Frequently Asked Questions..and all the answers

Is caving for me?

Undertaking a proper caving trip is the best way to find out. It is a different experience to the tourist caves with concrete floors and big electric lighting! We occasionally organise easier trips or we can arrange them specially to give novices and the curious a chance to see what its all about! The Try Caving website carries more information on the subject.

Why go caving?

It could be a different answer from caver to caver - being able to get away from it all, seeing the formations, the sporting aspect or perhaps digging / exploring and going to places where nobody has ever been or even seen before (unclimbed mountains have usually been seen from planes and satellites!) Have a look in the gallery section of this website and see for yourself..

What clothing and equipment do I need to go caving?

To start with to see if you like it or not: some old clothes and boots/wellies, we might be able to provide an oversuit for you to wear (please enquire first) and the helmet and light can be hired for a few pounds from various caving shops. If you decide caving is for you then buying a fleece undersuit (shop around and try them all out) is the next step and buying an oversuit (again, numerous types are available). From there its just a case of buying what you need - like your own light and helmet, SRT kit etc - its a bit costly to start with but once you have all the gear it does last for a while.
Also look at the Fact Sheet

SRT and Ladders - what's it all about?

Ladders were originally the only way down pitches until SRT (Single Rope Technique) appeared, SRT involves a single rope down a pitch and is by far the most common means of descending pitches nowadays. One of the big differences is that with SRT you need to be competent and look after yourself when on the rope where as ladders involve you on the ladder and the person controlling the lifeline. We do still use ladders but normally only use them on short pitches up to 10m.

Where do you go caving? and How often?

Most of our caving is in the Yorkshire Dales (and surrounding area) we do also cave in other regions like South Wales, Peak District, Mendip. We also visit mines from time to time and these can be found all over - notable areas being North Pennines, North Wales, Peak & Lake Districts etc.
We organise numerous trips every year (around 40), take a look at the Log Book for an idea of how many trips we do and of what type.

How deep do you go?

Most of our usual caving/potholing is in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding areas and the depth of these is at best about 150m, however there is some good caving to be had that is less than 50m deep..

Is it not dangerous?

It would be wrong to say no as there are dangers present - you just have to be aware of them and know how to recognise them and with correct techniques and good judgement caves can be safe. Just because there are dangers present doesn't mean we should avoid it - there are many dangers present in normal everyday life and we all take the risks with them.. The Cave Rescue website carries information on rescues/callouts over the last 10 years or so - it shows quite well that accidents are not as common as people think.

Aren't caves really small and body sized? and will I get stuck in a tight squeeze?

Caves come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the body sized tubes to passages you could drive a bus down!
A lot of people do wonder if they will get stuck and most people don't! You would be surprised what your body can get through.

Do they fill to the roof with water?

A popular misconception about caves, yes there are some that are very flood prone and in sections will fill up to the roof and sump a section of passage. But there are also a number of all weather caves out there - its just a case of knowing which ones are which, this can be found out by asking members or reading guidebooks.

Why go digging, is there any point? and does the BRCC do any?

Good question, why spend hours, days, weeks, months visiting the same place and digging - sometimes in miserable places.. Well the drive of a caver to seek out the unknown is a strong one - finding formations, impressive passage or pitches - if the dig goes its worth it! If it doesn't, not to worry as the next one might do..
Most of our activities are sporting trips, but a small number of our members have an interest in exploration and have occasional digging trips - extra man(or woman)power always welcomed!

What's the difference between Black Rose - Pothole and Caving - Clubs?

The Pothole club was active from the late 50s until it disbanded in the late 70s. The caving club was born in 2001 and its members have become good friends with the older members of the pothole club. The members of the pothole club organise reunion dinners every year - Geds website carries information on those reunions along with a wealth of other information. There's a brief history of both flavours of club on this website.

Why does the club not like bureaucracy? Why no committee? Is this club different to others?

We are a caving club - nothing more nothing less. We would much rather be out caving than sat around having meetings and doing excessive paperwork.
If you think you need committees for a club to survive and to go caving we recommend you consider joining another club. Any problems arising (which is very rare) or anything which requires discussion will be dealt with by consulting everyone within the club (via our forum) not just a select few.
At the end of the day we all have a common goal regardless of how the clubs are run - to go caving, potholing, digging, photographing, etc..

Insurance : do we need it? I already have it via another club?

To be a member of the BRCC you need Public Liability Insurance, a small yearly fee which allows access to all caves and potholes in the UK.
Member of another club? You will need to be insured by either us or your other club, either provide us or the other club with the required details - you only pay once for insurance.

This website, problems reading and downloading, technical issues etc

The website is created mostly using HTML and CSS (certain browsers interpret CSS slightly different to each other so the display may not be 100% perfect, we do try to test as many variations as possible though). There is also occasional use of Javascript, although only a small number of pages utilise this. Technical and compatibility notes on the website
To access such things as: Membership Forms, Fact Sheets and an increasing number of our trip reports you need a PDF reader (Adobe and Foxit are a couple of common ones)