DERBYSHIRE WEEKEND 10th 11th September 2005
THE RETURN TO TITAN
By Keith Mason
After failing to do the planned Titan/JH through trip back in February, due to high, no sorry, very high water levels, it was decided to pencil it in on the calendar for the Derbyshire Weekend in September. So after many emails, phone calls and forum messages, all the arrangements were finally sorted out, and the trip was on again. With the options of exiting via JH or Peak Cavern being available. Accommodation was also booked at the TSG Chapel in Castleton for those stopping over, and JH was pre-rigged during the week, by Tony and Myself.
With several of us staying at the Chapel on the Friday night it was decided to meet at the, yes, you guessed it! The pub. Where we were also joined by Stuart (of Roaring Hole fame) and Deborah for the socialising, and so it was that after much drinking and with no chance of a lock in (not like our Colin is this Landlord) that it was off to bed for an early start on the Saturday morning.
When the rest of the group had turned up at the Chapel, on the not so bright but damp Saturday morning, and the final plans were put in place, it was round to the famous butty shop that Chris found on our last trip back in Feb. So with breakfast out of the way we all made our way up to Rowter Farm to get changed, before making our way across to the entrance pitch of Titan, rembering to unlocking JH on the way.
With eight of us in total (as two had dropped out, but no names mentioned eh guys), there were 4 YSS and 4 CSCA. As we got to the top of Titan’s surface shaft we were met by Dave Clucas, who was going to open up and let us in, as Dave Nixon and Robbie Shone were away in Borneo. Then when we had all descended, he was going to lock us in, so no coming back out this way, this time. Also the big bonus of the day being that all three pitches were rigged, so no rope needed (see there is a caving god!).
After descending the 45mtr surface pitch, and a short walk, I was looking out into Titan. Soon I was loaded up on the rope and on my way down towards the Event Horizon, the first thing that I noticed was the lack of water, a little bit different from the torrent flowing through it last time we were here, and a good indication that this was going to be a successful trip. So after a quick change over at the rebelay, it wasn’t long before I was at the bottom of Titan, quickly followed by the rest of the gang. The way on from the bottom of Titan is down through a tight boulder choke, which we all passed with no problems.
We then continued on our way through A1 passage and the ups and downs of Stemple Highway, made easier by some dubious looking fixed iron ladders, and traverse ropes. Then after a few hundred meters of hands and knees crawling we finally arrived at the place that stopped us last time, which was now nothing more than a damp patch on the ground. On through the would be duck and we were soon at the bottom of Leviathan, which is the final big pitch of JH.
From the bottom of Leviathan we all made our way on down through the Boulder Piles, which is the connection into the Speedwell Cavern System, and carried on down the large walking sized passage to the Whirlpool, which is quite spectacular when the water levels are up, but not so today as the water level was quite low. It was at this point that we split into our two groups of four, where Paul, Stuart, Nicky and Chris returned back to the Boulder Piles, after having explored some of the Speedwell System on the way.
Once through the Boulder Piles there was only one way for them to go and that was UP. Leviathan first which is split into two fine pitches, one at 30m and one at 40m. From the head of Leviathan a short scramble leads into the Workshop, with the way on being up Bitch Pitch, which if you have never done it then it certainly lives up to its name. Only thing is by the time you get to the top you might just be calling it F*****G Bitch Pitch. The next section involves 200mts of walking, crawling, stooping and traversing along the Cartgate to arrive at the bottom of the final pitch. A fine free hang of 50mts to the surface.
Back to the rest of us at the Whirpool, Amy, Chris, Dave and Myself, we all crossed over the junction via the tensioned traverse and dropped into the Speedwell Canal which consists of a meander in water, ranging from waist to chest high in several places. After about 90mts we arrived at the Bung Hole, which is a stone wall dam built to keep the water level up in the Show Cave part of the System.
After climbing down the 6mtr fixed iron ladder it was a pleasant meander for 100mts to the short bypass, which is a hands and knees crawl to bring us out at Rift Cavern. From here we climbed the 24mtr fixed ladder up into Colestomy crawl, which if you like gloopy mud and crawling then this is the place for you, all 140mts of it. Carrying on through Liam’s way and the Trenches towards Treasury Chamber, then out through Treasury Passage to emerge in the Upper Gallery of Peak Cavern and the way out for us.
Stopping off on the way to have a look up Pickering Passage, which is the way on up into Neil Moss Chamber. It was then back into Upper Gallery and we were off again passing through the Mucky Ducks and Five Arches, stopping off before the show cave to wash all the mud off ourselves, as they don’t like this being trampled out through the show cave.
All that was left then was for us to climb the Devils Staircase, walk past all the paying tourists and make our way out to the entrance. Only to be informed that a couple of people were waiting to see us, wondering what we had done wrong, you could imagine our surprise to find John Hepworth and Neil Brooks waiting to greet us (Nice one Guys Ooops!).
After walking back to the Chapel and meeting up with the rest of the gang from the JH exit, it was down to mundane tasks like washing and sorting out personal kit and the gear from the JH derig, then getting ourselves cleaned up, before going out for a well deserved pint and some grub, then several more pints, before returning to the Chapel and climbing into our bunks.
Trip members:
YSS: Stuart Weston, Chris Tate, Paul Thomas, Keith Mason
CSCA: Nicky Rowland, Chris Mitchell, Amy Finnie, Dave Lord
Trip times: JH exit 6hrs, Peak exit 5hrs
And finally, a big thanks to all for turning up and making it a great day.
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