Tom back at the van.
Incredibly it hasn't rained for a couple of days and some blue sky has allegedly been seen over Lancashire. Having had a great trip last week in Yordas and needing a short and exciting adventure for my brother-in-law, I thought a pull-through trip would be perfect.
Driving up Kingsdale, I was quite surprised to see the river running relatively high despite having had a couple of dry days. The remains of the snow on the flanks of the valley gave a clue to its source and potential temperature though.
A five minute uphill plod, made slightly more difficult than usual by the neoprene/PVC combo, soon saw us at the Middle entrance. The two short entrance pitches were soon negotiated and we set off along the streamway.
Arriving at the final pitch the waterfall looked and sounded awesome. Descending first to make sure the rope ran clear, I tried to sneak my way down the side of the main fall. Though this was partially successful, there was no avoiding a couple of refreshing showers, the biggest being saved for the last couple of feet into the plunge pool.
Waving my lamp at Tom, he began his descent through the maelstrom, again trying hard to avoid the main fall, and again receiving the biggest soaking just before the bottom. Signalling to him to climb through the window, with fingers crossed, I began to pull on the abseil rope. Fortunately it came through easily and we were both soon in the impressive hall of Yordas.
I pointed out the line of foam about 5 foot up the wall and told Tom that this indicated how high the recent flood waters must have been. He then asked about the line of foam about 11 foot up! It must be a truly incredible sight when it's in flood.
Two minutes later we were back at the van and not much later, sat in the warmth of the Marton Arms, the noise and power of the rushing water a distant dream.
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