Present: Luke Brock, Luke Brownbridge, Alastair Gott, Louise McMahon, Phil Wolstenholme
James Hall's Over Engine Mine
Generally shortened to 'JH', the mine is on New Rake and links, via the massive 80m natural vein cavity Leviathan, to the Speedwell Streamway and thence to Peak Cavern.
Present: Alastair Gott, Simon Mee, Glyn Roberts, Phil Wolstenholme
Present: Luke Brownbridge, Alastair Gott, Simon Mee, Ann Soulsby, Phil Wolstenholme
Present: Ann Soulsby, Tony Seddon & Sam Hough
No midweek TSG Caving Trips this week, owing to the DCRO Training Session clashing. However, Ann and I had a few antipodean visitors staying in the Chapel, so we had a daytime opportunity to go caving with them before the training session. The three Australian cavers, Neil, Melony and Abhi, had arrived the previous evening and had a lengthy "short" trip into Oxlow to loosen up. Their intention today was to do the through trip from JH to Peak, but Oxlow had persuaded them to moderate their ambitions and the final decision was for a trip down JH, but only as far as the Workshop.
Present: Phil Wolstenholme, Lisa Wootton
Present: Wayne Sheldon, Phil Wolstenholme
After weeks in the diary, the day was finally upon us. It was time to do Ride of the Valkaries. We all met in the chapel, and with various plans going off around the fact that JH was being rigged, we put together three separate teams. The first to rig JH and go onto do Ride of the Valkaries, the second SUSS/ULSA student group to follow us down and then go to Pilkingtons series and the third Roy and Ann to go and check the ropes on the traverses along the cartgate.
The JH West project, begun July 2012, aims at pushing any westward leads available in the James Hall Over Engine mine system, as exploration/documentation of anything beyond the current survey is non-existent. Several leads are currently being explored in a variety of locations, with a view to finding safe routes through the existing workings, with minimal archaeological impact. All workings explored will be thoroughly documented in order to determine conservation measures as appropriate.