Bull Pot of the Witches to the Gour Pools - 22nd Jan 2010

Friday January 22nd 2010

Members present: Andrew Vick,  Andy Tricklebank,  Catherine Moody,  Chad B

A very enjoyable Friday evening trip. Minor faff at the start when we had doubts as to the way on but after finding the next pitch and realising we were right the first time, it was plain sailing.

Gour Chambers was very impressive, definitely worth the squeezy bits (which resulted in some very amusing squeaking sounds coming from Andy T) to get there. After the gour pools we carried on up to where the description told us there was a very fine chamber to the left. It wasnt quite as straightforward as that though... Getting into the chamber involved a 2(ish) metre climb up through a narrow slot with little to no footholds. Andy T gave it a go, and after a few minutes of moaning and groaning and using me as a stool, gave up. The others told me to have a go so I did. My helmet physically wouldn’t fit so I took it off and had another go. It was quite surreal climbing up into darkness, barely being able to see a thing of where I was going. I pulled myself up part way but then my hips got stuck, but with the help of a push from below, I soon emerged into the darkness. The chamber was indeed very fine, and not wanting to be outdone, the Andys followed with Chad bringing up the rear (without needing any help – skinny runt). A handline to the left aided the ascent over some flowstone; it felt a bit naughty walking over it, but after reaching the top and turning round, a “wow” escaped from my mouth as a very nice (previously hidden) calcite wall honed into view.

Having achieved our objective and more, we swiftly headed back to the hut for some tea and booze :)