I guess this post is a bit of a continuation from the blog post I did about pull testing SPIT type anchors in 2015. Sorry it has taken me so long to get round to doing this! The original post can be seen here: http://www.peakinstruction.com/blog/pulling-spit-anchors-back-garden-test/. One of the points of that testing was to ascertain …
Continue reading Removing Sleeve Anchors (SPITS etc…)
Category:Caving
Cwmorthin SRT Rigging Guide
In 2016 I was looking to increase the training resources in Cwmorthin Mine for use on my LCMLA Level 2 and SRT training courses. The following pitch was created by myself and Duncan S with the kind permission of Go Below who have the lease on the mine. In the winter of 2018 I installed …
Continue reading Cwmorthin SRT Rigging Guide
Wrysgan Rigging Guides
I’ve recently had a couple of visits to Wrysgan mine and taken the opportunity to place a few new anchors and remove the cable from the Floor 3 traverse and some older rusty hardware.I’ve updated and built on original rigging guides produced by Gethin Thomas and these new versions are freely available for use by …
Continue reading Wrysgan Rigging Guides
Coiling Caving Ladders
Caving ladders are an integral part of the LCMLA Level 2 award. Being practiced with a ladder not only saves time but lots of faff. It can be hard to pack loosely coiled ladders into tackle bags, meaning they get dragged and thrown about the cave, something that no kit really deserves. Practice coiling your …
Continue reading Coiling Caving Ladders
LCMLA Level 2 – Dec 2015
The North Wales panel of the Local Cave & Mine Leader Award scheme has just run a block of courses based out of Oaklands OEC near Llanwrst. I am a member of the N Wales panel and I will be working alongside other T/A’s as I move towards completing my assessor apprenticeship. The centre was host to 2 …
Continue reading LCMLA Level 2 – Dec 2015
Pulling SPIT anchors – Back garden test
This week I thought I’d embark on a little back garden test of some brand new SPIT self driving anchors and some SPIT Grip 10mm sleeve anchors. Both take a normal M8 bolt and hanger and can be found in caves and mines across the UK. The Grip sleeves are placed with a drill and only …
Continue reading Pulling SPIT anchors – Back garden test
Can you cut rope with a household jet washer?
After the last blog post where I tried to compare washing a caving rope in a washing machine to jet washing I thought I’d try to see how much damage I could do to a rope with a jet washer. This photo was from the previous test where I exposed the rope to a full …
Continue reading Can you cut rope with a household jet washer?
Thoughts on jet washing caving ropes
I thought I’d ponder a little bit about the ‘myth’ of jet washers and caving ropes. I say myth because it appears that there is no real test data out there in the caving community. Recent caving forum discussions about jet washing happened to coincide with an associate company requesting we don’t use jet washers …
Continue reading Thoughts on jet washing caving ropes
A Summer Storm – 27/7/13
On the 27th July 2013 a storm hit the UK, falling on dry ground and empty watercourses the rainfall soon entered the cave systems of the Peak District. My wife and I took the opportunity to visit Bagshawe Cavern in flood condition. WARNING – Never enter a cave in flood or at risk of flood without …
Continue reading A Summer Storm – 27/7/13
New Bolts at Pindale Farm
Recently I have been spending a lot of time swinging about on the surface, either through testing knots or coaching SRT skills. For all of this I’ve been using the excellent tower facility up at Pindale Farm near Castleton. The SRT platform offers scaffolding bar belays and back-ups and the surrounding walls of the old mining buildings are equipped …
Continue reading New Bolts at Pindale Farm