In a race against the clock three British cave rescue divers and their equipment left Heathrow just after 9pm last night on a flight to Thailand to join the search for thirteen people trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province. The British contribution includes four Heyphones supplied by Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation (DCRO), a…
With Brockers, Tav, Nick, Jonathon and
Duncan.
A rather subdued Brockers, suffering from a
self-inflicted malady, hung-over, was digging, I was clearing away the filled
bags and rocks, loading the skip to Tav in the intermediate position guid…
21st
June 2018: with Brockers, Nick, Jake, Tav, Jonathon and Mike.
I went to the dig-face to
look at a potential boulder blockage, Brockers and Nick were behind me. While I
concentrated on cleaning around the boulders and into an alcove, they co…
Abandoned mines can serve as roost sites for bats, but because the mines pose serious risks to humans, officials often install gates at their entrances.
In January 2018, we reported that the Wealden Cave and Mine Society had been awarded the opportunity to get free radiocarbon dating work performed on archaeological samples from the Reigate area. By the end of March, the results were available, but disappointingly, two of the three samples submitted did not contain sufficient carbon to provide…
Back in February Mark and I were invited by Chris Binding to spend a weekend in Wookey Hole to take photos and video. With Mark and Chris jet-setting around the world it wasn’t until last weekend that we could find a mutually convenient date.Chris said…
The 2018 annual conference of the National Association of Mining History Organisations was hosted jointly by Gloucester Speleological Society, Royal Forest of Dean Caving Club, Hades Caving Club, South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group and Clearwell Caves, and held at Park End in the Forest of Dean. There was a comprehensive list of field trips available…
Four cavers had left a note at their caving hostel, giving a call-out time of 19.00, before going to Heron Pot. Although not unduly concerned, the duty controller asked a colleague from Ingleton to investigate. At just after 20.00, he found them emergi…
A walker with a medical condition collapsed and was unconscious for a brief period. Initial information stated that he was ‘on the track to Little Ingleborough’, but further enquiries suggested that he was on the Horton side of the hill. Wh…
CRO were called to assist a walker who had collapsed on the summit of Pen-y-Ghent after suffering a cardiac arrest. Despite the hard work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance paramedics at the scene, the outcome was fatal. Volunteer hours 36
With Jake, Nick, Tav, Alex, Jonathon and
Brockers.
A good team assembled today. Alex forging
ahead, Brockers clearing away the filled bags and occasional rocks to Jake and
the intermediate transfer station, I was on the slope pulling the skip…
The Romanian Speleological Federation is organising the 12th Annual Balkan Cavers’ Camp which is being held between the 2nd to the 8th of July 2018. This year’s international meeting will include both the Romanian Speleological Congress and the “Speoarta” International Media Contest. The event is taking place in Baru Mare, in the Haţeg County in…
Descent 262 should have landed on your mats and in the shops by now! If you’re not a subscriber, we hope this short round up will tempt you in and send you over to Wildplaces Publishing to get your copy, or if you’re lucky enough to have a caving shop anywhere near you, call in…
14th June 2018: with Mike, Jonathon, Tav, Alex, Brockers and Jake.
Dr Gina Moseley from the Innsbruck Quaternary Research Group will receive one of this year’s prestigious Austrian Science Foundation (FWF) START prizes. The START programme is an Austrian initiative to support and strengthen outstanding research projects in science and humanities. Gina, a member of the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society and current Symposium Lecture Secretary…
Whilst attending to incident 37, CRO was called to an incident at Thornton Force, near Ingleton. A boy, aged 11, had slipped whilst entering the pool at the foot of Thornton Force and hit his head on a submerged rock. He was treated by CRO members, a c…
A walker, who had strayed slightly off the footpath from Catrigg to Stainforth, slipped on a grassy bank and went over on his ankle – reportedly hearing a snap. He was treated for a possible fracture by Yorkshire Ambulance Service paramedics and …
With Jonathon, Alex, Tav and Brockers.
Jonathon at the sharp end, Alex clearing the
filled bags and rocks, Tav, returned from injury and it’s his birthday, jumped
the queue and was on the slope, Brockers on the haul and shuttle, leaving me on…
7th
June 2018: with Jake, Mike, Jonathon, Brockers and Alex.
Jake digging, Mike
passing the filled buckets up to Jon who was loading the skip. Brockers did the
brunt of the hauling up the slope and I was emptying the skips for Alex to
shovel the…
Special Offer! The CDG publication WOOKEY HOLE tells the story of the pioneers and their cutting edge approaches to exploratory diving at one of Somerset’s best-known caves over the last 75 years. The book covers two periods: 1935 – 1985, and then 1986 to its publication in 2010. The introduction is by Jim Hanwell and…
Descent 262 will be with you very shortly! If you’re not up to date with your subscription don’t forget that the lovely folks at Wildplaces Publishing will be only too happy to welcome you back into the fold. And if you’re new to caving, Descent will provide you with news, photos and the best possible…
5th
June 2018: with Brockers and Duncan.
Rumours of a significant
blockage of the 60m crawl, the result of induced rapid speleogenesis (IRS),
turned out to be unfounded. The obstructing flake, that bars further progress
along the passage, had co…
A walker was reported to have broken an ankle, about half-way up the steps to the top of Malham Cove. Two YAS ambulance technicians were on scene when CRO members arrived. The patient was given pain-relief and had his injured leg splinted, before being…
Two cavers were reported to be more than five hours overdue from a through trip between Lost John’s Hole and Notts 2, which they had estimated would take four hours (20.00 Sunday to 00.00 Monday). CRO members began searching in the two pots refer…
I was away on the Gower this weekend
exploring coastal caves and digging Harry Thomas’s Cave with John Cooper. Alex
sent the following summary of Saturday’s activity in Hallowe’en Rift. I suspect
the team comprised Alex, Jake, Jonathon, Nick and Broc…
A visitor (m, described as ‘big and heavy’) fell on the stepped path, landing on an unrelated visitor (f, 45). Although he walked away, she sustained a suspected fractured clavicle and grazes to her head. After immobilising the injury and …
North Yorkshire Police asked for CRO’s assistance by searching Yordas Cave and immediate area for a person (m, 50) reported to be missing from home and ‘at risk’. No-one was found, nor was there any evidence that he had been there. Vo…
31st
May 2018: with Brockers, Alex, Mike, Nick, Jake and Duncan.
Called in at the farm to
collect the mattock retrieved from Hallowe’en last Saturday before meeting the
rest of the team in the Wookey Hole car park.
Usual warm trip through
Cha…
