In view of the fact that this B.B. is again rather late, in
fact it is unlikely to be read by members until after the month of May is out
it is rather poor taste that we mention that this B.B. marks a milestone for
the Editor (or do I mean millstone?). Anyway, it seemed a good excuse for the oversize B.B. the occasion
being that the present Hon. Ed. has produced as many B.B.s as all the previous
holders of this horrible club office put together.
(Shouts of
Resign! Chuck him out! &c.)
However poor the excuse, the B.B. this month IS larger and
what is more contains practically nothing but CAVING in one form or
another. Two articles on a cave
discovery, an article on a caving trip, caving notes and a letter on a cave
rescue.
The remaining long article is also about an aspect of caving
which (quite deliberately) rarely gets into the pages of the B.B.
Spelaeopolitics.
Nevertheless, it is probably good for us to think about the
sort of plans which the bureaucrats are thinking up for our sport and the
article brings you up to date on one aspect of this and also suggests what we
might well do about it. A certain amount
of correspondence on this subject might not be a bad idea providing we dont
devote too much space to it!
Alfie
*****************************************
Dont forget the Date of the A.G.M. and Dinner it is
always the FIRST Saturday in OCTOBER. While youre at it, how about putting in an entry for the Photessay
composition?
The first of our accounts of the
new discoveries in Dan-Yr-Ogof is reproduced from the C.R.G. Newsletter by kind
permission of the author, Bill Little: –
Contents
Dan-Yr-Ogof: Notes on the New Extensions
As readers will be aware from press reports, some major
passages were discovered on Tuesday and Wednesday, 12th and 13th of April. Some members of S.W.C.C. had completed a
scaling operation up Dripping Aven without revealing anything new. Afterwards, Eileen Davies was anxious to make
another attempt to squeeze through the endless crawl with other thin members
willing to follow her. After negotiating
a number of very awkward narrow bends, we had found a calcite floor the next
barrier to progress. The difficulty was
as much due to the associated bending as to the lack of height. Some of the calcite floor was chipped away,
and beyond we found room to turn round. Although this passage is exhausting, the worst psychological barrier had
now disappeared.
A thirty foot ladder was rigged down a muddy chimney which
opened out dramatically. It was already
late, and the formidable third lake was well above the average level. About half the party followed Eileen, whilst
the others were either prevented by their size or were put off by the crawl
now renamed the Long Crawl. A support
party was called in to assist the initial explorers.
The first passage into which the ladder dropped (Gerard
Platten Hall) has a mud and boulder floor. A small stream flows along the centre from some mud-choked passages on
the right. Following down this stream,
the passage is wide and higher, comparable with Davy Price Hall in Tunnel
cave. A side passage and two potholes on
the left were descended some hundred feet to a lake, where the clear water of
the little stream joined a murky, deep lake. The mud banks suggested that this was the main river, still much nearer
to Llynfell (the Dan-Yr-Ogof resurgence) than the Giedd (its main course).
Along G.P. Hall, a clean swept floor of bedrock led to a
three foot deep crystal-encircled pool which occupied the full width of a
junction. Ahead, Flabbergasm Chasm is
a lofty arched passage with a sand floor and some seven or eight foot straws
(macaroni). It ends in a sudden drop to
the other passage. This is the
broad sweeps. The black, ripple-marked
walls are pasted with gypsum crystals. There are some patches of well developed eccentrics; long straw; columns
and a few knobbly stalactites.
A decline in height causes stooping before one climbs ten
feet up into a large chamber. Large
passages lead in two directions before hills of mud meet their roofs. To the right the noise of rushing water led
us to a little stream cascading in a clean washed gully. Climbing this revealed the water falling from
a boulder choke about a hundred feet above the bottom.
Between the last chamber and this waterfall, a climb amongst
large rocks revealed another chamber and the
the sides encrusted with crystals below water level. There was negligible outflow. Swimming a short way along this five or six
foot wide tunnel suggested the desirability of the use of a dinghy. There were no handholds or footholds for a
heavily booted caver to rest upon.
It was now morning and we retired.
Another party came in later on Wednesday and boated through
the Green canal while the writer attended to his business. Outside there was a heavy snowfall and
blizzard, but larger and longer passages were reported to have been found. The was some three quarters of a mile, I
reckon, between the Long Crawl and the Green Canal, so that suggests at least
one and a half miles of new passages traversed.
Exploration stopped at the top of a reputedly sixty foot
pitch for want of another ladder. Hereabouts were reported huge sandbanks of peaty sand with green
sprouting grass seeds suggesting recent flooding on a larger scale than in the
previous known parts. At the weekend,
the level of the
the thawing of the late snow, together with the saturated bogs seemed to point
clearly to the likelihood of any party going in on the Saturday being cut
off. We did not venture though the few
inches of air space, and waited for most of the Sunday before the level dropped
one inch. A small party swam through the
chilly melt water in
grunts and hammer blows as the remaining calcite floor was ripped up and stowed
away in corners. Much remains to be done
to ease the other bends. A brief visit
was made to G.P. Hall and the Pothole Passage to collect fauna, now sent to the
Biological Recorder.
It is the wish of the original explorers of those new parts,
that the formations are photographed before being damaged, and also that the
work of blasting out obstacles in the Long Crawl, together with the placing of
Preservation Tapes and Survival Rations, goes ahead without disturbance at
every safe opportunity. Because this
cave now represents a unique site in the country to study the invisible as well
as the obvious biological phenomena, in both clear cave waters as well as in
the separate river system in the lower levels, every effort will be made to
sample all the indigenous populations from bacteria upwards before any
appreciable contamination is carried in by human agencies. It is therefore desirable that as few as
possible should enter during this period.
We hope to have the patient co-operation of all cavers
whilst a few selected experts finish and scrape samples into sterile
containers. As we have waited at the end
of the show cave for the swirling waters to recede, nature has seemed to cling
to her mysteries as tenaciously as ever.
W.H. Little.
We follow Bill Littles official account with a rather
more personal and B.E.C. orientated article on the same discovery
Gerard Platten Hall
by Alan Coase and
Colin Graham.
Eighteen months ago, intensive work was begun in Dan-Yr-Ogof
and this includes work in a passage called Long Crawl, at the furthest reaches
of the cave.
A few weeks ago, late on a Sunday, Alan Coase and Eileen
Davies reached a squeeze, but lack of time made them turn back. Flooding prevented any more work until
Tuesday, 12th April when Eileen Davies and Bruce Foster, followed by Colin
Graham, Neil Anderson and Alan Coase passed the squeeze and the following
chimney and twenty foot pitch into the new extension, called Gerard Platten
Hall, in recognition of his work in the cave before the war, and assistance
given to Alan Coase and others in recent years.
The series is very large by any standard and must rank
amongst the major finds of recent years. Exploration is still in the initial stages. Time, high water, and a sixty foot pitch have
so far prevented any deep penetration, but the remarkable thing about the
passages is that they are becoming larger the further one penetrates. It is interesting to note that in the first
part of the new extension, there is a great abundance of formation, the greater
part being straws with most well over seven feet in length. There is also a quantity of excellent mud
formations and crystal pools in this section, but perhaps the most interesting
feature are the banks of helictites.
Once a deep and clear canal is crossed (by dinghy) a stream
passage is reached. This obviously
floods on occasion and there is evidence of peat mud. Formation here is rare and although the
passage is over seventy feet high. There
is also an aven, the height of which is impossible to assess.
A further level was reached with a large stream
flowing. This section floods
considerably. Further exploration is
being curtailed while the extension crawl is being enlarged, a telephone
installed and emergency rations carried in.
Caving Notes
by Dave Irwin.
Giants
Hole Derbyshire. The thirty foot
fixed ladder has been removed from Garland Pot. All those tackling this system need an extra 30 ladder with about a ten
foot tether.
Cuthberts
Report. The first two parts of the
fifteen Cuthberts Report will be available in September from Bryan Ellis. This will be as follows. Part G Cerberus and Maypole Series and Part
O Miscellaneous Details including Access Details, Leaders List, Tackle
Details, Rescue Procedures, etc.
Nife Cell
Spares. Most parts are available to
special order. (see Dave Irwin for price
list).
Fauna in
St. Cuthberts. In addition to the
list in the C.R.G. Biological Supplements, the following have been found in the
cave. RIVULOGAMMARUS PULEX, SIMILIUM ssp. Larvae, DIXA spp. Larvae, LUMBRICIDAE
spp.
ACCESS TO
AGEN ALLWEDD. A circular from Bill
Maxwell (C.S.S.) states that indemnity chits are no longer required. Formalities must, however, be completed at
least two weeks before a proposed visit. A printed list of names and addresses of all in the party should be sent
to Bill, together with £1 deposit for the entrance key. Also indicate (a) name of club, (b) leader of
underground party and (c) date of proposed trip. The key will be sent to the leader
approximately one week before the trip and should be returned as soon as
possible to W. Maxwell,
Heybridge Drive
permission. The permits do not give
permission to dig, camp, bang or use water tracers etc. All the forgoing require special permission.
Dan-Yr-Ogof. A club trip will likewise be organised to the
new extensions to this cave as soon as practicable.
Pembrokeshire. R. (Kangy) King is organising a club meet to
this area if sufficient support is given. Several potholes were bottomed last year. All interested should contact Kangy at 22
Parkfield Rank, Pucklechurch, Nr. Bristol.
Agen Allwedd
by Geoff Bull.
Not until I looked at the survey a few days before, did I
realise what I had let myself in for. By
then, of course, it was too late. A
wavering line stretched across the page representing a mile and a half of
Southern Stream Passage.
The directions to get to this passage could not be
simpler. From the first boulder choke
reached by taking every left turn for a thousand feet or so walk down Main
Stream Passage for about two thousand feet, pass
and East Passages and turn right into another large passage. From there, either drop down through a hole
in the floor or continue along the passage and then drop (literally!) through a
narrow tube and climb down a rift into Southern Stream Passage.
I found, at the cost of some effort in the tube that,
although there may well be two entrances to Southern Stream Passage, only one
exists. In coming out, simply keep on to
the end of the passage among the boulders.
The way down Southern Stream Passage involves crawling,
stooping, wallowing in the stream under low roofs, scrambling over and around
boulders and just occasionally walking upright. The endless passage might be monotonous if
you had time to think about it. After nearly a mile, however, there is a short
stretch of wide passage and a pothole with a fine piece of symmetrical
coloured fluting in the wall. Then its
back to the old slog again.
At the end of Southern Stream Passage is the huge Stream
Passage, leading to the Terminal Sump from Biza Passage and the Fourth Boulder
Choke. Some people had the energy to
look at this, but for the writer it was with apologies to Alan Thomas a
case of Aggy Aggy 5; G. Bull, nil.
Nylon Rope
When to discard?
The Spring 1965 issue of
Mountaineering the Journal of the British Mountaineering Council (Club
Library) has an article Your Rope which includes detailed notes on the inspection
of used climbing (or caving) ropes. This
will be reprinted as a B.M.C. circular for ease of reference.
What type of rope?
The British Standards Institution
have published a British Specification for Nylon Climbing Ropes. This is B.S. 3104, 1959. It gives the highest possible energy
absorption in order to protect against the risk of rope failure on
falling. The recommended rope is a
number 4 or Extra Full weight. Viking
ropes are made to B.S. 3104. There are
of course other nylon ropes available, but it is possible that these may not
match up to B.S. 3104 performance which was arrived at with some trouble. For example, the War Department purchased a
number of ropes on open tender which turned out to be very bad in practice
some becoming so stiff as to be unmanageable and others coming unlaid.
R.S. King.
Towards a National Council ?
by Dave Irwin.
Having recently discussed the subject of a National Council
of Caving Clubs with several people, I found that most seem evenly divided over
this matter and on the face of it, only a few have really given the matter any
thought at all.
So far, little or no mention has been made in the B.B.
regarding either the proposed National Council or the Council of Southern
Caving Clubs (C.S.C.C.). What follows is
a general outline of the points of disagreement and some thoughts of my own
that do not reflect the official policy of the B.E.C.
In 1963 many of the northern clubs banded together to form
the Council of Northern Caving Clubs. This was because several of the major caving areas in the dales were
closed to cavers. In order to re-open
these areas, landowners would only listen to a single body comprising the local
clubs who could then speak with one voice. Eventually, Casterton and Leck Fell was re-opened due to work if the
C.N.C.C. for certain times of the year. Much of this heath land is used by the owners for breeding and shooting
grouse, and cavers now have access to the area during the winter months. Permission to enter the systems is given by
the C.N.C.C. It should be said that at
this point that information given to the writer by a northern caver had led him
to believe that cavers in the north seem to think it is their right to be able
to enter caves without due regard to the local landowners or farmers. Before the control of caving areas by the
C.N.C.C., caver/farmer relations were at a low ebb. Because of these problems, a point if view
was developed that a National Council of caving Clubs would be a responsible
body to deal with cavers problems and which the farmers and landowners could
contact and meet with to solve troubles as and when they arose. It was also argued that a National Council;
would also solve problems in the field of public relations.
Leading cavers of the southern clubs were in general opposed
to the formation of a National Council, but were driven into action by a letter
circulated to all major caving clubs by the C.N.C.C. which suggested that if
clubs which were not members of the C.N.C.C. were not interested in the
formation of a National Council then they the C.N.C.C. would take the
matter into their own hands and proceed with the formation of a National
Council by themselves. It was also
suggested that this body would be eventually affiliated to the National Council
for Physical Recreation. As a result,
the C.S.C.C. was formed to look after the interests of southern clubs as it was
felt that, if the northern clubs went ahead with the formation of a national
body, then the southern clubs would not have a say in matters affecting their
own areas.
At the same time, as the C.N.C.C. letter was circulated, the
club representing the
Crag Club proposed the formation of a British Caving Council. The S.W.C.C., taking an independent line, in
my opinion stated the root of the matter and said,
we feel also that the
independence of caving clubs must be maintained with the minimum of outside
interference, and that club affairs should be governed solely by the individual
club members through their committee.
The C.S.C.C. comprises most of the major caving clubs in
southern
and its basic policy is to Live and let live In other words, to take no
action where individual clubs can or would prefer to try to solve the problems
which occasionally face them. Also, in
the event of a N.C.C.C. being formed, it could then voice the opinion of
southern caving clubs.
As a result of all this activity, the C.N.C.C. backed down
and said they would not pursue the matter of the formation of a national
council unless they had full agreement of the C.S.C.C. The question is now do we want a National
Council of Caving Clubs? If not, then do
we still want the C.S.C.C. now the threat of having one formed whether we like
it or not has receded? Or has it?
Perhaps the most difficulty part of this matter is to
produce an argument of substance against a national council. Should this be formed, and then followed up
with affiliation to the C.N.P.R. it might mean that we poor cavers would be
able to obtain grants from the state to build luxurious caving huts. Under the title of Pothole Politics, Ray
Kershaw states
.there IS going to be a National Association. He goes on to postulate that such a body will
probably evolve rather than suddenly be formed and suggest that the first step in
this process would be the combining of rescue organisations. He continues to state that he thinks the
B.S.A. is the ideal body to be the National Council.
After this length preamble on the state of the art the
writer would like to set down his views for further discussion through the
medium of the B.B. Why such a council as
proposed is unnecessary and what he would prefer to see develop.
Most cavers tend to cave in the main nearest their homes
(water or gas main? Ed.) occasionally visiting other areas when time
allows. Hence they become parochial in
outlook. When visiting other areas they
generally visit the more well known caves in the area. Cavers from the north, for instance, will,
when visiting Mendip, have Swildons in the forefront of their mind. They will not be particularly interested in
the little dig around the corner from the caving hut at which they happen to be
staying. Their interests in this
direction lie in their own hunting grounds which they know well.
Clubs too have their individual characteristics, reflecting
the interests of their members. Affiliation to a political council would tend to make for a uniformity
and to mould individuals into army thinking. The formation of a National Council would eventually take away the
control of access to caves now managed by local clubs. This trend would inevitably bring open caves
under their control. On Mendip
Cuthberts G.B., Pinetree Pot, Lamb Leer etc. would all become National Council
controlled caves and would be joined by the open caves of Swildons, Eastwater
etc. When discussing problems of cave
preservation, access, etc who knows best how to deal with all forms of local
interest? The local clubs every time
not a National Council Secretary of a committee meeting held, perhaps, a
hundred miles away. Local difficulties
can always be solved by maintaining good relations with local people.
References are always being made about the Cave Cowboy or
Yobbo problem. It is felt in some
quarters that, by using the power of a National Council to gate caves, the
troublesome element would be greatly reduced, if not completely
eliminated. The mechanism would be to
force prospective cavers towards the established clubs, or, where they formed a
new one, to refuse access to the caves to this club until some laid down
standard had been achieved. This would
have the effect of virtually forcing new clubs to join older clubs. Admittedly, there is a danger amongst the
clubs which have lately been springing up all over the country who are found
caving with inadequate experience, clothes or tackle or who run into difficulties
through taking novices on arduous trips (Longwood 1962). This problem could just as easily be tackled
through the local clubs by methods suggested later in this article.
It has been suggested that a National Council would form a
group to deal with public relations to put the cavers point of view at a
national level. In my opinion, this
would achieve very little. The best way
to put our sport over to the public is by word of mouth and by helping to
reduce the number of preventable accidents and hence the presss chances to
scream. The British public are
essentially sporty but this only applies to sports that they can watch. Thus more films of caving activities made
by the clubs could easily fill the gap.
Rescue organisations are, according to the Ray Kershaw
article already referred to, being organised into a National Body. From what I have heard, no one on Mendip
knows about this, if it is true. Could
this be the thin edge of a wedge?
M.R.O. is a bo0dy unto itself and makes its own decisions to
suit its local problems. The local clubs
contribute financially when necessary for equipment etc. Personally. I feel that cavers should not
look to public funds to finance our rescues. An occasional meeting between C.R.O.s would pay dividends, but this
should not be mandatory.
To sum up. What then
is needed? Some will still say A
National Council. Others will, no doubt
say Follow a laisser faire policy I
personally am against a political form of national council. The free sport as we know it will become
organised to an extent that will discourage many.
Id like instead to suggest a centre which could act as a
clearing house for all caving information. This body could act in an advisory capacity, information centre,
library, museum etc in other words, a much expanded C.R.G. At the moment this body is undergoing a
face lift perhaps going some way towards this goal instead of their nebulous
backroom body it has seemed to the average caver that is, if he has even
heard of it. This type of system works
very well in another hobby of mine philately. The Royal Philatelic Society of London acts in a similar manner to the
council I propose, and is open for individuals to join but not clubs.
The threat of the N.C.C.C. is still a real one. Murmurs are heard even on Mendip. Do we want a political body that would take
away the responsibilities of individual clubs and fill our lives with form
filling, or do we want to encourage a body already in existence to provide a
service of lasting and genuine interest amongst the caving population? The choice is yours.
Dave Irwin.
Letter
Unfortunately, the letter which follows arrived just too
late for inclusion in the last B.B. We
understand that, after Johns successful recovery, he sportingly put on a
barrel at the Hunters for his rescuers.
Bryher,
Bodgworth,
Nr. Axbridge,
To the Editor, Belfry Bulletin.
Dear Sir,
I shall be most grateful if you would permit me to make use
of your excellent journal for the purpose of thanking those members who took
part in the rescue last month when I fell in Cuthberts
The speed and efficiency of the party was really first class
and they performed what could be genuinely be described as a painless
extraction of victim from cave!
I hope to be about on Mendip again when I shall have the
opportunity to thank personally those concerned.
John Stafford.
List of Addresses.
Those of you like to keep your last list of members
addresses up to date like to add those of some recent new members as follows
|
G.S. B. A.J. Miss A.J. P. D.L. J.R. A.H. |
59
51
|
And the following members changes of address .
|
Mr Capt. P.H. 8511 |
Saint
Hunters 9 |
Explanation
This has been added since printing to explain to members
just what IS going on. We have had some
extremely bad luck with the duplicator which, apart from all the other troubles
it has been suffering from of late; has just acquired another quirk.. It apparently will print anything on any
paper EXCEPT the paper we have got for the B.B. This has made this MAY B.B. extremely late and I dont suppose many of
you will actually get it until well into June.