Cussey Pot
During Lockdown 2020 a new hole was spotted to draught bigger and stronger than any cave in the Peak. We dug it open and this is what happened....
Full description of the trip can be viewed here.
The current survey can be downloaded from here.
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- Written by: Rob Eavis
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Team: RobE, RobM
Digging Vulgarious was the plan, it was only the when and who with that was up in the air. All was set for me n JonP for Wednesday night but he was coming down with a cold (which morphed into Covid 2 days later) so he cancelled late on. Delayed to Thursday with Kristian, but Kristian started coming down with an (as yet undetermined) lurgy so pulled out. Meanwhile RobM was supposed to be diving into SMMC with Mike but he pulled out Thursday morning, also feeling poorly. What’s happening to the world!? Meanwhile most of my family are testing positive but I’m feeling fine, so I ask RobM if he fancies risking it with me and we urm’d and ahh’d for a while then decided we were sufficiently psyched to give it a go regardless.
I was keen to see how wet Loper Lust was going to be, following the huge storm end of February, and was glad to see it actually not too bad. It was only a bit deeper than the last trip through with Joe, and still with airspace between the initial airbells [it would be really grim without this].
RobM came through and agreed it was fun but pointed out how committing it was, not being able to turnaround. He suggested next time we go through we syphon it, which is a great idea. Should hopefully then stay open for many months.
On to Vulgarious Bastard, where the water has done a lot to flush out most of the slop and even lower the passage near the end, which is a very welcome change. I was super keen to get pushing but first Rob made the entrance bigger whilst I lowered the trenchin For Buck’s Sake a little more. I then went for it, and it really is sloppy as! The top 4 inches has the consistence of warm jam but unfortunately none of its other qualities. Laying flatout I’d scoop up as much of it in my arms as I could then reverse back to Rob’s bigger bit where I could pass it below me, before moving forwards for another load. However it was a delicate manoeuvre as where Rob was the water was quite deep, so you had to be careful not to push some of that water back in with you.
A few more loads got me past a low arch and into slightly wider and (more importantly) slightly ascending passage. Here I was able to slide the (now peanut butter consistency) mud to the side and push forwards. Easy progress.
Normally I’d have probably dug this a bit bigger but ahead I could hear water flowing and an echo so I was getting just a wee bit excited. I push on into a tight bit, needing to corkscrew to get through, and the dry mud floor starts to lower slightly. I optimistically look for evidence of the divers, as they mention entering a passage very similar to this heading exactly this way. Could we possibly be at the SMMC already!?!
Now nearly hands and knees size, the passage completely baffles me as it pops out into the roof of a rift chamber! I shout back to Rob but he can hardly hear me. He’d struggled to negotiate the low arch without the water filling up in front so was digging it all out a bit bigger. Feeling the remoteness of my situation I carefully climb down the new rift. At the far end water enters from above but it looks to come from something small. At floor level the continuation of the phreatic passage continues to the left, but unfortunately it’s very full of hard mud; a draught whistling over the top showing this is indeed the main way on. A disappointing result, but at least we now have plenty of stacking space here and a renewed vigour now we’re ~20m closer.
I head back to RobM, who’s now been waiting patiently for too long. The corkscrew bit is still tight but the rest is manageable. I’m sure after a little bit more digging and few more people traversing it this place will be fine. When I get back to near For Buck’s Sake the watery, jammy slop was not the most pleasant and I realise this place is probably never going to be “fine”.
We make a hasty retreat, trying to bulldoze all the slop down and out of Vulgarious on the way. I go first at the Loper freedive, this time successfully using Joe’s technique of using the muddy ramp at the start as a headfirst slide, giving you a great initial push through. RobM follows me through, seemingly much happier this time than on the way in. Once on the surface we walk straight past the cars and go wallow in the Saltpan for ages to clean our filthy selves off.
So a superb trip really, and feeling lucky it even went ahead after so many illnesses in the team. Looking forward to the next trip, getting a few of us into the new rift chamber and seeing what this next passage is going to be like.
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- Written by: Joe Buck
- Hits: 1136
Present: Jon P, Rob E, Jim and Joe B
After last week’s disappointing discovery that Loper was sumped and the ensuing swift exit to the pub with our tails between our legs, Rob and I vowed to return, putting our bravest faces on to swim through. We met Jim and Jon in the car park, who were due to look around some of the nicer parts of Cussey. Jon and Rob were busy putting a wager on whether Loper would actually be sumped - Jon bet Rob a quid it wouldn’t…
Rob and I arrived in Inglorious Bastards chamber giddy with excitement and ready to find whether Rob was £1 worse off. Loper has opened out slightly now with many a trip being made through the connection - regardless, it is still a bit of a squeeze to get through. We were dubious about heading through with any extra baggage to get caught while we were underwater, so Rob devised a plan to clip the Disto pelicase to a kneepad round his ankle as a kind of quick-release system. Rob headed first into Loper to check it out.
Moments later, I could hear cussing and cries of, “it’s drafting!” Bad luck, pal. It seemed as though the water had dropped a couple of inches in the week since our last trip, which left a small airspace. Unfortunately, by the time you’re lying in the water, this was no longer the case. Rob sloshed his way to the last airbell, calmed his breathing down, and took the plunge through the body-length squeeze. I sat there in quiet anticipation as I listened to Rob bubbling and thrashing his way through, and finally heard an excited yell from the other side.
Now it was my turn to head through. Rob managed to wedge himself in the restricted passage on the other side so that he could attempt to film me as I emerged. He called through to let me know he was ready. I lay in the muddy pool, slithered my way to the airbell, took a couple of deep breaths, wondered what I had done wrong to end up here, before ducking into the water. Unfortunately, at this point, I completely forgot what size the passage was and didn’t turn my head to fit, managing to wedge my helmet against the floor and roof - not ideal. Luckily it’s quite soft mud and after what seemed like an eternity, I managed to force my helmet to the side and drag myself through. The results of Rob’s filming efforts are absolutely hilarious.
Once we’d both managed to stop laughing, we carried on down the bendy ladder and headed towards the dig. The Wet West passage leading up to Vulgarious had been slowly filling up with the sludge we were dumping, but after a few weeks of rain it did seem to have cleared slightly, or at least got rid of the finer silt. In Vulgarious the primary objective was to get a decent survey so we could be a little clearer about where we were actually headed. I went first and lay in the slop and, for want of anything else vaguely solid, Rob used my feet as transient survey stations. I lay still while he wriggled towards me trying to keep the Disto dry. I was just glad to be of some use!
The recent rainfall had caused the walls to start collapsing into the passage as the water carved its way though. This had happened previously, so it was to be expected and we could still just about squeeze past. Once we were through to the newly-discovered chamber, at the current extent, we realised that in our excitement we’d forgotten to grab the hammer and crowbar from the Wet West on the way though. Rob continued to survey the chamber while I set off to go and collect them.
Once I’d returned, we started to clear the channel in the floor to further lower the water level in the low-level continuation. This was reasonably successful, and we managed to clear some of the smaller boulders out of the way and dig a slot for the water to travel in. Unfortunately, some of the boulders were much larger than we could realistically tackle with a hammer. In any case, we managed to lower the water about another couple of inches. This just about allowed you to lie flat out and start to clear some of the slop out, albeit with one eye in the water and trying desperately not to snort water up your nose - very pleasant. I managed to make about a foot of progress like this, which just about allowed a view onwards round the corner. By this point I was getting a bit exhausted and so Rob went for a quick poke. He managed to get a better view and see that the passage appeared to be ascending slightly, which is good news.
Rob was off on holiday the following week, so we decided it would probably be ideal if we had more rain to help clear it out, and then we could hopefully return when the water is lower (cue biblical flooding, thanks Eunice). Feeling slightly more optimistic than we had coming into the trip, we decided it was probably time we should make our way out.
A swift escape out of Cussey and we reached the entrance pitch just in time to find Jon and Jim about to prussik out. They’d managed to make it to the top of NCA but the awkward squeeze barred any further progress. They’d then had a go at the other side through Coconut Airways, only to be once again halted by a tighter section, this time the Shattered Dreams squeeze. Jim was threatening to return with a hammer to see if he could force his way through. He also floated being lowered down head first because his “fish scales”(?!) would make it easier that way. Probably best not…
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- Written by: Rob Eavis
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Team: JoeB, RobE
A mixture of work, bad backs, and general malaise meant it was just me and Soulless Joe this evening. We were really keen to get back into the new chamber, survey it, push the inlet above, and maybe have a little dig at the wet way on. Two people was fine for that task and we were keen.
To aid inserting myself into the inlet I chose to wear a furry. Not just any furry though; my brand new Misty Mountain one which I was really keen to try out. Joe, as always, sporting his wetsuit. Prebeers enjoyed and off we went. We had a bunch of sandbags to take in, as we figured this may help with building a wall to stack behind, but without a tackle bag I stuck them inside my oversuit, which along with my phone, survey gear, and other bits n bobs made me even more inelegant than normal.
We got to Inglorious and set off towards Loper Lust, Joe in front. I was wittering on about some random crap when I hear Joe say “It’s a bit wet”. My mind snaps into gear and realise there’s no draught. Shit, it’s sumped. The heavy downpour over the weekend has obviously left its mark on LL, even though the rest of the cave was in pretty normal conditions. Shit. Joe floats into the crawl to inspect whilst I wait at the pool at the start. After some spluttering he informs me he’s reached the last airbell and it’s totally sumped from there onwards. What to do…? Forwards from there is the tightest bit, but it’s only maybe 3m long, and it quickly slopes up beyond. We tentatively discuss the situation, each not wanting to play our cards too soon. It was pretty clear to me that Joe was keener than me. I blame that on my furry suit and mass of paraphernalia hanging off me, glasses included, but I’ve a feeling that ball size probably came into it too. We um’d and ar’d a bit longer, then Joe came back. We turned around and instantly regretted it. On the crawl we discuss that this is how all good adventures start, with an opportunity to flee but where the fearless continue. I point out that’s also how stupid people die. We feel marginally better…
Now not even 8pm I came up with a list of things we could waste some time doing. This started with ascending into the mined section at the far end of Inglorious to have a poke at some new bits, which Joe had never been up. We first dug into a small, natural bedding plane which lead to the left to a dead end, and right back into Inglorious. We then climb up above Inglorious into a nicely decorated chamber but with no possible ways on we retreat.
Smoke testing from Shattered Dreams rift into the higher levels
Next on the list (which I was hoping to do on the way out anyway) was a smoke bomb exercise, testing to see if the draught in some of the passages higher up in Cussey comes from the lower stuff or from somewhere else. The main hope was a crack in the back of Poetry Corner, which kinda points SW towards the new divers’ bit, so hot territory. Having allowed Joe ample time to make his way up I set off two big pellets at the far eastern end of the Shattered Dreams rift and follow him up. Heading up the pitch was fine, but when I got to the top smoke was pouring out of all the cracks like tendrils and by the time I was in the squeeze visibility was very low! I stumble my way to Joe and indeed Poetry Chamber was filling up nicely from all directions too, strongly suggesting that the draught is all from Shattered Dreams. Rubbish, but useful nonetheless.
Out by 21:15, we console ourselves with beer in the Moon and discuss the great adventure that we knowingly walked away from. Maybe next week....
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- Written by: Joe Buck
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Kristian B, Rob M, Rob E and Joe B
Four of us met in the usual spot for another mid-week slop extravaganza in Vulgarious. Those of us who’d remembered the five Ps supped a beer as Rob 2 described how terrible diving is (I don’t think that was his intention), and we were soon headed over to the lid.
Up until this point the dig has managed to avoid too many corners and sharp protrusions, but after the last few sessions it had reached a dog leg which could mean a lot more work and bodies would be required. Rob elected to take a stint at the back to prove how easy the hauling was and that four was enough people. I took pole position at the face, with Kristian just behind me, and Rob 2 as a mid-point hauling rope changeover. My strategy was just to lie on my back with the tray on my front and just throw chunks over my head, trying not to fill my eyes with slop in the process. I’d then slide this down myself to my feet and worm my way back towards Kristian where, by the sounds of it, I would then cover him in filth as I kicked it towards him. This went well and we were managing to maintain a good rhythm with trays arriving just as required.
After about 3 or 4 m progress, the tantalising sound of trickling water and a bit of an echo could be heard ahead. The passage started to rise and open out to the point that I could start to progress just by ploughing my hands into the mud and making room as I went. After another few meters of this it popped out into a small chamber around 3m high and similar widths. At this point Kristian had started to grow concerned after I hadn’t replied for a while and he started to head through with the others hot on his tail. After pats on the back from my comrades to celebrate my first proper(ish) find, we began to look around for ways on.
We immediately spied the continuation of the passage at floor level which was an eye-hole with about an inch air space above the water and was generally uninviting. We inspected the roof, desperate not to have to investigate the previously spotted misery eye-hole. Mostly the roof is choked with no obvious way on, however, there was a small rift which could be accessed. Not wanting to trash any more neoprene we focussed on floor level. Rob had a quick dunk in the continuation, and concluded that whilst not ideal, it was drafting and therefore not sumped. It was floated (sorry) that if we could lower the water level then it may be possible to dig. The Robs set about shifting rocks in the chamber to clear a channel, whilst Kristian was lowering the floor in Vulgarious so the water would have somewhere to flow. The Robs were having an ordeal removing the rocks, to which Rob 1 suggested I have a go as “he’s really strong”. Much like every time I’m asked to open a jar, Rob 2 and I fumbled and slipped on it and left royally defeated. It was slightly disappointing the way on only looked to be getting more vulgar, however we vowed to return with a hammer and crowbar to tackle these next time and hopefully get the water running through more easily. There is plenty of stacking space, but it would probably benefit from the sand bags to contain the slop.
In the interest of determining what else to bring next time, Rob inspected up into the rift to see what may be required. We cowered at the side as he began to start kicking rocks down. It tightened significantly, however Rob suggested there was a vadose inlet at the side which is worth further investigation - maybe with an oversuit. Time was ticking on, so we made a hasty retreat through the now very spacious Vulgarious and back to the cars for beers and medals. From my perspective, I was ecstatic to add a minor contribution to the cave and excited to continue, even if this isn’t the way on. Same time next week?
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- Written by: Kristian Brook
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Everyone bailed. I met Rob in the dogging park at the agreed time, expecting a 'proper' cussy digging trip where he informed me that Luke had bailed due to catching covid and Jon had some other urgent business. This would mean the digging would be postponed and we would survey up to a boulder choke that Rob think is heading toward the Stoney Master Cave. Beers consummed we changed into wetsuits and headed down. This would be my first time down Inglorious Bastards and through Loperamide Lust and it did not disappoint. Lovely slick mid made for easy progress in a wetsuit and I must thank the diggers for finding such a lovely bit of cave.
Rob Calibrating, photo by Kristian
After reaching the base ladder below Doom, Rob Calibrated the disto and we set off for the main mine levels surveying as we went. We arrived at the large mine level where I had a piss and we shot many splays all over the shop as rob enjoys data. We headed down a side passage which name I cannot remember and passed though a very pretty bit of breezeblock construction to entered 'the wet bit' where my willy got wet and I will never forgive Rob. A bit of hip height wetness was surveyed and we managed to work our way through a lower section (thank god) and we were at this boulder choke.
Ladder below Doom (Can't be bothered to rotate it), photo by Kristian
No evidence of miners however there is a lot of dramatic sheering in the rock as well as natural development. These were all Rob's observations as I did not care. I just wanted to see his lead. It turned out to be a small hole at the end of a rift with quite a sizable echo beyond it. The constriction requires you to leave the floor at the end of this rifty section of choke. The hole is a slit to your right and is in typical fashion just small enough to allow for a little wiggle room if your fully exhaled but the constriction is just long enough that you might run out of breath whilst still in it. Rob's thinking of going back with some bang for it. The echo suggests about 15m of space to me leading upwards so where it goes we don't know but it could be caverns measureless to man. Rob had a look at another lead in the choke but it did not look as promising.
Record time out with no drama besides a nose dive by myself with a side of whiplash into the loper duck. We got out, got washed, and had a quick pint in the Moon before heading home to our respective duties.
Good trip. Going again Wednesday.
Your Author post Loper, photo by Rob