Who is coming on Boxing Day?
List so far....
John N
Dan the picture man
Dylan
Tom
Vikki (Cave Frog)
Richard Sawyer
Andy - friend of Dan.
Bella N - not comming
What time to meet? - 11.00 am at the the quarry carpark, some people may nmeet at Four Crosses pub a bit earlier.
Where to go? - Cabin Shaft Minera, then mooch guided by Tom and Dylan and Dan.
depends on what the trip is john.
needs to be worth me making the 1 - 2 hour trip
At the moment I am open to anything. I'm not sure if Bella can come - although she is supposed to be with me on Wednesdays.
I'd like to come along if there's something going on :cheer:
I would suggest that you took us into Cwm Orthin, but Dan is probably a bit sick of that place now.
I'm free on wednesday
Thats fantastic news Dylan!
I suggest we all wait till we have a good group and then decide between us. Do you have any suggestions? Are there any more caves near you in the Corwen / Llangollen area?
I may be up for joining you on Boxing Day if you decide to do something local - Local being 15mile-ish.
Oh, and John you have a FB message but i'm not sure how often you check it!
Hopefully see you all soon.
Tom.
I can make this trip :-)
Dan I'm on the Wirral this week so can meet you en route if that helps you
helps a lot as my car is still crap, i daren't ask stacey to borrow hers either, she didnt like her christmas present. Thanks
any news on this, it is 14.30 the day before this is supposed to be happening.
Sorry, didn't realise John had edited the original post. Has anybody got any further on this idea?Mnera or something like. Or there's the cave with the bolted door ( unsure of name) which is pretty for photographers and there's a climb id like a look at downstream if anybody fancies it?
Please post whatever progress so I know whats happening, 11am sounds early enough to me :-P time to sleep off the alcohol.. :-)
Tom
i'm happy to go with the flow.
which is the cave? can anyone get us into ODB?
do we have gear to get into minera? (cabin)
I've gear for Cabin ( ladder + line). The cave ends in sump both ways but has pretty gour pools within,. No gear required.
Tom
ragman passage in llyn du? i've been in there a couple of times
I'm not sure, is it? What's access into the main Llyn ddu cave? Just out of interest. And where doesthe climb at the downstream sump go?
Also does anyone have a spare lid? Don't really fancy trekking back to the depths of Wales for mine.
i dont know about access into the main system, i think the way your looking at getting in is through a metal hatch in a stone built wall held on with 4 bolts, one in each corner.
if your talking about a climb up, it suspect it will be the way back into minera mine (ragman vein)
I am sorry I have been away for most of to-day (Ymas Day). Ive had lots of visitors eating and drinking, but all gone now. Just the tidying up to do, and I'm ready for tomorrow's trip.
Vikki.....
I have several spare helmets and lights. I can also bring Bella's (clean) cave suit, and boots.
Tom.....
My electron may be a bit too short for cabin shaft, can you confirm that your's is long enough, and also that the gate at the top is open? Do you know you way around the Minera Maze?
I have been to Cabin once before (Ian filmed it - Tim is in yellow Tele-tubby cave suit, Deano does a near naked show at the end). But I did not like the squeezes or getting lost and most of all I really never went caving again after climbing that wet shaft. That feat was well beyond my confort zone!. But I am told there are other routes within the Minera system. Am I right that this is your home ground Tom?
If there is a problem with Cabin shaft access then are there any other systems within near reach? Is the blue oil drum access route to the chamber near the shaft that leads to the Grand Turk also permanently open?
Can you suggest a meeting place Tom? Can you also post a Google Earth link to it on this topic? Can everyone else then confirm they can get there by 11.00 am tomorrow - Boxing Day.
That's the one, yes. But regarding the climb, ill pop up midweek sometime and check it out - been bugging me for a while.
Vikki, unfortunately I havent a spare.
What's everybody else's thoughts on trip then; John? Dylan? Dan?
i'm ok with cabin shaft as long as someone has a rope and ladder, i currently have neither.
i've spent well over 100 hours in here, i kind of know my way around, theres lots of routes that can be taken, not too sure which one would be best.
i have 40m of 9mm rope if that's any use to you...
if its static
yep!
Helmet would be great thanks John.
I've got some wellies and clothes I can wear.
Dan if you want a lift drop me a text and let me know where and when
Hi John,
My electron is about 3foot short for Cabin but should be adequate - We could tie our two together if we hit a struggle?
Also, the lid is always open as it relies on gravity to hold it closed rather than padlocks (Thank god). The other end (blue tube) we're not supposed to use but sources tell me it was accessible 2 weeks ago so can't see that to be a problem.
There are many other routes within the system, however, I tend to do these routes by pure error and still don't know my way around. I mean, I know the through trip and recognise everywhere else but struggle to go direct to a certain point in the maze.
Regarding other systems etc. there are but perhaps not quite as extensive that are accessible.
ODB - Locked
Llyn ddu - Unsure
Llyn ddu (ragman passage) - accessible but short trip unless we were to attempt a thru trip which I haven't done meaning haven't a clue in sense of route finding.
Ragman mine passage - accessible via low and crawly passages leading to natural cave (haven't been to end so not sure how much there is and if it links)
Grand Turk passage - accessible, you go past the shaft on exit from the minera maze trip. tight crawl for 20foot and then into nice phreatic passage leading to sump (well, technically resurgance).
There are more but they're the main ones I can think of not needing SRT.
Meeting place could be the Quarry which is on;
Nearest Postcode: LL11 3DE
Or http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=326005&Y=352105&A=Y&Z=120
I think that's everything you asked for....
EDIT:
Didn't see everybody elses posts. Dan, would you do the honour of leading for us :)
ATTENTION.
Right, Meet at the Five Crosses Inn at 10.30 - 10.45am
Ruthin Road
Minera, Wrexham
Clwyd
LL11 3UT
The plan is to meet here, then head up to cabin shaft.
Can someone please bring electrons / rope / life line.
If both tom and john bring electrons we will have enough ladder to reach the bottom.
Lestyn, the rope would be very helpfull.
everyone will need a belt or a harness (I will have spare with me)
knee pads are recomended (I will have a spare pair with me)
the trip should be dry, most of it will be done on hands and knees, there wont be a lot of squeezing through stuff.
travell light, a bag in this place is a nightmare
any probs, speak up now
Thanks Tom for your excellent answer to all my questions.
We can join our ladder resources and do Cabin Shaft. I have lots of spreadders - some quite long. You can get us all out if we get lost. Dan also seems to know the place well. Although comparatively dry, this really is a shit hole and perfect for a Boxing Day trip!
Iestyn...
Your rope may be very helpful if we have to climb the horrific internal wet shaft, as the rope in it is so thin it hurts my hands to use it.
Can everyone confirm they have found and can get to the car park at the end of Maes-y-Ffynnon Lane? This is the entrance...
http://goo.gl/maps/5RMtT
I will come from A5 Betws-y-Coed.
there will be no shaft to climb john, and if we meet in the pub carpark, it should be easier for people to find.
no problem. the only thing is, the rope is brand new. you have to promise not to get it dirty...
lol, we now have a rope, but bring it anyway just in case.
[quote="JohnNicholson" post=12196] Vikki.....
I have several spare helmets and lights. I can also bring Bella's (clean) cave suit [/quote]
Not to worry John I decided to drive back to Wales to get my stuff.
See you all in the morning
Will Deano come too?
i dont think so John.
apparently, to be civilized, i should put a post up saying that andy will be joining us. I have no idea why anyone would think i'm the civilized type.
Could you make room for one more please? Thanks, Richard. B)
i dont see why not
[quote="Mad-Dan" post=12212]apparently, to be civilized, i should put a post up saying that andy will be joining us. I have no idea why anyone would think i'm the civilized type.[/quote]
You and Andy might as well pitch a tent in Minera ;-)
Wish I could get out, but guess where I am... :angry: and I've *still* not managed to do Minera yet.
Have fun.
[quote="Mad-Dan" post=12212]apparently, to be civilized, i should put a post up saying that andy will be joining us. I have no idea why anyone would think i'm the civilized type.[/quote]
it is civilised to inform your club that you are bringing a guest on a club trip
i told vikki by text, and anyway, WTF are you doing up at 4am, it had best of been to clean your car out so i've somewhere to sit.
Good trip today, thanks everybody. Nice to meet Andrew and Iestyn:-)
In need of another trip to get down to the lake and the thru trip for the likes of Andrew, Dan and Vikki
See you all again soon. Happy Christmas.
Tom
It was a great day out. Very sorry that Dylan could not manage to come.
It seemed from the outset that Dan, Andy, Vikki and Tom all knew bits of the Minera Maze but different bits. Thanks to Tom and Andy for bring so much SRT kit. We managed the descent in total safety and assurance. We then set off from the big gower chamber in a totally different direction to that I did before with Ian, Tim and Mike L. - basically we went 'left', and down and down. We got to a huge hole and crawled along a shelf to proceed down a passage for some way. Returned to the shelf and went another way which involved several challenging features and ended in a tight squeeze.
Tom's rope was used several times to ensure that we were all safe and well assured. When we returned to the Cabin Shaft Andy and Tom used SRT to get out, and then the rest of us used Andy's long ladder, but supported by a belay rope. I must admit that i got very tired by 2/3rds of the way up and needed to take a breather.
Finally we retired to the Plough Pub a few miles away and had a good chat by a log fire. Why did I fall off that stool? - before even drinking any beer? Another time I will sample their real suet pudding.
An outstanding trip : memorable for all the right reasons. A full-on caving trip with squeezes, crawls, ladders up, ladders down, abseils, rope hauls, climbing, traversing - brilliant! New member Iestyn enjoyed his first day out with us (well he said he did). Thanks to everyone for making it so successful, and especially to Andy for his first class rope-work and rigging.
Thank you for looking after me today boys, much appreciated :-)
Richards description is excellent!