Present: JC, Alex D, Ian, Pete, Zara (in spirit only)
Quote of the trip: WONGA!
| WONGA WONGA |
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| WONGA W WONGA |
| WONGA WO WONGA |
| WONGA WON WONGA |
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| WONGA WONGAWONGA |
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| WONGA WONGAWONGA |
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| WONGA WONGA |
At about 1.30am on Sunday morning I received a call from Zara to inform me that she had broken her hand in three places and couldn’t come caving. At 9.00am we – JC, Alex and Pete – left Durham on time. We met Mssr. Carlisle in Inglesport where we ate breakfast. He was supposed to be caving with Ian, but had knocked out a tooth the day before and had to go to the dentist, so Ian joined us and that’s where the faff started.
Ian rigged Valley entrance for our exit, while JC and Alex headed up the hill, having never been to Simpson’s before, under directions from Pete who had also never been there. Needless to say, about 15 minutes were spent trying to find them at the top. Then yet more faff as JC and Alex put on their SRT kits. Underground by 1pm. We rigged the steps, as practice for the pull-through technique. Singing began as we crossed the blind pitch, and continued through much of the cave. All pitches were rigged and descended fairly efficiently, and the duck was passed without too much abusive language. Shortly before the main pitch Pete slithered through a squeeze, followed by Alex, who got stuck. After 15 minutes of Ian pulling his feet, JC hauling up on a rope attached to his harness and Pete pushing, Alex was finally loose. It was then decided to go over the top instead, this however lead to a climb down the other side, which Ian roped, following through the squeeze himself afterwards. Slit pot was rigged and passed by all with ease, to the sound of “Hey Jude” echoing around the chamber, from top and bottom, slightly out of sync. By this time the tackle sack had no bottom, making it a little awkward on the exit through valley entrance.
In Alex’s words; “that was the best trip I’ve ever done” (probably helped by his shiny new oversuit). The moon was fantastic on the return journey, massive and orange, filling the entire valley. We stopped in Leyburn for a kebab.