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The
club certainly know what it's all about - they've been caving for
over 50 years! We asked Jack Nadin about sheer drops and wet feet...
What's
the difference between a pothole and a cave?
"A straightforward answer would be that a cave has horizontal
passages and a pothole has vertical shafts, or what we cavers called
pitches - but then nothing is ever straightforward. A cave might
lead to a number of pitches, and a pothole might just have one shaft,
and miles of cave passages. There are also ‘through trips’ where
it is possible to abseil down a number of pitches in a pothole and
emerge out at a cave on the valley floor. Generally speaking though,
a cave is where the water emerges back to daylight, and a pothole
is where the stream sinks high on the moors."
Of
all the caves you've been, which one stands out in your mind most
and why?
"Probably
the cave system of the Ease Ghyll Caverns, near Ingleton, which
is the most extensive cave system in Great Britain - and luckily
less than an hours drive away from where we are based. The thirty
odd miles of passages here, all on different levels can take some
time to explore! After twenty years exploring this system, it never
fails to impress. Each entrance into the system, from the 33-metre
abseil into Lancaster Hole, to the worm-like entrance at Pool Sink
and the entertaining County Pot, suitable for the youngest of explorers,
all offer the variety and challenges that cavers seek. The ‘Master
Cave’ at the very bottom of the system where all the streams converge,
needs to be seen before you die in my opinion, with all its exciting
foaming water shutes, cascades, waterfalls, huge caverns and beautiful
formations, terminating finally, at a deep and sullen sump passable
only by cave divers. Caverns here are so huge, were you to stand
in the middle, then even the brightest of lamps would fail to penetrate
to the roof and walls. Surrounded by all this complete and utter
blackness, it is the nearest thing to being in space on earth -
and can also be quite eerie!"
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Gaping
Gill Main Chamber
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Scariest
moment?
"To the young or new caver, I suppose standing on the lip of
a 50 metre drop as the stream roars over the edge into the blackness
of the void below can be unnerving - but in today’s caving it's
all done in complete safety. Modern caving techniques fasten a traversing
rope well away from the edge, to which the cavers clip on to with
their ‘cow tails’ attached to their harness. Should he or she slip,
there is no way of falling into the abyss, which is comforting.
Contrary to the views of some, cavers don’t have some sort of death
wish - we all like to come out in the same condition, and the same
number of limbs as we had when we went in! I once had an scare at
Cherry Tree Hole near Malham. Progress here was hampered, and the
only way forward appeared to be a drop down into a bell shaped passage
below. As I was in front, I chose what I thought was the widest
spot, and lowered myself down, only to get jammed in at chest height!
My arms were splayed out uselessly at the top of the passage, and
could only be flapped about uselessly from the elbow to the wrist,
below my legs dangled in thin air in the wide bit of the ‘bell shaped
passage’ below. I was well and truly stuck, no amount of wriggling
or sideways movement could move me! Happily my companions came to
the rescue - and one of them, more familiar with the cave than me,
then showed the ‘proper’ way forward."
Most
fantastic feature you've seen underground?
"That’s a hard question. It’s difficult to name any one place
where the formations are the best - they’re all stunningly beautiful
in their own way, and some more difficult to get to at and see than
others. The Ease Ghyll System has many fine chambers such as ‘Magpie
Grotto’ with its strange and unusual black and white formations
formed by pigments in the limestone and ‘Easter Grotto’ with thousands
of straw stalactites hanging from above. But my favourite place
is probably a cave near Buckden that contains some of the finest
formations I have ever seen. Straw stalactites here, four and five
foot long cover the whole roof of the chamber - each having taken
a millennium to form. You gaze in humble silence here, fearful to
move in case of damage, and picture a scene that few have seen.
This is one of the greatest rewards of caving - and well worth the
strenuous effort and challenges of getting there."
Anywhere
you've not been that you would love to visit?
"I
think on the Continent - the caves here are deep and vertical, and
offer a greater challenge. Although we've enjoyed caving in Ireland
in the past. Caving, the jolly banter of the Irish, and a drop of
the dark stuff, who could ask for more?"
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Jack
hanging off the side of the Comfort Inn, Burnley - like you
do!
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Best
place in Lancashire to go caving? "Unfortunately nowhere
in Lancashire offers caves of any real challenge. But we are in
close proximity of the greatest caving region in England, the Yorkshire
Dales. The caves here fulfil everything a caver wants, from the
deep and difficult potholes requiring specialised skills and equipment
to the easy walk in caves, where just a hand torch will suffice.
Other caving regions include the Derbyshire Peaks, and South Wales
- all of which Burnley Caving Club members have visited."
What's
the deepest you've been?
"Personally, to the bottom of Bank Hall Colliery shaft - 1500
feet deep - but I suppose you are speaking of caves and potholes.
Most caves in Britain average around three hundred feet deep. We
have however explored a number of old mines deeper than this. For
instance, we have abseiled through over five hundred feet of shafts
in the old copper mines at Coniston in the Lake District and emerged
through an old stone lined tunnel near the valley floor. This was
before there was a thousand ton rock fall some weeks later! A reminder,
were it needed, that mine exploration is a bit more specialised
(and less safe) than caving."
If anyone wanted to join you, what could they expect? What age
range are members?
"Ages range from around thirteen years, to shall I say the
more ‘mature’ social members! We have training facilities where
you can practice in complete safety, learning the skills necessary
for caving under the supervision of experienced cavers before you
even go underground. The club also has a limited amount of caving
gear for loan to new members."
And
finally, how do you keep your tootsies nice and dry?
"The best way to keep your feet dry, as far as caving is concerned,
is not to go caving! Make no mistake, if you go caving you are going
to get wet - but it is only the water that makes you wet, the kind
you bath in at home - you won’t suddenly dissolve! However, that
doesn’t mean you will spend all day shivering underground on your
caving trip. The modern gear for caving retains body heat and soon
dries off!"
Burnley
Caving Club meet each Thursday - see their website
for more details - and remember don't go trying it on your own!
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