LOG BOOK ENTRY:    Wed 13th Feb. — King Pot.

Rick Scott, Pete Hall, Sues (Barking) Barker, Ray (unfinished business) Duffer, Neil (capt.)

After the usual late start at the farm and at Bernies the three o’clock caving club got to Kingsdale on a beautiful sunny, snowy afternoon.. The entrance was open but surrounded by deep snow. The pitches were found to be rigged with rope by the N.C.C. but, of course, we didn’t use it but put our ropes on alongside. Anne’s and Jane’s pitches were climbed. The descent was made without incident to Crystal Inlet which was entered by a climb up a muddy rope and was a muddy walking sized phreatic tube. Neil was not able to manage the climb (short bastard).

We continued to the main drain and went to the upstream and downstream sumps. We then had a look at the sump bypass: Giles and Ray gibbed immediately but the rest of us decided to have a go. Twenty minutes of digging and bailing failed to increase the airspace by one iota so we decided just to get on with it. Neil went through and said it was OK so Rick and I followed on our backs with noses in the roof, the passage continuing as mostly crawling with occasional chambers.

A side chamber contained a fantastic Angels wing with beautiful stals and a calcite flow. The upstream section of the Master Cave is as good, if not better, than West Kingsdale Master Cave with a huge river chamber at the downstream sump. Upstream lowered past the Grasshopper series to a canal with eight inches of airspace to the upstream sump.

A swift exit was made to the duck where Giles and Ray had lowered the water by an inch or so. Then we made fast back to the last pitch to warm up but we soon cooled down when the boys produced cakes, sweets, drinks and chocolate and wouldn’t give us any.

Bumbly Barker produced the largest array of photographic equipment in any pothole in the Dales which consumed copious quantities of time. When he tried to get it out again at the top he was told to off”. After another photo session at Kakemono Hall involving a tape measure!??? we exited in two groups emerging at 11pm and missing the pub.

Pete Hall.

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