The
Croesor to Rhosydd Through Trip (Beyond the Boating
Trip!)
An attempt at the Croesor to Rhosydd Through Trip,
Part 2, North Wales. By Jon Hardy
The Croesor to Rhosydd Through Trip
(Beyond the Boating Trip!)
Present: Clive, Gladys, James &
Jon H
A stunning crisp, clear February
morning had us all beavering away, aiming for a
respectable (for us that is) start time. There was a
brief scare when we found our Porthmadog dinghy
purveyor was shut, but the Spa in Borth Y Gest came to
our rescue. The boat even looked a little more sturdy,
possibly even up to taking my weight! The gruelling
trek up to the Croesor adit entrance was made much
sweeter by the stunning views of Cnicht. We were
surprised to find another party kitting up, but since
one of them hinted at being a regular, and they all
looked pretty professional, I doubted they would be
holding us up.
The Professionals!
After the customary group photo, we
were off over the familiar ground . The initial
abseils and crossing of the giant chamber passed
without mishap. There was none of the fear of the
unknown of our first visit. The zip wire over the
first of the lakes was terrific fun; whizzing down,
hands free and legs splayed!
Look, No hands!
And then there we were, at the sight of our sinking a
few months earlier. The second lake, only short, but
requiring the boat, an awkward climb down of a couple
of feet and the possibility of an ungainly exit from
the boat at the other end. Gladys was keen though, not
only showing us how not to puncture the boat but also
helping us out at the other end. My heart was in my
mouth, left to last and fully expecting another
soaking as my 15 stone lands in the dinghy
unsupported. It did seriously sink at one end but I
survived.
Crossing The 2nd Lake
Success!
This is the way to do it!
As we moved off to explore virgin territory, James
became a little nervy at the knowledge that I had no
route description with me, but Gladys soon reassured
him with the news that this was pretty customary for
the cavers of the club! After a couple of walk through
chambers we came to what might loosely be termed a
bridge, a couple of rotting timbers spanning he void,
with a 20/30ft drop to the dark, forbidding waters
below. There was an ominous swing in the middle but we
all safely reached the other end.
Clive enjoys a slightly worrying rest on an old bridge
support.
The next chamber revealed another zip wire, this time
there wasn't much of a gradient and a bit of work
would have to be done. Clive plumped for going first.
Half way across he rather unwisely stopped and gave a
shove to the giant hanging remains of an old bridge
support. It creaked ominously and we all half expected
the supports in the ceiling to give way and bring the
whole thing crashing down. Needless to say, the rest
of us kept well away from it. Soon after that we
reached the so called, 'Bridge of Death'. Yet another
frightening drop into forbidding waters hemmed in by
shear sides and spanned by a multitude of moth eaten
ropes and a couple of thin, bendy railway girders. The
girders reached half way across to a hanging bridge
support and then you clipped into a zip wire to
complete the crossing of the chasm. At this point, my
lack of height had me inching out to the end of the
girder and foolishly giving up all idea of safety as I
disconnected my cow's tail and any semblance of
security, and reached out on my tip toes to try and
clip into the pulley on the zip wire. The moment of
madness passed and I was persuaded to return along the
bendy bar to get another krab. Soon we were all
across, apart from Clive, who seemed to take an
inextrobarily length of time at the mid point as he
searched out an extra dose of danger including a swing
upside down on the zip wire and a helping hand to drag
him back to terra firma.
Hey James, I can lean back further than you!
We had now reached our final obstacle, the 'Chamber of
Horrors'. A watery graveyard of punctured and
discarded rubber dinghy's. Gladys found himself
volunteered yet again to plunge into the dark abyss. A
30ft abseil, down a shear face, to land in your boat.
Handily, the party before had left their dinghy, which
we decided to combine with our own for baggage
hauling. The boat manoeuvre again held a little extra
trepidation, especially for myself, and I had to beg
Clive to go last, and not leave me that unenviable,
lonely position. Gladys abbed down the short face, no
doubt praying that the insitu rope was long enough.
Both the rope length and Gladys' bum first entry into
the boat proved perfect.
The local mine enthusiasts had set up the most
ingenious circular pulley system that allowed Gladys
to sit back and enjoy the ride as we were able to
gently pull him across the largest of the lakes. This
final sting in the tail proved less a 'Chamber of
Horrors' and more of a 'Lake of Serenity'! James was
the first to attempt the final short prussic out of
the chamber. Recoiling at the faffing about with all
the caving hardware and deeming the short climb to be
well within his limits, James set off with just a
handjammer for company. All was fine apart from
climbing past the jammer and forgetting he was
attached to it! Clive and Gladys remembered their trip
with Dick Dalton to this point from the Rhosydd
entrance and were able to safely navigate us to our
exit. The sun was just dipping in the sky, spreading a
beautiful red glow across the hillsides and the old
mine workings. An excellent trip completed in about
five hours underground.
Jon Hardy
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