Cussey Pot

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Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 25 December 2021

Created: 25 December 2021

Hits: 1492

 Team: Joe, Luke, Rob

A rare Saturday trip, originally coined as the TA Christmas trip but the naming changed when Jon prioritised going away for Christmas instead of joining us. Also a rare but pleasant show for Luke, although he admits it’s probably his last trip for a few months due to work (and other questionable priorities). It felt strange meeting in the Cussey carpark at 10am in daylight and with a drum full of snacks and beer we headed down. The plan was to explore some of the more modern mine workings below which head over to the NW which were abandoned pre 1970. Some of this is many kilometres away from Cussey so it needs a full day to do it any justice.

As expected Loper Lust was horrific again but not quite enough to stop Luke going through so once passed I was excited that we would get the trip done. I’d previously visited some of these workings before during the Credit Crunch expeditions when we found Doom, but then we mostly just stomped through it all quickly rather than today’s plan which was to have a good look about. Heading north we passed a level off to the West which was giving the strong draught which goes up Cussey and continued (now with the draught) until we got to the massive shaft up to daylight, although to my surprise it was totally dark today. From here we carried on NW, now wading waist deep into a really strong wind which was getting me cold for sure. We found a blind side passage at the start of the big worked rift and settled down for some much welcome chocolate and beer.

Heading back to the main level the mine all of a sudden takes on a new and exciting change. Every 50m or so is a short level to the north which breaks into the worked vein. In places it is massive, totally massive! Some bits have a lake instead of a floor with the most crystal blue water I’ve ever seen and no end in sight. Others are so high that the roof cannot be seen. And some bits the vein is really wide, maybe 6m or so. Every cut through revealed a new exciting window. We were bouncing around like kids. 

A little further west the workings stepped over to the south side of the level and the proportions shrank slightly, although still very impressive in places. We reached a level to the south which the draught was coming up strongly but continued for now along the main line. After not long the way ahead was collapsed and totally blocked, apart from a small gap through boulders mostly filled with water. The air gap was seemingly being kept open by the wind which was creating impressive waves and spray. 

After a careful poke about we headed back to the southerly trending level and followed it to a T junction. The draught was going from right to left here so we headed west into it, exploring a level that was full of orangey crusty formations which we nicknamed Crème Brûlée passage. After quite a way we reached a dead end collapse under a high stope, the draught seemingly coming down from somewhere far above. The end of the road for today. 

Back to the T junction where we devised a theory that if we headed the other way it might be a shortcut back to the draughty level we passed ages ago, which is pretty close to Cussey. Joe made a quick decision and headed off east. Turns out this was a very bad call. 

Quite soon the floor got very sloppy with a smooth white sludge, which at first was inconvenient but soon became hard work. Once it got to above knee deep it actually became easier to crawl, being careful not to break through the light crust on top. This was hardest for the person at the back who had to plough through the other's wake. 

On we went, with only the hope it would end soon and the knowledge that it was getting deeper only by the fact that the roof was getting gently lower. After what seemed an eternity we reached a level heading off north but unfortunately this wasn't taking a draught and was blind. Also to our demise it was a small inlet, so the mud ahead was even more fluid. Luke bravely ventured forwards and quickly realised he was in too deep and fought his way back to me and Joe, who were waiting carefully by laying totally flatout. An executive decision was easily made and we reluctantly turned around. As expected the return was even harder. In places we were forced to pull ourselves along by the metal piping hung off the roof. It was desperate and fatigue was definitely kicking in. We all agreed it would indeed be possible to die here from exhaustion-induced drowning. What an adventure. 

With muscles burning and heart rates pumping, slowly the going got easier and our fears were replaced with a keen desire to get outta here. There were none of the frivolities of our inward trip just a determined trip straight to Cussey and out. Even the deep duck of Loper Lust was inviting compared to where we'd just been and soon we were all thankfully on the surface enjoying a beer in the drizzle.

After reviewing a survey since we probably made the right decision to turn around as the connection looks to be quite a bit further on from where we got. The scale of this mine complex is incredible and I'm sure there are still many more secrets to discover in there, not least where all the clean ladies are... 

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Written by: Ben Shannon

Published: 19 December 2021

Created: 19 December 2021

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Team: RobE, RobM, JonP, BenS

This was my second trip with the Eldon crew and as per tradition we met at the Miners for a pre-cave drink. Rob was a bit worried about Loper Lust being sumped based on the previous weeks water levels, but he reassured us he had numerous other back up plans.

As we approached the entrance to Cussey you could see the strong draft billowing at the trees and I felt the thermal top under my furry was going to be a good choice. Last one in I shut the hatch and slipped down the rope. The boys clearly were happy with my abilities from last time as I got to the bottom of the pitch alone. I remembered the route and its intricacies well and quickly caught up with Jon after posting myself down the vertical squeeze.

The four of us gathered at the bottom of Inglorious and ditched the SRT and headed for Loper Lust. Jon led the way in dubiously checking the water levels whilst holding his peli case up like a silver service waiter. The previous week's water had effectively turned Loper lust into a muddy slip and slide, and as it is a gently descending tube it was easy going. At the second steep bit Jon took some time eyeing up the water before ploughing through. I allowed myself to slide into the pool, turned my head side ways for the air space and promptly had a face full of water. My spare light lives on the side of my helmet and was pushing my face into the water. Drowning here would not do my chances of joining the club much so I unclipped and held the helmet out in front of me. Once that was off it was a pleasant albeit cold duck.

The going to the dig after this was fast and Jon and I sat for a while as the other two caught up. Rob appeared to be carrying a dairy milk chocolate bar, which actually turned out to be his phone that did not enjoy the submerging as much as we had. 1 press of the screen and about 7 million functions started occurring.

RobM coming through the wettest bit of Loper Lust, by RobE

We agreed on the same hauling system as before, so Rob headed into the dig first with me taking up the position in the cross rift, Jon on the corner and RobM at the back. I made a seat out of the spare dig tray to avoid being swallowed by the slop and began my job of hauling and switching trays.

After quite some time we switched positions to let Rob (Middleton) have a go at the dig face. I took up Jon’s position, which I must say, I was less of a fan of. It was an easier job which meant it was colder. Eventually we all got cold and decided to go and look around Doom. Good progress on the dig meant we all felt that it had been worthwhile.

Ben shifting buckets in Vulgarious Bastard, by JonP

I was excited as I had not been into Doom before, RobM expressed interest to go and look at a sump that he intended to dive and so we dropped down the ladder and made our way into Doom. We had gone from flat out crawls to huge walking passage, the whole nature of this place is different, with old mining artifacts lying around. We climbed up a rope to be greeted with a big drop into blackness. “Yeah don’t fall down there” Rob nonchalantly said as we traversed higher into the mine.

The entrance to Elastic Passage is interesting as it is a letterbox slot next to a waterfall above stacked deads so I was careful about my footing as I climbed into the slot. Rob and Rob leading the way up the streamway it was a mixture of hands and knees and flat out crawling. Behind me I could hear Jon, “no chance am I carrying bottles for you Rob” he has a point, this would have been hard work dragging diving gear along. Eventually we got to the sump. Rob Eavis decided to let Rob Middleton have a look first so that he didn’t silt it up as Jon and I headed back to get some photos.

Ben at the start of Elastic Passage, by JonP

Eventually the Robs returned. “what do you reckon then Rob?” I asked. “Yeah I’m not diving that” came the very unimpressed reply. That’s that then. However there are plenty of more leads to explore which I am looking forward to.

The good thing about Cussey is that no matter how cold you get, you will warm up on the way out. The ducks through Loper Lust did a good job at cleaning some of the slop off of my over suit, but I was still absolutely caked. (some people pay a lot of money for a mud bath so I wasn’t complaining)

Happy Ben, by JonP

One thing I learned last time, is never stand anywhere near the bottom of the Inglorious pitch whilst someone is on the rope, this includes the hand line. Standing well back with Jon, a large rock came flying down and hit with a loud crack. “You’re next” Jon said laughing.

The pitch following Inglorious is just plain awkward being in a narrow rift. Last time I prussicked like a frog but it was really hard work. This time I clipped my chest jammer on and climbed up as there are plenty of holds and was a really fun climb and much easier than silly prussicking.

The feature that I struggled with most last time was the vertical squeeze. Now I am good at squeezes, but with gear on I was getting trapped with my chest jammer or cowstails. This time I pushed myself as hard left as I could possibly go and managed to thrutch my way through. I was crying inside as I could hear all of my gear scrapping against the rock. (note to self, take the time to take the chest jammer off before ascending next time)

The final obstacle is the stemple climb in a tight rift (Coconut Airways). I still havent quite got the right technique right here because on reaching the second stemple I feel like I am missing foot holds. Lots of thrutching, wriggling and squeezing was working. I stopped for a breather and could hear my heart beat in the rift. Finally I managed a one arm muscle up to get my left foot jammed enough for some purchase and eventually freed myself.

The final pitch is effectively a steep slap with a back wall, so I clipped on the chest jammer and did my best Jonny Dawes impression to get out and avoid another prussick. Eventually my head popped out of the entrance shaft into the night.

Everyone was cold to the core, so we all piled into my van, I had set the heater to 24 degrees before we went underground, so we sat in beautiful warmth with post session drinks and Christmas cake. The conclusion to a fantastic trip.

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Written by: Jon Pemberton

Published: 09 December 2021

Created: 09 December 2021

Hits: 1809

 

We agreed to meet in the Miners for pre-beer and mainly to decide what the plan was. The drive over was horrific! Pooled and flowing water on most roads with a river flowing down Eyam Dale. We both laughed in the pub at how easy it would be to just stay there for another one but going underground got the better of us. We had an inclination after last week that Loper Lust could well be sumped especially after the last few days worth of rain. Luke had bailed (typical) so Black Draught was out of the equation as it's a one person dig and would be even more minging on a day like today. We concocted a plan to check LL to see how full it was and if passable we'd go for it, if not then we'd re-inspect the mine in Inglorious. 

Jon getting psyched

 

Luckily for us the rain eased slightly whilst we were kitting up. The Saltpan was booming which'd mean easy washing afterward if not getting swept off our feet! We wasted little time and bombed it down into the warmth of the cave. Rob did some gardening at the top of inglorious and once down I started to make my way to the pitch head, not long after he shouted up, "It's open!" - Brilliant. On descending I swung into a rift which was completely choked but needed ticking off. We had a quick look at a couple of places in the floor before dumping kit and only taking essential gear (distox). I made my way in first completely expecting to push through the crawl with one ear and eye above the water scraping the roof with my helmet but to my surprise water levels in LL were exactly the same as last week if not a bit lower. Now I was happy - Always a good trip with TAP.

 

We crawled through and made our way to the start of the Wet West Caverns to survey the mine level and chamber from last week. It wasn't long after stepping off the ladder that the walls started to reverberate! We edged closer and closer to the 12ft/waterfall pitch which was shouting out a deafening rumble! We turned the corner to find a brown, swollen, raging torrent thundering down the pitch no doubt coming from The Wet West sump. We bounced around buzzing at seeing the place like this whilst documenting it on Rob's phone (which he'd took through the LL crawl in a plastic bag which was already piss wet through) before stepping across the pitch and beginning the survey to the chamber. It didn't take long to reach the chamber which Rob was impressed with. After completing the survey we carried the old iron entrance ladder over to one of the leads in the roof. It only just reached and Rob kicked in a few good foot holes and crawled away for a few body lengths before reaching it was blocked to the roof. We both inspected the shaft above and agreed it'd require some pretty bomber bolts to get you across before ascending the shaft as the rock in the chamber is poor.

Normally dry, this was pumping today - by RobE

 

JonP accessing a lead in Star Chamber, by RobE

 

We returned to the bottom of the riser with it's awkward back and foot but just before ascending we had to check out the bottom of the pitch with it's thundering torrent. Rob started videoing and I shot off not wanting to remain in the waterfall for too long. He quickly followed completely saturating his phone in the process before we had a gawp down the pitch (we really need to rig this as an alternative descent). We made our way back and after surveying the blind level heading north we went for a quick look at how full the small connecting tube was, there was a small airspace but it wasn't worth getting wet for. 

 

 

We retraced our steps and our second objective for the night was to check out top level Doom and the possible LL continuation dig. Entered from the original breakthrough point (which I'd not done) we made our way back to LL and a crawled through the breakthrough constriction. It still baffles me how close the original exploration team were to accessing this stuff via multiple easy digs. A short crawl leads to a large airbell where Doom enters via a boulder shute from the left. Straight on the floor dropped away to a small airspace which is similar to the previous digs we've completed in LL and draughting outwards. We climbed up the boulder shute and Rob noticed a crawl heading right which he couldn't remember at all (10+ years ago). We followed said crawl which was caked in mud to a short muddy climb down. Luckily for us we could see the arse end of the LL continuation dig which concludes that one and was met with a body sized hole at the back end of the chamber to what looked like a ledge at the top of a pitch. I dropped down to the ledge and was amazed at how big this place was and it was mostly natural mined out. Rob joined me and recognised this section. Looking down the pitch we could see a Launder and stacking, a small iron track led across a big drop which was where Rob finally joined the dots. Turns out we were in the roof of the pipe caverns not far away from the climb up to Doom. We'd read about this recently in JSB's diaries and the whole place made sense. It was good to connect the two if not remember it from 10 years ago. Rob quoted a funny anecdote of him and Mark traversing over the iron beam to gain access to this ledge - must've been bonkers, I wouldn't have done it!

 

We made our way back to the Doom breakthrough point and clambered up over the boulders. I checked out a natural rift to the right which probably drops down to where we just were whilst Rob checked out a small crawl to investigate on the way out. I was utterly impressed by the dimensions of the place - ITS MASSIVE! A huge mine level stretching left and right with shit going off everywhere! and this was the top smallest section. We headed left towards where we originally thought we'd drop into via Cussey. We went right to the end collapse for a quick look which looked terminal. A small crawl along the left wall led to a stack of miners deads and after a short dig seemed voidy downwards to the left. This almost certainly links with where Rob was capping last week above the riser.

JonP climbing up into Pole Vault Level 

 

Mine pearls in Pole Vault Level, by RobE

 

We stomped back and Rob showed me a level heading off North which they'd not climbed into. We jokingly grabbed three pieces of miners track in the shape of a banana and placed them up the climb. I started to climb up towards the level which was about 6m from the floor. I reached a point where I felt in a rather exposed position. Rob said it right, might as well carry on up than fall to my death so I continued up the climb and worried about getting down until after. Once up I shouted down to Rob that the level continued. He quickly followed me up using the iron as a sort of pole vault stick! We walked up the level passing amazing flowstone and cave pearls before coming to a forefield after 20m where some candles were left on the wall. We made our way back to the climb and looked at the exposed traverse up to a rock bridge, we decided against this and Rob made the climb down look easy. I however fecked it up royally! I ended up using the pole vault method and then used the fireman's pole method until I was safely on the ground. Once both safely on the floor we chuckled to ourselves over the stupidity/severity of the situation we could've been in!

 

Rob showed me another lead of similar nature heading back towards Cussey which we left for a another trip. We stomped back towards our entry point and continued towards the Temple of Doom. We reached a large whole in the floor which requires a bold traverse around the left wall with no hand holds which reminds me of the front cover of Alex Honnold's book - Alone on the wall! Once over the other side we entered a large chamber with 3 connecting holes on the left wall, the last one is rigged which is the original way to the rest of Doom. We then retraced our steps and a climb down in the large hole with the traverse leads to an exposed climb down and a short traverse to Cherticle Aven which was howling down with rain, again another trip for another day.

 

Once back up the exposed climb we made our way back to the Doom entry point/boulder shute. Rob checked out his bouldery crawl which turned out to be just a large airbell filled with deads. Content with tonights trip we headed out and without hiccups made our way to surface. Washing off in the Saltpan was amazing and all we had to do was clip our SRT kits to the grille and leave them for a minute or so. We sat in my van drinking our celebratory Hobgoblins, elated after another TAP trip in the books. 

 

Gotta be up there as a solid contender for the top 5 trips of the year!

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Written by: Jon Pemberton

Published: 03 December 2021

Created: 03 December 2021

Hits: 2032

Team TOJ; Rob, Jon & "Souless" Joe Buck.

We sat in the Miners and discussed plans for tonight. Due to only having 3 we were not venturing into our sloppy new dig now named "Vulgarious Bastard" or Vulgarious for short, tonight was to be a clean night, an easy night...

We were to check out the lead from last week - a continuation of the mine level above the Waterfall Pitch heading NW. The waterfall pitch was the original entry to this wet West series back in the late 80's but it appears as though the original explorers we're dead set on pushing the natural rather than mincing about in the old mine workings, that and the rather bold step to access it. A quick look at the survey revealed the mine workings to lay very close to the mine workings heading off in a similar direction in Inglorious. - could this be another route into the WW series if Loper Lust were to sump?

We wasted little time and made our way to Inglorious. Rob shot off front to grab some tools from Draught Black and Joe and I made our way and started to place some bolts for a handline traverse over the bold step atop the waterfall pitch. We were soon back together and Rob jumped across and finished bolting the other side. A short stooping level reaches a pitch down and a 2m x 1.5m rectangular shaft up, approx 5m high in poor rock and clay (some humongous bore holes remain at the bottom which were possibly used for a platform at some point). Rob and I climbed up and jointly rigged a handline for the climb which doubled up as a rope for the lower pitch too. Joe came up and Rob made his way up the corkscrew to dig the boulder blockage. Dithering around waiting made no sense so we jumped back down the pitch and started to explore below.

=EASY PICKINGS=

Joe traversed across the pitch first and I followed. It seemed a fairly bold move as we're all fairly short and the shaft below is in similar dimensions to the one above. From here we continued NW along an old level which gave an amazing echo. This continued for approx 20m to a forefield with more modern workings. A climb led off to the west but crapped out in solid. On the way back we noted that at a certain point the level almost resembled a coffin level and the miners old clog prints could still be seen in the mud floor which was pretty neat. We retreated back I inspected a short dodgy climb near the entrance, this crapped out to the NW but running back SE a crawl over boulders led to another corkscrew heading down and west but not pushed.

I climbed back down and traversed over the shaft back to the bottom of the pitch where Rob was. I could hear him capping above and Joe descended the pitch below first. Again a bold descent and even scrappier climb back up. SE this leads back to the bottom of the waterfall pitch, we followed this under the waterfall to reach a spectacular pitch looking down which we'll bolt down one day as an alternative route to the lower series. NW a short duck under led to a further corkscrew heading down and west. The whole place was dry as a bone and the air was pretty stagnant! Down and down we spiraled passing lovely picked out workings to a small climb down between stemples. This led to a further corkscrew passage comfortable in size (walking/stooping) to a large shaft approx. 2m in diameter and loads of large stemple's supporting it. The whole place looked like it was crumbling in on itself probably because of how dry it was. It kind of reminded me of a large sandstone choke we found in Matienzo which was terrifying and this place felt the same.

Joe peered over the edge of the shaft. It wasn't deep but you'd hurt yourself if you fell (about 6-8m) just beyond and underneath a stemple which appeared to be bearing one of the walls was a huge enticing black space! I edged around the shaft and reached a col between the shaft and a large chamber. Here a 2m iron ladder led down to the floor of the chamber. Joe traversed across and I asked him if he thought it was safe before kicking the top rung and climbing down. Joe quickly followed after taking a quick snap on Rob's phone which he had for some reason and we explored the large chamber finding only 2 leads to poke. One a climb up a mud wall to a small crawling sized black hole as seen in the photo. Two a hole (possible shaft) in the roof which I wouldn't even shake a stick at due to the nature of the place because bolts are definitely not going to hold you in here!

We made our way back to Rob after scrapping up the pitch on the hand-line. Rob sounded like he had a fun time by himself digging along side the large boulder blocking the way on. He managed to get through without capping but unfortunately the passage ended shortly after in boulders. He then removed said rocky ready for if/when it needs digging properly for the connection. We surveyed back to the main drag and made our way back through a rather aqueous Loper Lust which means we need an alternative connection for the winter months!