Penyghent Pot
PARTY:- J. Wilkinson, R. Ellwood, D.Ellwood,
Norma, NMCC, Ian and Big Jane. . APRIL 74.
After an abortive trip at Christmas due to flooding, the above Red Rose members had vowed to return. As there had been three weeks of drought conditions it seemed an obvious time to attempt the conquering of this hole. The four Red Rose members met on Friday night and after a look at the pile of tackle it was decided to rope in a few other people as Sherpas. A quick stop at Bernies, and we soon had two more for the party Big Jane, who had been down before, but couldn't remember it (crawl, what crawl??) and Ian, who only had a wet suit jacket and hadn't done much caving. It was a nice sunny day, so changing wasn't the usual ordeal, and the long walk was quite a pleasant stroll. We arrived at the entrance and had a rest and a fag. There seemed to be no rush to descend so I grabbed my pile of tackle and slithered off through the awkward crawl to the canal. The contrast between the bright, sunny, warm colours of the fell and the black, sharp, evil gloom of the notorious Penyghent canal was striking and as I felt the icy water creeping up inside my wetsuit. I began to have second thoughts. However I took the plunge and splashed off into the wild black yonder.
With my tackle tied onto my belt the crawl was fairly easy and it wasn't long before I heard the welcoming sound of the first pitch. I laddered it quickly and was at the bottom when the rest of the party arrived a few moments later.
Ian and I then ran down the next section of passage which is that awkward height which forces you to bend your back over and turn your head sideways to see where you’re going. This section was more annoying than the crawl, and was very glad. to arrive at the top of the second pitch. This was done on a hand line and was fairly easy if one bridged out above the not inconsiderable stream. The next pitch was dry and is a 60ft descent down a pleasant rift. As the rift is fairly narrow we didn't bother with a safety line. The landing is on a lodge and from here a tiny stream landing on it explodes into blackness. Fortunately a little hole on the right hand side allows a completely dry descent into this vast pain chamber of Penyghent Pot.
The climb was 70' and the view was spectacular to say the least. The chamber is
a vast cavity, hewn out of the rock rather than formed. Huge jagged black rocks
protrude from the walls and a large stream crashes down out of the eerie
heavens above. - The party assembled here the tackle was re-organised. I took
the lead for the next section - the big
rift passage to Boulder Hall. After a few minutes of thrutching along between
boulders I came to the next pitch. On the last trip it had been desperate but
under these conditions it seemed an easy free climb, so, throwing caution to
the winds, I climbed down. Soon I arrived at the furthest point reached on the previous
trip, a bedding plane at the bottom of the rift. Various pitches followed, all,
of which we free climbed. Down, down, down the rift went and by the time we reached
Boulder Hall we were beginning to get real feeling of depth. Here we re-organised
tackle, after free climbing the rift we had about five ladders too many. After
a fag and a bit of chocolate we set off again. The next pitch was only a few
seconds walk away...Myers Leap. The stream shoots out into a round chamber that
looks like a magnified cylinder after a re-bore. The descent was quite wet but
short, so we didn't bother with a lifeline
I set off from the bottom of this pitch expecting a sump any minute, A wide phreatic tube with deep still black pools on the floor. Soon I heard the sound of running water and we were moving fast again, running along a large master cave type passage. All too soon the next pitch cane. A short climb of 10’ led to the top of the big pitch proper. Again a ladder was not necessary as a long traverse to the left allowed a dry easy free climb down to a ledge and the last 25’, although wet, was an easy climb. A grandiose rift led on from here and we all assembled in a large chamber just before the last section of the stream passage.
The swap wasn't far away now and upon arrival everybody jumped in and claimed the bottom. It was generally agreed that the sump is a miserable ending to a sporting
We trekked back to the large chamber and had some fags and goodies. Danny, Norma and Ian set off then as Ian was feeling the cold with only one pair of jeans on. Johnny, Jane and I set off de laddering. We met up in the rift and made good time to the main chamber. We de-laddered all the pitches and were soon at the crawl. Going out the tackle seemed a lot heavier than going in and the crawl seemed to go on forever, but eventually I was thrutching my way up through the boulders to the surface. The rays of the setting sun were bathing the sleeping lion of Penyghent in soft amber light, a magnificent ending a magnificent trip.
R. A. Ellwood.