Project V - A report in a more sensible language!
Team - Rob, Jon, Luke, Chris, Sam, Joe
After the previous week’s absence from the Project V dig I was keen to see what progress the team had made. With the previous few days of rain making a trip to the end of Bagshawe a risk of being cut short, the team of 3 who were planning on going there decided that Project V was a more sensible option. This meant that we would have a team of 6 to really get things moving. We met at the usual place and head to the car park for pre beers and to kit up.
The first job on the agenda was to retrieve the capping bar that Sam had got stuck in a boulder last week. We had now ascertained that this was due to an inferior quality drill bit that had lost part of the tip. I spent some time during the week fettling the ends of my new capping bar and was keen to try this out.
All ready we head over to the swallet and Rob was keen to head down into the dig first to see whether there was a draught present from the bedding just above the floor. He confirmed that there was a good draught out that, in his opinion, was not a circular draught from the surface.
Rob made quick work of capping the boulder that had last weeks capping bar protruding from the middle. I was pleased to see that newly fashioned tip ? set the caps off with no issue. With the six of us in position we made quick work of removing the capped rock and rob then began digging out the floor. It was looking a lot more spacious than it had 2 weeks previous.
A Happy Jon at the front - Photo by Rob E
There is the presence of a solid wall straight ahead (behind Jon's back in the photo below) with a slight undercut above the bedding that is drafting. The dig now turned into removing a mixture of washed in debris, clay and rocks, buckets were coming out at a good pace with each of us taking around 30 mins at a time at the front tackling whatever lay in front.
Jon P hard at work at the front - Photo By Rob E
With space opening up to allow 2 people at the front Jon and Sam now started to remove some of the larger rocks/boulders and part of what we think is a solid floor, with one rock being as Rob put it ‘the biggest one yet’! Luke even had to use rope to haul it up through one of the tighter sections. More capping and digging helped progress the dig but with everyone now completing a turn at the front the pub was calling and everyone was excited at the prospect of well-earned pub snacks (what a feast it turned out to be)
Post caving pub snacks and refreshments
The dig still feels promising with the next trip plans to continue straight down through the Muddy slop, clay and rocks. Long may the enthusiasm for Project V continue.