News
All the latest news from the club this year, including older news that is no longer news, but could perhaps be better described as olds. Previous years can be found from the links below.
A small update to the guide. Removed the direct hyperlinks and QR code links from the web site and the topos to the appropriate DCA microguides for Far Sump Extensions, George Cooper's Aven, NCC Shafts, Victoria Aven and the White River Series. The direct links no longer work, but the guides can still be accessed from the peakdistrictcaving.info Peak Cavern entry links shown on the web site. The guide version is now 13.8.
Four club members underground in Eldon Hole today. Two routes down the open shaft rigged, East Wall and South Gully. Two of us also rigged the pull up route in to Millers Chamber, then followed the fixed ropes up the beautifully decorated Damocles Rift.Some photographs from Gaz McShee.
Over last weekend there were two trips by CCPC members to Odin Mine. A fine time was had, except perhaps by the Saturday team, who got very wet on the surface in the rain! From these trips, the topos for the rigging guide have been revised. This is now split over two pages to make the rigging clearer. The rigging guide is now version 13.7.
Odin Mine, the jewel of the Peak District underworld, is open to cavers again. This follows much hard work by DCA over the last decade with various agencies to first get permission, then rebolt the mine. As a result, the topo in the rigging guide is now very inaccurate. It has been removed temporarily to prevent confusion. A new one will be drawn up, after we have had a chance to visit. Looking forward to it already!
Following on from Saturday's Snake Mine trip, the part 2 topo for the mine is now in the rigging guide. This covers the Chain Ladder Shaft, Old Man's Steps Climbing Shaft and the Lower Shaft. Thanks again to Dan Lay for bolting the routes and making this a safer place to explore. The mine appears fairly stable, but a lot of the roof and the shaft walls are made from expertly stacked deads that the miners placed at least a century ago. Try and minimise contact with these when visiting.
Five club members visited Snake Mine in Hoptonwood. Descended the Coe Climbing Shaft to explore the 80' level and the Chain Ladder shaft, the Old Man's Steps Climbing Shaft and the lower shaft. A report is likely to appear in the Newsletter at some point. Some of Gaz McShee's photos here.
Now we can get underground again, there is a long list of rigging guide entries to check. This update replaces the written descriptions for Lay-by Pot and Carlswark Cavern in Stoney Middleton Dale with proper drawn topos. Rope lengths have been checked. A longer rope is now given for Eyam Dale Shaft to allow a back up to a tree. This pitch is often used by novices, so this gives some extra protection at the top. The most up to date rigging guide version is now 13.4.
Our first post-lockdown 3 disorganised trip was to the Manchester Hole - Goyden Pot system in Nidderdale, Yorkshire. A fine time was had and a full report will doubtless appear in the next newsletter.
DCA have been updating the names of some mine features to their historical ones, rather than the names given by their more modern explorers. This has affected Youds' Level, which has returned to the name Ringing Rake Sough and Day shaft, which returns to being Deep Shaft. As a result, the Youds' Level topo has been renamed to Deep Shaft. Both names are shown on the description and topo. The rigging guide version is now 13.3.
The rigging guide has been updated. We have added a topo for The Dungeon in Bagshawe Cavern. Other pitches in Bagshawe will follow, but this is the most often descended. The DCA access links for some of the caves were broken, so the links on the site and the QR codes on the topos have been corrected. All caves now use peakdistrictcaving.info links, rather than a mix of these and DCA Cave Registry links. Since many topos have new QR codes, the opportunity has been taken to renumbered the pages to take account of the two new topos since the last renumbering. The Level 7 / Hope Shaft topo is now called Middleton Dale Mine - Level 7 / Hope Shaft to match the naming in CotPD. Various minor corrections. A printed guide will need printing again to bring it up to date. The guide is now at version 13.2.
With the lifting of some restrictions, caving is now possible again for most of us. There are limitations, but we will be able to get underground. 😃
On the last day of lock down, the web wrangler placed some 360 degree panoramic pictures on the Mountains gallery page from a number of climbs and treks the club has done over the years.
Lock Down 3 means no caving. The web wrangler has been using the enforced time to modify the web site to use webp images, as well as jpeg and png formats. For browsers that support webp, which is most modern ones, users should see shorter download and faster loading times for pages with lots of pictures. Older browsers will still work, but won't see the speed improvement.
A new Newsletter has been been delivered by our editor. Read what we have been up to in the brief gaps between lock downs.
Lock Down 3 in England means that the trips we had planned are canceled while it is in effect.
The entrance of Uamh a Bruthaich Chais Fhada in Appin, Scotland. Photo © Jenny Drake 2013.