Saturday - 13th October 2007
People present - Pete Dale, Rob Santus, Mike Skyrme

Weather: Misty and murky
Cave: Small, but large..

With Duncan not being allowed out it was down to me and Rob to decide a trip for Saturday as Mike was taking a novice through Great Douk. During the week various ideas popped up and then vanished with the exception of one, that being Robs choice of Large Pot ‘Red Herring Series’. Why not I thought to myself and promptly signed myself up for the trip.

Saturday arrived all to soon and waking up suddenly I realised it was not my alarmed 7am call but 8.30am, “bollocks!” I thought “I’m late” so quickly chucking whatever clothes I could find on I raced around ‘Quietly’ gathering my kit chucked it in the car and raced off to meet Rob. Arriving only 30mins late I swiftly transferred to Rob's car and we headed off to Masongill.

When we arrived at Masongill Mike was already changed and sporting his SRT kit (due to his novice letting him down) Rob commented on Mike having got a bit of extra weight to carry and sent him on his way with the first pitch rope to rig. We then both sorted the ropes out for a trip down colossus into Necropolis to visit the connection to New Rift Pot. This was due to the weather not playing ball and with memories of the last pitch in red herring series I thought it was best to avoid that part of the cave. All ropes packed and both of us changed we set off up the Turbary road to find the entrance.

Surprisingly it didn’t seem to take that long to get there and upon arriving we found mike shuffling around in the entrance playing cats cradle!, while Mike was rigging the pitch I started to put my SRT kit on and took hold of the rope bag for the 2nd and 3rd pitches, as I heard rope free I started my descent into old Largy again and just as the last glimpses of the surface left my eyes I saw Rob heading away from the entrance across the fell muttering something about Indian food…? Reaching the bottom of the first pitch I squirmed through to what we class as the chamber before the 2nd pitch (more like a widening of the passage) Mike wriggled out of the way to let me past and then I entered the 2nd pitch crawl. Now this crawl may look nasty as hell but in reality it isn’t bad in fact it’s easier to come out of it than go in just keep your body high. Reaching the top of the pitch I noticed they had changed the rigging since last time I’d been with 3 shiny ‘P’ bolts instead of rusty spits. I soon fastened the rope up and then lowered it down the pitch, I shouted through to Mike to enter then I made my way onto the pitch, hmmm not as tight as I remember it in fact it was quite spacious (compared to Langstroth 2nd pitch). Once on the rope itself I talked Mike around the bend checked he was happy and made my descent. Reaching the bottom I shouted rope free and then set about rigging the next 2 pitches. I then sat at the bottom and waited… and waited…. And waited eventually Rob appeared and informed me Mike wasn’t able to get past the pitch head and had headed out, poor mike his first trip in a while and he has to quit the trip as soon as he had started. (Next time Mike) anyway with me and Rob united again we set off to colossus.

Almost as I was entering the short sandy passage just before the pit I saw a bat flying around and then up into the roof somewhere, not a small bat either and how the hell does it get out? Reaching the pit we both climbed down and back up again to a continuation of the sand passage with a short stretch of rift before it opens out at a ‘T’ junction where the stream from Tinkle inlet joins, we then followed the stream in a gravely crawl until the roof lifted and we where able to walk albeit sideways in a rift after only a short distance we popped out in an aven with the way on being a squirm in a tube round a bend and then down a narrow rift round a few bend s to eventually end at calcite corner.

The way on now is a flat out crawl up down round under over in out, you get the idea? By this point Rob loved it! We then negotiated a squeeze and a slippy traverse ending at a climb down where Pumpkin passage joins. Then it was only a few metres to the colossus pitch and the in situ ropes arrggggh shouted Rob having just carried the tackle bag with 60m of rope for nothing (He He), anyway one rope went down and the other went up to the far side of the passage high above the floor and off into darkness, maybe worth a trip back to see what’s going on? Anyway we were soon down and looking around the impressive chambers eventually reaching the far end and the link to Rift pot. With our trip concluded we headed out with Rob ascending colossus first long way up is all I heard him keep saying, my turn now Jesus bloody long way up with strange flood pulses every now and then any idea Rob? After amazing Rob with my speed up the pitch (it was WET) we set off on the long trudge out, all obstacles were passed with ease (even the 2nd pitch) we then made our way back to the car then the Station Inn in Caton for a well earned pint.