10th January 2016: with Nick Hawkes, Pete Hellier and Tom Chapman. Surface team were Tony Audsley and Chris Batstone.
Still too wet to place receptors, TA had been over to Tor Hole yesterday and that was taking an awful lot of water.
We decided to go for it and see what the conditions were like underground. The pitch was damp but not overly so. There was some evidence in the crawl that there had been some increased flow but the connection seemed no wetter than usual. At Wigs Hall there doesn’t appear to be a doubled line down so there might be some climbing to do there. Went on down to the Sump 7 bypass where a frog was seen on the gravel bank before it jumped into the sump-pool. Then up into the Generation Game and down to Vindication Streamway and on to the aqueous Slime Rift. At the present end of the cave we spent an hour or so moving rocks around trying to manufacture an easier route through the choke before deciding to make our way back out the cave. On the return Slime Rift seemed particularly wet especially the free climb out – energy sapping. A steady trip out, while me and Pete climbed the pitch Nick showed Tom around the rest of Home Close. Tea and snacks at the surface were very welcome and then to the Queen Vic to warm by the fire.
