C.C.P.C.

Newsletter.
July '97

‘Well, did you manage to pay your subs on time? If you still haven't you are not insured.

All the ladder has now been removed from the 210 thanks to Tim, Dan, Paul Nixon and
Ralph. Ben has transported it to his "new" entrance to Lathkill Head. He sends his thanks
and an invite to anyone wishing to have a look at this new entrance to Dreamtime.

A ladder was recently removed from P8 leaving an instructor and 3 novices marooned,
Hopefully it wasn't stolen but it pays to be vigilant until the matter is cleared up.

CCPC were involved in a major incident when a ladder snapped in the "Far Flats" (is there
a lesson to be learned about safety lines?) causing the ocoupant to fall about Sm breaking
his upper arm in 2 places in addition to sustaining pelvic injuries. It took about 2 dozen
underground DCRO members (9 from CCPC) about 10 hours to extract him (From the
call out) Other CCPC members were involved in the surface arrangements. Despite being
a technical nightmare the rescue went very smoothly, Thanks to all who turned out and
apologies to those who weren't called .... No doubt your turn will come!!!

A fatal accident recently occurred due to a screw gate crab being opened by a fig 8 being
used by a climber. Small maillons can do the same to a Stop. Be warned.

A number of rigging/self rescue courses are being organised at a cost of £25. If you are
interested contact Ralph

A number of CCPC cars were broken into while parked in the lane leading to Marble
Steps. Not a lot one can do really except be aware of the problem

Dave Edwards has taken over from Ralph as chairman of DCRO. Ralph succeeds Dave
Gough as treasurer

Tim and Paul Nixon have recovered the bent RSJ from Knotlow 210. Ben has accepted
this and once again extends an invitation to look at his dig. Access may well be very
restricted in the near future so if you want a look, now is the time.

STOP PRESS. Ralph has failed in his bid to become a male model for Pertex!!!
There are no prizes for guessing why!!

The diagrams below give details of a number of hauling systems useful with small
groups. However ... they do need practice!! Don't wait until you need them "in
anger”

4

AOISTS
‘Assisted Handline.
Basic 2:1 Hoist
3:1 Hoist
2:1 Hoist operated from pitch base.
“Z Rig” Hoist (3:1 Advantage).
“Z Rig” Hoist using Petzl Stop,
2:1 Hoist using Pulley/Jammer,
(Counter - Balance Hoist aq
(OTE IN DIAGRAMS 2, 3 AND 4 A BELAY
DEVICE SHOULD BE USED TO BACK UP

‘HE HAULING TEAM.

MPORTANT : THE LEADER SHOULD ALWAYS BE ABLE TO REVERSE HAULING
Peak Cavern: 15th. December 1996.

Once again it was our annual tourist trip round Peak Cavern, and this time
John Preston and | had managed to take Paul Nixon with us to give us a good
excuse for doing the tour rather than anything strenuous. We met the others as
usual in the T.S.G. ex-chapel, filled in all the paperwork and paid up £1 per person,
then we wandered off for a coffee until the official unlocking of the gate at 11.00
a.m.. First-timers always seem a little surprised at having to carry everything up into
the cave, and then getting changed inside, but when you see how packed with
visitors Castleton becomes by the afternoon, | suppose its understandable that they
don't want a group of filthy cavers wandering through the middle of the village before
peeling off on the car park !

There is something sad about the entrance to Peak. The c cave faces north, at
the end of a short, steep sided gorge, and in December the skeletal trees, decaying
vegetation, and low winter light are depressing enough without the hideous mess of
interwoven fencing panels, iron railings and barbed wire which greet you at the end
of the approach path. Passing the outer gate you then walk between a garden-shed
pay hut and the cave wall to emerge on the topmost terrace of a number of huge
man-made terraces inside the entrance chamber, previously used for rope making.
The remains of that ancient industry, rope stretching frames, winding frames and
devices for twisting the strands together, stand abandoned and decaying in small
areas where they have been gathered together and left. A muddle of white plastic
garden furniture, a discarded freight pallette and other assorted clutter hardly
improves the first impression of dereliction and neglect. Isn't this supposed to be
spectacular, awe-inspiring and so on ? Earlier, while at the T.S.G. base, we had
learned that the couple who lease Peak Cavern are retiring, so the Duchy of
Lancaster are putting the lease up for sale. Whoever takes it on will certainly have
plenty of scope for improvement.

Once changed we set off with our kit through the inner gate and along
Lumbago Walk to the Great Cave, where we stashed our clothes up among the
boulders. The tourist path continues a little further, through Roger Rains House to
the top of the Devil's Staircase, where the visitors are stopped by a barrier. As a
youngster | visited the cave on a number of occasions, and in those days (early
sixties) tourists were taken much further, down the steps to the Peak Cavern
stream where it flows off into a small passage leading to the Halfway House sump.
The visitors, of course, kept to the main route upstream, following a well made path
which criss-crossed the stream through the Five Arches, until it reached a ‘T’
junction where the Buxton and Speedwell Water passages combined. At this point
the show-cave ended. It's easy to see why the present day tourist path has been cut
short. Beyond the barrier every surface is coated with a thick layer of soft mud,
making the paths, steps and bridges treacherous, and a major undertaking to clear
up, although some efforts have obviously been made in the past. Additional mud
must be deposited every time the cave floods. As | understand it, in flood conditions
the Halfway House sump cannot take the extra volume of water and backs up,
causing all the passages upstream for quite some distance to fill, and the water
rises up the Devil's Staircase, until, in extreme conditions it has been known to flow
out through the inner gate and across the entrance chamber to daylight. It's not
surprising that with these kind of problems the cave is closed to tourists for up to
six months every year.
Anyone taking on the lease would need to solve the flood problem before
making any major investment in new paths, steps or lighting. How about a flood
relief tunnel direct from the streamway at the foot of the Devil's Staircase to
discharge into the existing channel in the entrance chamber or into the gorge ? I'm
not too sure about the levels, but the distance only looks to be about 250 metres on
the survey. If you think that sounds unlikely, look at the tunnel driven in White Scar
Cave to link the Battlefield with the existing tourist route. (They also managed to get
id of their old paths etc., and replaced them with excellent metal-grid surfaces and
steps.) There seems to be plenty of potential for someone with imagination and cash
! It does seem sad that such a stunning natural feature, in the heart of a honey-pot
village in the Peak National Park should be in such a state. 3

We wandered off on our tour, through the Mucky Ducks and into the Upper
Gallery, which led us easily to Surprise View where we climbed down the fixed
ladder into the Peak Cavern Streamway. We went downstream to the Buxton Water
Sump and back, then upstream to Squaw's Junction where we left our spare kit.
We ignored the route up the waterfall and went on upstream for a short distance to
@ passage off on a shelf to the left. This led through to a junction with Lake Passage
where we turned left to Lake Sump. Paul was persuaded to do the decent thing and
swim through, pulling on the guide rope, and seemed grateful to be hauled out as he
appeared face-up on the far side, After a quick dip in Ink Sump we turned back and
this time Paul followed me through more easily face-down. John used the dry by-
pass, but we promised not to mention that to anyone.

We rejoined the main route and moved quickly on upstream to generate some
warmth, visiting the Picnic Dig emergency food dump on the way, before being
finally stopped by Far Sump. Our plans to crawl up every possible dig were
abandoned, and we set off back the way we had come. Just beyond the Maypole
Inlet ladder we climbed a fixed rope on the left and entered a tube, well lubricated
with liquid mud, which led, following a plastic pipe, to the Main Stream Inlet with its
mess of plumbing fixtures sticking out of the wall. We were able to get partially
cleaned off in the numerous jets of water squirting out of the pipes, then we turned
right, following the water down the Squaw’s Junction waterfall to our bags. Ruth was
there alone, waiting for the rest of her group who had gone off to Lake Passage, but
she claimed to be warm enough, and didn't want to get into a bivi bag with anyone !
After hot drinks we left Ruth and climbed back up the waterfall, then followed the
route to the right, via Wigwam Aven and Galena Chamber, which eventually re-joins
the main route close to the top of the Surprise View ladder. We had to wait in the
side passage as a large party were on their way in and had bottle-necked at the
ladder, but that gave Paul a chance to get his own back on me. Fortunately the
tackle sack full of rock samples only had 10 feet to fall before knocking me flat, so |
only suffered multiple injuries. | even ended up carrying it later ! We ended our tour
with a good look round the Treasury area, picking up a few more mineral bits and
visiting the sump itself, before strolling on out to the Great Cave to collect our
belongings.

Arriving back in daylight by the gate we found the others had left the cave only
minutes before so we were the last of the twelve Crewe members in the cave. By
the time we were changed it was about 3.30pm., and the light was already beginning
to fade into dusk. Another good trip completed.

Colin S. Knox 20.12.1996
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Police DCRO TRAINING SESSIONS
tribute 9 Sept 8.00pm Ratlway hotel Commntee
to cave 23 Sept 7.30pm Railway Hotel Controllers
rescue 28 Sept 930am ‘Whitehall Training Circus

team

2. Nov 7.30pm Matlock Engineering

Cave rescuers.

battled for more. :

than ten hours to’ 25 Nov 7.30pm Railway Hotel. Cas caretevac.
bring an_ injured

29 Nov 2.30pm Anchor Inn. DCRO. AGM
30 Nov 9.30am Bagshaw —_Cas.care+evac.
9 Dec 8.00pm Railway Hotel Committee

13 Dec 7.30pm mmm Xmas dinner

C.C.P.C. MEETS, July - November (ine.) 1997:

an_extremoly. long,
difficult and protract-

5 July 1997 Pipikin/Link

12 July Club 40th. Anniversary ‘Do’.
19 July Whitescar

20 July Sell Gill

19-30 July Gouffre Berger

2 August Lost Johns

17 August Ogof Hespte Alyn

23 August Penyghent Pot

6 September Rumbling Hole

14 September Little Neath River Cave

27 September Providence Pot / Dow Cave
28 September Cherry Tree Hole

4 October Lancaster Hole

19 October Slaughter Stream

25 October Gaping Gill / Stream Passage Pot
| November Notts Pot

16 November Giant’s Hole

30 November Craig a Ffynnon
sir,

The mineral districts of this county

have long complained of the depreciation of British Lead ore.

in consequence of the admission of foreign ore and lead with-
out a sufficient protecting duty.

They have accordingly petitioned parliament for relief; and
there is no reason to doubt that their petition will meet with
the attention which their importance demands.

As there is at present so much to complain of in the badness
of the times, the miners womld certainly act wisely in retrench-
ing some unnecessary expences which unfortunately adhere to their
trade: and I have reason to believe, that many of them are dis-
posed to do ao, but it too often happens that these good inclina~
tions are over-ruled by those who ought rather to encourage them.

Instead of paying the men at the reckoning house on the nine,
as might be done,they are paid at different alehouser in the
neighbourheod, where there is always drink, and often dinner,
and the same unnecessary expences are frequently incurred at
making a bargain,

There are also, in some places, occasional dinners at which
the miners are in the habit of attending through fear of giving
offence.

All these are expences which it is cruel to lead the poor miners
into, when in almost every instance they might be avoided.

There is another evil, which pervades almost all great trades to
a certain extent, and mining amongst the rest, I mean the implied
obligation upon workmen, to purchase goods of theiremployer or his
friend, and even to accept goods in lieu of wages.

This practice is contrary to exprese statute, and is punishable
by heavy penalties, but it is extremely difficult to bring home the
offence.

To this unjust mode of dealing with poor workmen, there are, I
admit, many honourable exceptions; several proprietors of mines set

their faces against it, and see that the men are not supplied with
goods, but are paid in money.

I have little, or no doubt that were all great proprietors to
look but for once into details of their concerns, strict justice
would be done between parties; and that this, as well as many of
the other evil practices above hinted at, would be abolished.

Let me hope, that at all events, the miners will not be wanting
to themselves, but will, as far as depends upon their own endeavours,
instantly relinquish all habits which are injurious to the interest
of their families; and to this, let me add another hope, that the
Proprietors will ultimately (if not immediately) see it to be a duty

to protect the industrious miner from every thing that tends to
depress hin,

I am, your obt. humble servt.

, Miners Friend.
June 9, 1628.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHESTERFIELD GAZETTE,June 14th 1828