Present: Anthony, Gwyn
So the grand plan of Mere Gill and Rift Pot on successive days proved predictably over-ambitious, and turned into Marble Steps and Jingling. The weather and good old fashioned indolence were to blame (the former aiding the latter as the sun would have roasted us out of our tents much earlier than 9am had it not been for the 100% cloud cover.) Anyway, by the time we made it to Jingling, the gentle drizzle had become a fully fledged downpour as I waited for Gwyn to rig the cleft route. This route is utterly pointless apart from as an SRT practice exercise – would be an almost ideal novice trip apart from the interesting get on/get off at the top, in what the guidebook would describe as a “fine situation” (ie bloody frightening). The main shaft looks very impressive from the bottom though.
By the time we emerged, the clouds had disappeared and it was a beautiful sunny day, just in time for us to go to Ingleton for chips and ice-cream before trundling back to Durham.
Anthony Day