Bar Pot - down to see gaping gill - 3rd May 2009

Sunday May 3rd 2009

Members present: Alastair Gott,  Anna Barnard,  Catherine Moody,  Chuck Holder,  Jonathan Booth

After a nice drive and a plesant walk up to the moor we then spent a while watching Chuck poke his head down several shakeholes looking for Flood entrance but eventually we just decided to do Bar Pot, so off we went. After several late nights looking at pictures of the gaping gill main chamber and daydreaming during lectures about standing by the waterfall I was excited to be going there, a place I'd wanted to go to since I saw a picture of somebody abbing down dihedral when I was younger.

A downward crawl led to our first pitch, a constricted pitch head that opened out into a chamber witht the rope hanging free away from the walls, my favourite type of pitch. A stomp with the odd squeeze and a greasey slab led down to the second pitch, into quite a cool chamber. Exiting this we stomped on until we reached a long crawl, the anticipation growing with the draft as we shuffled on.

Even after seeing so many pictures I wasnt prepared for the main chamber, a beautiful and powerful place, the afternoon sun breaking in and turning the body of water into a living sculpture of frosted glass. Certainly more impressive than the York Minster it's often compared to when you consider that it was made by just water and gravity.

The journey back was quick and effiscient, pausing to look at the chamber where we spent the new year and to admire some cave-pearls, and we were soon out into the sunny world of 'upstairs', the next big 'must do' being dihedral!