18th March 2025 - Cantabrian prep

After last year's superb trip to Cantabria we've decided to go back and hoping that they'll love it as well, my family's going to join us too. While others aren't so sure, eldest has said he wouldn't mind a go at some caving, so needs to learn the ropes. We've had a couple of SRT lessons in a garden tree so the rest of the team decided he was ready for a proper trip. As it's mainly pull through trips we're planning on again this year, Simpson's seemed an ideal location. 

Picking Mike up is always a joy as there'll be a pot of tea on the go, accompanied by fantastic tray bakes. Today was no exception and replete with outstanding chocolate brownies, we headed to Devil's Bridge to meet Tony and then on to Kingsdale. The Dales look stunning in the low light of a spring evening and the trudge up to the Turbary road was almost pleasant. Mike's cave radar was working in high precision mode and he walked straight across the open moor to the entrance.

While the Swinsto long crawl is infamous, I'm sure it feels almost as far in Simpson's and personally I find it a bit more awkward. At least in Swinsto you know you're crawling, whereas Simpson's I feel I'm constantly transitioning between stooping and crawling. In both though it's a relief to reach the pitches. The Five Steps passed without incident and at their foot we geared up for the first real obstacle, the traverse over The Pit.

Gearing up to traverse the pit

The pitches now fall in quick succession and we were back into our familiar routine with eldest slotted in between us. Mike quickly rigged with Tony and I trying hard to pull down the previous rope and get it forward before eldest descended allowing Mike to move on again. I thought there might be a brief pause at the duck but the speedy duo were through by the time I got there and there was no let up in the pace. That is until an innocuous little slot before the Slit pitch where I came to crashing to a standstill. I'm blaming the camera in my chest pocket, but I really struggled. To make matters worse, when taking off my SRT gear to make myself more sleek, my descender and cowstails fell off into a puddle. Not noticing until Tony was also through, he kindly went back to retrieve them for me. By contrast the Slit pitch itself I managed to pass without issue and having had to use both of our ropes for the longer pitch, the team was briefly reunited at the bottom. 

Watching Tony negotiate the Slit pitch

The stomp down the main drain helped pump a bit of warm blood around after the aqueous passage from the Great Aven and we were soon at the pitch up into the roof tunnel. Eldest's new jammers seemed to do the trick and Tony and I were once again playing catch up to reach Valley entrance.

There was just one final stop to make to fully introduce eldest to the Thursday night club, a pint (of orange juice and lemonade!) in the Barn.

An integral part of a Thursday night trip

Huge thanks to Mike and Tony for looking after eldest on his first proper trip.

12th March 2025 - Definitely not boring

It's been a gorgeous few days with hardly any rain but someone had dumped a year 10 parents' evening on our usual caving night. While Tony already had other plans (and had already been doing a bit of sneaky caving on the side!), fortunately Mike was free for a Wednesday evening trip.

Last week's trip had inspired a Spiral Stairs conversation so, with low water levels, we decided on a Borehole trip with an exit via the Wetched Wabbit "short cut".

Wednesday night is definitely not caving night in Ease gill. Bull Pot farm looked deserted and there wasn't a parked car to be seen. It was therefore just the two of us that enjoyed the sunny wander across the moor to the valley. I'm sure the entrance to the Borehole has changed, I was looking for a slightly undercut crag, but Mike spotted a beautifully crafted drystone wall with a little door in it that was indeed our entrance.

While I struggled posting myself through the door I loved the following climbs and passage. Beautifully clean washed streamway with entertaining drops and the clearest water I've seen in a while. At times it was like being on a safari, small shrimp swam in the gin clear water, pond skaters skimmed across its surface and droplet covered gossamer threads hung from the ceiling.

Mike getting his knee pads on at the entrance to the Borehole

The Borehole passage has a feel of being less well travelled than other parts of Ease gill and has sections of pretty and unusual formations such as sections of anastamosic roof. No I didn't have a clue either! Look it up - there are some very pretty pictures not just of cave formations but of biological and river systems too.

There are some pretty formations

The passageway had felt very horizontal, at times to the point of making "downstream" difficult to discern. A step up from the winding rift soon saw us staring down a 15 m pitch. There was plenty of room to put on our SRT kit and a single exhibit museum. A slightly hairy slither led back down past a bar to a position from which I could rig the rope from 2 bolts.

Litter or relic?

It's not huge but it's a definitely well proportioned pitch that lands in a pool from where it's suggested to pull the ropes before free climbing down the last couple of metres.

The Borehole only has one pitch, but it's a quality one

More great passage follows before a real change in character occurs at Mottershead's chamber where things get distinctly more Ease gillesque. From this point the navigation also becomes a wee bit trickier but as ever armed with a Braemoor description (here), you know you can't go to far wrong.

Popping out close to the Green and Smelly choke we wanted to make sure we could slot in our current position with where we'd been last week so dropped down into the snaking streamway which soon brought us to a junction with T piece passage and well known ground.

Despite having SRT gear with us we opted for the free climbable route into Spiral Stairs via a pile of perfectly stacked rocks. At the only junction we turned left where straight on would have lead us back to the roped climb alternative to getting into the passage and began swiftly snaking our way towards the connection with Wretched Rabbit. Once again the dry stone waller's art was on display as we popped through the hole into more frequented passage and the classic climbs back up to the expertly sculptured new entrance. 

This is a cracking little trip which really does have a little bit of everything except anything unpleasant. Being short it also allows plenty of time in the pub afterwards to ponder its delights.

6th March 2025 - We like pull throughs

With Tony stateside it was just Mike and I that left the van and headed past Bull Pot farm towards the moors. The washing facilities at the stream were being put to good use by a couple of diggers, chuffed with having moved a boulder during the day's session. I'm pretty sure though that there was a glint of jealousy in their eyes when they heard how we were planning on spending our evening.

The bends at the start of the Pool Sink passage were soon negotiated and entry to the more spacious passage beyond gained.