Alum Pot, the Return
We originally paid a visit here earlier in the year via Lower Long Churn, the closest we got to Alum Pot at this point was here
(Not enough time & rope prevented us from going any further)
We had always talked about going back at some point, with more rope and attempt to reach the bottom of said 'Big Hole'
Alum Pot - As close as I dare stand to the edge without safety
At over 100m (depending on which route you take down this classic and dramatic 'big hole') there is, unfortunately not a lot of cave at the bottom, but what there is is quite impressive!
We decided to tackle it from the North East, as the North-West route would have meant missing the bridge and instead a good 60m to the second re-belay
Rigging off a couple of trees enables you to descend a few metres over the intial edge
Down Tweedy goes first - 7M down a further dirty descent before reaching the first re-belay
I barely got my toes on the ledge as we re-belayed down one at a time a further 40M and swung across to a slippery ledge
(Tweedy)
(Ojay)
Once down we traversed accross the opposite side to reach 'The Bridge' - essentially a fallen rock which spans the shaft obliquely and at a steep angle
(Apologies for the shocking pics, but the lens was full of water due to the spray from the falls)
A quick climb down, we landed on the ledge at the junction with the South-East route down Alum Pot
Another re-belay of around 40M with a deviation, dropped us to the bottom of the streamway, below a cascade avoiding a deep pool
Continuing through a rather noisy chamber, we were now soaked to the skin as we free climbed down a couple of smaller weirs, before reaching a large waterfall - (last pitch of 'Diccan Pot')
A short distance away the Sump, which marked the end of our journey
I managed one last shot looking up from near the bottom of Alum Pot, before packing up and finding the energy for ascending the numerous pitches & re-belays back up
This was a rewarding & enjoyable trip, but requires a lot of effort (It's a least a Grade 4) and by george was I f00ked once we climbed out and walked back to the car in the pissing rain
