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Vol XXVI No.1
B 72 B
CONTENTS
January1972 No. 291
BRISTOL EXPLORATION CLUB
List of Club Officers
Page 1
Editorial
Page 2
TRIP TO THE BERGER
Page 3
Report of Cuthbert’s Leaders Meeting
Page 5
Ian Dear Memorial Fund
Page 6
CLUB HEADQUARTERS ‘The Belfry’, Wells Rd., Priddy, Wells, Somerset. Tele: WELLS 72126 CLUB COMMITTEE Chairman: S.J. Collins Minutes Sec: D. Turner Members: R. Bagshaw; W. Cooper; D.J. Irwin; N. Jago; T.E. Large; P. Stobart; A.R. Thomas
Corrections and Alterations to members Page 6 addresses SWILDONS LONG ROUND TRIP
Page 7
In Committee
Page 8
Just a Sec
Page 9
A long Weekend in Langdale
Page 10
Letter to the Editor
Page 11
Monthly Crossword No.18
Page 12
Any views expressed by any contributor to the Belfry Bulletin, including those of officers of the club, do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor or the committee of the Bristol Exploration Club, unless stated as being the view of the committee or editor. MENDIP RESCUE ORGANISATION In case of emergency telephone WELLS 73481.
OFFICERS OF THE CLUB Hon. Secretary: A.R. THOMAS, Allen’s House, Nine Barrows Lane, Priddy, Wells, Somerset. Tel: PRIDDY 269. Hon. Treasurer: R.J. Bagshaw, 699 Wells Road, Knowle, Bristol 4. Tel: WHITCHURCH. 5626. Caving Sec: T.E. Large, 39 Seymour Ave, Bishopston, Bristol. Climbing Sec: N. JAGO, 2 Broughton House, Somerset St., Redcliffe, Bristol 1. Hut Warden: D.J. IRWIN, Tonsend Cottage, Priddy, Wells, Somerset. Hut Engineer: P. STOBART, ‘Eriksay’, The Avenue, Coombe Down, Bath Som. Tel: COOMBE DOWN 7663. Tacklemaster: W. COOPER, 259 Wick Rd, Bristol BS4 4HE. Tel: BRISTOL 77368. B.B. Editor: S.J. COLLINS, Lavender Cottage, Bishop Sutton, Nr. Bristol. Librarian: D. SEARLE, Dolphin Cottage, Wells Rd., Priddy, Wells, Somerset. Tel: WELLS 78748. Publications: D.J. IRWIN. Address as above B.B. Post: Mrs. K. Mansfield, Tiny Kott, Little London, Oakhill, Bath, Somerset.
NOTICE With this issue of the B.B., a start has been made towards transforming the B.E.C. journal into something which club members may eventually be able to take some pride in. A lot of discussion has been, and is still going on about such points as what size we can sensibly expect to maintain while giving members good value for their money and, in a wider context, just what the content of a typical B.B. ought to consist of. If YOU have any bright ideas on any subject connected with the B.B., the editor or any member of the committee will gladly give your idea an airing. Better still why not come to a committee meeting and tell us how you think the B.B. could be improved? Ideas should, of course, be constructive. It is of little use, for example, telling us that you would like to see more of a certain type of article unless you have some idea of how we might set about doing this. It is hoped that, by the end of this year, we shall have a B.B. which will cater for most tastes, but it will be easier to do this if we know what YOU think about it.
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Editorial TWENTY FIVE YEARS OLD A quarter of a century, or a third of an average lifetime is sufficiently long span of time to warrant some form of acknowledgment. We hope that the new form of the B.B. will gradually set a standard for the further improvements in contents and printing which hopefully will follow. BELFRY MATTERS At least four sincerely held, yet conflicting points of view as to how we should organise the Belfry have been made known to your editor recently by their adherents. What one might call the Caving Viewpoint says ' The Belfry is a caving hut, and all other activities must yield to caving’. In contrast, the Social viewpoint says ‘ The B.E.C. is not just a caving club. The good fellowship for which the club has always been noted should not be allowed to disappear, and life at the Belfry should encourage it.’ Then there is the economic viewpoint, which says ' The Belfry has cost a lot of money and is expensive to run and maintain. Whatever else it may or may not do, its first job is to pay its way.’ Finally, there is the member's viewpoint, which says 'The Belfry was built by the club and for the club. Club people should always get priority.' We are not alone in finding problems connected with the ownership of a new headquarters building, and there is nothing to be ashamed of in admitting that such problems exist. It would even be odd if they did not. What we must do is to find some modus vivendi which satisfies the various viewpoints summarised above. It would appear that the committee must do their sums and find out just how much the place costs and what return is necessary to pay for it - then some reasonable balance could be struck between the claims of members and the needs of visitors. As for any conflicting claims between serious cavers and the mere social variety, there seems to be no real need, in these days of easy transport, to confine social activities to the weekend. Why not a fortnightly Belfry social evening some time in the week? Participants could easily pay the day fee as well as chipping in for the drinks and thus help to make the Belfry pay and keep everybody happy. THE IRREMOVABLES? Another theory which has come recently to the editorial ear says that there are committee members who, irrespective of performance or outlook, can never be removed to make way for more progressive types because they depend for their votes on older members who are equally out of touch. On the face of it, this theory leaks plausible, but I wonder how true it really is? I can think of at least one occasion where a member of long standing and good past performance was voted off because the club - rightly or wrongly _ judged that he was no longer in a position to contribute his particular skills. I can think of no time in which a member who was determined to do some job better than its holder was doing it, failed to get there fairly quickly. On the ether hand, I can think of a number of occasions in which the new broom did a little quick sweeping and then failed to keep it up. The motto for potential new brooms seems to be 'Show us what you can do, convince us, and then keep us that way.' ‘Alfie’ _______________________________________________________________________________________ QUOTE…..During a discussion on Tim Large's report in the St. Cuthbert’s news sheet where he refers to some leaders as 'deawood', Norman Petty was heard to comment " All these leaders have been struck down with Dutch Elm Disease, I suppose."
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Trip to the Berger
To most cavers, the Gouffre Berger will conjure up visions of vast expeditions with fantastic and detailed organisation. This article by DAVE YEANDLE shows how even this hole can be tackled in the Mendip manner. Last summer I was fortunate enough to be invited trip to the Gouffre Berger. Having heard of the wonders of this hole, I didn't hesitate in accepting.
The Berger was first bottomed in 1954 by the international expedition. Since then, many parties have reached the sump which is about 3,700 feet below the entrance. Diving has produced an extra twenty feet in depth and 300 feet in length. The French have since really pushed the cave, the most important discovery being a mile of passage starting at the top of Hurricane Pitch (the last pitch!) A large amount of passage has been found upstream of the main cave and a new entrance has been opened up. The system is now some four miles long. Most British expeditions to the Berger have been large and organised. Ours was different - small and not really organised at all. The trip, which was arranged by Tony Waltham, started as it as it was to go on, in an informal manner with people wandering over in ones and twos, but soon the party was assembled at La Molier, our campsite some three miles from the entrance.
The Berger starts as a normal sort of pot, rather like a dry Yorkshire SSP. At around 700 feet down, the pot intercepts the Berger proper, and this descends more or less steadily to the sump. On the first trip, Tony Waltham, Keith Turnbull (all Imperial college Caving Club and Happy Wanderers) Tony White (ULSA) and myself went to the top of Aldos shaft - 130 feet and the last pitch before the main passage. Slight difficulty, mainly due to the large loads we were carrying, was found in the meanders, a set of rift passages starting after Cairn Hall. The French have, however, installed a large number of wooden stemples and planks. If one trusts them, the going is much easier. One man went down Aldos and all the tackle required to reach Camp 2 was lowered. The next day, we set off for Camp 1 carrying our camping gear. As far as I was concerned, the best part of that day was emerging into the main passage for the first time. While I plodded off in the wrong direction, I seemed to be surrounded by blackness and very little else. Progress downwards brought many more delights - the first Berger stal, Lake Cadoux, Little General Pitch and the Tyrolean. The latter is most interesting as it can be compared (with a little use of imagination) to the well-known photograph of the rope traverse on Annapurna South Face - one must, of course, throw in a waterfall and a pool. The next section, the Great Rubble Heap, turned out to be enormous and rather boulder strewn. Many of the boulders were the size of a double-decker bus and the walls were often ‘lost’ for several minutes. However, there was a vague sort of path which soon led us to Camp 1 suburbs and Camp 1 itself. We were surprised to smell only rotten cloth in this area, we had been fearing the worst after seeing the state of the entrance series. Perhaps we were lucky in being the first party of the season! While we looked around the Hall of the Thirteen, which is very near to Camp 1, others took tackle to the top of the Balcony, the halfway point in depth. This section of passage is simply too much. After the huge gour pools and thirty foot high pillars of the Hall of the Thirteen. We quickly descended, over alternate gours and boulder heaps. The place was so clean and spacious that heavy loads did not seem to matter for we had found the perfect cave. We soon cooked up our meal and went to bed. We slept well and after waking up set off towards Camp 2. After the Balcony (a sixty foot pitch) more splendid passage. Soon, another pitch was reached, a pleasant sloping one, on stal, and clean because a small stream trickled down it, The main stream was now reached and with it, a couple of canals. These we passed in our boat, just as we had done with Lake Cadoux. These canals were quite narrow and approximately 400 feet in length. From this point onwards, the cave was really wet, a few short pitches usually followed by annoying little pools were spread out along a smaller then usual (for the Berger!) rift passage. Soon, the top of Claudine's Cascade was reached a really draughty exposed spot with hardly anywhere to belay. A pole traverse followed by an impressive sixty foot pitch took us into a pool of large proportions and medium depth. A little later, a short traverse and pitch brought us to the top of the Grand Canyon - the site of Camp 2. We were at last out of the water and draught, dramatically so in fact, as the route traversed round the side of the passage some hundred feet above the stream,
4 Four hundred feet in depth later, we were at Camp 3. We had a quick look down the streamway from the top of Baches Pitch (sixty feet) and while gazing down, we wondered id we were to go further. We certainly weren’t that day, so off we went back to Camp 1, a very sporting trip when unladen. The next day we went out and the day after that we waited for our reinforcements. They arrived, and the following day Dave Brook, Alan Brook, Dave Headley (three more ULSA’s) Dave? and Martin? (I never learned their second names!) Tony White, Tony Waltham, Roger, Keith and myself set off on a photographic orgy. After a night in Camp 1, everybody except a party of five sump seeking ULSA cavers, went out. The trip to Camp 3 was like a speleological silent film than a Berger bottoming expedition. The food bag containing nearly all our rations was lost and found twice - once in a small pool and then in a large one (the pool at the bottom of Claudine’s). After such a carry-on, the Berger must have had the best laugh it had had since it was dived by another lot of mad Englishmen. To cap everything, we realised that we had overestimated the ladder required by two hundred feet and underestimated the rope by about a hundred feet. One man stayed in Camp 3, leaving four heading towards the sump. Baches was easy and dry, soon followed by a horrid pitch of about thirty feet. The ladder was belayed to a dubious chock stone, reached by an exposed traverse and the ladder went between two waterfalls into a nasty deep pool. Sooner or later, we reached the top of the Grand Cascade (65'). The water plunged straight down. Even with the ladder belayed on the left to a belt, it looked desperate. Half way down was a small ledge with the water landing on it. The effect was rather like a rough sea. The descent to the stream was impressive. All the way down I kept expecting to swing suddenly into the full force of the water and have to fight for breath and to stay on the ladder. It never happened. The worst part was the last ten feet. At one point just below the ledge, I turned round and saw the main waterfall less than two feet away. Nobody had wanted to do this pitch free or with a self lifeline, so we had to face the fact that we couldn't reach the sump. We went to the top of Little Monkey, which is the last, but one pitch and 900 metres down. This part of the cave turned out to be a super version of Penyghent. There is even a hands and knees crawl (a proper one!). By now we had developed a great deal of respect for the French, who had explored the series above Harrison Pitch - we hadn't even reached their starting point! Now the work began, as it always must, to regain the surface. Quick progress was made to Camp 3, partly because there is no escape from the Berger wind until one is above Baches. After a large feed, we set off for the Grand Canyon. This was an experience not easy to forget. We were starting to get tired, but hadn't reached the mechanical stage. Each person had two large rolls of ladder and some rope. Progress was made as follows. ‘Move ladder on left. Move ladder on right. Move feet. Decide that next bit is too steep. Move ladder on left…’ After the next pitch we were moving well. A surprisingly short time later, we were all at the start of the canals. Everybody was cold and falling asleep and this was due, no doubt, to the numerous short immersions when even wetsuits were not enough. The tackle was taken to the bottom of the next pitch, so that everybody and everything was above the sections liable to flooding. And so to Camp 1 and sleep. We had been away for twenty one hours. Seven hours later, we were back down to where we had left the tackle. We had to hurry, as Tony Waltham and his car had to leave for England very shortly and the tackle was to go with him. By now, we were moving a mountain. Even so, people seemed quite happy with their lot and we progressed well. At the top of the Balcony, somebody mentioned that we were halfway out. I now felt a little like a slave who must for ever carry increasing loads up an endless succession of pitches, with only the occasional reward like a bit of sleep or a Mars bar. Then something happened that changed us back into a happy band of trogs leaping around a cave. We saw some lights – thousands of them – heading down the passage towards us at a tremendous rate. We had been vaguely expecting some sort of help in de-tackling, but all the same, we were relieved to have it in reality. Behind those lights were Roger Graham (M.U.S.S.) Mark Rogers (ULSA) Ian Plant, Jeff Yeadon and someone else, all of the Kendall Caving Club. Camp 1 was reached very quickly, where we all celebrated. The Kendal lads took some photographs on Kodachrome II and P.F.1 flashbulbs. Everybody was in a jovial frame of mind. Next, we all went up to the bottom of Aldos carrying all the tackle. The five old hands - as we now started to think of ourselves - returned to Camp 1 while the rest went out with the tackle. They surfaced at eight in the morning after twenty hour trip.
5 The next day, we left the cave. The trip out was tremendous. Everybody turned out to help, time seemed to fly and tackle whizzed up pitches at an unbelievable speed. Dave? spent the day at the top of the first underground pitch. This boring task didn’t seem stop him hurling abuse at all who passed, and allowing nobody to climb the pitch (we were all hauled up.) The atmosphere was great. As I neared the entrance, I started to feel almost sorry to be going out. The cave now seemed very friendly and back outside were all sorts of torments like insects, cows and rain. However, the thought of food and wine was most tempting. Anyway, it wasn’t raining. In fact, we surfaced in to one of the clearest nights that I have ever seen. The sky was full of stars with the Milky Way in full view. _______________________________________________________________________________________
LEADERS MEETING
The main topic at the recent Leaders' Meeting was the preservation of Cuthbert’s. It has been observed that several sites of stalagmite and mud formations have been destroyed and/or disfigured, even though there is a leaders system in operation.
Particular cases of this are the white stal flows in the Rabbit Warren Extension which have been obviously crossed by someone, who has left a mud trail behind, completely ruining the flow. The white flows at the lower end of Rabbit Warren Extension have also suffered the same treatment and the curtain and stal. flow also in the Rabbit Warren Extension. Flows above Chain Chamber and the dry gours just beyond have all suffered. The mud formations and cave pearls in Lower Mud Hall have been damaged, but the worst site of all has been in Erratic Chamber. This is the passage that has been known for many years to connect Rabbit Warren Extension with the top of Struggle Passage, but the way was barred by many straws and helictites. Somebody has forced their way through, doing irreparable damage. There are other sites where the tale is the same and unless immediate action is taken it appears that more formations will be damaged. We discussed many suggestions ranging from closing the cave to discouraging tourist parties from particularly vulnerable areas of the cave. One line of action, already taken by the leaders - that of taping the formations, notably in September Chamber, has resulted in no damage being reported in that area. It was decided to take the following action: - 1. To tape every vulnerable area and also to build small walls and mark out paths through areas of formations so that there can be no question of anyone not knowing where to tread. 2. Some form of reference system, so that anyone can consult a list that will tell them where; particular passages where there are vulnerable formations go, so that they do not need to force any passages unnecessarily. 3. To restrict parties in some areas of the cave to not more than three, particularly in Rabbit Warren Extension and Curtain Chamber. 4. To remind leaders that they have a responsibility not only for the safety of their parties, but towards the cave itself, and 5, To attempt to clean up some of the formations that will permit this treatment and to repair formations if possible. The leaders also intend to review the prospective leaders test to see if it is still adequate. FIXED TACKLE. It has been six months since the items of fixed tackle were removed. At the meeting it was decided to replace the ladders on the Ledge Pitches but to leave all the ether sites as they are now. MAYPOLE SERIES. The fixed tackle in this section of the cave is in need of repair and replacement and so it was agreed that several improvements could be made during the repair work. These are to be carried out as soon as possible. The short belay at the head of Pulley Pitch needs replacing, but otherwise the pitch is O.K. The nylon line on this pitch is only for pulling up a rope and not for belaying. The Maypole fixed ladder is to be replaced by a pulley system similar to that in the Pulley Pitch. The Upper Chain Pitch will have the chain removed and receive the same treatment. The Lower Chain pitch will have the chain removed, but it has been decided not to replace it with any fixed aids as they are not necessary. The pitch is easily free-climbable and the leader can fix a handline for any of his party who require one. All this work will be carried out in the near future and the Ledge Pitch ladders have 'already been replaced. SUMP 1. This is at present open in all weather conditions as a flat out crawl in water with a 4 to 10 inch airspace. There is no need to use the dams. Tim Large
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THE IAN DEAR MEMORIAL FUND
As members will recall, the Ian Dear Memorial Fund is there to provide help for younger members to go on trips like that just described. The Chairman of the Ian Dear Memorial Committee 'SETT' (R.A. Setterington) supplies a timely reminder to young club members about the fund. The late Ian Dear - a much respected and active member of the B. E. C. - in 1964 bequeathed a sum of £300 "To assist junior members of the B. E. C. to visit caving or climbing areas of the continent". Since that date, monies have been managed by the Ian Dear Memorial Committee, meeting as required. It has come as rather a surprise to this committee and to myself in particular that this fund has only been used twice in the last six years.
At a recent meeting of the fund committee, it was decided that the existence of the fund should be made more widely known. The possibility of extending the terms of reference was also discussed, but this would have to be confirmed by the general club committee and possibly by an A.G.M. We also discussed the likelihood of older members of the B.E.C. chaperones on trips already arranged by themselves. As January is commonly the time when we start thinking summer holidays, now is the time to consider whether we, individually, might be eligible for a grant from the fund or would accept the job of advising or chaperoning a younger member. Applicants will each be considered on individual merits, with initiative and originality being important. As the terms of reference may well be changed, even if you are not sure whether you qualify – why not apply? The Ian Dear Committee will decide. ________________________________________________________________________________
CHANGES AND ADDITIONS TO MEMBER’S ADDRESSES
R.F. Bidmead. 41 Fishponds Rd, Eastville, Bristol BS5 6SE J. Manchip. c/o Egan,16 Warrender Pk.Cres., Edinburgh EH9 1EA N. Hallett. 73 Queensdown Gds, Brislington, Bristol 4. N. Jago. 40, Mount Pleasant Terrace, Bedminster, Bristol 3. P. Coles. 18 Cobthorn Way, Congresbury, Nr. Bristol. N. Rich. Ballochyle Estate,Sandbank, Dunoon, Argyllshire. J. Bulger. 23 Ajax Close, Gt.Wyrley, Wallsall, WS6 6JU R. Brooks. 5 Gordon Road, Clifton, Bristol 8. J & M. Riley. 12 Lawlwy Place, Deakin,Canberra, Australia, ACT 2600 B. Smart. c/o Beuin Hospital Site, Costain (W. Africa,) P. O. 28, Lagos, Nigeria. P. Ifold. The Cedars, Blackferd, Nr. Wedmore, Somerset. J.M. Stafford, Bryher, Badgworth, Scmerset. A.T. Williams. Hendrew Farm, Llanderaied, Newport, Mon. NP6 2AB. J. Ifold. 5 Rushgrove Gdns., Bishop Sutton, BS18 4XB. Miss C. Salisbury, 59a Ashley Hill, Bristol 6. Mrs. P. Rees, 10 Hawthorn Way, St. Ives Huntingdon. S. Grime, Letterewe, Wester Ross, Scotland.
If YOU have recently changed your address, PLEASE let Alan Thomas have your new address
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so that we make sure you get the B.B.
Swildons Long Round Trip
For those cavers who cannot get to the Berger, GRAHAM PHIPPEN reminds members that Mendip offers some fine sporting caving, which he describes in this article . Dick Pike, Tony Jarrett, Pete Moody and myself sucessful1y completed the 'Long round trip' on the 1st of October last. To the best of my knowledge, this trip has not been attempted since the great floods of 1968, so it is worth article.
The trip can only be attempted one way because of the two sumps 'Grit' and 'Gloop' that have to be passed in the Damp Link. For this reason, the twenty five foot Shatter Pot has to be laddered on the way in to make it climbable on the way out. Having laddered Shatter you have the alternative of descending into the streamway via Blue Pencil Passage or going via the Troubles. Blue Pencil will avoid sumps II and III, letting you into the stream in Swildons IV. All of the party had free dived sumps II, III and IV a few days previous to this trip, and so the precise nature of these sumps was known to us at the time. This being so we opted to go down via the Troubles and sumps II and III. Weights were borrowed from the dump at II and left at IV to be returned, of course, by a party that weekend. All the equipment we carried was hoods and facemasks in excess of standard rig, and these are easily slipped inside a wetsuit jacket. The cave divers Tony and Dick remarked how pleasant it was to be able to stroll these farther reaches of Swildons without being weighted down with equipment. Sumps II and III were both about thirty five feet long and wide and open. IV was fifteen feet long and at that time free of excessive silting, making it quite an easy pass. Sump V was a series of ducks at a time when conditions were dry. Local and recent advice from cave divers should be sought for sumps IV and V, as their nature is liable to change. The 'Damp Link' is an inlet passage about thirty feet up the left bank of the streamway between V and VI. Shortly before the first sump, which is called ‘Gloop’, there are four siphon tubes, only two of which work. They can quite easily be started with a little judicious sucking. Space all through the damp link is rather limited. This being so, baling Gloop is rather difficult but can be achieved by two people. If one person stands as best he can in the sump, he can pass the bucket to the second person, who will be lying on his back and endeavouring to push the bucket between the passage roof and his body - no doubt piling half the contents all over his face and chest while throwing the rest over his legs and down the cave. The process is cold, and I had a bad case of cramp from lying prone in such a position for the length of time required. There is, of course, a happier alternative which we did not think of until afterwards. That is, to start the siphons and then disappear for an hour until the siphons stop working. We found that siphons stopped working when there was just sufficient air space - or rather lip space- to ease oneself through. Should you decide to hurry up the proceedings by baling, then you will have to procure a bucket from somewhere. Once past Gloop, a tight and narrow passage leads upward for about a hundred and fifty feet to the second sump, which is called ‘Grit’. This sump, shallower than Gloop, has to be baled out as dry as possible to allow passage through what then becomes a tight, right-angled squeeze. I spent several minutes trying to extricate my legs from this squeeze without dislocating any joints - but then I am longer than the average caver, who should have no such problem. The water from Grit refills Gloop. It was here that the party was most worried, for the air is rumoured to be bad and the baling of Grit was said to cut off effectively any retreat back through Gloop. A party has been through the Damp Link since our trip. They left one of their team on the safe side of Gloop after siphoning it, while the rest passed through and baled out Grit. The intention was that he should re-start the siphons on Gloop after Grit had baled, so that they had a way of retreat should this be necessary. However, he was unable to re-start the siphons, as Gloop did not fill up sufficiently. Thus, he able to pass through Gloop - not without discomfort - after Grit had been baled. This must surely add to the confidence of any future party through the Damp Link. Our other anxiety, that of foul air, was not the problem we all expecting. There is considerable length of passage between the two sumps, and when we entered, the air
8 smelt quite fresh. We were all breathing heavily through our exertion but did not at any time have sort of experience with foul air. It must be remembered, though that we were the first party through, for possibly
three years. When both sumps are full, this length of passage is probably a closed system and any accumulation of foul air might not disperse. The air might easily deteriorate if many parties go through at short time intervals. I have not spoken to any of the previous people, although it should be interesting to hear their reasons for suspecting the presence of carbon dioxide. There are already four buckets for baling Grit, and there is a danger, if any more accumulate, of having to negotiate a plastic bucket ruckle, making the trip both foolhardy and dangerous. The tight and narrow passage of the Damp Link continues after Grit for approximately another hundred feet, and then opens up into the Shatter system. We found in Shatter one duck which required baling, and this was easily effected with a helmet. A pleasant wetting after our exertions, with ample lip space - if you don’t talk on the way through - and of course a detailed serrating of stal rock. There was plenty of room in the Static Pool. I do not think that this fills, but should be interested to learn from anyone if this is correct. We concluded the trip by climbing Shatter, which we had previously laddered and then came smartly out the normal way. In all, we took six hours, two of which were spent in passing the Damp Link. We all thoroughly enjoyed the trip; a very great degree of teamwork was required and admirably achieved - credit to Dick Pike for being the capable leader he is. _______________________________________________________________________________________
In Committee An occasional review of the activities of the club committee The traditional committee meeting held the day after the A.G.M. last October saw the usual business of allocating club officers for the year and starting to deal with the items wished onto the committee by the A.G.M. As a matter of general policy, the committee agreed to sort out the entire tackle situation, to keep a detailed eye on the operation of the Belfry and to tighten up somewhat drastically on club membership. In addition to these items, and the usual crop of minor business, the committee has spent some time on two items of major importance, those of the acquisition of additional land and relationships between us and our more immediate neighbours - both of which may well take some time yet before they are completed. In the main, problems connected with the Belfry continues to dominate the committee business problems like the renovation of the toilets; sorting out a more sensible hot water system and reroofing the stone Belfry. The library installation and cataloguing continues to make steady but slow progress. The Chairman's invitation to club members to attend the committee meetings was taken up in January, which meeting had several knotty problems connected with the Belfry and the B.B. to discuss. At one stage, the 'audience' having been given their head by the chairman, fell to disagreeing amongst themselves, thus proving that there are usually two sides to every question and that the job of taking the decisions is not as easy as it may appear from outside. A belated bouquet to last years committee, who managed to clear up 67 items of business out of a total of 72 which came their way during their year of office. _______________________________________________________________________________________
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Just a Sec
Notes from our Hon. Sec. augmented here and there by the Editor.
At the annual meting of the National Caving Association which I attended at Whernside Manor on the 30th October last, there was a great body of agreement between the delegates than in former years. In fact, the final differences between the Southern Council and the Cambrian Council were settled by goodwill on both sides, and the N.C.A. now has a constitution and can act as the official national body in its dealings with the sports council. It is refreshing to hear that the C.D.G. still tries to keep out of caving politics, so that Oliver Lloyd, as Diving Group representative, abstained from voting on several matters which he had proposed as Southern Council representative. It was interesting to learn that an education committee had appointed as its chief caving instructor a man who it knew had never been caving. A meeting was held recently at Upper Pitts of the Southern Council working party on conservations and access. Its report, which will be presented to the next Southern Council meeting, is now ready. Incidentally, at the meeting I was somewhat surprised to learn that somebody who recently enquired about joining the B.E.C. found the answer offensive and swelled the ranks of the Severn Valley instead. I have long known that we have a national reputation for unsociability, but in this instance I wonder who they wrote to, and who bothered to answer! I have a duplicated screed telling them how good we are which I send to prospective members and which has been closely scrutinised to avoid giving offence. A reminder to members that Richard Kenney will be giving his slide show on Antarctica at the Belfry on February the 19th. The slides are particularly interesting, and the fantastic clarity of the air in Antarctica gives them a sharpness of definition which has to he seen. Time of the show is 7.30, giving adequate time at the Hunters afterward for those who don't want to miss their regular pint. Look out for the publication by the B.E.C. in the near future of 'Mendip's Vanishing Grottoes' This book, containing between 45 and 50 photographs of beautiful but now extinct cave formations, is saddle stitched and printed by the offset litho process. It will be sold to members at 30p (6/-) for the FIRST MONTH ONLY when it will revert to its proper price of 40p (8/-). Congratulations to Bob and Lyn White on the birth of a daughter - Rosalyn Jane. Dave Irwin's address will shortly be ‘Townsend Cottage, Priddy, Wells, Somerset’ as he is buying Steve Wynne-Robert’s cottage. Likewise, please note Nigel Jago's change of address which is given on page 6 of this B.B. and is NOT as printed on page 1! Please have you any library books or other printed matter belonging to the club? The librarian is doing· his best to sort out the collection now that it has been moved to the Belfry. Keys are held by the Hut Warden, the Librarian and myself. Congratulations to Mr. Tim Pardoe who is now Dr. Tim Pardoe. George Honey has sent a Christmas card from Droppsta in Sweden (his address in last November's B. B.) and says that any cavers or climbers are welcome for skiing/walking/boozing/wenching. His card shows his house at Droppsta, which is a wooden house about Belfry size and which he refers to on the card as Belfry No 2. Jill Tuck reports that George Boon of the National Museum Wales is doing a long article on two sites of Roman forges, one of which is Roman Mine and the other White Woman’s Hole in Asham Wood. The article is for Proc. U.B.S.S. Jill say that Norman and herself have seen the draft copy, in which the author says nice things about the Roman Mine excavation being amazed at the fact that the hearth site was
10 excavated in complete darkness.
A long weekend in Langdale ………. By ALAN TRINGHAM Now that there is a motorway from Gloucester to Kendal, it is no longer such a journey to get to the Lake District. The only necessity is a co-driver to share the monotony of a straight road late at night. The first night at the campsite was uneventful, apart from a manoeuvring car colliding with my van, and disturbing the slumbering occupant. The morning was cloudy, so we decided on a look at Pavey Arc - a big rambling cliff above Stickle Tarn. On passing the new Dungeon Ghyll hotel, a shower of rain sent us scurrying for the bar and a pint of mild. Two hours later saw us at the bottom of Cock's Tour - a 300 V.Diff. reached by 200' of scrambling above Stickle Tarn. This is a rather rambling route but with some very interesting individual pitches and a good feeling of exposure down to the tarn below. The best pitches were the second which was a narrow slab requiring an easy hand jam to start followed by several delicate moves on polished holes before a runner could be put in. The sixth pitch was also quite memorable, being a hand traverse where a good runner could be fixed and ten feet up a diagonal crack before a large ledge was reached. The rest of the climb was up easier slabs which gradually lay back towards the summit. This we reached to be met by the rest of the party, including my brother David, who had scrambled up Jack's Rake - an enjoyable moderate. By this time the weather had improved so we finished the trip by walking round to Harrison Stickle and descending the track past Dungeon Ghyll. Both the Friday and Saturday evenings were spent pleasantly in the bar of the old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. We were somewhat alarmed at the price of Tartan bitter until we found that they had included a 5p deposit on the glasses. We spent the next day in similar fashion climbing Bowfell Buttress. This is a classic route high up on Bowfell, rather similar to a Tryfan buttress, but more continually steep and interesting. It is only grade Hard Diff., but some sections are very polished, and are more like Hard V. Diff., although well protected. Some local hard men we met in the pub had made an ascent on a wet January day and found it more like hard very severe. The chief drawback is the two hour approach march, but at the top of the climb, you are just about on the summit of Bowfell. You can return over this and down to the Band, which has a good track down to the site. The last day being fine, we thought we had better take a look at Gimmer Crag, as it is the best known in Langdale. This also entails a fair slog up to the base of the cliff. We found that, as in North Wales, 'best known' also means queues at the bottom of all the more popular climbs. We eventually got started on 'B' route, a mild severe, which we found rather easy apart from a short gritstone type layback problem called Amen Corner. Here, we assisted a party of three North Country girls, who were plopping off about ten feet up with monotonous regularity. A male shoulder proved to be the answer to the problem. We found this route rather less interesting than our previous climbs, but hope to return to try our luck on one of the harder routes on the Ulent face, which appears to be a lot steeper and more continuous. ________________________________________________________________________________
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR 38, Paultow Rd, Bristol 3. Dear Alfie, Several people recently were suggesting that the Belfry was under used, and I was wondering if the following suggestions might be worthwhile. I know that these ideas are not exactly new, as several people have been talking in a similar way for some time, but since nothing seems to have happened except talk, it might be worthwhile to set them out on paper. Either on a Friday night or a Saturday night, some slide shows or talks could be arranged, with wide publicity. I am thinking in terms of university type programmes sent by post to interested people outside the club, and even possibly advertisements in the local papers. I’m sure that there are plenty of people who could lead discussions that would be worthwhile on all kinds of caving or climbing topics. It would seem to be that the Belfry would be a far better choice than, say, Priddy Hall or the Hunters back room. If things go well, guests could be invited from other bodies might give talks of more general interest, like the Somerset Archaeological Society; Mendip Society; Bristol Naturalist Society etc. This would have to be next winter, after trials this winter have shown what support we could count on. Some talks might be expected to attract a large audience while others might only attract two or three. This should not matter as long as the lecturer is good and keen to pass on knowledge. I think it only fair to back up this suggestion with an offer to take part in a series of talks on aspects of surveying; cave chemistry; hydrology; water analysis etc. Do readers think that this is a reasonable suggestion? Roger Stenner. ________________________________________________________________________________ Solution To Last Month’s Crossword C O
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MONTHLY CROSSWORD – Number 18. Across: 1
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1. Many current measurements give light. (5) 6. Southern Cricket Club on Mendip? (1,1,1,1) 7. Rhino Wire Etc.? (5) 9. Lead this on Mendip once. (3) 11. Cuthbert’s series carboniferous without heart. (5) 12. Everyone at end of 4 down. (3) 14. Held back by 16. (5) 16. They hold 14 in caves or outside them. (5) 17. Hunters full or unstable road I tread. (4) Down: 2. Working in underground road I tread. (4) 3. Choose a cave differently. (3) 4. Tiny, but includes everyone in the end. (5) 5. Angular adjective. (5) 8. Not for clutching! Especially the last! (5) 10. Cave floor description in Lancs. Yorks. (5) 11. This beheaded is used to do this. (5) 13. 7 across turned through a right angle in home, cave or garden. (4) 15. Lacking in sumps. (3)