Originally we were all planning to head to Bull Pot Farm for a few good trips down Ease Gill…this soon changed when we saw the amount of snow on Friday. 
Tim, Mike, Rosie, Denise, Rostam and Tom1 drove up early, got changed in the snow and headed down Alum Pot via Dolly Tubs. I (Rosie) was rigging, whilst the others followed on behind. It was freezing – literally. I had to warm up the karabinas to de-frost them and open them! Denise and Rostam got to just before the greasy slab (which was now a frozen slab) when we decided to turn round before we got frostbite! The bothy was very handy to keep us that little bit warmer as we waited for people to head out. Me and Tim had been down the 40m pitch to keep warm, and the deviation was frozen solid – nice! We had to melt the ropes to re-pack them into the bags!
At the top of Dollytubs we found a Jeff – who seemed pleased to see us and we all walked down the hill together… not without Denise falling deep into the snow. Back at the cars we found a Brendan; and we headed to the Helwith Bridge where we found an Adam.
A few phone calls later we had organised to stay at the Bradford Hut…although even that took a little pushing to get the cars there. Tom managed to drive past the hut when he eventually got going – but all of the SUSS clan arrived before midnight.
Saturday was still snowy, but we all headed out…Brendan, Mike and Tim successfully located and descended Mere Gill. Tom1, Denise, Rostam and Rob found Tatham Wife and went down there. Edd and Adam couldn’t find Hurnell Moss so went down Bar Pot instead. And me, Larry, Tom2, Glen and H spent 3hours looking for Black Shiver – eventually shivering so much that we went to Burnies, Daleswear and the pub to warm up! Great success.
After a hearty dinner courtesy of Edd and Adam; a very long game of Trivial Pursuit ensued… with a massive cheeseboard afterwards.
As we all ate brekky on Sunday we watched the snow fall thick and fast. After some warning from the locals, we aborted our caving plans and left in convoy to get back to a main road! Good job we did, as it took all of us to push Rob’s heavy van up the hills…the other cars seemed like feathers in comparison. Of course, Glen’s van didn’t need any help.
Eventually we all got home safe and sound to Sheffield where there was yet more snow!
2 responses so far ↓
1 Chris Play // Dec 24, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Damn it! Sounds like I missed another right eventful weekend!
2 imo (admin) // Dec 26, 2009 at 5:33 pm
that looks insane!! I hope its a little less snowy for New Year :-z
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