Mike and Al: Lost Johns - Monastery
Friday, 29 November 2024
Friday, 22 November 2024
Friday, 8 November 2024
7th November 2024: To the Eastern Front
Tony was gutted. Swanning off to warmer climes had meant that he'd missed out on a trip through the Notts II/Lyle connection, one of his favorite places in the world. Needing to make up for it I scoured guidebooks, Descent and the web and settled on a trip down the newly bolted North by North End Pot to visit the Eastern Front.
We parked up by the water utilities shed and trudged up the lane, heading straight on across the moor on a path when the track turns hard left. The description and sketch map made us think we'd bump straight into it but it's actually slightly off the main path to the left and a proper map and compass or a GPS would make it easier find on a first visit in the dark or clag. In our heads we were also looking for a larger shake hole than we actually found - it is a big hole but it's the depth that's significant rather than its area.
The hole is divided in two by a beautifully sculptured wall of spoil, dividing the old entrance from the newer caged one. The mesh lid might be good at keeping sheep out, but as we were to find out, nothing was going to prevent us from carrying out large amounts of clawing mud at the end of our trip.
Descending the first pitches I was in awe of the diggers industry. Board after board of shuttering held in place by metres upon metres of scaffolding bar. So in awe in fact that I completely missed a vertical scaffolding pole and drilled thread that made up a y-hang and continued blissfully down the pitch until the first deviation. I'm going to hang onto the excuse of being so wowed by the digging that I also completely missed the rift leading off the pitch and continued down the blind shaft. Returning a few metres back up, the rift was as clear as day and I moved up into the breakthrough point.
It was now time to start treading as softly as possible. I hitched the tackle sack directly to my harness and began tiptoeing down the rubble slope trying to keep as much weight as I could on the rope. Passing the large funnel I eeked along a ledge that looked temporary at best and approached the main pitch asking Tony to wait until I was down before approaching the pitch head. The echoes of our voices as we neared the pitch gave us the impression we were about to enter a vast space and the pitch didn't disappoint. At the bottom, I scurried along the taped route to get out of the firing line and shouted up to Tony I was safe.
With all of us reunited we descended the last short pitch and began our journey into the Large/Rift/Low Douk system. This time I'm going to use the excuse of being distracted by pristine formations that caused me to miss the left hand branch of the T junction leading to Large, but fortunately our destination lay to the right in the direction I was funneled by the conservation tape.
The taped route soon brought us to a stunning crystal pool. I don't think I've seen such delicate crystals in a UK cave before and I risked Mike and Tony's wrath for a quick picture.
31st October 2024 - A definite treat: Lost Johns pull through
With a huge team: Toms H&S, B, Josh and an actual John! Plus Mike of course.
Monday, 22 April 2024
5-12th April 2024 Mike's Cantabrian Recipe & Tony's film
Cantabria Caving Cake – for ‘feeding the rat’ – Spring 2024, Al, Tony, Mike
Ingredients
2 Deep Shafts; Sima Tonio at 282m was a suitable starter for focusing the mind and honing
pull through skills, we soon got our routine sorted; Sima del Cueto was quite the step up,
with 8 big pitches off vertical stances in eerie stillness and unfathomable depth to the half
way window and a further intricate series of pitches, fixed ropes, narrow connections and
the final ‘tail tube’ through to the base of the Juhue Well at 581 meters.
1 Vast Chamber; Popping through the roof of the Sala Olivier Guillaume in the Cueva
Canuela on a thin thread of rope defies superlatives; the depth, silence and huge chamber
making us feel like miniscule specks in both time and space.
1 Spectacular Streamway; A through trip linking the streamways of Cuivo, Cubieja and
Leolorna proved to be an excellent, entertaining, sporting experience. A short entrance pitch
led to a developing streamway with occasional obstacles to the stunning ‘Caramel
Meanders’, calcited pools of contoured browns; a hilariously muddy bypass section scrubbed
clean in the ‘Wash Room’; followed by 10 varied wet pitches to the depths of Sala del Arco
(225m); perfect strolling downstream passage to the confluence with the Leolorna, then
upstream through the bucket shaped pools of the ‘Marmite Gallery’ and back up to the
previous day’s exit pitches. Quality!
1 Long Trip; Cueto to Coventosa; 6 hours down the pitches, a couple of hours scrambling
into the mountain before turning at the Pozo Navidad towards the Coventosa cave where
we’d stashed inflatable, neoprene and cake for the way out. Best part of 17 hours
underground. What a trip! Took the whole of the next day to even begin to digest the
experience.
1 Squeaky Bum Moment; Despite my best attempts at maintaining a cool head on the first
pitch of the Cueto, I managed to completely miss the first hanging bolted stance, abseiled
the full 65 meters of rope and had to reascend about 25 meters of what at that point looked
like a very thin and stretchy thread up into the ceiling with utter blackness below. I apologise
for my heavy breathing!
Many stunning formations; Karst and Calcite in abundance; stal the size of buildings in
length and girth at every turn; Coventosa Christmas gallery sparkling in our lights; gour pools
to swim across; Brachiopod events all around; chambers, canyons, galleries, narrow
entrances and atmospheric exits.
Equipment
2 Scurion Lamps; Tony and Al’s lamps cast incredible light in the huge chambers and
galleries we experienced, making my Duo look utterly insignificant by comparison;
particularly useful for spotting reflective markers at a distance, though not for me on the
really big silent pitches, I’d prefer it if we didn’t wake the locals.
1 Layer of Neoprene; will suffice for the cave streamways and the lakes of the Rio
Coventosa, though if you’d like to hire some more there’s a lovely Spanish chap in Ramales
and you can carry it around with you all day.
1 Flotation Device; the Rio Coventosa has 3 lakes to cross; I was recommended a ‘boat’,
there was talk of a ‘craft’, Tony went and did his high level paddling leader assessments in
Scotland: but Lidl middle aisle has it all – no-expense-spared kids inflatable rings in a variety
of colours for your choice, just sit down in it and away you go; the perfect addition to any
continental caver’s kit list.
2 Cameras; thanks so much to Al and Tony for the memorable photos and film; I’m the worst
model, always mooching off downstream, round the corner or down the pitch before the
camera’s even warmed up.
1 AI translated Spanish guidebook; a few amusing translations aside, the guides, surveys
and pitch topos were excellent enabling us to make the most of our time in Cantabria and be
confident of the pull through commitment. A good bit of homework was done on the ferry
journey and evenings before trips, checking our equipment and annotating and laminating
the necessary paperwork.
1 Quality Accommodation; we stayed at the Ramales campsite, couldn’t be more perfect for
our needs, a simple apartment meant beds for the night, cooking and showering, kit
preparation and relaxation in the afternoon sun. A brilliant bar with cheap local beer and
food, log burner, reminiscent of our usual haunt at the Barn in Kirkby Lonsdale, even sold
locally brewed real ale
Method
Take 3 middle aged experienced cavers (2 with significant birthdays!) with a likeminded attitude to
caving (have a go at anything as long as its not too too tight) and essential apres-caving activities
(that’s having a beer or 2 after the cave!), a common despair in Tory politics, liberally sprinkled with
wit, humour and abundant trivia. Add 8 days of gorgeous Spanish spring sunshine in a stunningly
quiet mountain area. Prepare your equipment thoroughly before hand and combine the ingredients
with care and delight. ‘Rooope freeee’!
Tony's film
Monday, 15 April 2024
11 - 12th April 2024 - OMG - Cueto to Coventosa traverse
The parking attendant donkey loves a good forehead scratch |
It was then onwards and upwards, the concrete track soon turning into a narrower and more ancient feeling path that headed straight up the hill side. The distant sound of bells and frequent cow pats on the track worried us that at any point a herd of cows could come charging down towards us but a final barn signalled the end of our confined path and the start of the open fell. The zig zag path we had spied on Google's satellite imagery wasn't quite as well defined on the ground as we thought it would be but there was no chance of going the wrong way - it was just up!