Diary of an Easegill Traverse.
Arriving late for the
AGM (I was on my Claude Butler and it was pissing down) I Opened my mouth to
ask for a towel to dry out with and found myself being listed to lead an Easegill
traverse. On reflection I decided that it would be a nice piece of endurance
practice prior to the summer Berger trip with the YSS, and Pete Seed had told
me that the Berger was about as hard as four Easegill traverses.
Four weekends before the
traverse weekend things got a bit more serious as we sat down and tried to work
out an equipment list for the traverse. How many hangers do we need for the
Maple Leaf pitch? How many hangers for Echo Aven, and what about the belays in
Pippikin Pot — and how many hangers does the club have - easy - none, So I
decided to use my own as they were all stamped with my initials. The weekend
before the traverse Jim, Frank Hardy, and Keith Wright made a trip into the
Earby series to rig the Maple Leaf pitch. Frank drew the short straw, so I
showed him how to tie a bowline on the bight, gave him some hangers, a spanner,
and a rope. I put the first hanger in and pointed Frank off along the pitch
Traverse. Some hours later Keith went off to explore the Maple Leaf area and I
got colder. Eventually Keith came back and Frank reappeared. He’d rigged the
pitch and descended to the bottom to have a look around and to tie up the rope
to keep it out of the pool. He also had an interesting time getting off the
V-hang and along the traverse, he’d also missed a bolt out along the traverse.
So we made our way out knowing that the central pitch of the traverse was hung.
Friday: Jim and Keith
Wright went in to rig Pippikin, I forgot that Keith hadn’t been down Pip before
which explained why he kept asking about the squeezes, so I told him “There all
long, vertical, tight and dry” which seemed to fascinate him no end so I
explained to him the advantages of putting a smear of Vaseline over his Troll
suit.
We went across to Link Pot first to drop a ladder down and to make sure that
dead sheep hadn’t been re-dumped down the shaft - and then over the top to Pip
entrance.
The first pitch was easy and gave Keith lots of confidence. Cellar Pot was also
interesting as the traverse poles had been part dropped down Cellar pot. So
Keith hung onto me as I retrieved the poles and reinstalled them.
The exit from Cellar Pot
is easy for tall people, you stand on the poles and dive into the squeeze head
first and reach across with your right hand and catch yourself before you drop
out of the squeeze, miss this and it’s a head first slide down a l5ft. hole. Us
short people cannot make the arm stretch. My personal method is to get some
tall bugger to go first and then get him to catch me as I come through. Keith
had never been through before so it was going to be Jim first. Using my number
two technique I stand on the cross poles and go in head first, then
“summersault” round so that I am acing back towards Cellar Pot. Next I take my
helmet strap off Cit can get caught in the drop) and it’s feet first into the
dark drop and whoosh (it beats carbide sniffing any day) (Ah but have you tried snuff? Ed.) and I’m through so I can talk
Keith through and let him drop onto my shoulder.
And so the intrepid duo
push and. squeeze their way down into Pippikin with Keith projecting an
incredible look of apprehension ahead of him and a trial of Vaseline slime
behind him. And so the mainstream is eventually met, with a mighty splash as
Jim jumps into it knowing that the squeezes are over, we run along the main
stream to the boulder choke and climb into the great big Hall of Ten and along
t’ Dusty Junction and - and - and - the Link crawl - I’d sort of forgotten
about this bit but it’s all coming back as we snorkel through the wallows. and
on and on and on, standing up at the cross rifts arid then head down for the
next bits. Then a run to the right and a drop down into Hilton Hall and up the
ladder to the surface knowing that Pip is well ‘and truly rigged.
Saturday and Jim and
Keith are at the farm wondering how to tackle the next rigging problem when
Chris and Doug Naylor show up. So Keith, Chris, arid Doug go off to drop down
Link and rig Echo Aven and then go through the wormway to Maple Leaf and check
the rope.
That leaves Top Sink to
be rigged when Stewart (and) Bob Johnston arrive to check ‘the beer’for the
party that night. Stu pronounces that the beer is doing OK and then enquires
about the Easegill traverse (what a sense of priorities). OK I say, just take
these ropes, hangers, and a spanner and rig Top Sink and go through that way.
Knowing that the rigging is now underway Jim (in a para-Vegan mood) watches
Keith Lewis disecting chicken bits for the party. Deciding that if you cannot
join them then leave them, goes home for a roast nut tea.
8.30 Sunday morning Jim
arrives at the farm expecting a smoldering burnt out ruin smelling of carbide
with apache arrows embedded in the doors. But all is quite, too quite.
Lol ambles out of the door with a face like a pumpkin - moving slowly – very
slowly. Keith is in his big red bus cooking
“ready Keith?” “Yeah, great lets go”. With nobody else visible Keith and
Jim chalk themselves on the board for 9.00 - Pip/Top Sink - 2 off.
And to the strains of the Dam Busters march the intrepid duo are chocks away.
‘I’ts me to do a big
trip and not to carry tackle. At Link we drop down our SRT kits and a parcel of
food and drink. Then up to Pip. Ab down the first pitch and across Cellar pot,
summersault round and through the squeeze and drop feet first and turn and
catch Keith as he drops through the squeeze and down the left, pitch, another
squeeze and a 50ft. pitch. Into stemple squeeze and drop down from the stemple.
A loft. pitch and round a corner and down a knotted rope into the pool. Along
the traverse - round the traverse bend - more traverse to another knotted rope
decent into the stream - we are down Pip.
Along the stream and into the boulder choke and up into the Hall of Ten (it all
seems so easy so far). Along to Dusty Junction then button up and along the
Link crawl (again!). Drop into the bypass and it’s into Hilton Hall where we
retrieve our gear and have our elevenses.
SRT in hand it’s down through the boulders to Echo Aven. SRT kit on and
traverse out and down the 90ft. pitch (Oh what a lovely aven). De-kitting at
the bottom Chaz arrives - leading the post barbeque Link to
Half a Mars bar each and
it’s quite literally bombing through the Earby series to Canuck climb and down
the chain ladder to Thirsty Junction and there’s no running water.
Along the stream bed and up Stake Pot. Turn right here and past Bobs Boss and
on to the painters palette. Stop for a rest and admire the calcite. On now and
past Scylla and Charydbis and on to the oxbow corner, on through the caverns,
find the slot and down to the Minarets. Through and into the rest of the
caverns. Sweating we arrive at the Main Line Terminus. Rest and wipe the sweat
off and on to Stop Pot. Down the ladder and across to Holbeck Junction. Into
the stream and up to Easter grotto climb up (which gets very .interesting when
you are wet and tired). Rest at Easter Grotto and have a drink. Traverse across
the hole in the floor and up into the roof of the Cat Walk. Roof of the Cat
Walk! No we have got it wrong, so traverse back and down to the floor of Cat
Walk.
On to
Then I remember Frank
Hardy getting lost here - we are in the CRG extension. Climb on down and have a
think. No we cannot find
the route on - lost half an hour at this point.
Down into the stream and try and follow it upstream and pop my head through a
little hole and I recognise the passage. On now to the bottom of Bradshaw’s
Passage, the relief at being here as there are no more route finding problems.
Up the passage cools us of f, up the 60ft. pitch and into Pi r Squared and
along to the 60ft. pitch - where’s the rope! NO ROPE! PANIC! But the rope is
just hiding. Up the pitch and into the sentry box. Wait for Keith to climb up.
Then help each other round the corner and de-kit. Pack it away and along the
passage to the stal duck and through. Up the scaffolding to push the lid off - through.
Elated we walk back to
the farm. Rub ourselves off the board and have a word with Ron Bliss. It’s a
9.00am. to 10.00pm. farm to farm trip or eight and a half hours caving.
Feeling my age, Pete Seed again tells me that the Berger is about four times
the Easegill traverse.
N.B. After all that organization only six people completed the full
traverse.
Jim Birchall, Keith Wright, G. Barstow, Mick Pears, Frank Hardy, and Nick
Tanner.
Jim
Birchall and Keith Wright.
… and …
A DIY (pull
out) -
Yours to keep Jim Birchall travel guide.
THE EASEGILL
TRAVERSE / The
In at Pippikin
Pot
Down a 35ft pitch
Traverse across Cellar Pot.
Two squeezes and drops followed by a long squeeze
Down a 16ft pitch
Along a long squeeze
Down a 50ft. pitch
Along Stemple squeeze and swing out on the stemple and drop down
Down a 16ft pitch
Down a knotted rope climb into a pool
Traverse passage with squeeze bend and more traverse
Down a knotted rope into the stream
Follow stream down to boulder choke
Through boulder choke and up to Hall of Ten
Follow passage to Dusty Junction
Into Link Crawl and the Wallows to Hilton Hall
Down boulder strewn passage to top of pitch
Down 90ft pitch.
Walk, stoop, and crawl along Wormway to Maple Leaf
Up 90ft. pitch
Traverse to Rat Bag Chamber
Make your way
through the Earby series up Dripple climb and through to the chain ladder at
Canuck climb and down to Thirsty Junction Follow stream and then traverse up to
emerge behind a boulder at Stake Pot high level
Along the
caverns via Bobs Boss, Scylla and Charydbis, and Oxbow Corner to the Minaret’s
Through the Minarets and the caverns to the fixed ladder at Stop Pot
Down the ladder and upstream to Easter Grotto
Up to Easter Grotto and traverse across Assembly Hall
Follow the caverns to Nagasaki and Rock of Ages
Through the maze of passages at Limerick Junction
Follow the stream up Bradshaws
Passage
Up a l6ft pitch
Follow twisty passage to next pitch
Up a 60ft pitch
Follow passage - and -
OUT at Top Sink
Jim Birchall.