Thurs 16th August

[Tim Watts]

have we arranged a pub?

Pretty please can it be the white horse at cilcain??

[John Nicholson]

Defo the Wonderful White Horse for Bella and me.
We are leaving in the next few minutes at 4.00pm as we have several deliveries en-route.

Chris can't come - he's not well.

[Danny Sutton]

I had put money on you not turning up Tim.. nice to put a few more faces to names.

[Tim Watts]

[quote="mad-dan" post=8897]I had put money on you not turning up Tim.. nice to put a few more faces to names.[/quote]

cheeky git! You met me in the Spar mine a few weeks back. I'll drop u an email r.e. that shite we were talking about tonight.

[Danny Sutton]

yeh i know i did, i was talking about the bloke with the shovel on his head, john and bella, Richard and (was it mike?)

[mike leahy]

[quote="mad-dan" post=8901]yeh i know i did, i was talking about the bloke with the shovel on his head, john and bella, Richard and (was it mike?)[/quote]

you met me in the spar mine as well . i also lent you a "key" when you called at my house  :unsure:  :unsure:  :unsure:  :unsure:

[Richard Sawyer]

Another great trip last night.  It felt like Journey to the Centre of the Earth.  Thanks to everyone for being there and making it so good.

[John Nicholson]

Thanks to everyone for such a fantastic trip!

WE MADE IT TO SEA LEVEL!!!!!!!!

Ian - your were totally wrong about the distance to the end!
There are in total 24 ladders!  They seem to go on and on and on.
Down and down and down - till you meet up with Mike Lehey's arse stuck in a muddy hole.

As said before, if I did that trip every day as exercise then I would be a VERY fit man.

[Dean Wood]

You did good john, well done

[John Nicholson]

EXHILARATING!  That's the right word to describe the experience.

Each of those 24 ladders has its own character.  Its the getting on and off at the top of each ladder that is the challenge.  I keep thinking of each ladder, and the special quality that makes it's passage unique.

The river Alun seems to be about 145 M above sea level. The mine adit will be a few meters higher than the river bed, and it also creeps uphill as you enter the mine. The total height at the top oif the ladders may be 150 M above sea level = 495 feet

Divide this by 24 ladders and you get an average length of 20.6 feet per ladder.  Seems about right to me.  Some are a lot longer and others shorter.  It is an amazing feat of engineering for one man to achieve.

Is the name of the man who built all these ladders 'Michael Smith'?  
What is known about him?
Is there any commemoration to his remarkable feat in the mine?
May be there ought to be.

[Joel Colk]

Well done John, I'm happy to hear that you got to the bottom.

Those ladders can be an arse, especially with bags!

[John Nicholson]

Sorry Joel, that you and Vikki could not manage to come yesterday.
Yes, I can see it must be quite a struggle getting down the narrow gaps whilst carrying bags of supplies to stay down there for a few days. Can't one lower stuff down one of the vertical shafts by a rope crane?

[Joel Colk]

I'm hoping to get out again soon, just so busy at the moment sorting the new house out. I'm in Bangor on Saturday afternoon/ Sunday morning, will you be about?

I Made the same comment last time I did a trip with bags. There is a shaft running down on the right of you when descending the ladders, about half way down all of the ladders. I don't think that it would be too much trouble to set something up. If it is something perminant, it would have to be sanctioned by NWCC however.

[John Nicholson]

How much luggage did you have to take with you when you stayed in MT for a few days?
Is there adequate dry places to sleep?

If there was a sudden huge rainstorm, then how can people in MT be notified?  
Are there places where occupants could become trapped and drowned?

[Joel Colk]

Sleeping bag, camera equipment, water, 48 hour army ration pack, cooking equiptment, roll mat. Think it weighed about 15kg. It's not too heavy but awkward on the ladder sections.

Loads of places to stay, but we stayed in the limestone caverns due to the size of the group.
 There would be no way of letting people know in the event of a flood. Its not something that I worry about when I'm in the tunnel to be honest, there are lodes all over the place that you could take cover in anyway.

Only time I would be worried about drowning is when going near to the collapse near pen-y-Bryn shaft. But even that might be clear by now.