Present: Anthony & Julia (DUSA), Lisa, Tom & Andy (Reading UCC)
The DUSA assault on the deep pots of Yorkshire got off to a faltering start with this abortive attempt on Black Shiver. An evening of much bullshit in the Marton was followed by a morning of much wandering around the slopes of Ingleborough failing to find the entrance. Once there, rigging proceeded at a less than rapid speed thanks to lots of the M8s being shagged (no p-bolts yet.) So by the time we got to the Eagle’s Nest (?) above Black Rift, we were pretty cold. So when Andy (who was rigging) couldn’t find any decent bolts to rig the intimidating 90m drop beneath his arse without an atrocious rub point, and no-one else could find any alternatives, a fairly inevitable jack occurred. So a far from brilliant trip, but it served the purpose of going caving with the Reading lot.
Postscript: Writing this report a month later, it appears that this trip will end up being the final caving trip of a much valued servant of DUSA, and prior to that CUCC – my Lada (aka “the Bolshevick Brick” and a whole lot of less flattering terms) which will in all probability be off to the scrappers very soon. A memorial service is planned allowing a chance to reminisce about favourite car fettling moments and breakdowns of the past (the epic brake pad saga of ’98; the rotor arm incident of ’97) accompanied by readings from the Hayne’s manual and music from the Russian Balalaika Ensemble. RIP.
Anthony Day