The Midnight Traverses

Description

After an ungodly amount of faff in the morning involving a diverse set of breakfasts, hefty car discussion (and test drive of Bens new volvo), and a minor amount of route planning we made it to the SWCC hut to start gearing up circa 13:00. After some more (minimal) faff we quickly set off for top entrance of OFD on possibly the sunniest day of the year yet, only stopping to complete the essential pre-trip admin of stashing beers in the grass for the return journey. We began our descent confidently, with Ben attempting to retrace Martin’s route towards shale chamber. Within minutes however a tactical retreat had to be made in order to protect WSG’s reputation in front of the prospective member. Instead we made our way into Gnome Passage with Orry audibly noting that Welsh caves were offensively warmer than Yorkshire ones. After viewing the Gnomes we slithered down into Edward’s Shortcut and went the wrong way (again), taking an impromptu dally down the frozen river. After rectifying we made quick progress to shatter pillar and onwards towards skyhook. There we discovered that our 25m rope was… aspirational for the for the rigging system. After some improvisation with a carabiner and the pulley cord we had the pitch prerigged for our descent and headed down midnight passage. The Midnight Traverses, in Ben’s words, “high and traversey” - a statement that we consider to be true. Some wide bridging with marginal sketch was required, but fortunately we are all blessed with long limbs that were unusually helpful on the trip. Up next was always the best time of the day, snack time. Featuring inspired delicacies such as day old pizza, trail bars and white chocolate and raspberry trek bars. Refuelled, we hit a junction, optimistically checked all three options, and realised the actual Midnight Traverses were still ahead. They were swiftly dispatched however, and we unanimously agreed that our unlabelled warm-up traverses had actually been worse. Typical. At the end of the traverse we reached the relic that our whole trip had been planned around - Brigadier Glennie’s Ladder. We felt much gratitude to the brigadier for providing such respite to us, especially after the midnight(mare) traverses. At this point Orry’s appetite for traversing somehow still hadn’t been sated so he had a quick scout ahead, searching for a view of the streamway. Next up was a C6 and C3 chimney combo that was tight and required fortitude and flexibility. Then flat out crawling around some deep abysses led us towards the Loft where we had a refreshing shower and cooldown. We then backtracked through some beautiful formations and crawled again until we reached a narrowing where Kiran finally had to remove his (still unused) SRT kit. A few navigational side quests followed, including a brief and unnecessary aquatic exploration by Kiran and Jack, before Ben located the correct exit and we made rapid progress through the squeezes back to the main passage. This led us to a stunning (and tasty looking) crystal pool and grand stalactite. Lighting conditions failed to meet Jack’s artistic standards, but solid photos were secured The final leg of the return journey began with our loved much loved Skyhook rope, which was used only twice - Jack and Orry descended the insitu rope instead which made the time spent puzzling over how to rig it feel very worth it. Once down we set off promptly and immediately turned left out of Cross Rift too early, popping out at the Northern Canyon, missing Shatter Pillar entirely. Orry took a tactical pizza pause while the survey was (once again) consulted, with Ben retracing one of Martin’s routes back to the Brickyard via the passage at the end of Gnome. Finally we made our way up to the entrance passage aided, unbelievably, by Jack recognising the “distinctive” sounds of the waterfall near Top Entrance. Ultimately we emerged into the cool evening air and enjoyed the chilled beers that had been craftily laid there that afternoon. Overall a very successful trip involving much traversing and numerous consultations of the survey with only minimal dignity lost.

Written by Orry Gooberman