Last Autumn, Anna, Alan and me did a Giants Round Trip with a visit to East Canal via Geology Pot.
Some of my highlights:
·Jamming in St Valentine’s Sump
®Anna in the traverse of doom when I told her that me and Kim had free traversed it “did you shit your pants?”
‘µDescending Geology Pot
¸Seeing the toad and speculating how it could survive there
getting everyone through the eyehole
‘²East Canal what a gorgeous passage.
Anna explains:
“Alan stopped suddenly in front of me.
Shining our torches into the water, we could all see a sudden drop ahead where the floor seemed to vanish and the colour of the water changed to a deep blue.
Alan gingerly went forward and dipped his foot in as far as he could, confirming that the pool appeared to be bottomless.
My first sight of this canyon is a vision imprinted in my mind. I’ve crossed huge crevasses in glaciers; battled ferocious blizzards; hacked my way through dense jungles, but although there are some similarities – none of those experiences could match quite what I felt whilst teetering at the perimeter of the East Canal.
The light from our torches reflected off the dark blue water, resulting in ripples of light which danced across the red walls either side.
From there the Canal seemed bottomless, and with the ceiling so high that I could not see the roof, the space above me endless.
There was nothing but me, my companions and this serene place we had found deep under the ground.”
Oh, and having to get out a spare torch for Alan proved it was worth carrying the rescue kit with us
Alan’s Highlights: “Breaking the mount on my head torch, not once but twice, nearly dropped it down a rift while mid traverse. Swimming in a cave wearing SRT kit using a tackle bag as a tow float. Going sideways through a key hole on a traverse above a not inconsiderable drop. Litter by the handful at the bottom of Geology. Crawling through water which was not warm….”
Me? I can’t wait to return!
Originally posted on this post on Instagram
