The first time I went to G.B. in Mendip, it was a fairly intimidating trip. I hadn’t been briefed much about G.B. beforehand, and after like 3-4 hours, I felt stressed that we’d have to reverse everything we’d done and had a bit of a meltdown. It was at this point that I learnt there was a much easier way back out.
Everytime I’ve been back since, I’ve taken the faster way in/out, but I’ve wondered what the more challenging original route would feel like now I’ve got more cave underneath my battery belt.
So we took a Caving Crew team in to see what we thought.
…and here’s my review: Probably one of the most enjoyable type 2 fun caving challenges I’ve done recently.
There are probably 3 cruxes, in quick succession, about 2/3 of the way to the main cave – cold water, a squeeze that wouldn’t accommodate people with a larger chest than me, and then descending a “suboptimal” drop of “not a pitch, not a handline, not ideal”.
The slightly irritating news is that I don’t have photos of any of the more memorable sections, as I was focused so hard on making Mendip Underground make sense, and not taking us the wrong way.
The team loved the rest of G.B. with its huge passages, and sick stal and massively appreciated knowing they wouldn’t have to return the way they’d come. The way out was a high spirited high speed rollick!
Originally posted on this post on Instagram