Simpson’s Pot; bimble in Yordas Cave

Present: Ian W, Ralph L, Al C

There was almost no faff. Ian’s negative lateness almost cancelled out my 15 minutes, but Al let the side down arriving considerably after the planned time. Not a group set to dwell on our failures, we drove to the YSS hut in convoy (as only DUSA can) and transferred into one car. A brief discussion later, we headed out to Kingsdale with rope and will to tackle the mighty Simpson’s pull-through!

Parking opposite Braida Garth, we kitted up with minimal discussion about the values of wetsuits and romped up the hill, passing a group from the BEC heading to Swinstow’s on the way.

Al: Oh, we fired fireworks at you at New Year!
Beardy Bristol Chap: Yes.

Finding the hole involved a bit more romping, but soon we began our descent. Ian’s old club FX2 was dismal. Indeed he couldn’t tell if it was on or not when Al or my pilot lights were on nearby. Still, not one to lament his misfortune, he cheerfully led the way.

Ian and Al, Simpson’s Pot.

Navigation is not challenging in the upper reaches of Simpson’s, provided you remember to go downstream, but there are a couple of points to note:

1. The 5 steps are negotiable without rope, but watch out for walls that get wider as you go down – you can’t jam yourself in and lower, so please take care. It is a good a place as any to practice with a mini pull-through (you can still get out).
2. Rope up for the traverse over the blind 9m pot. The last caver across can de-rig it as normal.
3. When negotiating the duck – a friendly one, more fresh roast on a scale of H5N1 (worst) through to succulent breast du canard avec sause d’orange (best) – keep young children away from the stream of abusive language issued forth by Al (note also at this point you are wearing your furry suit, and saving the wetsuit for tomorrows dry cave).
4. On the final pitch that lands to join with Swinstow’s, larger cavers (yes, that was me) may will find it easier to put the descender on the short cowstail and removing any other metalwork from their front. Then even fatties can slip through, though be ready for an odd descent.
5. On the final pitch of the system, if you sit in the stream above the drop and then stand up, whoever is on the rope gets a good wholesome
6. More generally, don’t forget an extra rope, just in case a pull-through gets snagged.

A subterranean romp through the valley entrance stream way brought us to the final bit of rope work. Here navigation is interesting, but as all the routes seem to lead through, it is merely a choice of how damp you like it. The last serious point of this report is to mention the abysmal state of the in-situ tat. Al got half way up it, before taking a good look at the rope core’s frayed condition and switching to the ladder. I cannot recommend relying on this tat, other peoples’ rigging or a free climb.

Thrashing through valley entrance (Al: Golly, but that was short!) to burst into the sunlight for a leisurely change, we couldn’t help but christen the trip the nicest ever. Never too easy or hard, always able to chat over the water noise (even down pitches):- we did indeed feel we had not lived in vain.

Flush with delight from our spectacular success in the reaches of Simpson’s, we took a butchers at our time-pieces and decided there was more than enough time to test the performance of the latest creation from Alworks™. The Boomph. This innocent-looking 30W halogen bulb was hooked up to a meaty 12V burglar alarm battery, and it is fair to say it chucked out a decent amount of light. If you want to appreciate just how much light, take a look at the latest pictures of the inside of Yodas.

When seen under the light of day, Yodas is more impressive than we expected, but still could not hold our interest for long as we had to meet Geoff at the station, and had an urgent appointment with a pint.

Now, wasn’t that day just perfection?

Ralph L