Any views expressed by any contributor to the Belfry
Bulletin, including those of officers of the club, do not necessarily coincide
with those of the editor or the committee of the Bristol Exploration Club,
unless stated as being the view of the committee or editor.

Mendip Rescue Organisation

In case of emergency telephone WELLS 73481.  

BRISTOL
EXPLORATION CLUB

Club Headquarters

‘The Belfry’,

Wells
Rd., Priddy, Wells, Somerset. Tele:  WELLS 72126

Club Committee

Chairman:         S.J.
Collins
Minutes Sec:     D. Turner
Members:          R. Bagshaw; W. Cooper;
D.J. Irwin;
                        N. Jago; T.E.
Large; A.R. Thomas;
                        R. Orr;  R. Hobbs.

Officers Of The Club

Hon. Secretary: A.R.
Thomas, Allen’s House,

Nine
Barrows Lane, Priddy, Wells,

Somerset. Tel: PRIDDY 269.
Hon. Treasurer:  R.J. Bagshaw,

699 Wells Road,
Knowle,

Bristol
4.  Tel: WHITCHURCH. 5626.
Caving Sec:       T.E. Large,

39 Seymour Ave,
Bishopston,

Bristol.
Climbing Sec:    N. Jago, 2 Broughton
House,

Somerset St.,
Redcliffe,

Bristol
1.
Hut Warden:      R. Orr.  ‘The Belfry’, as above.
Hut Engineer:    R. Hobbs, Rose Cottage,
West End, Nailsea,

Bristol.
Tele

BRISTOL
77368
Tacklemaster:    W. Cooper,

259 Wick Rd,
Bristol
BS4 4HE.  Tel:

BRISTOL
77368.
B.B. Editor:       S.J. Collins, Lavender
Cottage, Bishop Sutton, Nr. Bristol.
Librarian:           D.J. Irwin, Townsend
Cottage, Priddy, Wells,

Somerset.
Publications:     D.J. Irwin.  Address as above
B.B. Post:         Mrs. K. Mansfield, Tiny
Kott, Little
London, Oakhill,
Bath,

Somerset.

Member’s Addresses

Additions

P.G.Faulkner,

65 Broomfield Cres., Middleton,

Manchester.
R. Brown, 33 Greencourt, Leagrave,
Luton. LU4
9PJ.
I. Rees,

20 Broad St.,
Presteigne, Radnorshire.
J.
Murray, Latymer Ho, Hill Close, Wincanton,

Somerset.

Changes:

R. Cross, 36A

Memeage St , Helston,

Cornwall.
J. Abbott, 34 Kirkgate, Shipley, Yorks.
S. Tuck, 3 Colles Close, Wells,

Somerset.

G. Wilton-Jones, The Tumery, North Dean,

Speen Rd,
High
Wycombe, Bucks.

 

Editorial

Untitled

The move towards a more legible B.B., which started last
month by the move to printing is, no doubt, an improvement but readers will
have noticed that most of the titling was near enough unreadable.  The reason for this has been found and, until
we can be sure of the process involved, most of the titling will be done by
hand.  We hope that you will bear with us
while we sort out the tricks of a new trade.

Non-Event

In contrast with the first B.E.C. surveying course, the last
one was a non-starter.  This was due to a
series of misunderstandings as to the date and time for the start and also as
to the duration of the course.  We have
made a. start in the business of keeping members informed with what is going on
¬both in the B.B. and on the Belfry notice board; but it looks as if our
communications can still do with some improvement.

Historical Errors

By and large, the last edition of the History of the B.E.C.
was well received, and several members have already been good enough to say
that they thought it was both useful and informative.  Apologies, however, for getting the year of
the discovery of Cuthbert’s II wrong! There are probably more small errors in the account.  If any older readers have information which
they think would add to any further version it will be gratefully received and
put away carefully until the next occasion.

“Alfie”

Library Notes

from our new Hon.
Librarian, DAVE IRWIN

At the time of writing these notes a number of books in the
club library have been catalogued and are available to members wishing to
borrow them.  Books are loaned out for
ONE MONTH and it is to be hoped that members will co-operate by returning them
within this time limit, as other members may well be waiting to read them.  A review of the latest acquisition is to be
found in the March B.B. – the important Somerset County Council publication
discussing the future of quarrying on Mendip. Member wishing to borrow books through the post may do so, but postage
and the necessary insurance is out of their own pockets.  A list of books will be available soon – a
small nominal charge will be payable to defray the cost of production.

Recent Additions To The Club Library

Caves and Karst Vo113 Nos 3 &
4.  The application of stable isotope
studies to karst research – Russell Harmon. (

USA)

 Axbridge C.C.Newsletter – mainly club
news – March 1972.

 C.R.G. Transactions Vol 13 No 1.  Includes Caves of Western Sierra Cuera;
Quantitative tracer methods; Development of avens in Peak Cavern; Excavations
at Ogof-yr-Esgryn and Archaeological sequences in the Peak District.

C.R.G. Transactions Vol 13 No 2.  Symposium on the origin and development of
caves (various topics.)

B.S.A. Bulletin.  New Series, No 5. (Feb. ‘72).  World expeditionary association.  (Details). News from

Yorks.
particularly Langstrothdale, also extension to Calswick Cavern in Derbyshire.

Chelsea S.S. Newsletter Vol 14 Nos 4 & 5
(March ’72) Geological History of S. Wales; List of gear for camping and caving
holidays; Care of tackle and suppliers of cells for caving.  Care of Nife cells.

*****************************************

USEFUL GEN.   Dave
Irwin informs us that Bryants in

Bristol
now only give a 5% discount to club members, and then only on orders in excess
of £5. This is worth bearing in mind if you are thinking of getting any new
equipment from them.

 

Never Mind The Patient – Watch That Stal!

A report on the
Practice Rescue from September Series by the ‘Victim’.
Chris Howell

On the 16th of January, 1972; sixteen of us met at the
Belfry for a short introductory talk from Dr. O.C. Lloyd before setting out for
September Chamber for a practice ‘carry’ through the September boulder ruckle.

‘O.C.L.’ commenced his briefing with a demonstration of the
use of the bowline-on-a-bight for hauling an exhausted caver up a pitch.  Although his method of tying this particular
knot directly round the body of the subject was undoubtedly very quick, and
required little or no adjustment,   I
personally found it rather hard to follow and must confess that I would now be
quite incapable of repeating the knot.  I
feel that for most cavers, the easiest method is to double back some six or
seven feet of rope, and then tie a straightforward bowline, which can be
adjusted if necessary.  The patient’s
thighs are placed in the two loops created by the knot, and the remaining loop
passed round the chest.  It is
particularly important to keep this chest loop as high as possible to prevent
‘toppling’ during the haul.  Ideally the
knot should be high up in front of the chest or over one shoulder.  For a long haul, some method of padding the
leg loops would prevent cutting off the circulation to the legs.

We were next shown how to tie the ‘victim’ into the M.R.O.
carrying sheet.  In a moment of misguided
public spirit, I had volunteered to act as patient for this particular rescue
and so within a very few minutes I found myself securely trussed within the
confines of the heavy canvas sheet.  It
is worth noting that, where a patient is conscious, his arms should be left
outside the sheet if he is capable of helping himself.  He is then able to assist the carriers by pushing
and lifting to some extent.  Anyone who
has ever compared trying to haul an inert person up a pitch with hauling up
someone who is only capable of ‘pawing’ at the rock will know what a difference
a degree of self-help can make.  There is
no doubt an additional psychological element involved here too – it seems to me
to be bad practice to strap a person up if he feels capable of helping himself.

Hauling ropes are attached to the sheet at the head and tail
and also on each side when the passage permits of enough carriers.  Ropes at the bottom of the sheet are tied
round the subject’s feet in a manner which permits the ropes to take his weight
when in a vertical position without restricting his circulation.  This point is particularly important. I well
recollect a practice rescue from Cuckoo Cleeves when this was overlooked.  I was, again, the victim and after reaching
the surface I was unable to walk for about fifteen minutes due to the numbness
in my feet.

Finally, a pair of goggles are provided to protect the
patient from muddy ropes getting into contact with his eyes.

Into the cave at last. I feigned a fall beneath the ‘pretties’ in September Chamber.  The drag sheet was laid out by one team
memberr, whilst others removed my nife cell to avoid spillage of electrolyte
and consequent burns.  The helmet is, of
course, left on the victim is head.  I
was then picked up by four of the rescuers who supported my inert body throughout
its length – not forgetting my head!  I
was carried to the sheet and for the second time securely strapped in and the
goggles put on.

The carry went smoothly for the first twenty minutes or so,
down the drops from September Chamber where Warden Prewer uttered the
comforting words, “Never mind the patient – watch that stal!, then on
along the short rift passage to the start of the ruckle.  The only observation I would make at this
point is that, if the patient is conscious, remarks such as “Can we get
someone below the stretcher on this drop in case it slips?” are not likely
to inspire confidence in either the shocked victim of a real accident or the
(supposedly) fearless victim in a mock rescue! This apart, I suffered very little buffeting, although clearly, very
great care must be taken about where the sheet is set down on a real incident
particularly when the victim is likely to have suffered fractures or suspected
internal injuries.

We had now arrived at the crucial point of the ‘carry’ – the
boulder ruckle.  The confined space
between the rocks ensures that for most of the remainder of the journey out
High Chamber, nobody can lift or haul at the sides of the sheet.  Again, things progressed fairly smoothly,
although even more slowly, for some ten minutes or so, with frequent rests whilst
rescuers were instructed to lie in holes in the floor to smooth the passage of
the carrying sheet.  However, a hiatus
was reached at the narrow vertical ‘S’ bend which occurs beyond an inclined
slab and is met some fifty or so feet into the ruckle from the High Chamber
side.  Due to the constricted room at the
front end, only two persons were able to get a purchase on the hauling ropes,
and they were unable to provide sufficient pull to get the sheet round the
vertical corner.

Here I remained firmly stuck for some ten minutes or more –
though it seemed like an age.  The final
straw came when it was discovered that there was some difficulty in moving the
carrying sheet back for another attempt. Now, I have never suffered from claustrophobia, but at this point I must
admit to becoming distinctly worried about the whole business.  From the position of the sheet within the ‘S’
bend, it was clear that nobody could get at the knots to release me – and it
seemed that progress, either fore or aft, was impossible.  After another five minutes, I felt that since
I was officially conscious, this was a point where some self-help was more than
justified!

By doubling up my legs and straightening them whilst the
rescuers pulled on the head ropes, I found that progress was possible, and
promptly shot through the squeeze like a cork from a bottle – or so it seemed
after the long time of inaction.  From
then on, progress was rapid, if a trifle bumpy, and I was finally carried out
into High Chamber an hour or so after first being put in the carrying sheet in
September Chamber.

At this point, all my rescuers disappeared save for a
grinning Roy Bennett, who handed me a large, wet, muddy and heavy sack
containing the carrying sheet from which I had been recently released.  “Pick up thy bed and walk!”  Huh. Unfortunately from my point of view, Roy (who, with no disrespect is
almost old enough to be my father) can propel himself round St. Cuthbert’s
carrying a heavy, bulky sack faster than I can travel ‘clean’.  By the time we reached Mud Hall, he had
obviously tired of my slow pace and I was relieved of my burden (further
ignominy).  Progress then regained its
normal pace (for me!) and the last of us were out of the cave some four hours
after entering.

Some final observations from the victim’s point of view:-

a)                  More co-operation between those in front of the
sheet and those behind.  I felt that
there were times when people were standing about not knowing quite what was
expected of them next.

b)                  More attention to smoothing the victim’s passage
over holes and rocks.  I came up with
some great bruises the following day.

c)                  Longer head ropes for the sheet might have
helped in the Ruckle, although the pull would have been over the top of a slab
– perhaps this could be tried again. However, as I am small and light, extrication of a heavy victim could be
very difficult and something other than pullers would be needed, I suspect.

 

Just a Sec

from our Hon. Sec. ALAN
THOMAS

I hear from the Cambrian Council that there has been some
movement in Cwm Dwr Jama main passage and in the boulder choke where the
connection between Cwm Dwr and Ogof Ffynon Ddu is.  The South Wales Caving Club advises cavers
not to go through the connection under any circumstances.

Some months ago, a caver who broke his arm in Eastwater left
a 25′ proprietary ladder in the cave in a canvas bag.  It is said that it was subsequently brought
to the Belfry.  I should be obliged, if
anyone knows anything about it.  Give me
a ring or drop me a line if you do.

With great regret, I have to inform you of the death of
Harry Glover – so well known to Belfry users of seven years ago.  (For the benefit of newer members, Harry and
his wife used to run Priddy stores – Ed )

You will be sorry to hear that the County Council plans to
make a large part of the mineries area (that part owned by Lord Waldegrave)
into an official picnic area complete with car park and toilets.  It is intended to ‘improve’’ the pools.

It is on the cards that the C.R.G. and B.S.A. may merge.

Snowdonia January

A Climbing Article by
R.J. MARSHALL

The B.E.C. were up in Snowdonia in force in January,
searching for snow.  There was none
evident when we arrived in the

Llanberis
Pass on the Friday
evening, but we were hopeful.

Looking up to the surrounding peaks in the morning, a
smattering of snow showed up, contrasting with the grey clouds.  There was rain in the air, but it was not
rain¬ing then.  After breakfast, we split
up, John Minors and myself decided to attempt the main wall of Carn Las.

This is a hard severe climb on a crag about a mile and a
half on the South side of the pass below Crib Goch.  We left the car beneath the Grochan and made
our way back up the pass, turning off the road to cross the farm bridge across
the stream.  As we climbed up towards the
crag, it started to rain and by the time we reached the scree the rain had
turned to sleet.

From here it was possible to observe the main wall.  It is an interesting line, wandering between
lines of overhangs.  We were damp and
cold by the time we had soloed up the waterfall to the start of the first
pitch.

We split the climb into five pitches of various
lengths.  These are not of particular
technical difficulty – about severe – but as you climb you become more
conscious of the exposure.  You are
moving on large jugs usually with more than adequate protection.  After about two hundred feet, you belay on a
large ledge in a corner.  From here you
make an interesting move across to and on to the top of a fragile looking
spike.  This is a wide step.  Looking down, you can see the scree about
three hundred feet below.  Moving on, and
around a corner you come on to a steep juggy wall.  A rising traverse across a steep slab leads
to the top.

Sitting on the belays it is possible to watch the cars
travelling up and down the pass.  We were
pretty damp and cold on the later pitches. Looking down and seeing our tents a couple of miles away gave us that
“What the hell are we doing here?” feeling.  Even so, winter climbs have a slight exciting
edge over summer routes.

On the Sunday, John and I made our way round the
Horseshoe.  The wind was gusting strongly
as we started out along the Pyg track. We could see a smattering of snow along the ridge.  Ahead of us, another couple of climbers were
battering against the strong winds.

We were soon to find out just how strong the winds
were.  We left the Pyg track to climb up
to Crib Goch.  There was about an inch of
snow on the ridge.  We saw the tracks of
the two previous climbers leading on to the ridge but along the ridge there was
no sign of our leaders (yeti?).  We
crawled along the ridge, keeping as low as possible out of the wind.  We were engulfed in spindrift several times
as we climbed up to the ‘hotel’ at the summit. Passing the shelter behind the ‘hotel’ we passed the summit cairn on our
way to Llewedd.

The climb down to the start of Llewedd was treacherous,
loose and slippery.  This was
successfully overcome and the easy climb up Llewedd started.  This being the easier part of the horseshoe,
we were able to move quickly.  After
rejoining the miners’ track, we were back at the Pen y Pass about four hours
after we had left in the morning.

Other members were at Trenadac and on the Glyders, no doubt
their accounts are being prepared.

(Let us hope so – Ed. )

*****************************************

CAVING PUBLICATIONS have for too long been regarded as a
minor activity of the club.  DAVE IRWIN
starts to put this into a more correct perspective in the article that follows,
with a review of what has been achieved to date and some thoughts as to where
we go in the future.  Club members might
be surprised to learn that more money is currently being handled by the
Publications Department than is handled by the Belfry!  Caving Publications thus form a major club
activity.  We hope that the review which
follows will help to put members ‘in the picture’ on this aspect of the
B.E.C.  (Editor’s Note.)

 

Where do we go from there?

Since the mid-fifties, the club has published fifteen caving
reports and one climbing report.  When
one looks at the subject matter, it is easy to see that this series is one of
the most varied set of caving publications now on the market.  Number 1, a survey of
Redcliffe
Caves by AIfie Collins, recorded most
of the underground stone workings that lie in the area of
Redcliffe
Church in

Bristol. It was available to members until quite recently, but is now out of
print.

The association of the B.E.C. and St. Cuthbert’s Swallet is
inseparable.  Number 2, a preliminary
report on St. Cuthbert’s Swallet by various leaders of the time outlined the
intricacies of the system.  The sketch
surveys by Don Coase are most illuminating. At that time, when little of the compass work had been started on the
survey, the outline of the cave as we recognise it today from the later Ellis
Survey or the later still Irwin/Stenner survey first appeared. This report has
been out of print for eleven years and is eagerly sought after by leaders and
by members attempting to complete their Series of Caving Reports.  It is the rarest of all the caving reports
and copies have changed hands for £1

One of the mainstays of the early publications, and their
editor until 1968 was Bryan Ellis. Though now mainly associated with another Mendip club, he was very
active with his pen back as far as 1958. The publication his Caving Report No 3 – the S.M.C.C. method of ladder
building – and his survey of Headwear and Lighting were among the first of
their kind.  The Headwear and Lighting
Report has always had a fairly good sale, and in 1967 was completely revised by
Geoff. Bull.  Only fifty copies of this
reprint were published before the stencils became damaged.  Now it has been re-typed and is in the
waiting pile for another reprint – this time about a hundred copies will be
available.  Although the prices and the
equipment mentioned in the text (over seventy pages of the stuff!) are
pre-1967, it does give the caver a pretty good coverage of the various types of
equipment and spares that are available. Surprisingly, this is still – fourteen years after its first appearance
– the only publication its kind to be found anywhere in the country.

A revised edition of number 3 was issued as number 3A and a
few copies were still available as recently as 1971.

Alfie Collins put his digging background to good use by
writing Caving Report number 4 – the Shoring of Swallet Cave Entrances.  This has been out of print for a couple of
years, but was already by that time out of date and in need of complete
revision owing to advances in shoring techniques.  Whether this will ever appear in a revised
form remains to be seen.

In 1962, there appeared the first of two reports entitled
Some Smaller Caves of Mendip.  The first
of these (Caving Report No 6) was compiled by several of the active diggers of
the time.  The details of Alfie’s Hole
and Vee Swallet are amongst the digs of the past.  The only survey made of Hunters Hole (a grade
5 by Ellis et a1.) and Tankard Hole (by Roger Stenner) will be found in this
publication.  A retype of the stencils
with a few corrections was made in 1966, and a few copies are still available
at the Belfry at 15p each.  The second
report on

Smaller
Caves of Mendip was
written by John Tucker of the Axbridge C.C. At the time of its publication (1963) the A.C.G. had no outlet such as
our caving report series, so out they came as Caving Report Number 9.  Four copies of this are still available at
15p each, but when they are sold it is very unlikely that this report will ever
be reprinted unless the demand is large enough to merit the cost of reprinting.

In 1962, St. Cuthbert’s Swallet again appeared in a second
report – Caving Report Number 7.  This
was an updated and more detailed description which included newer discoveries
such as the September and Maypole Series. Cuthbert’s was again the subject of Caving Report Number 8 – the well
known Ellis preliminary plan of St. Cuthbert’s together with the survey
notes.  Again, both number 7 and number 8
are long out of print, number 8 being the rarer of the two reports.  Cuthbert’s was to have been the subject of
number 9 – the Elevation of St. Cuthbert’s, but this did not materialise
because, as already mentioned, number 9 was brought out as the second part of
the Smaller Caves of Mendip.

Following the death of Don Coase in 1958, some unfinished
manuscripts on the B.E.C. method of ladder construction came into the
possession of the club.  Norman Petty and
Alan Sandall modified and completed this manuscript which was subsequently
published as Caving Report Number 10. Still available, it is largely an historical document, although one
ladder still to be found in the tackle store (the larger rung ladder) was made
by this method.  Tests carried out on
this in 1966 showed that the un-brake screw method of locking the rungs was
still the strongest method yet devised!

For years, the Long Chamber and Rocky Boulder area of St.
Cuthbert’s Swallet was a puzzle even to leaders of long standing.  In 1964, Dave Irwin systematically explored
the area and his results were published as Caving Report number 11 (Now out of
print for two years).

For some time, members of the club had been actively engaged
in surveying and in 1967; Alfie Collins published a paper in the series
entitled Presentation of cave survey data. This sixty page report was a small scale publication in that only fifty
copies were placed on the market.  To the
surprise of all, it went out of print in a matter of a few weeks.  Due to the coloured banda plates being
damaged in the meantime, this report has never been reprinted, though the new
ideas suggested in the report have been published elsewhere – notably in the
C.R.G. Transactions on the Cave Surveying Symposium.

In 1965, it was suggested that as the club had complete
access to St. Cuthbert’s, they were morally obliged to give to the caving
fraternity all the information which had been collected within the system.  In order that this could be readily available
between ‘two covers’, a massive report was planned.  A completely detailed survey – broken down
into a number of sheets; full description of all parts of the cave; detailed
historical account of the exploration of the system; water tracing; fauna and
flora, and not least a comprehensive discussion of the formation of the cave by
Derek Fordo  Although taking longer than
was first anticipated to produce; the five parts that have appeared so far out
of the projected fifteen have been well received.

In September 1971, there appeared the first formal
archaeological report – Roman Mine (Caving Report No 15).  Not content with merely producing a list of
finds made in the mine, Jill and Norman Tuck have added much other and valuable
material.  The whole work is printed by
the offset litho process, and includes photographs and a survey.  Where, might you ask, is number 14 in the
series?  The answer is simple – it’s on
the stocks.  It is, in fact, Roy
Bennett’s account of the B.E.C. Pyrenean T rip.

Lastly, but not least in this roundup of the Caving Reports,
is number 16 – which has hit Mendip like a bomb to say the least.  Many members will remember the many enjoyable
hours spent in

Balch
Cave during the few years
that it was open to cavers.  One can now
browse through a book and enjoy the magnificent photographs of John Eatough and
Roy Pearce.  John Eatough and John
Attwood spent many hours in Balch producing a photographic record of the cave
soon after its discovery.  In a similar
way, Roy Pearce photographed

Shatter
Cave.  Selections from both these collections are
published in a report called Mendip’s Vanishing Grottoes.  Printed on good quality art paper, at
10″ x 8″ with outline surveys included, it is one of the best buys to
date.  Until the end of April the price
is 40p rising to its full price of 50p after this date.

What of the future? There are still ten parts of the Cuthbert’s Swallet report to
appear.  The B.B.C. Caving logs from 1944
– 1971 should make excellent reading and make available for the first time the
full record of the discoveries of the club. This should surprise those feel that the members spend all their time in
the bar of the Hunters!  Another popular
seller should be the proposed Burrington Atlas – containing surveys of all the
caves of Burrington with descriptions; surveys and photographs.

All these publications can be obtained either from the
Belfry or by post from Dave Irwin, Townsend Cottage Priddy, Wells,

Somerset.

*****************************************

FOR

SALE  One Mountain tent.  Stormproof. Very good condition.  £23.

Also one Tinker tent with flysheet and sewn-in groundsheet
.£20.  Owner has given up camping and
needs the cash.

If interested, write to:- N. RICH, Eoonenive Forestry Group,
Ballochyle Estat,e Sandbank, Dunoon Argyll

Additional Address: Mrs P. Jones, 50,

Louisville Ave~

Aberdeen,
AB1 6TX.

 

Dates for your Diary

APRIL/MAY

Club & Guest trip to

South
Somerset
Cave. Including Quaking
House Hole, Milverton;

Holywell
Cave and Cannington South
Quarry Cavelet and North Quarry Cavern. YOUR chance to visit these little known caves.  Food Beer available. ALL DETAILS FROM NIG.
TAYLOR, Somerset Farm Institute, Cannington, Bridgwater OR Whiddon Farm,
Chilcot,
East Horrington, PHONE: Wells 72338.

MAY 6th

MAGIC LANTERN SHOW.  Norman Petty will be showing some historic
B.E.C. slides.  At Belfry in the
evening.  See Belfry board details of
time.

Aug/SEPT

Sutherland.  Caving/Climbing/Walking etc. Suit all
tastes.  Contact Jim Abbott at Kirkgate,
Shipley, Yorks for details.

At the Belfry

The talk on the chemistry of limestone solution given by
Roger  Stenner on Saturday evening 11th
of March was both interesting and well attended.

The intention was to make this subject understandable to
ordinary cavers, and this was done by describing the results which Roger had
obtained from samples and other work tin G.B. and St. Cuthbert’s.  These fitted together to give an overall
picture of intense solution by streams in the entrance boulder ruckles and an
undetectable rate in stream passages except where tributaries enter.

The study of flow patterns and analyses of streams and Drips
of percolation water was described, and this was shown to lead to a model of a
typical Mendip shake hole cave.  A
lengthy discussion followed with questions on both the theory and on practical
applications to cave exploration. Finally, there were slides showing sampling measurement, analysis etc.
of the cave waters.

R.H.B.

In Committee

Brief reports on the meetings of the club Committee 

The April Committee meeting started at 2.30 p.m. as usual
and had dealt with all the routine items by about four.  They then went on to examine the Belfry in
detail and did not finish until nearly 7 pm. A complete analysis had been done by Dave Irwin, who earns the thanks of
the committee for all the work he put in.

Most of the points which are known to worry some members of
the club found spokesmen amongst committee members, and the discussion was both
full and detailed.  In particular, it was
felt that club members were not always getting full value out of the Belfry –
one way and another.  However, the
financial facts tended to limit most of the possible solutions.  It appeared that the Belfry was paying its
way, but only just doing so – and with nothing to spare.  Under these circumstances, the committee
realised that there was very little room for experiment or manoeuvre.  Until or unless revenue improves, it must be
a question of “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” The Hut Warden
has therefore got the job of giving priority (where necessary) to those who
contribute to Belfry funds while at the same time (where possible) making the
Belfry available to all club members on as wide a basis as possible.  It was realised that the Hut Warden would
have difficulty in any attempt to find some suitable balance within these very
necessary conditions, and it was hoped that club members would support him and
would realise that the club has very little choice in the matter of running the
Belfry.

A more detailed account, under a separate heading, will appear
in next month’s B.B., since it is felt that this is a subject of great interest
to nearly all club members.

 

A weekend In
Yorkshire

….being the latest episode in the saga of, the
High Wycombe branch of the B.E.C  

by GRAHAM

WILTON –JONES

One Friday evening in mid February, Bert Byers, Bucket
Tilbury and I; together with others who are not so keen on the underworld, set
off up the M1 for the North, leaving an hour later than planned.  At Newport Pagnall we came to a halt – caused
by twenty or so cars which had got involved in minor bumps except for one major
one and one burnt-out shell.      On
again, after an hour, and on to the M1/M6 link. A great idea, this road, cutting the journey to Ingleborough from
Wycombe to four hours.  We could have!+@@%!
the A.A. bloke who informed us that the link was now complete and opened – the
ignoramus!  Anyway, we reached Fred
Weekes’s place, at Padiham, Lancs at 2 o’clock on the Saturday morning, after
seven hours on the road.

Hence, 8.30 on Saturday morning was not the ideal time to
get up.  We drove quickly to Clapham;
telephoned
Prestwick and they predicted odd,
light showers perhaps.  The moors had a
covering of snow and a small stream sank in the elongated hollow which contains
the entrance to Stream Passage Pot.  I
quickly rigged the first pitch with a twenty foot ladder and Buckett and I
walked down the narrow, meandering stream to the eighty five foot pitch, to
check on the conditions.  All seemed
reasonable so, after blocking the pot entrance with snow (We had exited but
Bert was below) we had a quick look at G.G. from the surface.  Bert had not seen it before (he escaped from
the pot).  A little later, while the
others prepared tackle, I went back to the first pitch to re-rig with a ten
foot ladder.  At this depth there is a
rocky projection and it is possible to swing on to this, and free-climb the
remaining drop.  Pennine Underground (PU)
reckons twenty five feet of ladder here, so we saved considerably there.  According to Martin Webster in the B.B. for
January 1970, the take-off for this pitch is difficult, but we did not find
this so.

At the eighty five foot pitch, instead of dropping down with
the water to the lip of the pitch, we traversed onwards as far as possible to
where a hole has been worn in a flake of rock. A second tether was used to draw the ladder away from the
waterfall.  Even so, we met with freezing
spray thirty five feet down.  Rigged in
this way, the return to solid rock from the ladder is a little awkward for the
first man up.  PU suggests 85′ of ladder,
but we found that seventy feet reached the bottom.  Laddering from the lip reduces this to sixty
feet.

The hundred and ten foot follows immediately.  We laddered from the top since we could not
rapidly find a free climb down to the ledge – fifteen feet below – and we were
cold and wanted to hurry.  Martin’s
article suggested that this could be climbed, but we were fairly certain that
this section would be a climb only for the expert.  In our opinion, fifteen feet of ladder is necessary.  Below the ledge, it is possible to free-climb
the pitch.  The water poured over the
ledge, and was beautifully deflected sideways, along the rift, by a flake of
rock, while the ladder dropped straight over the edge.  The pitch was thus relatively dry.  It was easier to use the ladder for the
section just below the ledge, but a free climb for the final thirty feet seemed
wise, as the ladder vanished amidst the full force of the waterfall.  Dropping tackle down this pitch was awkward,
as it snagged on the numerous ledges.  We
lost a pulley and a krab under the deluge and nobody felt like searching for
them – so bang went £3.50!  The ladder
reached the bottom 95′ from the top so, subtracting the free climb at the
bottom leaves 65′ as the length of necessary ladder.

The final pitch is in a narrow rift, and was dry except for
heavy drip at the bottom.  We had rigged
sixty five feet of ladder, hopefully, and found a good solid ledge a short
swing away.  A further free climb brought
us into Stream Passage.  PU suggests 75′
of ladder and this would have been necessary had we rigged further along the
rift as sixty five feet is only suitable at one point.  In all, we reduced Thurber’s given length of
ladder from 295’ to 210’ and this could probably be reduced further to 160, or
less.  None of these reductions
necessitated difficult free climbing.  We
were already used to this technique!  We
did Disappointment with 125′ instead of PU’S 155′.  The first pitch is only 20′ and the fourth
has several free-climbing possibilities. Swinsto suffered the same way. The 100’ belay on the first pitch must be a misprint.  There is an obvious, good natural belay right
above the pitch.  The second pitch is a
free climb, the third is only 25’, the fifth and sixth are both 45′ and the
seventh is a free climb.  230′ is thus
reduced to 165′.  All lengths are given
to the nearest five feet.

From Stream Passage we cast about for the way on.  We were all unfamiliar with this part of G.
G. and had only consulted a rough survey in front of the Ingleborough cave
blurb.  Following the stream down, it
soon sinks in boulder at a ‘T’ junction with a much larger sandy floor tunnel –
Stream Chamber.  We explored to the left,
until the way on was blocked with sandbanks. We tried to the right now, hurrying a little, for we wanted to show Bert
the waterfall in daylight.  In our haste
we missed the obvious way on, having peered over a deepish overhang.  We returned to the water and followed it
upstream to the limits of caveability! Back downstream, to where the water sank we searched for another way
down to the stream.  Finally we all
squeezed down to a boulder pile, following the sounds of water.  We regained the stream only to be stopped by
a pot, down which the water vanished.  We
returned and resumed searching at the right hand (SE) of Stream Chamber.  There was no other possibility.  We soon found the way on and reached the
first signpost scratched on the wall (for which G.G. is infamous) we quickly
came to Sand Cavern.  By the time we
reached the Main Chamber, it was utterly dark above, but it was interesting to
see the waterfall in light only from below. This gives a completely different
perspective from a daytime view.

Time was pressing, so we began to hurry back.  It was evident that snow was melting on the
surface.  Water was caascading where none
had been before.  At the top of the
lowest pitch we were all cold.  At the next
pitch we had already experienced difficulties in dropping tackle.  We had to prevent the lifeline snagging when returning
it to the bottom in order not to waste time. We had lost much time on the lowest pitch when the returning lifeline
snagged – leaving those below wondering what on earth the hold up was.  Communication was impossible.  The first man up the next pitch used a double
lifeline.  The second tied on to the
middle of the line and ascended.  The
line was pulled back and firstly tackle, and then the third man, went up
attached to the middle of the line. Tackle was prevented from snagging on the way up by holding it clear of
the rock using the lower rope.  (This
method is, in fact, a technique for steadying a stretcher on ascents.)  The fourth man went up on the end of the
line.  If only we had thought of this
when lowering the tackle, we would have had that pulley for the final
pitch.  I wonder how many cavers and
potholers already use this obvious and simple technique?  It has its faults for the inexperienced,
however.

On the long pitch, we watched the second climber
disappearing amidst the spray, just halfway up the ladder, and suddenly
realised that we had only a few feet of rope left at our end.  In record time, extra rope was added after a
bit of super high speed uncoiling and knot tying.

As mentioned, there was no communication from top to bottom.
I know I’m rather light but, as I reached out for the first handhold of the
free climb, it vanished below my feet, as did most of the others.  I ran up sheer rock and ladder alike.  There is nothing like a good lifeline!  The next pitch was undoubtedly the most
difficult, and was very wet.  We were all
getting numb with cold, and much energy was lost on this pitch, especially
since we all started on the wrong side of the ladder.  All fingers were numbed at one time or other
– mine halfway up the ladder where they refused to grip the rungs.  I yelled for a tight line and, as both hands
released their grip, I had to sweep my hands behind the ladder and fold my arms
and climb like that.

Emerging, after eight hours underground, suspicions were
confirmed.  The moors were virtually
devoid of snow and the air was almost warm. We reached Fred’s house around mid-night.  There, we experienced the pleasures of having
a friend up north.  Hot baths, turkey
dinner and wine – a fitting end to an excellent, testing trip.

Sunday was spent in a leisurely way, pottering on the
surface around Malham Cove and Gordale Scar. It was like a spring day, with artificial climbers (well, what else do
you call them?) in hordes, basking in the warm sunshine and hanging in various
unlikely positions all over the cove’s massive limestone cliff.  Bradford Pothole Club were out, trying their
latest prussiking device a sort of ferruled wire.  In one hand, a small boy held sufficient for
the cove from top to bottom – over 250 feet.

We mused on the vast system of cave that might lie behind
the cove, waiting for someone to find a way in. Unfortunately, the dip is in a direction opposite to the underground
stream flow.

Then we visited Gordale Scar, where there is a massive but
heavily weathered and eroded stale flow forming a waterfall.  This is an old cave that is now a gorge, with
walls sloping impressively inwards.  Higher
up, there is a natural arch, with a waterfall dropping through it.  On either side there are numerous hollows and
a few caves.  Subsidiary faulting, caused
by the Mid-Craven Fault which gave rise to both Gordale Scar and Malham Cove
(also to Attermire and Giggleswick Scars ), is visible in two places.

Altogether, in spite of the long and arduous trip on the
Saturday, we enjoyed a pleasant and restful weekend.

 

Monthly Crossword – Number 21.

Across:

1. Found in spare crystals on
Mendip. (4)
5. They have a crack at it climbing. (5)
7. Cops out for a Cuthbert’s chamber. (7)
10. Old climbing nail maker of metallic sound. (7)
11. Once fast Mendip publican. (5)
12. Describes a well known rift. (4)

Down:

2. Black Hole? (5)
3. Best way to operate a winch? (2,5)
4.

Somerset
river surrounded by water. (4)
6. Blue rod type of cave rock. (7)
8. Part of Cuthbert’s drainage system. (5)
9. Mendip weather condition which doesn’t sound like a hit! (4)

Solution to Last Month’s Crossword