County Pot - 6 January 2013
Me and Mick Ellerton being trained by Nigel Ball
A navigation and cave geology day. Turns out I have a lot to learn.
From County Pot we went to Confusion Corner and then Battle of Britain Chamber and then headed to the Trident series. It's a maze of passages and without a large scale survey it would be a nightmare for a first time visitor. From Splash Chamber we headed to the insitu traverse lines above Whiteline chamber and then looped round to Whiteline Chamber. It's well named, having a white line of calcite running up it. After a look at the fantastic Paper Floor Passage started to head out, checking out the dry bypass for Spout Hall on the way.
Lots of navigation done, lots of cave geology covered and a system I really should make the effort to go back to. If only the permit system didn't make things so restrictive.
County Pot - 1st March 2013
Me, Olly and Hannah
Armed with a permit so that the BCA wouldn't cut off my head, we set off for a mooch around County Pot for some navigation practice. Fleur Loveridge had suggested finding Upper Molluscan Hall but we never went there in the end. Dave Ramsey had suggested finding Poetic Justice, Ignorance is Bliss, and Cotton Chamber via Upper Pierce's Passage.
In the end we did the following:
County Pot, 7 metre pitch, Showerbath Passage, Confusion Corner (not sure what's confusing about it) Spout Hall and Poetic Justice via the right hand route where the passage splits (more northerly route). Olly climbed PJ and Hannah and I followed on a rope which was just as well as it's awkward. Down the 7 metre pitch at the other side into Brown & Smelly Chamber, which is one but not the other. From there we made our way to 3 Fag Climb.
We then had a detour to Whiteline Chamber which brought up an issue with the survey. Where does the Name on the survey refer to? Is it the start of the writing, the end? Whiteline Chamber is a good example as on the survey there are at least three places it could relate to. When you reach Whiteline Chamber you know where you are as it's obvious (there's a big white line in it) but to pick it out on the survey beforehand is not obvious.
Back at 3 Fag Chamber we went to look for Upper Pierce's Passage and Cotton Chamber. Unfortunately you don't get there from 3FC so we headed back to PJ and looked at Ignorance is Bliss (a boulder choke crawl) which is the actual way to Cotton Chamber. It was getting late by now (constantly looking at a survey takes time!) and we headed out. After PJ we took the more southerly route where the passage splits and in here there's a fine calcited false floor, some nice formations above it seen through a hole in the roof and a curious half tunnel running along the side of the passage below the false floor. It looks like a small phreatic tube but I wasn't sure how it formed because it's below the false floor and therefore surely in vadose development?
From there we bypassed the spout in Spout Hall and headed out.
A good trip and still loads more to see.
Armed with a permit so that the BCA wouldn't cut off my head, we set off for a mooch around County Pot for some navigation practice. Fleur Loveridge had suggested finding Upper Molluscan Hall but we never went there in the end. Dave Ramsey had suggested finding Poetic Justice, Ignorance is Bliss, and Cotton Chamber via Upper Pierce's Passage.
In the end we did the following:
County Pot, 7 metre pitch, Showerbath Passage, Confusion Corner (not sure what's confusing about it) Spout Hall and Poetic Justice via the right hand route where the passage splits (more northerly route). Olly climbed PJ and Hannah and I followed on a rope which was just as well as it's awkward. Down the 7 metre pitch at the other side into Brown & Smelly Chamber, which is one but not the other. From there we made our way to 3 Fag Climb.
We then had a detour to Whiteline Chamber which brought up an issue with the survey. Where does the Name on the survey refer to? Is it the start of the writing, the end? Whiteline Chamber is a good example as on the survey there are at least three places it could relate to. When you reach Whiteline Chamber you know where you are as it's obvious (there's a big white line in it) but to pick it out on the survey beforehand is not obvious.
Back at 3 Fag Chamber we went to look for Upper Pierce's Passage and Cotton Chamber. Unfortunately you don't get there from 3FC so we headed back to PJ and looked at Ignorance is Bliss (a boulder choke crawl) which is the actual way to Cotton Chamber. It was getting late by now (constantly looking at a survey takes time!) and we headed out. After PJ we took the more southerly route where the passage splits and in here there's a fine calcited false floor, some nice formations above it seen through a hole in the roof and a curious half tunnel running along the side of the passage below the false floor. It looks like a small phreatic tube but I wasn't sure how it formed because it's below the false floor and therefore surely in vadose development?
From there we bypassed the spout in Spout Hall and headed out.
A good trip and still loads more to see.
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