Runscar Cave - 25th Oct 2009

Sunday October 25th 2009

Members present: Adam Wilkinson,  Alastair Gott,  Caitlin Brumby,  Carina Topham,  Chad B,  Christina Cartaciano,  Chuck Holder,  Daniel Hughes,  Gary Douthwaite,  Jess Rodgers,  Marion Holloway,  Matt Ewles,  Matthew Stafford,  Rob Holmes,  Toby Buxton,  William Burns

Although disappointed by the fact we had to sack off Long churn (horizontal rain is bad news), we ventured up to the Station Inn at the Ribbleshead Viaduct to look at some smaller caves up there, on Chucks recommendation. Things were not looking good as we changed in strong wind and driving rain, but once into caving gear it calmed down and we headed over towards the caves. I have no idea which cave it was we ended up going down - but the best one by far took a good 30 minutes to get into and out of, and we didn't reach the end! A fine stream passage, involving a bit of crab-walking, stooping, crawling, wet crawling (!) and a few easy climbs with scattered formations gave an excellent introduction to caving, without even leaving us breathless! At the end of the cave a boulder collapse can be climbed through to yield much ongoing easy passage and some nice formations, however, with concerns about the water levels and the possibility that it may suddenly rise, we opted to turn around and not tempt fate by staying underground too long.

An hour in the pub followed as we all warmed up! A great short trip, very easy, but a good introduction to caving nontheless and the day worked out significantly better than expected.