Present: Pete H, James Colville, James Catley, Ana A, Alex D, Andy S
Recent wet weather meant that we were somewhat limited in our choice of cave, but it was eventually decided that we would go and have a bit of SRT practice in Jingling Pot in Kingsdale. After various members of the club had bought shiny new gear in Ingleton, we arrived at the cave to find that another group had beaten us to it. They had already rigged the exciting route, so we resorted to the slightly less exciting option of simply rigging a single rope down the main pitch, which actually made for an exhillarating abseil – braking krabs are a good idea! Once all safely at the bottom, having carefully negotiated the rotting flesh of a dead sheep, we headed of down a rift to arrive at the next pitch. Pete , James and Ane headed down whilst the others waited and were somewhat disturbed by the various grunts and groans that were heard echoing from the darkness. After some time it emerged that there was only space for three people – it was incredibly tight. So Pete, James and Ane headed back out of the cave to go and have a play in Valley Entrance whilst Alex, Andy and JC endured the pain of the lower pitch, soon wishing they hadn’t bothered! The climb up the main pitch was gruelling, but it made the pint in the Marton Arms all the more satisfying. It wasn’t the most exciting trip, but Jingling Pot was impressive, and definitely one to do again properly! Alex.
Valley Entrance
With the rumour of valley entrance being full of recent precipitation, we went to investigate. After noticing a somewhat wetter approach to the main pitch we decided to go down and sample the delightful, frigid water. Battling against the flow of water in the further passages (crotch deep), we let the water carry us to the bottom of the pitch in much the same manner as a (bloody freezing) log flume. Excellent! James.