Intake Dale Mine - 02/01/2020 - Rob & Jon
Pre-club meet so the pre-beers were drunk quickly and we headed off into the cold night. I was unsure really what to do this trip, as the last trip ended with such a dangerous area but no actual obstacle as such. So should we plan to shore and dig more to make it easier and (hopefully) safer? Or should we carefully risk a gander down the pitch first to see if there’s any reason to continue with the project? Maybe we could even lower a camera to look for any dangers below? I figured safety first, but take a rope just in case…
Nothing had fallen in since the last trip which is always a great sign. Whilst Jon did a cracking job improving some of the shoring near the start of the dig, I went straight to the end and dug out the floor more to make more space. It’s easy digging when most of the spoil can just be chucked down the huge hole ahead, saving only the largest rocks in case they dislodged anything on their way down. Soon it was positively roomy at the end and I could think about more scaffold. The roof still looks horrendous!
One big boulder was unearthed from the floor which we can pin to but no sight of solid wall anywhere yet, so the scaffold frame is going to be a bit rubbish, at least for now. I sent back measurements and Jon got on with cutting. Laying on my back fixing scaffold between my face and the underside of many loose boulders was not comfortable, and my helmet kept falling off and nearly rolling down the pitch behind me! What a silly game.
Rob inside the dig
By the time three new scaf tubes were installed (badly) it was 21:00 and we were going to be late for the pub meet. It’s a shame as I was nearly feeling comfortable enough to risk the descent. That will have to wait until next time….
Stags for pints, whisky, mince pies and Katie's Xmas cake :-)