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Written by: Jon Pemberton

Category: Moorwood Sough

Published: 22 July 2024

Hits: 784

Just Joe and I for this evening's festivity. Finally, we made our way back to the bolt climb in victory level. We had left this for some time and I was itching to get back. That and wanting to do some more SRT pre-Albania.

Unfortunately, Joe had not remembered victory level very well and only brought a furry suit. Once I jogged his memory he assured me he would be okay as he was to be taking on the climb.

We made our way over to the lid in sweltering heat and quickly abseiled to the stream below. Victory level starts off knee deep before eventually going neck deep with potential to get your ear wet. I could tell Joe was cold by the noises he made on this section. 

Ones out of the water. We made it our way through the dig and up the sketchy handline climb towards the wheelbarrow which marks the base of the climb. The dick at the top of the first climb had collapsed and we had to dig a new way through which was easy after pushing some boulders out of the way. Another sketchy climb cum jump down the other side led to the large chamber with the wheelbarrow at the far end. 

Stepping over the wheelbarrow we placed all our gear out and started to kick Joe up to climb. Fully weighted down. He managed to bridge across a large drop to place the first bolt high up. He used approximately 10 bolts to gain the top of the climb roughly 12 m above the floor. From here the level went back on itself through a couple of constrictions passing a deep hole in the floor to eventually meet a rubble slope which led to A very fresh feeling choke.

Surely this must be close to surface and will be great once surveyed to see whereabouts it sits.

We made our way back out passing on the free dive option. And gladly got back to the 80 m Shaft to surface. Exiting about 11:00 p.m. 

Job done, box ticked. On to the next one.

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Written by: Jim Thompson

Category: Moorwood Sough

Published: 11 November 2022

Hits: 1280

Team:  Jim T, Sam P, Jon P

A busy couple of weeks had caused me to miss the recent exploration of Victory Level so I was excited to get down there and see what the gang had uncovered. Quick meet in the Miner’s to discuss leads and so on and we headed down to the shaft in an evening so warm that only the darkness of the early hour gave a clue that it’s November.

Jon had already opened the lid of Cliffstile and was on the rope so it wasn’t long until I was sitting on the edge trying to haul up enough of the rather economically rigged rope to load my rack. An airy dangle off the edge later I was creeping down the rope. A bit of up-and-down with the right hand speeded things up nicely, the rebelays were no trouble, and I began to hear the distant rumble of the sough.  

Victory Level is a branch off Moorwood Sough just downstream from the entry point. Very different to the sough, being a tall, uncapped rift, with a deep layer of clay in the bottom, no turbulence and some very deep water. Initially the going was a bit challenging as I sank into the clay, all the while feeling like it would be quite easy to get stuck or lose a welly, so as cold as the water was, it was a relief to get deeper and begin to float, enabling big strides. I’d come armed with a neoprene hood and expecting a duck, and before long an arched roof appeared, reducing the height to not much more than the surface of the water. Miners have helpfully left a bar sticking out of the wall just here so it’s a perfect place to hang a helmet whilst pulling on a hood. Jon headed through to the other side and I followed, trying to keep my head to one side and out of the water but finding that it was far nicer and easier to stick my face in and keep moving for the few seconds it took to reach the other side.

Beyond this point the roof lowers significantly and presents the option of a quick duck, or a slightly awkward climb/squeeze off to the side, which Sam had already opted for, and still feeling quite warm and not ready for a wet back yet I followed him to the last bit of the level where the water rises silently from the floor.

Into the workings, I waited while Jon and Sam dug out a boulder from the initial squeeze, slightly disappointed I wouldn’t be able to try it as-was but not protesting. With stuff going off in all directions I just blindly followed Jon as Sam headed off to dig elsewhere, and joined him atop a sporting climb and watched his wellies as muck tumbled down the way we came.

In short order he announced the familiar disappointment cry of ‘boulders’ and we climbed back down to hear Sam making his way back with the same story.

With that we head into the impressively sized ‘pipe caverns’ and onward to the room at the end. In here is amazing. The shell bed is like nothing I’ve seen before, massive crinoids hang in the roof and are so precisely, deeply ribbed as to look like bits of plastic pipe rather than ancient plant fossils. Pockets of sharp dog tooth spar adorn the spots where fossils don’t, and it’s all great to see.

The floor in here is also like nothing I’ve ever seen. Underneath the mud is a layer of pure white, soft and very fine ‘fudge’ that I can only assume is the result of whatever came down the road from the lagoon breach that ran down Farnsley Lane and through Stoney… the presence of calcified, and fairly recent, plant roots and an intermittent noise that can only be traffic on the road above, suggest that we’re very close to surface here.

Back to the pipe cavern, Jon is keen to get some decent photos and immediately assumes a severe diva role, directing Sam with the flash whilst I pose heroically… Fortunately the tension is broken as conversation turns to the choice of crispy treat Sam has waiting for us back the the truck… at which point he asks ‘do you remember Puffs?’…. a lengthy and serious debate / argument ensues as Sam describes this mythical snack… I suggest that they sound rather like Piglets but no, definitely not Piglets they were called Puffs…. By this point I’m almost crying with laughter and Jon isn’t impressed… even less so when he discovers that the best set of photo he’s ever taken is ruined by Sam’s legs being visible in every frame… all this standing around after the period of laying on the floor in the shell chamber has suddenly made us very cold, but we must bravely get ready for another series of posing and ‘just one more’ as Sam gets bollocked for not holding the flash in the right place. Eventually, either Jon has had enough or we’re all worried about hypothermia so we make a rapid exit… Back in the level the flow has rendered the water crystal clear and I go first to enjoy the spectacle… Jon does the duck and I shoot off, keen to get on the rope and back to the crisps and warmth of the van.

The prusik back up Cliffstile seems interminable. The steam filling the shaft means it’s impossible to see the distance to the rebelay and my legs feel tired… I have to stop after the first one as I feel really desensitised and my ears are boiling as I never bothered to remove my neoprene hood…. Senses restored and a bit of fresh air round my head makes me feel better and the second rebelay passes with ease… eventually the air freshens up and I reach the lid… a far easier climb out than the precarious dangle in, and it’s a lovely breezy night, pleasantly warm, so I lay down on the grass with my lamp off and just enjoy being outside feeling almost like summer again.

As a faintly lit plume of steam rises out of the shaft, Sam isn’t far behind and we leave Jon to it and head back to the village to see what treats are in store and answer life’s most pressing question.

The answer is ‘Potato Puffs’ and we know we can sleep now that’s settled.

Sam’s ‘Hot Wings Blaze’ crisps are far less benign than I assume Potato Puffs to be, and know Piglets to be, and in spite of burning lips and choking we demolish the whole bag in seconds….

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Written by: Rob Eavis

Category: Moorwood Sough

Published: 10 November 2022

Hits: 1435

Team A: JonP, SamP, JoeB

Team B: DylanK, RobE

I was away last week so was keen to see what they had found down in Victory. Luke and Neptune joined us for pre-beers in the Miners, especially as it was supposed to be a monthly meet but we knew us cavers wouldn't be out in time.

Team A descended Cliffstile first and were gone by the time I got to the bottom. Their plan was to go rig some handlines and get some photos of last week's discoveries, whilst me n Dylan began the long and cold(!) job of surveying all of Victory Level, starting from Moorwood Sough. This was made all the more tricky as there was lots of rain a couple days ago, leaving only 4 inches of airspace in the lowest sections. We eventually got to the end and i was glad to be out of the water. My 2mm wetsuit is ok for Cussey but for sustained wet periods like that it was not enough.

Joe Buck in the breakthrough dig, by JonP

As we start surveying the dry workings i'm impressed with the size of the worked stope here, over 3m wide in places. Dylan does a good job of survey station finding and we quickly arrive at their dig. It's snug still but easily passable. Beyond the passage opens up again and heads in all directions, stuff going off everywhere. Dylan lights up with enthusiasm as he recounts discovering this last week. A few survey stations later and I light up too, this place is mega! The mined passage breaks out into a phreatic, walking-sized passage, adorned with a deeply cracked mud floor. A very cool discovery. It's hard to be sure but I think this is actually a pipe vein, maybe.

Sam and Joe in the main passage, by JonP

We survey off down various passages, some natural some mined, and note some excellent looking, draughting digs. Thin, calcified roots hang from fossil filled ceiling in places, suggesting Stoney Dale is not too far above.

Joe Buck admiring some thin roots, by JonP

We then survey a different direction and bump into the others who were returning from photographing an awesome wooden wheelbarrow. I was glad a couple climbs now had handlines on and soon we were at the end; a pitch down into more workings which eventually reaches back into the sough. Both me and Dylan had a go at freeclimbing down it, so we could survey the full loop, but it was too loose and slippery to do safely.

One of the handlined climbs, by JonP

We therefore headed back, unfortunately just as the others had finished their photoing, meaning that they were ahead of us to go up Cliffstile first. We therefore hung out, finished a few more bits of surveying, then slowly made out way out. Well earnt tea and medals (beer and crisps) back at the cars.

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Written by: Dylan Kocher

Category: Moorwood Sough

Published: 28 October 2022

Hits: 1406

Typical Thursday night caving with a drink in the miner's arms. Walking in Jon is showing surveys to Sam for the upcoming trip as we wait for Luke to join us, a rare occasion of recent but glad to see him back in for some proper peak district potholing. The conversation about last Saturday's trip with joe and rob deciding to test the patience of their life insurance policy with cussy's sump rendered our trip away from the efforts towards the master cave and into victory level. A mine that has previously been sumped so unexplored apart from an early dig in the 90s. Being the youngest I showed this through the slow enjoyment of my Peroni holding the group back from the commencement of the trip taking in the warmth of the miner's arms. Although I made up for this by gearing up in such a timely fashion that the boys hadn’t even thought about putting suits on when I appeared in full kit with ready to go. I paced from car to car spotting any major differences to find Sam in a colorful warm back wetsuit vividly unused ready for breaking in with perhaps stretching out as it was nearly a second skin. Luke kindly bestowed the drill box upon me and we made out to Cliffstile shaft a casual ten minute walk from our cars. The 80m of cliffstyle shaft contains decently spaced two re-belays whilst not realizing if my voice would carry, I shouted absurdly loud to the boys that the rope was free and carried down the second pitch. My new micro rack ensured good, controlled fall down the shaft. A fun but somewhat dubious descender on fast ropes allowing for a quick appreciation of the walls formed by the miners. Quite an endeavor on their part when taking into account the depth and age it was built evidencing the raw grit people from the miners.

Reaching the bottom of Cliffstile I maneuvered around the signature steel barrel into Morewood sough quickly joined by Luke who informs me of Sam getting stuck on the last rebelay on the previous trip into cliffstlye. Now with Jon down we start to wonder how Sam is getting on and with a quick check back into the shaft Sam has indeed gotten stuck. Once all down we continue our trip to victory level a muddy stream that threatens to take the wellies from your feet. Luckily, I found out once the passage stooped to a crawl that the drill box floats an added feature that meant I could guide it along with little consequence giving more stabilization. The suff then drops into a relatively deep section where the walls reflect the ripples of the water below. It is hard not to appreciate this and on a sporting trip I would. Although it is only through reflection that it now does strike me as a consequence of the pace we move as this is no sporting trip there are clear goals in mind. Only a bit further you reach a low passage is considered a duck although more like a dive when experienced. The boys are able bypass this section to the left through a little crawl but egg me on as usual to do the dive. Admittedly it does not take much talking or pushing to get me to do this or anything. Once Sam gets on the other side so I can see the light as the end through a slim hole not sumped at the top Jon is under the impression that I should do it as a “Proper Caver” and go through on my back and try to keep my face in the air gap. Because I am a “Proper Caver” I did as told and ended up foot in breathing only in water douching my system of that nonsense and backed out where I just ended up fully diving it removing the semantics. A very easy dive in comparison to my other experiences although always adding a bit of adrenaline to the trip. Once surfaced two timber supports, must be climbed over although rotting and any climbing acts like kicking clay. Jon and Luke split from myself and Sam to bolt climb an enticing aven whilst I am led a bit further down the victory level another 80m or so to the dig at the left of a t junction. Sam jumps in while I start asking numerous questions on how it drafts if it looks good and so on… In what seems to be an effort to shut me up he allows me to have a look and have the first pick at it. This works, to say the least and I squeezed into an angled crawl large enough to mobilize your crowbar and pick the mud away from the hole. The dig itself is a hole about the size of a medium melon enticing a vacant space behind it much bigger than our current space to say the least. After shoveling what must have had been five minutes my incredibly keen manner prematurely opted to push through. With my helmet off I pushed up into the squeeze to no avail and cleared some more space now able to squeeze my upper body through determined to succeed through a much smaller space than needed if just dug for longer. With my arms deployed on the other side, I hacked with the crowbar towards my legs to clear my pelvic region. My right knee was being convinced by the dig that it needed to bend in an inverted manner as if I was a flamingo. A final shove and I was through Sam suggesting that it would’ve been easier to take my harness off but I am lazy and whatever I got this far.

SamP in Victory Level, by JonP

 Now on the other side I opened from the other side whilst containing the excitement from what lay beyond me. “Hellooo” Jon calls from behind Sam with an absence from Luke. Wondering where he is Jon then shines light stating that Luke had to leave In a dire emergency. He had to poop. Too bad as he was going to miss the success of our effort but when you got to go and so on. Next Sam attempts to push forcing his body through although needed to dig throughout the push manages to squeeze through now just for Jon. I must say it was hard not to just run off and explore but to wait in what seemed to be forever to open the dig in a more sizeable and accessible manner for future trips. Jon opting for a front crawl through enters the junction into a room about to 2m in height with a section to the left and an obvious passage straight on with the dig. Both about a meter across with plenty of room to move. Excitedly I go to explore straight on entering a t junction with an open passage to the left and right, the ground previously flooded with mud we opt to go right. To my wonder roots hang down from the ceiling stating that the surface is not as far as one would perceive from the entrance of the cliffstile shaft. The right narrows into the ceiling ending with a crawl that needs digging although John finds a perpendicular passage on the left wall rising above the mud into a chamber on the other side of the dig bypassing it completely. From there a chamber of about decent stature leads into a crawl with a definite draft needing to be dug on a future trip. The ceiling is covered in crustaceans with tree roots that have been crystalized into what seems like straws from age. Backing out I jump into a small tunnel that has been blasted by miners of old and crawl about 15m to the end where the right and left passages both end in digs with the left being covered in orange dust. On the ground, Jon spots life! A small centipede how nice.

 Now going left from our initial right, we walk down a sizable chamber that leads up into a midlevel section of the mine. This route leads directly back in a round trip to our initial breakthrough dig. The ceiling has avens all throughout that are inaccessible through free climbing however with further exploring down the passage we find a room that allows access to the upper series of the mine but is intimidating to climb as there are old wood supports holding numerous boulders in suspension. Sam not opting to crawl underneath it to push the boulder off ascends the right side while I carefully crawled under. Jon moves out of the way, and I empty the kettle bottom and free climb up into the upper level.  Once all up we find that the havens that needed bolt climbing are now below us having climbed far enough up the lowest passage of the mine upper series. A haven leads to a completely blind roof but where Sam is situated a hole drafts incredibly. I shout and do my best grouper grunt and hear spacious vibrations on the other side. It is exciting enough that I checked my Casio F-91 showing it's only 9:40 so plenty of time to continue. Sam opts to dig and tries not to undermine the boulders situated to the right. Once through we emerge into the biggest chamber yet with 30m scaling off now facing parallel with victory level heading back towards Morewood stuff. The only obstacle is a 3m drop onto boulders to reach it. Worrying about being able to climb back up we do it anyway because we are Eldon, and we do sketchy stuff like that. Once down we reach the end of the passage and go into a continuation to the right and realize in disbelief that we have found the bolt climb that Jon and Luke started the night on making a complete round trip from one side of victory level to the end. Turning around Sam states “Check that out” and a brilliant old wheelbarrow and shovel are stationed on a passage leading back. This is truly photogenic and can’t wait till the photos are taken with mine surveyed. All in all, it was time that we should be heading out and, making our way back to the initial dig breakthrough only prevention being the 3m drop we nonchalantly jumped down with hands-on asses Jon gets Sam up the climb then we form footholds out of the mud wall to help the accent. Back through the dig entrance under the sump/duck of victory level and out the brutal 80m pitch of cliffstile, it is fair to say we had an overly successful night settling our stomachs with some pepperoni pizza Doritos. I believe we walked and climbed 130m of new mine for cavers and will be great to see where it goes with Eyam keeping us hooked as usual. I never saw Luke after the dive I wonder where he performed his ablutions.

Dylan Kocher

Well deserved post-cave snacks