Cussey Pot

Details

Written by: Ben Shannon

Published: 16 April 2022

Created: 16 April 2022

Hits: 1185

Team: Ben S, Jon P, Luke C, Sam P and Jim T

I was beyond excited about this trip. a couple of weeks ago I messaged Rob to inform him I had Norovirus, I was willing to take the risk of wearing a wetsuit despite getting a 3 second toilet warning; but understandably Rob didn't want to experience the purge and so I bowed out. That evening i got the message that they had broken through to SMMC. absolutely gutted.

So tonight Jon said he wanted to go and have a play with his camera in the new bit and I couldn't wait. pulling up in the car park I met Jim and Sam (who is essentially Jon with less hair) Their plan was to find the Inglorius pitch as they had missed it on their last trip. That in its own right is worth visiting because the chamber is a complete change of character to the rest of the cave.

Luke, Jon and I geared up. Luke had a brand new warmbac wetsuit. I could have cried for him there and then. I feel this trip definitely needs a wetsuit, but given how tight and rough in sections the cave is, you can just hear it rubbing and snagging. Joe once said every time he snags his wetsuit he thinks "there's another tenner gone"

I have been in cussey a number of times now and learning its nuances well so within no time at all the 3 of us were leaving our SRT kit on the big boulder in Inglorious and headed for Loper Lust. 

Good news, it was not sumped, the syphon had done its job and loper had not refilled. much to Jon's disgust however, the remaining water had created a mud soup. For those of you not in health care, I will refer you to the Bristol Stool Chart. This muddy tube was half filled with Type 7. Rob had free dived this a number of times and it was something I was curious to know if i could do, and so as i entered the slop I held my breath and dipped half my face in as i negotiated the lowering ceiling and popped up into the  first airbell. Ah that wasnt so far. i did the same again to the second air bell. again short and sweet. the third smaller airbell swiftly followed and you had to be on the right hand side for the air space. so far i felt like i could free dive this if it were to sump. the final section was the longest bit of breath holding and as you go up hill i wasnt sure when to start breathing again as wasnt sure how high the water would be. I suspect its one of those free dives thats not as bad at you think it will be, however there are plenty of places to get it wrong. maybe ill give it a go one day.

Anyway, we are all through and swiftly down the ladder and yomping to Vulgarious. The last time i was here we spent around 90 mins hauling drag trays back and forth. making good progress but rob felt like there was still plenty to do then things seemed to progress rapidly from there as whilst the digging still sounded challenging, there were areas to stack spoil and so no more hauling. Jon warned us that there was one commiting and claustrophobic section halfway down vulgarious but that we shouldnt worry. 

The poo theme is entirely relevant here as the mud is just on another level of slop. we crawled down vulgarious until we reached beyond For Buck's Sake, the section Jon had warned us about. i slid into the tube after Jon. This was brilliant. its a human sized tube, you cant really look up properly as your helmet hits the roof. the floor is soft and progress isnt the easiest. i had both arms out in front of me. your arms arent entirely useless here, but they arent the greatest of help either due to the confines. i would dig my toes in and push to make progress, but the mud would also grab your wellies and try to suck them off. I actually loved it. i seem to have some perverse love for situations like this. this section takes a good 5 or so minutes. we eventually pop out into a rift.  

Wow, how can something so big suddenly appear after flatout crawling. Jon again warned us not to die here and so as i attempted not to trust my life to the worlds slippiest but cruical stemple i carefully climbed down and headed to the breakthrough point. 

Jon told luke and I how he and Rob nearly gave up the other night due to the conditions and that they felt they had needed to drain the duck. but perseverance or stubborness payed dividends for them, and so here i was. i had to take my helmet off because my spare light was once again pushing my face into the water and trying to drown me. Another fun and commiting section though which was giving me the gentlemans fizz.

And then just like that we were into something big, very big. jon had gone ahead so make sure all was ok as i bought his camera gear through. Luke and I on all fours crawling along in elbow deep gloop that just gave me flash backs to enemas gone wrong. less than an hour from the surface we were stood by a pool below sump 2. Jon was laughing at the state of Luke and I and said that we needed a wash before any pics could occur. so we both got in to the pool. "some people pay good money for this" Luke said as we lay there with our mud wrap on.

We poked around sump 2 to see the progress so far. i hope this is passable one day as i cant wait to see what is beyond it. I followed the pristine and large streamway downstream until Jon set his gear down and exclaimed that this was the picture spot. I practiced my best blue steel face as Luke was tasked with flash gun duty and the poor guy spent an age focusing on my bum. 

We then headed further downstream as Jon was keen to show us a special shell bed. the streamway gets smaller and smaller until you are on hands and knees and here i was cursing the inbuilt knee pads on my wetsuit because they were nothing more than a thin layer of rubber. Eventually the solid rock roof parted, literally, to be come a shell bed and the further we got the better it got. some of the shells were as big as tennis balls. we stopped just short of the sump for some pics. it felt really dark and remote here. only a handful of humans have visited this spot, and that felt very special to be a part of. pics done attention was drawn to closing time at the pub and so we headed out, stopping to investigate some leads on route. 

I'm not a fan of prussiking and so it pleases me that i only have to do so on Inglorious, as i free climb the other two pitches and back out into the warm night air. blimey, last time it was still freezing and we were huddled in my van for warmth. we were in a bit or a state for the pub and so cracked open the post cave drinks and chilled in the car park. this trip just keeps getting better and better. certainly one for collectors. would it go in the infamous black book? i dont know the criteria, but its a dam fine trip, but not for the feint hearted.

Luke after his enema, by JonP

Details

Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 09 April 2022

Created: 09 April 2022

Hits: 977

Team: RobE, RobM, MikeB

An unusual saturday trip for me, this on the request of the two divers who had a long trip planned. I got changed too eagerly as they continued to faff for ages (diving looks complex!). All three of us loaded up we head down at a leisurely pace, showing the wonderous sights of Cussey to Mike who'd never been before. Nothing like what they have found, but at least he was impressed with Inglorious Bastards. Moving with two cylinders wasn't actually too bad and we soon were enjoying the sloppy filth of Loper Lust followed by the sloppy filth of Vulgarious Bastard. RobM was at least a little thankful that it was now slightly bigger and less committing, although the connection duck was still pretty wet.

Now in Race Against Time they start their second faffing session of the day with kitting up whilst i spend 30 mins starting the trench downstream from Sump 2. This actually made good progress and looks like with a few caps we could drop the sump level 300mm quite easily. Any further is hard to judge.

All set up they head off towards SMMC and the Upstream Sump, which they plan to dive. I was just in a furry and was getting very cold by this point so I head out, taking some unwanted gear on the way and having a bit of a dig at the connection section to make it slightly less horrific. 

News on the street is that their dive went very well. The sump was only 15m long and they explored more passage to a second sump. The verdict is still out however about whether Cussey is easier for them than Cliffstile, especially if using big cylinders.

Details

Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 08 April 2022

Created: 08 April 2022

Hits: 2312

Team: Kristian B, Joe B, Jon P, Rob M, Rob E

After last week’s incredible breakthrough todays was all about getting plenty of the Vulgarious digging team down to enjoy the reward for our efforts. Unfortunately a few couldn’t make it but the team of 5 still had a great time.

So at the upstream end of what we connected to is Sump 2. This is an annoying little sump, because behind it is the Master Cave streamway. We really need this to be accessible to dry cavers, so in the near future our plan is to lower the sump, somehow. Fortunately there is a 1.4m drop about 6m downstream of the sump, which gives us various options. However to know the best engineering option we really needed an accurate profile of the roof of the sump to know what we’re up against.

So today’s plan was to split into two teams: Jon and Kristian were to go take photos of A Race Against Time whilst RobM was to assist me and Joe through the short Sump 2 and into the Master Caver proper. In preparation for this I’d gotten a high accuracy depth logger off John Gunn (many thanks!) and set it to take readings every 5s. After much consideration I decided to actually use my head and attached it to my helmet just behind the Scurion.

At the car park we met up with two other Eldon members JimT and SamP who were planning to have a poke about Cussey and see if they could get through the Shattered Dreams squeeze (I hear they did).

Bags fully packed, this hoard of Eldonites (plus RobM) skipped pre-beers(!) and headed down by 19:00. It felt great carrying the first cylinder ever down Cussey, just a simple sign of the progress we’re making down this mega cave. Of course it also felt pretty horrific too with it catching on everything. RobM said they were 3 litre cylinders but down Cussey they were definitely bigger and heavier than that. Probably didn’t help that I also had a long bit of table leg protruding out of the top of my bag!

We actually made good time and pretty soon were all through the very filthy Loper Lust and starting the even filthier crawl along our Vulgarious Bastard dig. Once at the new Rift Chamber I installed my table leg stemple to aid the exposed climb down then started bailing the wet crawl forwards. This didn’t work very well so me and Joe both went through and started digging a trench the other side to drop the water level. Even with this effort, it's a hilariously awful bit of cave, which is brilliant considering what it now connects to!

And so here we were, all 5 of us sat in the incredible A Race Against Time, surrounded by Rob’s tackle bags. Whilst he sorted the gear, me and Joe lay in a pool trying to clean off the Vulgarious filth in a hopeless attempt to keep the sump a bit cleaner on our way through, and Kristian and Jon run off to get photos.

Both myself and Joe have very limited diving experience, mostly open water stuff many years ago, and were both a little apprehensive. However we actually felt weirdly comforted by Rob’s apparent apprehension also. This was because he wasn’t nervous because it was particularly dangerous, but because he wanted to make sure he did everything right for us, which we appreciated! And whilst he admits it’s not normal practise to “teach cave diving” like this, this sump is a potential freedive so i'm told the rules are different here. 

I go first, the two 3l cylinders and all the paraphernalia feeling very awkward until I lay in the water. Having done a fair bit of freediving recently I was thankfully pretty confident and relaxed. I take a deep breath and head under water, then instantly giggle to myself. I didn’t need to do that. I can actually just continue to breathe. This is awesome!

The sump was a beautiful alluring blue with visability about 5m. And it’s big enough to actually swim through. I pop up in the halfway airbell, making sure not to let go of the dive line. Here there’s a voice connection back to the others, which may be very handy if it ever becomes a freedive site. The next section is less deep but near the end there’s a naughty little constriction that you need to duck under. With the great vis I was able to navigate that pretty easily, even with the two cylinders, and then surface the other end in a haze of jubilation and excitement.

As part of Rob’s considered logistics, he follwed me through and took both the cylinders off me, then went back (now with 3!) to assist Joe through. This hilariously left me alone on the wrong side of the sump with no gear, so I’m very glad they came through with no issues. Even through his zero vis, Joe was smiling ear to ear.

Apologies for the muddy start, i had other things on my mind!

We de-kit then head off along Winking Passage, which is similar to A Race Against Time (i.e. incredible!). As we progress we start to hear a rumble ahead, an added spice of theatre as the Stoney Middleton Master Cave is finally revealed at a tall T-junction. We head upstream and just wow! Roughly 350m of incredible streamway in places 6m high. In parts it feels quite like the Lower Bung Streamway in Speedwell although consistently taller, presumably from additional vadose incision here as you’re heading up dip quite steeply. We pass numerous boulder collapses and chambers, some pretty big, all with enticing leads in the roof. A few small passages off to the sides also look to be interesting digs too. Basically, we’ve got a lot of work to do in there. Eventually we reach the upstream sump which is a very inviting looking prospect for the divers. It’s 1.3km to Waterfall Swallet in a straight line = Lots to go at!

We turn around and enjoy stomping back down the streamway. Back at the T-junction we head downstream now which is smaller but still very pleasant. The water is lost down small pots and cracks and can be heard rumbling away below. An awkward step up to the right marks the start of an excellent section of walking sized vadose passage which after about 100m reaches the downstream sump. This is really muddy and is going to pretty minging to dive, but it’s still very enticing as it’s ~18m higher than the Boil-up and heading over towards Nickergrove and Merlins.

Now back at Sump 2 we kit up and have a steady dive back through. This time the vis was zero for all of us and that reliance on the tiny blue dive line became very apparent. Still a brilliant feeling though. Back now in A Race Against Time, it’s amazing how this section feels less remote all of a sudden. We pack up the gear (well RobM does whilst we accidentally drop bits in muddy pools and generally prove unuseful) just as Jon and Kristian return from their photoing. A weirdly well timed plan. We each share tales of our adventures then set off back through Vulgarious with gear spread between us. I was at the front and was expecting a queue to build up at the bottom of Inglorious Bastards pitch, so I went for it. By the time I was nearly out I realised I was mentally and physically knackered. Such is the toll I suppose for having one of the best trips of my life.

All out safely by midnight, what a trip!

 ----------

And as for the data from the depth logger. It's good news. The logger recorded a maximum depth of 1.15m, with much of the sump less than 70cm deep. And that's with ~10cm of GoPro above, so the actual depth may be slightly less. I reckon some trench digging might be in order….

Details

Written by: Jon Pemberton

Published: 05 April 2022

Created: 05 April 2022

Hits: 1986

If I was a gambling man I would have put money on us breaking through tonight. With Luke bailing at the last minute it was down to Rob and I (TAP) to take the lead and do what we do best and take the glory! Plus it was the night before the Eldon AGM so it was almost a dead cert.

With Loper Lust still sumped the plan was for Rob to head down first with his small pump around 20 minutes before me so that the sump would be lowered when I arrived, meaning we could head straight to the sharp end and have a good dig with a view of possibly making the pub. We failed on this. I arrived at Loper Lust and there was approximately 10 cm of airspace. I headed straight through but once in the water the airspace thinned considerably meaning it was pretty much a free dive. We continued to lower the level of the sump by leaving the syphon going and headed off for Vulgarious.

Once at the dig face we took it in turns firstly to dig away the mud bank on the left. This gave us room to access the dig proper and a little dig in the floor underneath a projection of rock gave us proper access to the tube beyond. Now it got interesting. The dig was half full of liquid mud with a solid face in front. The route appeared to head left under a curtain of rock, but to access this we had to dig another foot forwards. Flat out in the tube was alright the first couple of attempts but it soon turned into a duck. Entering the tube created a bowel wave engulfing the whole dig face whilst submerging half of your own face which proved tricky. Exiting the dig with spoil in your hands was also tricky and it soon became obvious that the person behind had to drag their colleague from the dig by their feet whilst cupping all the spoil so it could be removed from the tube. Saying that by the time the spoil had been dragged through the water it was already slop and was useless for stacking or doing anything with other than adding to the height of the muddy duck.

It seemed like we'd almost given up due to the need of removing some of the liquid mud to make digging conditions more desirable. Rob jumped back in for one last look and armed with the hammer he pushed what mud he could to one side and bashed the rock curtain for further measure, he could now see clearly a bedding beyond with a potential way off to the right. He shouted back that he was going to go for it and after a few more scoops of chocolate he pushed through.

Comfortably he turned around after a brief look beyond and started to dig the constriction out for me to join him. After only a minute and a little more persuasion with the hammer, he shouted for me to join him nonchalantly. I wasted no time and started my way through the tube to the constriction. The passage seemed very similar to the long passage beyond For Buck's Sake. Once I was through the curtain all I could see were Rob's feet in front of me. Heading off to the right and after a couple of body lengths the passage opened up vastly. Here Rob was lying on his back grinning looking up at the roof towards nothing special. It was here I realised we'd done it!

Giggling Rob sat back up and we both look to head at the passage stretching off in front of us, only a couple of feet ahead. Could we see evidence that someone had already been here? A couple more feet down the passage and it was blatantly obvious that we had now entered The Stoney Middleton Master Cave! Rob now stormed off down the passage at a brutal pace and I try to follow my lamp being absorbed by the mud. Everything just looked dark. We came to a junction and the passage grew enormously. We were now in A Race Against Time passage and had hit our target from the survey precisely on the dot.

Giggling whooping jumping about and eventually submerging ourselves in the large pool of water in front of us. We couldn't believe it! It almost seemed too easy that we were now stood here. Passage to passage Vulgarious must be close to 80 m long! And it sure is a beast of a passage. After a brief celebration, now knowing we probably won't make the pub, it was time to reap our reward. We headed upstream towards Sump 2 and our next project which will take us to the Master Cave proper. This looked a glorious looking sump from the squalor we'd just come through. It seemed almost bizarre after crawling in mud for years that we'd find ourselves in a lovely clean washed streamway. The upstream sump is not far from the entrance to Vulgarious and after Rob had a quick dive we started to head downstream. This passage felt humongous and we stomped our way down it jumping in the pools until we met a collapse where the second passage headed off towards Cussey with further potential prospects for exploration. Here we first checked out a climb in the roof of a boulder choke. The root up was slippy, so 5 minutes worth of digging under the boulder gained us access to a further climb up to our goal. Here a further climb led to a drafting choke in the boulders whilst a bedding headed left, but again choked. At the base of the climb, a clean washed rift headed left which looks like an exciting prospect, albeit probably will link with something we already know.

With a check of the time we decided to head downstream and follow it to the Boil-up sump. The passage was beautiful, lovely, clean washed with the best shell bed I have ever seen in a cave. The passage seemed to go on and on but eventually feeling the fatigue from not crawling for a long while we found ourselves in the sump pool which leads to the boil up. Rob and I still savouring the breakthrough had a little lads moment here before before we eventually decided to head back out. We reached the junction of Vulgarious by 10:15 p.m. Vulgarious itself took 15 minutes to get through, then a further 30 minutes to exit the cave. Breaking surface around 11:00 p.m. after a quick wash we cracked open the beers and celebrated in style with an ice cold Hobgoblin.

Unfortunate that none of us had camera gear to capture any of this in real time, but only an after photo to show the emotion and the filth.

Another classic TAP trip in the bank and another one I'll never forget.