Knotlow Cavern, Peak District

We arranged to meet Joe and Tim again in the morning at the OCC cottage and spent a couple of hours giving Tim the basics of SRT on the cottage gable end in the hot sun (about 26 degrees!) with Mick C. and Ken making remarks about "using ladders instead of ropes". Boyd was looking after a visitor's dog which had been left in a van while they had gone caving.
After the training session we headed for Knotlow Triangle and found a group from Rubber Duck CC, including Pete B., just changing after a trip down Knotlow Cavern themselves. I dropped down the entrance shaft and met two of the remaining Rubber Duck CC, who had given up on a trip through the Bung Series, on their way out. I shouted up to the others after Tim had joined us to wait until the two Rubber Ducks had got out before dropping down.
We got as far as the top of the Waterfall Pitch and all had a good look - we hadn't planned on doing this as Tim was still an SRT neophyte. We were all back in the hot sun on the surface after a couple of hours and headed back to Parsley Hay.

P8, Peak District

Karen and I arranged to meet Joe B. (a work colleague of Chris J.'s) and his cousin Tim T., who had emailed to see about joining the Orpheus. After kitting out Tim with gear (Joe had his own and had caved in the past whereas Joe had been on one trip down Bagshawe Cavern) we drove to P8 and had the cave to ourselves. We laddered the first pitch and the alternative second pitch. The upstream sump was flowing well and the downstream sump was quite high despite the recent dry weather.
We headed out an got to the surface after about 3 and a quarter hours.

Great Hucklow, Peak District

Karen and I met Mat, Nikki and others from DCRO at the Old Methodist Chapel where we were providing first aid cover for the Great Hucklow Fell Race.

Water Icicle Close Cavern, Peak Disrict

Karen was helping at Winster's Secret Gardens and I headed for Parsley Hay and the Orpheus CC cottage. Keith and Pete were up for a trip down Water Icicle Close Cavern for a first attempt at removing up some rocks in the dig. After the usual breakfast at The Old Smithy in Monyash, the three of us headed for Water Icicle and Keith and Pete cleared a few more obstacles while I had a poke around in a lower passage which has an abandoned dig. After this I headed off to get changed as they were nearly finished and a I met them in the cafe again.

Walk around Lumsdale, Peak District

Went for a walk around the old mill buildings at Lumsdale, near Matlock, with Karen and her parents.

Walk around Bonsall Moor, Peak District

Karen took her Mum and Dad and I around part of Bonsall Moor to show us the orchids growing there after having done a similar walk lead by Jim A. a couple of weeks before.

Eldon Hole, Peak District

An "Alternate Tuesday" event. Karen and I arrived at the usual parking place followed closely by Jules B.. Jules was there coincidentally was there to take two new Eldon PC cavers on a training trip in the North Gully. A while later Jim A. arrived as arranged together with Lyn and Andy. Later Martin and John W. also arrived.
Jim planned to rig the East Wall while I planned on the South Gully. Karen and I headed for the Gully and I took both bags, the second on a Donkey's Dick, and began rigging. Things were very overgrown and damp with recent rain and at first I couldn't spot the old rusty piton which is the first deviation right at the top of the route. I lowered myself nervously down the first few feet, it being damp and slippy and spotted the piton. Stopping at an easy perch, I couldn't get the sling I was using to reach the rope. Karen offered me a sling but that was just as short. Karen suggested using both slings and that worked. Really, I should have dropped down a bit lower to avoid the trouble.
I dropped down the short distance to the first rebelay which is free-hanging. Clipping in my short cowstail I soon had the rope tied on. I clipped my footloop jammer tot he rope to stand up and remove my cowstail but that didn't give me enough height. I clipped the krab from the jammer to the rebelay krab and after a bit of a struggle got the cowstail off. Jim was asking how it was going as he arranged the first rebelay on his route not far away. Lowering myself onto the descender, I found the safety-link came tight! Bollocks! Exactly the same thing happened on a previous trip down this route!
I clipped my chest jammer to the rope above and after more struggling managed to get my safety-link slack so I could unclip. Jim in the meantine had done the same thing with his long cowstail which amused me a bit! He soon had it sorted out.
Of course, now that I was hanging from my chest jammer, I couldn't release it so had to go up a few feet to get off the pitch. By now I was getting knackered and very pissed off, so decided to throw in the towel - Karen could follow down on the East Wall route so all was not lost.
Andy and Lyn decided to forgo the exposed East Wall and follow down on Jules's ropes on the North Gully and I followed Lyn down to help with instructions while Andy helped from below. By now Jules's party was on their way out, not having gone right to the bottom so I headed straight back up followed by the others. Karen arrived from below and as it was 21:30, we headed for home it being a Tuesday night and worl would be waiting in the morning.

Sell Gill Holes, Yorkshire Dales

Mat, Nikki and some of the others had a trip to Hagg Gill Pot. I, along with Karen, Jim A., Scott and Martin of Alternate Tuesday. headed for Sell Gill Holes. We parked past the houses on the lane leading from Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Calf Holes and walked across the fields to the lane leading to the cave.
Originally we planned on an exchange trip via the Fossil Route (dry) and the Goblin Route (wet) but as it was so wet, I decided that it was best to stick to the Fossil Route. Jim wanted more rigging practice so did the rigging and did it well. We followed down another party down so overall it wasn't a quick trip.
As it was quite a wet day so we went some way into the low, wet part of the cave before turning around and heading back to the surface and a quick trip to Bernies.

Alum Pot, Yorkshire Dales

It was an Alt. Tuesday weekend arranged for a trip in White Scar Cave. Mat and Nikki had booked the Yorkshire Ramblers hut, "Lowstern" and we all arrived Friday night. Because White Scar is a show cave, an early start was required so they had also arranged for a breakfast to be cooked for everyone in the morning - an excellent idea.
As the forecast wasn't good I thought the trip would be called off, but when Mat phoned the show cave to arrange an alternative date, he was told it would be OK to go ahead as long as everyone was out by 2pm. As I had already decided on Alum Pot instead and would rather visit White Scar when there was less of a rush I decided to leave White Scar for the next time and Karen decided to join me for the same reason. We drove to Alum Lane and met Kev and Claire Chadwick getting ready to take a trip down Long Churns with a party of kids.
Below Dolly Tubs pitch the 30 metre rope was too short - which was unexpected as the rigging guide showed 32m and I had rigged the first Y-hang part way along the traverse! So I tied on the rope intended for the traverse after the Greasy Slab for the last 3 metres or so. In the mean time two more cavers arrived and started rigging the traverse above us to the end. I rigged the Greasy Slab and walked along the ledge to the top of the Bridge. As the rigging guide showed 45 metres of rope was needed for the next pitch from underneath The Bridge, and we had only the 45 metre rope left, I decided to let the other two cavers past so that if our rope was too short, then they wouldn't be delayed while I returned up the pitch.
The other two cavers arrived and one of them was Bean from the Wessex CC who I had met while caving in France a few years before! I explained our possible problem with not enough rope and he suggested we follow down on their ropes. Great! Especially as Karen and I didn't bring a rope for the final pitch as we would then have three tackle bags too carry instead of two.
Anyway, we followed Bean and his mate down to the bottom of Alum Pot where they waited for the others in their party to arrive via Deccan Pot and complete their Alum Pot/Diccan Pot exchange trip.