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
- Hits: 3307
Report by Jules Barrett
Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Carl (Bog) Bergman (EPC), Chris Schofield (EPC)
We were after a trip with a decent bit of SRT and some proper caving at the end and since Chris and I hadn't been to the end of New Oxlow this seemed like a good idea. I had recently heard about a poised boulder in the Oxlow entrance shaft and it would also be good to have a look at this. I'd packed the rope in the afternoon and since I'd chopped up my 100m rope this needed a bit more thinking about. However, finished with one large bag for the first pitches, one medium bag to get us down to the bottom of the Pilgrim's Way pull-down thing and then a smallish bag with the pull-down rope and North Pitch rope; the luxury of caving as a three! We met at the Oxlow parking around 7:00 p.m. and the sky was darkening already as the nights draw in. There was a distinct chill in the air as we got ourselves sorted which reminded me that autumn is well and truly here. The only issue that I had was being unable to find a decent pair of gloves so I was wearing a pair of gucci fleece ones that are really too good for caving. We walked over to the entrance and started rigging down the pitches. Rigging was uneventful and we arrived at the bottom of the pull-down thing that leads up into Pilgrim's Way. Once here Chris took over the rigging and found the pull-down thing to work fine. Weaving the end of our rope between the strands of the pull-down rope worked well and Chris pulled the rope through. Bizarrely as he was pulling the rope down a pair of gloves fell out of the sky and landed next to our feet. They were mine which had been knocked off the top of Pilgrim's Way and come to rest on a ledge last time I was here! These were much more suitable for Pilgrim's Way crawling so I swapped. Once into Pilgrim's Way SRT kits went in a bag and we made our way along comfortable crawling passage towards Mecca Aven. Last time I'd been here was in full neoprene on the way to Giants Hole via the Connection and this trip felt much more relaxed. Once past Mecca Aven we were into lovely cave passage which allows walking to Jacob's Ladder and eventually to North Chamber. SRT kits back on and Chris rigged North Pitch to land us at the bottom. Bog has been here before so went off exploring along Pilgrim's Way having given us an idea of the delights that were to follow in the Portcullis and the Sewer. From the bottom of North Pitch we crawled through the Portcullis and continued to the Sewer. This is described in Classic Caves of the Peak District as a diminutive, aqueous crawl which it is but it's very short. Finally the passage enlarges into a high and narrow rift at Boulder Chamber and following the water forwards leads to some very impressive dams and a sump. We returned to the top of North Pitch to meet Bog and made our way out along Pilgrim's Way. Bog and Chris kindly de-rigged allowing me to escape back up the ropes with a smallish bag. Had a good look at the poised boulder in the entrance shaft and it does look as though it could do with propping up or something like that. On the surface by 11:30 p.m to a lovely clear evening with loads of stars. Pub missed but that's OK!
One of the best trips in the system; not difficult and even the passage between the bottom of North Pitch and the final sump is enjoyable really. Oxlow is great fun to rig and it's great to do some proper caving at the bottom in New Oxlow. I'm planning a return journey to have a look at stuff like Icarus' Crawl and Henry Mares' Crawl. There's also the inlet that Bob Dearman passed but I'll have to find out which one that is.
- Details
- Written by: Rob Eavis
- Hits: 3271
Report by Jules Barrett
Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Shaun Puckering, Keith Joule
Marcus Crabbe and I had originally planned a look at Lu Blue Sump the previous Sunday evening and carried cylinders, lead and a set of diving kit down with the intention of diving. Marcus has dived the sump before but we wondered whether things at the bottom had changed in the intervening years. The carry in took longer than expected and since we both had work the following morning we decided to leave the dive for another day. Since Marcus was going to be busy for a while he offered me the dive if I could find someone to support. Shaun, Keith and I met mid-afternoon in Castleton and assembled the kit. Once at the top entrance we rigged the pitch for SRT and abseiled in; tying the SRT kits on to the bottom of the rope. With only a bag each between us we made good progress through the cave to Lu Blue Sump. The water level was very low today with the water about 3m below the lip of the pot. Keith and Shaun rigged a ladder down to the water whilst I got kitted up. Climbed down the ladder and Shaun base-fed the line to me from the reel. Had two dives exploring the sides and bottom of the pot reaching the bottom at 7m on my gauge. Although the water is crystal clear initially, it soon goes to a foot or so after the sediment on the walls has been disturbed. It looks as though the way on is under the south-west wall of the pot where the wall is undercut at the bottom but ends in soupy fine silt. Under here visibility was very poor. After a probe underneath I surfaced and climbed back out of the pot. Kit got packed and after a quick look at the West Choke we headed back to the streamway with dive kit etc. Keith led out through Nervous Breakdown, past the Donkey Dongs, through Route 66 and out of the lower entrance. Lu Blue Sump has obviously provided a large input of water to the Stoney Middleton system at some time and these places are always worth a look.
- Details
- Written by: Rob Eavis
- Hits: 3431
Report by Jules Barrett
Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Ann Soulsby (TSG), Wayne Sheldon (TSG)
I'm continuing my tour of bits of Derbyshire caves that I've not been in and had arranged to meet up with Ann Soulsby and Wayne Sheldon at short notice. We met at the TSG hut in the morning with no firm plans and a number of options were discussed. We settled on Nettle Pot since Ann likes it (you'll have to ask her!!) and Wayne hadn't been in there for a while. I've still got lots to do in Nettle Pot as I'd only been in there once before today and that was a solo trip along the Flats. I was keen to have a look at the very bottom (Fin Pot, Eyes Down, Red River Passage etc.) but we were hampered by the fact that I'd been unable to find my copy of Caves of the Peak District and we had to be out fairly early. I had arrived at the Chapel with about 300m of dirty rope so a busy half an hour was spent washing rope and then packing for the trip. After paying at Oxlow House Farm we walked up the hill to the Nettle entrance. I set off rigging down the entrance shaft and in the few years since I was last in here I'd forgotten just how awkward the Narrows are (especially when you're rigging I reckon!). Eventually I found myself standing at the double-bolt rebelay at the top of Bottle Pitch and things were a bit easier/more roomy from here. I'd not been any deeper than the Flats so the lower section was all new to me. An easy traverse leads to a pleasant pitch to land on a broad ledge at the top of Elizabeth Pitch. We traversed past the top of Elizabeth Pitch and continued to the head of Crumble Pot. This has a tight section just below the pitch head and then continues down a pleasant rift. A couple of rebelays mark the start of Beza Shaft which is tight in places and has a few deviations to stop the rope from rubbing. The bottom half of Beza doesn't have any rebelays or deviations and there's quite a lot of rubbing going on. Fortunately the rock around here is pretty smooth and the ropes didn't seem to suffer too much. We landed at the foot of Beza Shaft and then followed an in-situ handline down a slope to The Shakes - a chamber at the bottom. We spent a bit of time investigating what turned out to be a blind pot at the end of The Shakes. We then found a body-sized arch on the right-hand side (if you're facing down coming down the handline from the bottom of Beza) and crawled through that. This led to a short pitch with an in-situ rope on it. Abseiled down that to a small chamber. At this point I really didn't know whether I was on the way to Red River Passage or in someone's abandoned dig. We also needed to be out fairly sharpish so I came back to The Shakes and we set off back up the ropes. Wayne and Ann de-rigged (thanks for that!) and we exited the cave about 4:00 p.m. Back to the Chapel for another rope-washing session and home.
A very enjoyable trip. Will go back now that I've figured out what's what at the bottom and have a proper look around the lower stuff.
- 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