Caving: St Cuthberts (17-Mar-2018)

• St Cuthberts


• 04:00 hours
• 2,117:45 cumulative hours

A very wet and cold trip. Water levels were generally quite high which also wasn't helped by the fact that we were doing the trip late in the day so the dam had been closed for a large part of the day (due to other groups in the cave) and was starting to overflow. It was also minus temperature oustide and starting to snow which made the water super cold.

We abseiled in via Pulpit Pitch and headed down the wetter and colder than normal streamway.  All the little climbs beneath Pulpit were quite wet and splashy. At the bypass route it took me a few minutes to remember the way around the streamway obstruction, round the bypass route and back into the streamway. We then continued down to the Gours.

From the Gours we headed out via Plantation streamway, Rabbit Warren and up to the Railway Tunnel. A quick look at the Cascades and then into Strike Passage and over to Curtain Chamber. 

The entrance climbs were now quite wet, it took us a little while to all get up the entrance rift and by the time we got to the surface we were all super cold. Certainly glad of a warm shower at the Belfry followed by a Ham Pasta at the Hunters.