Nick Pot - 04 Mar 2006

Saturday March 4th 2006

Members present: Andrew Gilmartin,  David Sproson,  Richard Gover

An obscenely efficient trip - right from leaving the garage at 8:20am to getting back in time for a takeaway in York. Found the cave pretty much straight away (slightly squalid entrance up the hillside from the most obvious hole). First pitch a very pleasant 15m with 2 deviations (the guide suggests it is tight and awkward - it isn't). Short crawl/stoop downstream to the head of the big pitch. The Traverse of the Gods is very cool - not too exposed as you wriggle along a washed out shale bedding plane. First hang from p-hangars above your head then intimidating hanging rebelay about 5m down. Second rebelay at about -40m (we only found 1 p-hangar and had to put a deviation in so maybe went the wrong side of the flake). Nowt at the bottom except a stone chocked sump. Best bit of the cave is a dam at the top of the big pitch which you can fill up and then release thundering down the pitch (well away from the rope) - pity I didn't do this when Andy was rigging.

In and out in 3hours 20m.