Rift Pot (Allotment)

We were supposed to be going to Penyghent but it had been clear for several days if not a week that it would be too wet. Aileen and I deferred the decision of an alternative trip all week as well. By chance we managed to collect Mark and Adam for the team too, and it was not until Aileen, Mark and I were departing York that we finally decided on Rift Pot instead. Main rationale being that it was sufficiently weather proof and I hadn't done it before (neither had Aileen) - a rare beast indeed.

Adam met us in Crummack and we packed the ropes, dodging the odd shower. The walk up was mostly pleasant and Mark and Adam found the entrance fairly easily having been there recently with the Ario crew. I started to rig the first pitch, taking instructions from Mark that it was hard to avoid a rub and to keep the y-hang to the right. It turns out that if you put the second y-hang in lower down on the other side of the rift then this is not such a problem.......

The bottom of the entrance pitch was an impressive space and I immediately made the mistake of going in the wrong direction into the inviting large space. Mark called me back, but him having the next rope this did not delay us. He carried on to rig the next two small pitches, where we found the rope lengths in the CNCC guide to be somewhat optimistic. It was just possible to get off the second pitch and the third needed to be rigged quite tight. Sure, we had fairly fat rope that will have consumed some meterage in the knots, but not that much. We recommend packing some excess.

A longer pitch took us to the end of the ropework from where you can admire the sound and spray of the water entering from Long Kin East (in flood). Skirting past this leads to a small section of streamway. Very nice but short lived, it crosses a large slope up to the left before degenerating to a low crawl mostly full of water which no doubt led to a sump that I felt no need to see. Back up the mud slope you can take a short cut back to the Long Kin East Waterfall.

So, that was it - a fine, but not extensive excursion. Adam derigged and we were out on the surface within about 2.5 hrs.

A quick jolly through Long Kin East cave completed our day out with the possible highlight - a swirling Guinness foam doughnut going round and round and round in an eddy in the stream.

A badly timed heavy showed as we got changed them possibly soaked us more than the caving trip.