Great trip report.
I don’t know I recall at least 3 bits you could stand up in :)
“and before long we were at the Backbreaker” Really? I thought it took ages to get there I kept saying to myself in a 10 year old’s voice “are we there yet”?
Its been a while since I have been a bit nervous on a caving trip but this was certainly one, everything had a serious feel to it. I was particularly nervous heading towards that rift with a tight squeeze over a 6m drop. Thankfully the squeeze mentioned in the book turned out not to exist. All we had to worry about from there was rigging the pitches from the end big mean porridge machine (thankfully was rigged already) and bastard crawl.
On the trip, Chris remarked this was the hardest trip he has done, but I think he has forgotten Hangman’s! (Although that trip is short we had quite a few mishaps and both got quite badly stuck on the last pitch).
Personally I rate this 5th on the hardest Yorkshire trips I have done, ranked on effort/fear factor/squalidness (I am looking at you Echo) top 10 are:
1) Hammer Pot,
2) Hangman’s
3) Echo
4) Ease gill traverse, coming out pip.
5) This trip
6) Mossdale
7) Yokenthwaite, solo
8) Swandike
9) Penyghent pot
10) Cupcake to Lost johns
If everyone else is fine it won’t be Weils then.
Does the triptime include time spent in Trapdoor?
Flu like symtons, but have mainly worn off today so going back to work. I had a high fevor, sick, slight cougth.
Just checking anyone else ill, after this trip?
Don’t take this too far guys….
Remember public log book.
You ALSO forgot to mention that there were several dangerous flood pulses as we were exiting the cave.
I think that’s why he’s insulting you on the other thread.
Good stuff, one edit just for accuracy. I did not actually descend past that upper deviation as I could reach the rope below it. I simply put my pulley on the same anchor as the deviation and pulled the rope up from there on the relative comfort of the ledge. Its amazing how much rope I could fit on that small ledge without it all falling off on the other-side. Me and Don were sharing a jammer for the exit.
Rigging: Mike/Shaman? Alex
De-rigging: Chris/Dan
Sounds like an interesting evening trip. I was out round grassington doing nav training. Lots of interesting mine workings up there including one that took a substantial stream.
Left hand route looked way too small, I think the rocks have shifted since the book was written. P.s. I got your chest strap.
Your right, will edit…
Yep. Anyway I have reworded the last few paragraphs, I guess I got a little distracted…
perhaps because I’d tried the wrong way down it 3 times in full SRT kit before I got through.
You weren’t trying it head first were you? I had to rescue someone who became stuck on a YSS trip doing that. (Was quite serious).
We might had done, but as my hands were so cold I would not have felt it.
Okay it’s done.