitude of dives which opened up so much of the Peak system, made us very conscious


of the brutally hard work involved, and how much we owe the divers. One way and another, a delightful trip, fun, fun, fun: and “Thank You”, Malc. Noel Sunday November 2 2014 Tony and Aidan de‐rigged Titan, with Malc on the surface to provide hauling muscle, and Jude along to cheer them up. Wayne, Noel, Maxine, James, Marcin, Pete. Standard Giants “Round Trip” down the Crabwalk and back over the Traverses. Malc kindly lent us a ladder for Garland’s Pot, with a warning that it was (a) some 30 years old and (b) hadn’t been integrity checked, as it were, for quite a while. It was certainly an unusual construction, with miniature “C” links which gave us a connection problem until we discovered that small snap‐links would fit them. In the event it was absolutely fine.... and probably good for another 30 years! There was enough water to provide a noisy splash, but plenty of airspace in the Giants Windpipe. Outbound we had a moment of off‐route confusion...... and the Giant’s newcomers found the Bottomless Squeeze a comfort‐zone borderline experience! Just about the perfect Sunday outing. Noel This was a most successful weekend, both for caving and for socialising. There were something like 27 “People‐Trips” underground. We owe Jude and Simon a debt of thanks for all the accommodation and ropes organising. Friday November 7th 2014 Sludge Pit Geoff Newton. Shifting mud from Streamway. Miserable job! Will soon have to put the dig onto the back burner until the stream dries up in the summer. 3 hrs. Geoff Saturday November 8 2014 Chelmscombe Quarry Cave “2nd Saturday Trip” A very good turnout: 12 of us, plus the 2 leaders. Tim Rose, Sas Watson, Allan Kingshott, Tracy, Wayne Starsmore, Rich Marlow, Pete Hellier, Laura Everett, Andrea Russe, Mak, Jude VdP, and a big “Thank you” to Paul Stillman and Duncan Price for giving up their time to lead us and to Gonzo for sorting out the key. There are three main caves in the quarry. Box is quite roomy with some nice formations, a rather wet aven and some muddy sections too. There is a higher entrance but none of our group tried it as the face below it is rather unfriendly and sheer. Reynolds Rift is quite small and not so inviting. The access to Chelmscombe Quarry Cave is interesting.... over a wall, along the top of another block wall, then a scramble to the rockface using the netting for finger holds. There are some quite pretty formations after a quite small entrance series. Strangely, not everyone went to all parts of the caves, but the weather dried up so we could look around the quarry, which is interesting, with its testing towers still in place. A thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a Saturday. Jude Saturday November 22 2014 Fester Hole. John Williams, Tommo, Emily Leland (in a brand‐new caving suit!) Maurice Hewins. It’s looking good! Due to another communications cock‐up Tommo went ahead of us, so Tommo had been digging for over half‐an‐hour and was all excited about finding air‐space...... the trouble was that it was in the wrong direction i.e. back towards the entrance. John went up into the end of the left‐hand grotto and proved that we now have a visual contact, 3 inches high. We now know where we are; that is, about 5 feet beyond the grotto and following the same roof. Just below is an inch thick false floor. So, we did in this floor, it’s rotten and comes away easily. The only way to go now is onwards, right up at roof level. The spoil can be left on the floor to stand on, or raked back if it gets too high. Maurice Friday November 28 2014 North Hill Swallet. Geoff Newton. A thorough ferret around this sporting little cave. I did not notice any bad air but the stream did smell slightly of piss and it foamed a little. Someone has been banging at the end choke in the not too distant past: looks a bit long‐term though. Nowhere else worth digging down there. Noticed a large leech just above Rumble‐Plonk. He looked a bit hungry. The guide book says that the difficulties are confined to the banged‐out crawls. This is a lie. The standard of difficulty is pretty uniform throughout. If I had known the fixed rope on Rumble‐Plonk was still there I would have saved myself the trouble of bringing one in. Pleasant enough, but won’t go back in a hurry. Geoff Saturday December 13 2014 Spider Hole Pete Hann, Ade VdP. With a depleted digging team due to other members actually enjoying themselves! (Christmas Special Ed.) Pete and I dug at the bottom, removing quite a bit of rock. Conditions at the end were wet and drippy, which brought forth the comment from Pete: “Is this stupidity or dedication?” “Both” I replied...... “Dedicated stupidity”. Ade Saturday December 6 2014 Longwood Valley Sink (Where else???) Ali Moody, John Gisborne, John Cooper, Geoff Newton, Amy Dove, Alex Gough, Pete Buckley. Cleared 80 odd loads of debris from the massive chamber at the end of Triassic Tunnel. Luckily the drip was not in the work zone, but Ali still managed to get wet. The way on is obvious, although very small. Much work needed to enlarge. It was cold on the surface, waiting for holes to be drilled, although my de‐aluminised space blanket worked well. Looking forward to next weekend........ it’s a holiday! Pete


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Wessex Cave Clubwessex-cave-club.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Wessex... · 2016-09-15 · Wessex Cave Club Journal 332 Page 183 Contents th 184‐187 Home Close Hole ‐ The Early