We set out from Mikes house at 7.30 ish in Wes's car, thats Mike, Wes and me, Guy being already there having stayed over in Ingleton after a Saturday caving trip with Ian.
To say that the weather was bitterly cold would just seem like moaning so I won't mention the weather.
After the usual, does anyone know the way discussion, the conversation turned to the likely wetness of the forthcoming pothole and it soon became clear that I would be the only one without a wetsuit or dry suit, this would dampen the spirits of any normal person but as you know I am not one to winge.
After an uneventful drive to Ingleton the high point of the morning was breakfast in Bernies cafe, where we met up with Guy, then we set off to brave the elephants.
Fortunately Guy had all the information and we parked in a layby a few miles up the road where we got changed in the rain, then set off up the mountain, although its a long way up, Guy's directions were spot on.
It was nice to get underground where it was a bit warmer, a clean rather pleasant pothole awaited us, Guy was rigging, and the first pitch was a simple affair of only a few metres I was trying out my new pirana decender and was rather pleased with it.
However after winding our way to the second pitch I discovered that with a pirana you have to be more careful about how you approach deviations, yes I got my pirana tangled up and had to mess about with my footloop and jammer to get myself untangled.
The next pitch was a split pitch, the bottom half being a sloping slot not unlike a stope in a lead mine and more or less climbable.
Up to this point Guy's rigging had kept us more or less out of the water, "did I mention the streamway we were following
with inevitable waterfalls on each pitch" .
Anyway it all came to naut when we arrived at the sump, "did I mention that they all had wetsuits".
After the short sump which did have an airspace, we stoped for a well earned cup of tea and a biccy, then onward and downward.
A bit of crawling and clambering and another fairly long pitch got us into a superb passage, half filled with water, it went on and on, passing on the way some amazing formations, until as the water got deeper we finally reached another sump,
Guy said there was a rope in it and I took his word for it, my genitals felt like a couple of frozen faggots and a chipolata, so I was not dissapointed when we decided to make our way out.
The way out was pleasant enough, we warmed up a bit on the ropes and clambered out onto the wet grass and rain "well it is Yorkshire" back to the car quick change then back to Bernies to get warm on a mug of tea.
A thoroughly enjoyable day and thanks Guy for the rigging and getting us there, and thanks Wes for driving and getting us there, and thanks to Mike for forcing me to buy a karabina in Bernies.
A brillint day.
Doug.
Subject: Tathum wives trip 1st March 
Wed 04 Mar 2009, 1:01 pm
Thanks to everybody who came on the trip - I had a great time 
