“Will you take a photo?”
Mum had stopped me.
“I want a photo of me that’s not in a nice beginner cave”
I took the photo.
We were exploring a well known mine newr Stoney Middleton and taking Mum on a “real” evening caving trip.
When mum started Caving, we kept to large, gentle, horizontal caves. You can walk in, walk out.
But as Mum stuck with it, we started to show her the ropes. How to use caving Single Rope Technique to go up and down vertical sections.
This evening we were hoping to give mum her first opportunity to use her training on a trip.
The mine has an extensive horizontal section that we made the mistake of thoroughly exploring every miserable corner of, before we headed to the pitch.
Alex went down first. Mum got in position. I watched at the top to make sure everything was done right, ready to jump in and help if required. And then she was off, down the 8m pitch to Alex waiting below.
When it came to return, off she went, complaining “I’m not going anywhere” whilst visually disappearing upwards away from me towards Alex.
I think Mum is going places, and going there fast. Now she’s learning basic SRT ropework, she can start joining the fun trips that are mostly large walking passages but involve short pitches. So many more opportunities present themselves!
If you fancy getting involved, search “The Caving Crew” on Facebook. There’s no cost to join our Facebook group and everyone is welcome to lurk and listen.
Originally posted on this post on Instagram
