_— €.C.P.C. OCTOBER 1988 cere Newsletker No.!7 "Gave" fescue Reports E a Tt was 4.20 pm vhon, believe it or nob, I had Just got into the stoee after 2 is(twelvel) mile run, Marguerite called me to sey DOR vert on the Lino" buiL/ in’ dite in Biutaford" - they've got to. bekidding 1 thought, stilt 1t's better than, dogeti Bill Whitehouse filled in the smre details, n worker had armrently follen goun a well. (This was 1 be incorvect.) A pnal2 tonm consisting of Piul Holdcroft, Srixn and eelf wee deeoe pusied herself putt others on standby. Liam an? Tan Srindey ¢ Yene requested to join the first three at ebout 5 O'ckock. On arrival ve were joined by John Middlesist (Mouse) and = narrow iupoesible, crumbling well half full of veter, linea model about 40" deep and 40' in diameter, The v tov have been tunneliig horizontally from the bottom of the vell in snd SHUPTERING! Around and at the bottom of the well there socmed to be dozens of fireseny sabulance personel, mines rescue, o doctor, 2 nurse, several policenen and countless Irish navvios. However the experts had arrived! (or so the copper in charge thou ht) Trying to look professionml (ie ae if I knew what I was doing), I clinved tae builders ladder into the abysa, the onlookers gasped in anazenent ~ no lifeline AND no helnet!! the vietin ved lying horizontally fase downvarde, buried up to his neck in sade They had managed $o. sputter above bim bot the faster they dug the sore. F nd_caye in - he uns tat moby pans) Mouse joined me, a brief diseussionfelloved an our professional advise was given allowing me to retire to the surface - foiled agiin - no tearwmront aoe the hell vas running this reacue!, obviously Cheshire Police were not used +2 this type of incident and the neods of rescue personel. Disarpointed T donned ny gear and returned to the hole with Paul and Brian. The victim was fitted with not one but two drips(not counting Mouse ond e)—and. pumped full of Entonox. (He didn't seem any bappiers) Mireculously our brilliant suggestion of shuttering the sides of the tunnel i well as the roof ima worked and the extraction vas progressing vell. The fire ‘brigade produced reretcher consisting of a flat sheet of perapex festened to a steel framework. They aseured Paul that despite the lack of a footrest t i Lift if the leg straps were crossed and fastened thought, overuled. the Grigade and rigned for e horizontal Lift. tou couse the exciting bit - the stretcher vas lifted by = crane vith me, perched astride it holding the saline drips - and not a TV camera in sight! We were brought to 2 halt xeon a! ete the deck, an cager equad unclipped one side of the stretcier senting ne arse over tit into the mudt Perhaps it vas as well the SBC hadn't mde itt Nothing left to do xcept rescue the poor nurse vho damn new died of fr: it half way up the ladder, ve jacked up, headed for home, my second shover of the evening and still made the monthly club meeting on timels | { | WEATHER FORECAST Many of you are no doubt avare of the fact that caves often contain water and that the volune is proportional to the rainfal (wef - the Hammer incident! Accurate informtion is avsilable 7 days :| week, 24 hours day on the numbers Listed below. Dial 0998 500 followed by: Yorkshire 417 Mestings which fall ona Bank Holiday will be held on the second Monday of thut month. Journal No 3+ Flushed vith the success of our previous two journils, we are now eninrking on No 3. Please send articles to Ralph, preferably while he is still young enough to do something with then. Roreign trips, dige ete are mrticularly cesirable. Meets List. Sun 16th Juniper gulf/ Rift Pot/ Lonp fin East: NOVEMBER Sand Sun 6th Peak Cavern B™— Rak Capesns Sat 12th Hunt Pot / Little Hull Pot DECEMBER Sun llth Kingsdale TA TORCA DEL CARLISTA 1987 Under the Cantabrian mountains in Northern Spain, near the small village of Ranero in La Torea del Carlista Parks, ie one of the Luzgest chambers in the Western World. The controversy aver whether the Tores del Carlista ds just bigger or just smaller than tne La Ve: accurate gurvey, out I have lost the details and cannot ronenber waich agtually won, ch they both vied, ao it 4s: only acendenic. Bota chambers are abcolutely enormous by any standards, chamber in the Pierre St. Martin was eventu&lly resolved ty an Anyvay, Malu put In the cumner of 1987, snortly after completing the magnificent Cueto/Caventosa traverse (20 hrs) with our Belgian friends of the GRSL, Keith Sanderson and I were invited for a Sunday trip to Carlista. We gathered at Ranero; about 32 of ua, cavers, wonen and children, and after sone discussion took « track up to 8 quarry where ve cht. changed into caving gear before setting off up the hill for an arduousy Keith and I carried a 750m 4 10mm rope between us. Alphonse and Francis the rest of the tackle. At the top, the Selgians rigyed the entrance sinfts and the cescents began, Because ve vere so numerous and one or two of the teemgers were doing their first descent, it weg quite a long vait. However, the mountain scenery was 2 superb distraction to oecupy the time between snacks and liquid refreshment, Eventually Keith and T were able to descend. After the 1000ft entrance shaft of Sim: Cueto we reckoned that nothing could exeite us now, but we were in for quite a surprise! The first 30a to a bolt was in the t; h to a sort of ledge followed by a looaish 3u section, and then 10m to the final piteh of 100m, esl smooth yellowy rock of the region and led to a narrov 15m The big pitch vas rigged double with tie two hulves of the 250m rope so that Keith and I were able to rake almost sinultansous descents, As 1 crossed the bolt off the 3m section, Keith was on tho big ritch, The 10m pitch seemed oddly quiet and I coult sense a sort of emptiness below me; no-sight or sound of Keith, T slid down te the twin ropes ond Pound it hard to decide which was free as the weignba seemed sinilar, Below me seened like the blackness of apaée.... a@ tiny stark of light far below vas Keiths carla Quite hight nd further below three or four pinpoints of Light could be seen. I eroosed the last bolt and started ny dascent, Within « fev into the uiddle of novhere. The incredible size ws over foot Twas sailing off Lming snd although I tad l@ not see the walls or the floer; it was Like 4 p in outer 2 to be taking sometime and I started to worry. Cueto/Gaventosa 3. I had taken then off ond turned ther jd worn out the three top bars of uy reek, rhea left. At over. Somewhere Like half vay devin T began“te vont Teast it vould be gui shouts. Thay watited ne to stop fora Soon I could deseera ihe otiers Weloi ne and hear jotol” No such luck, 1 referred to reach terra firm whilet there was come of my rack left! A rapid descent and 1 grounded ‘on the floor of ‘the inmense chamber. Hi¢h above 1 heard n f art shout, and loolting ying Pirewor’. park talline from the sky 11% from up I could see a tiny ¢ it vas Francoise follouitig SH dowHe"After a short rest ‘tol recover ay canses I clam>- ered over ‘the boulders to explore the chamter, Soon I vas alone in the wst blickness trying to find the way to the beautiful grottoes below, The size of the nlrce gonersted gilence that pervaded the atmosphere Like cotton wool. I td +) » inpression of being alone on snother plinot after a Journey through space, I never found Keith, and ofter a while decided te turn back and geek refreshment before the need for ascent. Back at the piteh, the last descents had been cosleted and the ascents bognn. Mphonse tender and Francis went/up but it leoked so unpleassnt thet the rest of us vent uc gold, fven Siuon aged 131 It vas a long wit foromy turrand T vas sind to ret.soving ‘at hundred foot. It's vhythn- of bounce again. ‘The bounce of the rope enabled ne to 'ewin! a and the movement of the asconders gets into the right rhase, the upyard moves soem effortless, just Like evimming. jiowever, soon 1 vas out of aixinum bounce nnd the real work stetted, but at less! I did not have thebother about worn equipment to distract me. A few minutes exertion and -the boits loomed out of the darkness. The remining pitehes presented no problens ani the escent to the surfsce a scon-ovas. Weleone veers at the top to cool « strong thirst. An excellent Sunday outing was over, but J still had that infinite blackness stored in my mind. uP 1. 30m rope 3 or & hangers 2. lsu rope 2 hangers Bi Qu rope = 1. hanger = (one rope) 4. 10m rope 1 hanger P 5. 100m rope 2 hangers SURVEY OVERLEAF. John Gillett, Soe ‘VaNveEyO VastTayo ae Taq vO¥Oa ¥T BepozOg ep 233615 CONS TAILS ALD RUF 1 + (SER PREVIOUS 1 SLETTER) -A GC) T FROM P.TON 1. Most people in the club whovare using the double roge cove tails now use a double (ig. Fishermns) knot for thelast. knot. This seens to avoid the problem of the knot coming undone end what should be a short rest while passing » bolt becoming a free falls iiml autuors exprosced surprite when the karabiner securing the blocks of steel faileé but the millon dicén't. tie failing ne, it would appear that the millon was subject to a gingle pull along it's long axis, whereas the krab vas subjected t6 5 three way pull. 2 GIES = BY P TON ES AND ITALIA t my words are 1io longer falling on deaf ears. For years I have been imitation pearls before genuine #® ‘ine but following ay article on safe lifelining I have actually seen stitci vlates (well) - chesp imitationst) being used by club renters underground. For those nembers not familiar vith these devices, the disgrans below should be self extlanatory. STI PLE WHBRE HAVE YOU BERN -THIS SUMMER 7 Don't forget you could become’ famous by submitting details of your exploits for inclusion in the next journal. Contact Ralphs CONGRATULATIONS to Tipple who got married to a lovely young lady - Blaine - on Saturday 17th Gentenber. Our commiserations, of course go to Elaine! - Lock up your daughters, vives, grannies, tortoises etc! (Sorry Hartyn) - Welcome back! — 4 Tale of Two Bulls. Do you remember the story that ap, while ago about the young bull an one about the young bull wanting pefore getting too drunk and the should take thelr time and screw Well the analagy was that if you and pay careful attention to the te go down all the caves in Yorks by floods Vell it seems to me that this is of the storyteller,who it would awn advice. All that I cam say is wi when nape t wou T hape that when T get to retire to the Marton Arms out by that time.1 certain much bullshit by then that for a brain. Guay Re Ton peared in ¢ a the old + ta run gut old t them all. take your tim this world weather then you will be able hire and never g=t caught out a Yaad of Old bull on the part om is incapable of taking his remember Meregill 1 state will quietly ever it id bulls hang that 1 be talking so la seem that T’ve got bulls