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Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

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Report by Jules Barrett

Titan to Peak via Speedwell - Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Clive Hockenhull (EPC), Jim Lister (EPC), Toni Murphy (EPC), Sam Pemberton (EPC), Leann Rennie (EPC), Tam Rennie (EPC), Sharon Abbott (YSS), Bernie Maddison (EPC), Julian McIntosh (EPC), Gary Noble (YSS), Ann Soulsby (TSG), Colum Walsh (EPC), Colin Woodley (EPC)
J.H. To Peak via the White River Series - Cavers: Dunka (EPC), Pete Pollard (EPC), Jase Rider (EPC), Nige Strong (EPC)
Down J.H. -> Ride of the Valkyries -> Up Titan - Cavers: Dan Hibberts (EPC), Bob Toogood (EPC), Sam Townsend (EPC)
Down J.H. and Up Titan - Cavers: Jim Alder (OCC), Jon Pemberton (EPC), Clive Westlake (EPC), James Wood (EPC)
Peak entrance to Speedwell/JH/Titan - Bog Bergmann (EPC), Geoff Knight (EPC), Steve Norman (EPC), Jim Thompson (EPC)

I'd got an idea that a few of the Eldon were keen to do a variety of trips in the Far Sump Extension and Peak Cavern and suggested Saturday 17th of January at an EPC monthly meeting. Moose and Nick Williams kindly obliged with making the key available and we started to think about numbers. In the end we had twenty nine cavers in six groups doing a variety of trips and it all started to look quite complicated with teams entering and exiting by different routes and crossing over in the Far Sump Extension. We wanted to minimise the amount of time that people would be waiting around so teams would enter at different times. Bob Dearman contacted me the previous weekend suggesting that Clive Hockenhull who's a founder member of the Eldon fancied doing the Titan to Peak trip. Clive hasn't caved much for about thirty years and Titan to Peak at seventy two years of age would be a good effort! Plenty to think about then and the previous weekend a few of us rigged J.H in preparation. Titan was rigged on the Friday morning and we were ready to go.

Arrived at the TSG at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and people started arriving. Martyn Grayson and Ann Soulsby at the TSG were a great help with collecting day fees for the hut and Peak fees. Wayne Sheldon offered to have a look at the level of the water coming out of Peak and despite some overnight rain the water was still relatively low. We had a quick briefing session at about 8:45 a.m. and our group of seven drove up to the parking for Titan. Opened the lid and descended. SamP descended first and I went down to wait on the Event Horizon. Clive, Leann, Tam and Toni came past with no problems at all and finally Jim and I descended to the bottom. All very smooth and didn't take long either. Once at the bottom of Titan we made our way down through the famous Titan choke and into AI passage. After stepping up out of there we bumped into the J.H. to Titan team almost immediately in Stemple Highway. Continued to the bottom of J.H. where we took SRT kits off and had a bit of food. Started the climb down through the boulder piles and met Bog's team who were on the way up. Bog and Jim fancied spending a bit more time around here and went to have a look at the Miner's Toast etc. in Speedwell. Geoff and Steve joined up with our group whilst SamP went to the Miner's Toast with Bog and Jim. Our group headed downstream in the Speedwell streamway past Pit Props Passage to arrive at the top of the Bung. Plenty of water going down the ladder today and we all got pretty wet. Continued downstream past Block Hall to pick up the Dry Bypass and eventually arrive at the bottom of the fixed ladders at Egnaro Aven. Up the ladders and then the long crawl along the Trenches, Liam's Way and Colostomy. Eventually we emerged at Treasury and through the cave to the downstream end of Buxton Water Sump. Here we washed off and made our way through the showcave and out to the TSG. A superb trip (I'd only done it in the other direction before) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

By the time we got to the TSG Pete, Dunka, Nige and Jase were already in the pub as were the J.H. to Titan team. The other Titan to Peak team arrived about an hour after us and Bog's team not long after that. Jim Lister and I got a lift up to the Titan parking with Jim Alder and they went to shut the lid and lock up at J.H. We could see lights on the surface at Titan so I walked over to help Sam, Dan and Bob carry the Titan rope back to the car. Titan lid got locked at 5:00 p.m. at the end of a superb days caving!

Details

Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

Hits: 4300

Report by Jon Pemberton

Cavers: Jon Pemberton (EPC), Sam 'Dervish' Pemberton (EPC), James 'Jams' Wood (EPC).

After postponing this trip from the 25^th of December we eventually got around to descending the shaft thirteen days later on a freezing Tuesday eve. Midway through December I had contacted John Beck who had kindly sent me a written article by Bill Whitehouse and survey (J.S.Beck, N.J.D.Butcher) from when the “Fireset Shaft” had been excavated in 1982.

We had decided to drop the shaft on SRT, unknown of when the last person had been down there and how stable it would be on ladders. (The 50ft deep shaft consists of two solid walls leaving the other two stacked ginged to the bottom.) Dervish and I had found the capped entrance on the 25^th December on a surface exploration of the area. The entrance lies in a hollow directly across from Flower Pot, above the lay-by on the opposite side of the road. We had to clear four inches of leaves and scree but upon opening the lid a howling draught emitted from the shaft and it was bloody warm for Christmas day!

After heating up above the shaft on the Tuesday evening Jams rigged using a metre long scaff bar backed up to a nearby tree. Our 19m rope only just reached the bottom of the finely re-stacked shaft (EEG). Jams descend first followed by myself then Dervish with the classic, “HEADS UP!” Followed by, “it weren’t me!?” – Yeah right!

A short side-step at the bottom of the Shaft lands you with a 4m climb into a stope (careful not to touch the Stacked on your right.) Left leads over rubble for 10m to a dig in the floor deemed too tight. Right drops underneath the stacked deads and gives access to a very narrow level with soot coated walls, which has been driven by the old method of firesetting i.e. without the use of explosives (one of the very few examples where evidence of this method still exist in Derbyshire.) the level ascends for a tight few metres towards the end of the level ending in a crawl underneath stacked deads to a cross rift with an internal 20ft deep shaft. A climb down using rotting stemples leads you to the final dig with very restricted stacking space. The climb down passes three backfilled firesetting levels. The draught is meant to continue through the bottom of the shaft in a choke although we managed to lose it today in the final cross rift.

We all managed to ascend the entrance shaft without knocking the scaff bar down on top of us. Overall the trip only took us about and hour but it’s very interesting to us anyway with the final dig being only 50ft away and10ft higher than clog passage in the Dynamite series, beyond Porth Crawl. The continuation could possibly connect the two although the Fireset Shaft consists of many stacked deads and could easily move with little temptation. Although trying to push up the very narrow fireset level with SRT gear on is a pretty bad idea especially if you're “Dervish” size.

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Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

Hits: 5267

Report by Jon Pemberton
Cavers: Jon Pemberton (EPC), James Wood (EPC).

“Only small amounts of work have been undertaken in Ivy Green cave mainly by SUSS members during the sixties and early seventies. The cave received little attention until 19^th May 1974 when Mark Noble, Kevin Wild and Brian Commander undertook a recce trip, returning the following weekend to dig through a tight squeeze extending the cave to its current length of 225m. Work was then abandoned, although the cave appeared to continue beyond the heavily calcited cross rift although if digging persevered, the cave would probably connect to the high level second remnant complex of the Carlswark Dynamite series.” 'Classic Caves of the Peak District’ – Ian Barker.

Us being intrigued by the Stoney system (especially the Carlswark Dynamite Series) after a quick chat with Mark Noble up in The Miners Arms in Eyam, we decided Ivy Green was well overdue a trip. We reached the big lay-by opposite Lovers Leap at just gone 7:00pm. It was pouring down with rain so we hastily kitted up and legged it to the entrance. After about 18 attempts! we managed to hook a rung of the ladder over a limestone ‘nubbin’. A quick traverse followed into the cave entrance.

The main passage is pretty big for the first 20-30 metres or so then turns into a hands and knees crawl. A quick climb over a roof fall and you reach a walking sized passage which continues for about 7-10 metres to a flat-out crawl followed by the first squeeze. Now this really does remind me of a passage at the bottom of Fall’s Chamber in the Dynamite Series, which requires a push up over flowstone and back down the other side…though you really have to push your arse through including James (Beaver – the skinniest caver about.)

After the squeeze you continue through another flat-out passage until you reach a cross rift. From here you continue through the second constriction (flat-out) through a puddle of static water. After getting wet you follow your nose through a small chamber until you reach another flat-out which leads to the final squeeze to the calcited choke. (A huge stal boss and loads of flowstone.)

The passage beyond the second squeeze is highly decorated in a Stoney kind of way so be careful and if you wish to see the final choke and you’re in a group beware no more than one person can turn around in the end!

After reaching the end we stop-motioned our way back to the entrance passage where James waited while I went for a quick gander down the second passage leading off to the right that is said to draught towards the mine level underneath. After a few minutes I scurried back and we scaled back down the ladder and ran to the river to wash our kit off where I lost an elbow pad and got caught in a drain. Out by 9.15pm. – Fun times had by all!