Thursday night saw me (Josh G), Jon and Jim heading to Eldon Hole after a long break from caving.
I arrived first on the scene and, after being told off for parking in the wrong place, found myself standing on the side of Eldon Hill. The sun was setting, sheep were baaing, and green hills rolled away into the distance. A beautiful sight. Twenty minutes later, Jon's big red van came bounding up the hill like it was searching for the nearest school, disturbing the peace.
I suited up, expecting to head straight for the cave, but instead spent the next 30 minutes waiting for a photoshoot for Jim’s LinkedIn. Once that was finally over, we set off up the hill, discussing local legends surrounding the hole, including the tale of a goose that supposedly fell in and later emerged from Peak Cavern with its wings singed off.
Soon enough, we were standing at the edge of Eldon Hole itself. The 80-metre-deep chasm is quite a sight, and it also seemed like the perfect place to test my second-hand SRT kit for the very first time. There's something about a huge black hole that makes you need to know what's at the bottom of it, a privilege I was soon about to enjoy.
Jon rigged the north pitch and Jim set off first. I received a quick refresher course in SRT before following behind. The first section consists of a series of steep slopes descending a narrow, muddy passage. Eventually, this leads to a ledge decorated with wild garlic (with a powerful smell) and sheep bones.
After a short traverse to the edge of the ledge came the main event: a rebelay leading into a 65-metre free-hanging drop into the abyss.
Jon disappeared over the edge and, after waiting for him to rig the rebelay, it was my turn. Jim talked me through the setup. I always feel safe when Jim's big arms are nearby. After triple-checking everything on my new stop descender, off I went. Dropping into that enormous black crevasse instantly became a new core memory.
I reached the rebelay, with Jon talking me through it from below, before finally touching down at the bottom of the hole. The floor consisted of rocks and rubble, thrown down over the centuries by curious passers-by. In one corner stood a fenced-off ladder leading further into the darkness. However, I wasn't alone… A small crow was also sitting at the bottom.
We'd been hearing its caws echoing around the hole all evening and had finally found the culprit. It was pretty obvious the poor thing was trapped. Jim and Jon soon joined me and, being the severe empaths they are, immediately set about rescuing it.
Jim calmly stuffed the crow into his bag before beginning the long journey back to the surface, while Jon and I continued down the ladder into the chamber below.
The chamber is seriously impressive, a cavern roughly 20 × 15 × 40 metres, with countless stalactites decorating the walls. Another ladder stood in one corner, descending into the dig site where, apparently, ancient human remains were discovered a few years ago. There is also a route onwards into further chambers high above the floor via additional pitches.
After another photoshoot, this time for my LinkedIn, we headed back to reunite with Jim and his new pet, which was patiently waiting inside the bag. The prusik back to the surface was long and painful for me after months of doing virtually no exercise. At least it gave me the wake-up call I needed, and I've since started running and going back to the gym. No doubt I'll soon be deadlifting more than Jim.
Eventually, we emerged out of the hole where it had now become dark outside. Jim attempted to release the crow but unfortunately, the fledgling had grown rather attached to its newfound father figure and refused to let go of his arm.
Long story short, Jon ended up taking it home because Jim has a cat. The following morning he delivered it to a wildlife sanctuary, so it's safe to assume the crow is now living it large and has a happier life than the slow death it faced at the bottom of Eldon Hole.
I'd call that successful trip.
Jim and his new son