Here is a very incomplete list of some of the trips the Eldon have been up to recently.
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- Details
- Written by: Rob Eavis
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Team: Luke Cafferty, Rob Eavis
After failing to convince Luke on a Doom trip, I managed to provide him an almost as unenticing option of a short trip into Sidetrack in search of some CCCs (see here!) after a tipoff that it could be a good location.
In the even worse than typical Eldon hill weather we parked Luke’s big pickup truck near the top and opened the flat roofed boot, just as the wind took it and blew it off it’s struts and smashed into the cab! Pissing about in the rain and freezing cold we failed to get it back together and needed a more concerted effort back in the shelter of the trees at the bottom. I honourably offered to lay in the boot holding the lid in place till we got to the bottom of the track to save it any further damage. Once fixed we warmed back up in the cab for a few minutes before getting changed and getting to business.
The entrance crawl is definitely improved with the distraction of looking for silly little cave formations, and before long we were wondering about the Litton Stroll and admiring the formations (even if they didn’t look like CCCs at all). By the time we’d looked everywhere we were deflated enough to be taking photos of anything that might be “different” or “interesting” rather than CCCs. We were nearing our inevitable way back into the entrance passage and it seems we were dallying about sufficiently that Lord Cafferty managed to spot something very possibly maybe odd looking.
Certainly not exactly like the CCCs we’d seen online, but maybe? They presented strange, with the best looking examples sitting on top of random boulders on the edges of the passage. Certainly nothing you’d think twice about normally, but if they aid science (and get us free gear) i'm all for it.
The crawl out was boring and lacking CCCs, but the company was worse so that’s a positive for cave science I suppose. Back in the pub we agreed that finding some big cave like that place would be a good plan to aim for….
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- Written by: Rob Eavis
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Bagshawe Cavern - 9th September 2018
We teamed up with the Sloans (SUSS) and took 5 under 6 down Bagshawe for an adventure.
They didn't share the snacks with us, but in general it was awesome. Although I think we might have taken the edge off the trip for the brave 16 years olds risking life and limb with their mates as they caved past the smiling toddlers splashing each other in the puddles!
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- Written by: Rob Eavis
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Tommy Moore and Rob Eavis, with Jeff Wade and Brendan Sloan
Wanting to make use of the dry weather, and after initially contemplating Ladyside or Darfur Pot, we finally agreed on a trip to Ricklow Cave, to see if it was open to Dream Time. None of us had been before, which always adds to the experience.
The entrance crawls were clean and dry, and the two climbs down through old shoring seemed in reasonable condition. Upon reaching the bottom first I saw what looked like solid, dry mud smoothly flowing down into the onward passage, leaving only ~5cm of air space above. 15cm deep cracks gave the appearance that this was old and going to need some very hard digging. Mixed blessings were on our side when I completed the climb down and sunk into shin deep gloop! We were going to get through, but it wasn’t going to be pretty!
Sliding down into the crawl felt very committing, as it was downhill and head first straight into the slop. It instantly went in my mouth, nose, one eye and one ear. The bow wave of mud in front touch the roof and I just had to keep pushing forwards, wiping whatever I could to the sides. There was no way I would be able to get back up that slope feet first on my own, but the others had arrived and were at hand if required.
Luckily this was the worst of it, and after roughly 10m the air space was sufficient to relax(ish) and soon I reached a T junction where I reckoned I could turn around if necessary. I called the others to follow and set off along the largest passage to the right (NOTE the passage to the left also draughted strongly and is the main upstream lead of the northern Lights Series). The going got easier and easier, as the mud dried out and the passage got big enough to crawl. It was obvious no one has forged this route for many years.
After not long we reached the main Lathkill passage at Tiger 5. The clean, orangey phreatic roof spotted with crisp, dark chert nodules made me wonder if this should have been called Leopard 5. The luxiour walking passage soon degenerated to flat out crawling typical with most of Lathkill Head Cave and after a bit of poor route finding we found the main. Whilst dodgy if you look too closely, we snuck through without issue and soon were walking up a slope at the foot of the incredible Dream Time chamber. This is big, and certainly worth the trip. A fixed iron ladder similar to Egnaro Aven gets you up into a small cross rift, with a hilarious short ladder climb down and back up again the other side, to a window in an even bigger chamber (maybe this is officially Dream Time?) totally out of proportion with the passages below. Stalactites litter the roof and the rift up to the Garden Path entrance can be seen far in the distance above. An incredible discovery, especially considering it was all pushed from the resurgence!
Back was much of the same, lots of crawling and squirming, following our muddy streaks and the strong draught. We regrouped prior to the horrifically/hilariously sloppy part and each laughed our way through, trying desperately to not get stuck or loose a welly in the now thickening mud. Zapped of energy we headed out to the sunshine, unfortunately not meeting any DofE walker on the way (just picking up their litter).
A fantastic little collector’s route to a “must see” chamber, and we even made the pub :-)
- Dr Jackson's Survey - 07/06/2018
- Newburgh Level - 13/03/2018
- A Game of Thrones - 22/12/2017
- Rowter Xmas trip - 16/12/2017
- Absolution - 12/11/17
- Cripple Creek - 04/11/2017
- Flat Out Walk - 09/11/2017
- A point of engulfment - 07/09/2017
- A bit on the side - 19/07/2017
- Boulder Pot - 14/07/2017
- Englands Green & Pleasant Land - 01/06/2017
- Hollywood Bowl - 17/02/2017
- Picnic Passage 16/11/2016
- Paternity's Fault 15/05/2016
- Carlswark 06/05/2016
- Swildons Hole 01/04/2016
- JH to Peak 16/03/2016
- Mountbatten Pot 21/04/2016
- Trapdoor Pot 20/02/2016
- Giants Hole 30/01/2016
- Ireby Fell Cavern 23/01/2016
- Neptune Mine 19/01/2016
- Stream Passage Pot to Corkys - 23/05/2015
- Water Icicle - 07/05/2015
- Crusader - 03/02/2015
- Water Icicle - 27/03/2014
- Rowter - 20/03/2014
- Titan Streamway Survey Trip - 01/06/2013
- Western Highway - 29/03/2013
- P8: Ben's Dig - 27/06/2009
- Hungerhill Swallet - 22/06/2009
- Nickergrove Mine - 20/06/2009
- Daren Cilau - 20/06/2009
- Nettle - 13/06/2009
- Juniper Gulf - 12/06/2009
- Maskhill - Oxlow Exchange - 29/01/2009
- Titan/J.H./Peak Cavern - 17/01/2009
- Fireset Shaft - 06/01/2009
- Ivy Green Cave - 24/11/2008
- Marilyn and Gaping Gill - 15/11/2008
- Carlswark Cavern (Dynamite Series) - 08/10/2008
- Carlswark Cavern (Dynamite Series) - 08/09/2008
- Eyam Dale House Cave - 07/09/2008
- Nickergrove Through Trip and Carlswark Cavern - 07/07/2008
- Gentlewomans to Youds Through Trip - 29/05/2008
- Bagshawe Cavern - 28/02/2008
- Craig a Ffynnon, South Wales - 16/02/2008
- Bradwell Dale and Bagshawe Cavern Clean-Up - 09/02/2008 & 10/02/2008
- Brown Hill Pot, East Kingsdale, Yorkshire - 09/02/2008
- Bagshawe Cavern in Flood - 21/01/2008
- South Gully Route, Eldon Hole - 20/01/2008
- Caplecleugh to Rampgill Through Trip, Nenthead Mines, Cumbria - 19/01/2008
- Full Moon Series, Bagshawe Cavern - 17/01/2008
- Peak Cavern Entrance to Titan Through Trip, Peak/Speedwell - 13/01/2008
- Titan, Far Sump Extension, Peak/Speedwell - 12/01/2008
- Cwmorthin Mine, N. Wales - 06/01/2008
- Croesor-Rhosydd Through Trip, N. Wales - 05/01/2008
- Cathedral - Dome Route, Lost Johns Pot, Yorkshire - 29/12/2007
- Notts Pot, Leck Fell, Yorkshire Dales - 27/12/2007
- Hungerhill Swallet - 20/12/2007
- Hungerhill Swallet - 17/12/2007
- King Pot, East Kingsdale, Yorkshire - 17/11/2007
- Hungerhill Swallet - 30/10/2007
- Winnats Head Cave - Downstream Pitches - 29/10/2007
- New Oxlow Extensions - 18/10/2007
- Lu Blue Sump and the Streaks Pot through trip - 05/10/2007
- Crumble/Beza route, Nettle Pot - 29/09/2007
- Western Highway, Far Sump Extension, Peak/Speedwell - 24/09/2007
- Filthy Five Pitches, Giants Hole - 20/09/2007
- Perryfoot Cave - 18/09/2007
- North Gully route, Eldon Hole - 18/09/2007
- Dr Jackson's, Perryfoot and the Dr Jackson's - Perryfoot Connection - 17/09/2007
- The Ride of the Valkyries, Far Sump Extension, Peak/Speedwell - 14/09/2007
- P8 to downstream sump - 14/09/2007
- Dr Jackson's Cave - 11/09/2007
- Hypothermia Crawl, Rowter Hole - 07/09/2007
- Heron Pot, Kingsdale, Yorkshire - 02/09/2007
- Giants - Oxlow Connection - 30/08/2007
- Swinsto -> Valley Entrance Pull-through, Kingsdale, Yorkshire - 26/08/2007
- Gingling Hole, Fountains Fell, Yorkshire - 25/08/2007
- Rowter Hole - 20/08/2007
- Buxton Water Aven, Peak Cavern - 06/08/2007
- Buxton Water Aven, Peak Cavern - 31/07/2007
- James Hall's Over Engine Mine (J.H.) - 29/07/2007
- Eldon SRT Rescues/Problem Solving Day, Pindale Farm - 28/07/2007
- Dan Yr Ogof, South Wales - 23/06/2007
- Giants Hole - Novice trip - 23/06/2007
- Grange Rigg Pot, Yorkshire - 30/05/2007
- Rowten Pot, Yorkshire - 29/05/2007
- Ireby Fell Extensions, Yorkshire - 26/05/2007
- Oxlow to bottom of Maskhill - 22/05/2007
- Knotlow Climbing Shaft - 16/05/2007
- DCRO Practice, Stoney Middleton - 13/05/2007
- P8 to Sump 4, Derbyshire - 02/05/2007
- Buxton Water Aven, Peak Cavern - 02/01/2007
- Waterways Swallet, Derbyshire - 13/11/2006
- Daren Cilau, S. Wales - 10/11/2006
- Bar Pot -> Gaping Gill Main Chamber, Yorkshire - 09/12/2005
- Tatham Wife Hole, Yorkshire - 08/12/2005
- Juniper Gulf, Yorkshire - 24/10/2005
- Swildon's Hole, Mendip - 19/04/2003
- Crumble and Beza, Nettle Pot - 06/03/2003
- Bagshawe Cavern - 21/01/2003
- Hillocks Mine - 16/01/2003
- Sidetrack Cave - 04/01/2003
- Birks Fell Cave, Wharfedale - 21/09/2002
- Lancaster Hole -> Wretched Rabbit, Lancaster Easegill system - 27/04/2002
- Croesor-Rhosydd - 02/06/2002
- Eldon Training Workshop - 27/01/2002
- Braida Stomp Weekend (Tatham Wife Hole & Lower Long Churn) - 24/11/2001
- Eyam Dale House Cave - 09/08/2001
- James Hall’s Over Engine Mine (J.H.) - 21/01/2001
- Jug Holes - 29/12/2000
- Lancaster Hole - 18/11/2000
- Bar Pot - 18/11/2000
- Ogof Ffynnon Ddu (OFD), South Wales - 24/09/2000
- Little Neath River Cave - 23/09/2000