Knacker Trapper Hole - 25th Apr 2010

Sunday April 25th 2010

Members present: Chad B,  Marcus Roby,  Toby Buxton

A physically and mentally demanding trip, containing mostly very tight, narrow rifts and large traverses. It required some creative rigging off natural formations (though most pitches were free climbable. Getting into the university challenge series was quite tiring and painful in places, once there the multiple layers of rifts above a streamway obscured the way on, and a large number of loose rocks made progress difficult, and no matter how carefully i moved while scouting for the way on there was the occasional disconcerting crash of rocks falling. After some rather sketchy traversing we managed to locate a chamber which resembled the description, however rigging a pitch and descending further towards the streamway we could not find the path to the sump, deciding instead to head back and take a look at the curtain formations described in the book we moved back up the university challenge rifts, I managed to find a route up to ceiling level but it was physically tiring and we were beginning to become concerned about the energy and time it would take to leave the cave, and so decided to head back.

The highlight of the return trip was the tacklesack becoming lodged in the bosch rifts, no amount of wriggling and pushing would free it, and I was unable to reach it to do more and so unclipped it from myself to allow toby to try, after about 45 minutes it was finally free (though partially unpacked) and we continued on to the exit. Having lost both my kneepads, nearly lost my knife and put the first rip in my oversuit we finally left the cave.

While at the time I couldn't imagine a situation I would ever want to return, I am already feeling guilty about not reaching the end, and the idea doesn't sound quite as bad as it did that evening.