We met at Cussey for 6pm, another early start. Joe, Rob and I (Team Neoprene) ready to venture to the Stoney Middleton Master Cave.
We’d faffed enough trying to lower the upstream sump in Race Against Time; syphoning, rock removal of varying varieties, more than you “shek a stick at!” Now the time had come… As Rob had said last week just as we were about to exit the cave, “people are just gonna have to MAN TF UP!” i.e. free-dive the sump – gulp.
My free-diving sump days never really started. I’d done Lake Bassenthwaite in Torca la Vaca (Matienzo) which is a pretty intimidating free-dive but this was way back in my caving career when I used to have psyche! The only other free-dive I’d done (about a million times) is the duck/sump in Gautries Hole, having said that I’ve not free-dived owt in years so it’s safe to say the intimidation was present.
It’d been on my mind most the week building up to the trip, various breath holding exercises and deep breathing which was quickly forgotten about come crunch time. I’d made special effort to repair my holey wetsuit and even bought a 2.5mm neoprene vest to wear under it to keep me warm. The only thing that was going to stop me getting through that sump now was me.
Joe and Rob supped pre-beers whilst I supped water, I was in that deep! We made quick progress through the cave and I remarked on how warm I felt in Vulgarious with the extra layer of neoprene. The sump was most definitely up but luckily the mysterious inlet above the sump had stopped flowing which meant the level was about as low as it could be without un-roofing. Rob gave me his diving mask which I'd specifically asked to borrow, not to see where I was going but to stop water getting up my nose. I faffed somewhat getting it to seal around my face whilst Rob made the plunge through to the large airbell beyond.
I was to dive next…
I got myself in to the sump pool and tried to adjust my body to the temperature of the cold water. My main problem is I’m positively the most “NESH” person I’ve ever met, so once the water was up to my shoulders I could barely take another breath whilst hyperventilating which doesn’t bode well for free-diving. The mask was now making me feel claustrophobic so I hastily chucked it back to Joe and did a couple of under water line pulling exercises from the lip of the sump back to the bolt (mainly to get my head under the water). I think I confused Joe at this point but he assured me it’d be fine. I was getting very close to calling it a day here and Joe had to talk me down once again off the ledge. I asked if he’d be ok going through just to tell Rob I was faffing as the vocal connection is very shit through the inlet but also I could gain a true account of how the sump was as Rob’s very vague when it comes to describing stuff like this. Joe went straight through with no hesitation which made me feel even more inferior. I could hear them chatting on the other side then Joe suddenly reappeared. He clarified how easy it was, about 2 meters length and a quickly rising airspace on the opposite side. With plenty of reassurance I got back in to the sump pool. A few deep breaths and down I went… “THWACKKK!” I cracked my head on the lip of the roof – not a great start. I realigned took a few more breaths and went for it again. Within seconds I felt my helmet rise out of the water and saw a blurry Rob jumping for joy elated that I’d cracked it!
I stumbled off my knees and on to my feet simultaneously high fiving Rob feeling super proud. I think we both couldn’t believe I’d finally done it, Joe appeared behind us and that was it – lets go photo the SHIT out of this master cave.
Winking Passage is the continuation of Race Against Time which eventually hits The Stoney Middleton Master Cave (SMMC) at a t-junction with upstream on your right, downstream on you left, roughly a third of the way up from the downstream sump. I was shocked by the size of Winking Passage and its lovely shape, clean washed walls and vibrant colours. We stomped along while the echo increased and began to boom! I was over the moon to finally be here after months of patiently waiting and digging this was a true moment to cherish. I can only compare the experience to the pioneers who undertook the first exploration trips in Peak Cavern. I’m literally the 6th person to visit SMMC, Rob and Joe having dived through once previously with diving gear for a very brief tour While Rob Middleton, Jack Dewison and Mike Butcher have concentrated all their efforts on doing what they do best – pushing sumps. This humongous piece of cave is literally there for the taking and did I mention it’s in Stoney!
Joe Buck traversing the stream pots, by RobE
We headed upstream first inspecting one of the various leads; a clean washed, choked aven which looked very inviting and from there on I struggled not to trip over my jaw which was hanging somewhere down nearby my feet. Even though the streamway was barely flowing, it’s like someone has copied and pasted a large section of the Peak Cavern Streamway or something from the Dales, definitely not something that should be found in Stoney. its got everything a good streamway should have in all the right places. One of the first things I said to the lads was, “Well John (Beck) got it right – somewhere beyond must lie a large vadose passage heading NW towards the swallets.” I find it hard to put in to words the size/beauty/grandeur of the place and I’m sure in time there’ll be plenty of photos circulating from various different perspectives but yeah - wow!
Joe Buck looking up into an un-entered inlet, by RobE
Jon Pemberton in the main rift passage, by RobE
We continued upstream negotiating a large choke just after a very enticing aven. More stomping and boulder hopping follows before eventually reaching the final chamber with the upstream sump. The lead above the sump didn’t look as enticing to me as it once did looking at a survey but it's certainly an easy climb for when we get around to it. We dropped through the choke and Rob quickly got excited thinking the upstream sump was almost passable. His excitement was short lived as it turns out, the sump had completely silted up leaving only a dive line heading off into a silty floor – meaning we’d need a big flow of water for the sump to re-open. We started our return trip back to the junction, now with Rob leading camera in hand. We stopped at various places along the way whilst he made quick work of snapping glamour shots for Joe's portfolio. Once back at the junction Rob dumped his camera and we headed downstream. We were all pretty chilly at this point (mainly thanks to me) so we legged it down the passage in a bid to warm ourselves up. The downstream section felt like a completely different cave to what we’d just been in. The water flows here at a lower, impenetrable level leaving the upper section feel like a much older part of the cave. We reached a chamber where Rob spotted a roof tube and with a bit of fuckwhittery we managed to post Rob head first in to the entrance. He pushed the body size tube for some way and started to retreat but with the return being much harder than the push he shouted for us to go look at the downstream sump whilst he attempted to exit on his own accord. Joe and I ran down the passage to the sump, the passage had changed once again but for the worse; a gloopy quagmire. We got to 30m from the start of the dive line which showed how much the water has dropped over the summer. We headed back to Rob who was still stuck in the crawl and struggling. Eventually after much faff we finally saw his feet pop out some 3m above us and managed to safely guide them back to the floor. The roof tube was still going but needed some dedicated pushing as it is only just Rob size.
Joe Buck with some scallops, by RobE
Jon Pemberton nearing the upstream sump, by RobE
We made our way back to the sump where Rob briefed me on not faffing as we were all cold. I didn’t hesitate this time and within seconds I was back through feeling safe and somewhat closer to home in RAT. Once all back through the sump we started our return journey to surface an were greeted by a lovely warm night, the only let-down was a certain someone forgetting his post beer so I gratefully shared.
Another cracking trip which I won't be forgetting any time soon.