Bagshawe Cavern
The Eldon always have a number of active digs undergo in Bagshawe.
One that is currently receiving quite a lot of attention is the "Dead Ahead Dig" in the Full Moon Series.
[For more information regarding Bagshaw Cavern go to the dedicated page]
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- Written by: Dylan Kocher
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Sarah Moody, Ethan Griffins, Alexandra Kozel, Dylan Kocher
With the weather raining on our usual climbing plans, Lexie had suggested going beyond one of the gated sections in Bagshaw. I had only been on digging trips bouncing to the far reaches of Beyond Redoubt. Therefore, severely lacking in a greater picture of Baggers as a whole, and keen for an adventure. Just having had listened to an amazing interview with the almighty Pug that is Jim Thompson. The conversation particularly captivated when turned to Namread Sump. Talks of faces pressed against gates judging draft in hopes to find an unreliable sump dry. How interesting. With a survey printed and laminated; I gave a few updates to unspecified passage names with the help of Jon P. Finding the Bagshaw Surveys to be quite shit. Sarah Moody and Ethan Gruff also decided to come have a play, always hearing about Bagshaw with some interest.
The plan was set. A quick trip to Namread Sump, if found open we would carry on and do the round trip (substantially longer). However, unlikely that seemed to be with the rain pelting the window of our mini cooper as it jogged down the M1. Arriving on site, friends soon joined us in the coe of our hut and we made hastily for the New series gate. Once through, a pleasant and beautiful crawl ensued showered by clean pools of calcified and solid passage. Steady crawling leads to a rift, to soon be accompanied by beautiful straws. Quickly reaching pools chamber, pleasantly decorated and turning left into a small crawl leading to the aven series. From here passage was relatively comfortable through varying passages with pleasant decorations, till a large aven with a rope hanging down is reached. Namread Aven. Everyone began to kit up in harnesses but as the staple Eldon member I knew I had to set an example, opting for belt and croll. Fluctuating climbing in calcified flow with the aven soon bellowing out. Almost at the top the angle increases sharply with an accompanying handline. Straight up seemed to require use of said handline. With an effort to just top rope solo the climb, I ventured left where the passage abated in span allowing for an easier traverse. Though creating a loop of slack. Definitely didn't want to shock load the rope as well… anyways. Once at the top Lexie soon followed with Sarah and Ethan soon to join. Each with their own take on how to ascend the 20m shaft. A quick fueling up and off again. Now headfirst into Fairholm passage, where, like a seal one of slim proportions can belly slide through. Zero draft having been felt, I gathered I would soon reach the impassable sump. The ceiling became caked in mud, definitely showing signs of a flooded passage. Just ahead I saw a small pool with a yellow pipe; left over from the antics of 2005 to hopefully see a working siphon into Hollywood Bowl. Lexie soon squeezed down next with mates not far behind. Fair to say we were all now fairly covered in Namreads mud. On the left side of the sump a notch of passage could be seen further. Though without any draft I was hesitant to see how far one could go. Not confident it would be open. Turning around Fairholm passage was quite the workout, squeezing out quite interesting sounds from all of us. Eventually back at the pitch head Sarah descended below. Just rocking with the Belt and ATC I quickly attached it and jumped over fully trusting the homemade crappy steel bolt and flew down at quite the pace. Now below with Lexie on the rope, I hear “oh shit!”. Lexie, thinking the rope had merely shifted, looked up to see the rope completely desheathed. A foot or so of exposed core quickly leaving view as was best to just carry on down. Ethan from some communication also expressed his amazement remarking on how so few cores there actually were in static ropes. Isolated in a knot we were all safe and sound. Jon P had previously suggested we check out England's Green and Pleasant Land since the likelihood of a round trip being low. With a quick stop at the great aven we quickly retraced our path out. Pleasant crawling leads to a sizable hole before Pools Chamber. In the distance a rope strung down leading to a free-climbable passage up. Here a moderate climb ensues, and with quite some height gained a chamber is reached. Strewn with a wall of propped boulders starting low. Looking up it never ends. Everything looks like its own keystone. Sizable chunks of calcite ready to fall. Careful climbing up to a hole requires shifting round one more boulder. My left hand placed on said rock and a silent shift. Standing stone settled? Now above with quite a sweat on, not sure if everything was about to go. Stressed I looked below knowing the path would lead to my friends. Apologies to Lexie who heard me shouting mixed signals before deciding that it was not worth the risk. Having already been given a bad omen. Beyond, a rope could be seen through what seemed a beautiful flowstone passage. Nonetheless, I left to join the team. After some playful chats everyone was ready to head out. Fairly quick going we soon were back in the Coe.
Even though craging outdoors was called off Joe the GOAT joined myself and Lexie for some fun climbing at Awesome Walls the day after, where I put his belaying to the test. Climbing through the headwall, I had felt inverted for what seemed forever. Right at the lip the chains were in sight. Promptly from 0 to hero the pump took hold. Completely punting off swinging through the air. Joe catching soft, though not having much of a choice! Speaking after about my experience of the shifting boulder. Joe too had thought that the passage was well and truely fucked! Jon had knowingly sent me to a death trap! Only one question remains. He wanted me dead. But on whose behalf….
Till next time baby Love Islands on!
Dylan K
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- Written by: Jon Pemberton
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Gang members Eavis, Buck, Hibberts accompanied by both Pemberton's (The Pembros) assembled for tonight's adventure. The plan was a round trip of the upper series in Bagshawe Cavern via the Hollywood Bowl, hoping to make use of the current drought conditions.
After some swift pre-beers we descended the cavern around 7pm and made quick progress through the first gate towards the aven series. Our turn off here was the second to last aven - Namraed. Namraed Aven (8m) Is a relatively easy climb for the first part but is rigged for SRT as the last 3m are vertical (insert Staples here).
We all ascended with relative ease and started making way down Fairholme Passage which is an awkwardly tight bedding crawl at roughly 45°, prone for getting stuck in! The crawl leads downhill for 5 minutes before reaching the ominous passage named Namraed. For the majority of the time, this is sumped, but in serious drought conditions, the passage dries completely gaining the intrepid explorer access to the Hollywood Bowl, a magnificent Cavern which feels out of place in Bagshawe!
Namraed was bone dry, this gives a good indication of the low water levels so it may pay off to go seek some more of these aquatic locations - food for thought...
Once all in the Hollywood Bowl, we marvelled at its grandeur before separating. Chris and Sam were to head out whilst Joe and Rob and I were to complete the round trip via Madame Guillotine.
We gingerly ascended the 18m which climbs out of the chamber, on ropes which have been there since 2005. Most of the hangers still look okay, but again it's probably one which may need some further attention in the future. From the top Joe took a wrong turn and got seriously stuck which left Rob and I to head the correct way up the slope and through a series of tight calcite squeezers towards Nathan Gate. From here it's easy sailing, typical Bagshawe crawling, walking and stooping interlinked by flat out squeezes. After about 15 minutes we reached Madame Guillotine where now you can easily descend the Via ferrata route down the 15m pitch just using cows tails.
It was now 9:30pm so we promptly got to move on and descended through the boulder choke gaining access to the French connection. At the moment this is bone dry and an absolute chore to negotiate minus the lubrication. We continued crawling and eventually met Full Moon Chamber with just a short section left before reaching the gate and exiting back into the main drag. A good romp led us to the steps and we were out by 9:47pm. Quite speedy for this round trip and we weren't going fast by any means. One I definitely recommend whilst Namread Is currently bone dry.
Anchor for post trip refreshments and debrief.
Photos by Rob Eavis
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- Written by: Jon Pemberton
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‘A’ Team once again assembled for an assault aimed at The Bitter End of Bagshawe. Joe, Sam and I met at 6pm and were underground for 6:30pm. Chris had already gone underground in advance with a taster of getting back into the swing of things after his jollys (Albania fit). We caught him up at Full Moon Chamber where he cajoled us on his ‘Tour de Baggers’ after missing the turn off for the Full Moon Series four times! We pressed on together to the top of MG where we parted ways with Chris and continued to the end. We made it there in an hour and I took first turn at the pointy end.
Digging was super easy this week (for me) as I’d remembered to bring a head torch so could leave my helmet further back, this gave me more movement at the end. Luckily Joe had done a cracking job last week enlarging the passage at the end in every direction, it reminded me of a bear den. I now had enough room to bring the kibble up next to me, dig ahead and fill it with ease. The sediment was super easy to cut through and I just continued to follow the obvious roof tube on the right which has approx. 3 inches of airspace and a few stal. I filled 10 kibbles, the last few containing a few larger rocks which were removed from the floor and then proceeded to give the floor to Sam.
Sam filled a further 10 kibbles but the sediment began to condense with a more finely packed gravel which proved digging to be a bit more laborious. Joe finished the shift with a further 5 kibbles (totalling 25) taking just over 2 hours. With a firm 9:30pm cut off we started the slog back out. It’s funny… there’s little to no conversation on the journey back to surface. Everyone has the same feelings, SHUT UP AND PRESS ON!
We made it to surface at 10:40pm taking a little over an hour to get out from the end. No banging headaches this evening so we could enjoy post beers and tangfastics at leisure! The end is looking good, the roof is rising and we’re seeing a change in sediment but it’s not getting any easier! Watch this space…
Mission complete (JRP)
When the tangfastic hits (JRP)
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- Written by: Jim Thompson
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Team: Jim / Bog / Dave
In a week that saw metaphorical clouds roll across much of England, the land seemed anything other than green and pleasant. However my countenance was rendered divine via a message from Bog: ‘fancy digging in England’s Green and Pleasant Land, tube off the top?’ Of course I did, and so a long overdue reunion between Bog, Dave and me was a joy to behold in a pleasantly warm Bagshawe car park.
The objective tonight was to reach the big chamber at the top of EGAPL and place a bolt to secure a handline that was looped precariously round a stal and commence digging operations in the tube. Reports from the previous week of collapsing slopes suggested that a secure line would be a sensible precaution so Dave had come prepared with kit and we had a reasonably quick jaunt up the New Series and through a bone dry Pool Chamber. I took Dave’s bag and made an enjoyable climb up to the big block that marks the last bit of solid before moving onto the chossy bit. Shouting behind me, it was obvious that I couldn’t hear them, and they couldn’t hear me, I tried whistling but that was orders of magnitude quieter so I just had to sit tight and hope someone would get bored of waiting. Soon enough, I heard panting and Bog appeared, followed quickly by Dave.
Over the block and onto the slope, I could see where Dave had collapsed a big chunk of it, so opted to stay by the left-hand wall with a view to keeping as much weight off my feet as possible and ready to grab the handline should my sketchy footholds part company. Everything behaved and I ensconced myself by the stal, understanding why Dave had been worrying about it all week.
I got cracking with the bolt and Dave and Bog headed off into the tube to crack on.
I’d been looking forward to a tube that was tube shaped, so making my way into a rocky bedding that appeared to continue as a rocky bedding made me wonder if I’d picked the wrong place to catch them up but I could hear them ahead so carried on.
Pushing on I found myself on a big wide hump of hard mud, quite reminiscent of sidetrack i.e there’s a tube there but you’re at the top of it because it’s full. Not so low as to be pushing tight, but just low enough to prevent any meaningful crawling, and with just too little moisture to prevent adhesion, the mud was sticky, and I dragged myself along for what seemed like ages wondering when the dig face would appear.
Just round the corner I came face to face with Bog’s wellies and got stuck in to an uncomfortable session of kibble emptying. With only enough height to turn a kibble over and not enough space to bash it, this involved clawing the mud out in balls and attempting to get them to the back of the passage like a T Rex throwing a heavy ball, while Dave filled and demanded fresh kibbles at an unreasonable pace. Luckily there was enough shit banter flying about to make it all less minging and I was glad to be there rather than anywhere else.
After a while we all simultaneously decided we’d had enough and hauled shell back to the chamber, where the relief of standing up gave way to something akin to vertigo after an hour lying on my side with my head below my feet. Once I didn’t feel about to fall over down the pitch, I headed down, letting the unwieldy bag try to knock me off balance instead.
An easy dash out and we found ourselves back on a balmy surface at 2330 and had a lovely hour of beers and chat.
Work continues…
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- Written by: Jon Pemberton
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Joe, Sam and I this evening once again and we had agreed after the previous trip that the bitter end of Bagshawe was to be our destination. With the ease of access now that Madame Guillotine no longer required dragging SRT kits we were up for an easy trip – right?
We met and 6pm and was skipping down Bagshawe steps just before 6:30pm. We weren’t tonking it but we weren’t hanging about. Ticked off the usual waypoints; Snake Pyjama’s gate, Full Moon, French Connection, MG… To this point it was very easy due to the lack of dragging any bags. Different from what we’ve been accustomed to over the past few weeks (months) which has been walking and an 80m pitch. Now one can be up the pitch within a minute and gear off at the top and ready to progress to the end. It was Sam’s first time and he didn’t seem too convinced. (FYI Joe still couldn’t find his cows tails which he’d lost from when we bolted it!) Onwards to glory we set off on the crawlathon passing Dylan’s limit from the other week. We reached the end dig in exactly 1 hour.
I took the first stint at digging. The previous party had left it a bit cramped so I had to re-excavate the floor so I could get the kibble alongside me (still awkward). From here digging is the easiest part by far but it’s faffy dragging the kibble, turning it around and filling it up. (We need a couple of lengths of rope for next time). Also I think digging could me made easier by just using a headtorch and not having your helmet on! I did 10 kibbles before Joe took over to fill another 10. When it was Sam’s turn he declined and Joe carried on for a further few before we called it a day after 1 hour 45 mins at the end, now for the slog back out.
It felt slow progress coming back out and I had a stonking headache from all the crawling. MG was easy on the down climb and we were glad to finally get back to beyond the gate. We made surface at 10:30pm with the return trip taking 1 hour 15 mins. Sam produced a cheap belvita bar as a snack which went down a treat! Note to self; bring tangfastics next time!
Big Enuf? - Soulful Joe and his spanner (JRP)