Ireby Fell Cavern – Rift Pot

"It is not down in any map; true places never are." — Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Recent Discoveries in Ireby Fell Cavern

Over the last couple of years Ireby Fell Cavern has seen a spate of activity by an eclectic bunch of diggers from various clubs, collectively calling themselves the Misty Mountain Mud Mining Corporation (MMMMC). This article reports on recent progress, including the fabled Ireby-Rift connection.

Cripple Creek and the Ireby round trip

I first got seriously involved in March 2008 when I was invited to join Neil Pacey and Becka Lawson in surveying Cripple Creek, a recently discovered streamway at the end of the right hand branch of the Glory Holes in Ireby. Cripple Creek starts off as a narrow twisting canyon then passes several up-and-down climbs aided in two places by fixed ladders. When I got involved, the downstream end had finally been connected to a little-visited branch passage off Jupiter Cavern in Ireby II, thereby providing the first dry route into this part of the system. Over the next 12 months all the leads in Ireby II left by the divers were pushed. At around the same time, a concerted effort by massed ranks of diggers saw a second dry route (Skylight Passage) into Ireby II opened up, bypassing the sump between Duke Street and Duke Street II. The digging effort involved several 'Grand Days Out', where 'sump-busting' technology was deployed to allow the Skylight dig to be attacked from both ends simultaneously.

Ireby round trip route description

The opening up of the two dry ways into Ireby II has created what is now regarded as a classic round tip in the style of Mike Cooper's “Not-for-the-Fainthearted” book. It is quite a serious undertaking and should not be underestimated since Cripple Creek is strenuous going and one has to take SRT kit. Indeed it has been our experience that accessing Jupiter Cavern is easier via Skylight passage and Escalator Rift, than via Cripple Creek. Here I describe the round trip in the easier of the two directions (largely because it is easier to drop down into Escalator Rift than climb up into Jupiter Cavern). Off-route parts are indicated in italics. Allow about 6 hours for the trip, assuming a fit experienced party.

To undertake the round trip it is first necessary to find the Glory Holes. Below Pussy pitch, the upper main stream passage in Ireby starts as a crawl over boulders before quickly enlarging into a canyon (a slit in the wall above this crawl gives an alternative route to the same point). Shortly after this, Bubbles route enters on the right. Bubbles route is a more strenuous alternative to the normal entrance series and is accessed by climbing down the scaffolded hole in the floor just inside the entrance to Ireby. At the point where Bubbles route enters, a climb up into the roof of the upper main stream passage leads to easy traversing to the Glory Holes, an abandoned phreatic trunk route crossing over the main passage at right angles. Left in the Glory Holes leads to True Grit and a recently opened connection to the top of NE inlet. Right in the Glory Holes is 20-25 mins of crawling to Cripple Creek. The half way point is marked by a small chamber where an inlet is met coming in from the passage ahead. It is necessary to crawl in the water at a couple of points, then the route enters the dry Turtle Crawl which in places is only slightly larger than body-sized. This ends in a small elongated rift chamber, and a few more minutes of crawling brings you to a junction with the small Cripple Creek streamway. Upstream goes to Ramsay's Kitchen, and downstream is the way on. This is where the fun really starts, and it is also perhaps a good place to take stock as it is still much easier to return through the crawls than to push on down Cripple Creek.

Cripple Creek is maybe 1½ - 2 hours of ardous caving. The first half is in a tall narrow canyon where one is often forced to climb up over obstacles. The second half is somewhat larger but the obstacles become bigger. There are two up pitches, followed by climbs back into the stream. The up pitches are currently rigged with permanent ladders made from rope and plastic tubing. There is a rope for self lining, and it is strongly recommended to take a shunt or equivalent technology as rescue of an injured person from the middle of Cripple Creek would be a very protracted affair. After the last down climb, past some fine formations, the passage relents somewhat. A left turn at a large fallen block enters an easier passage, which soon turns right and descends to an enlarged tubular calcite squeeze in the streamway. This was the original breakthrough point, and is known to become impassable in high water levels. Shortly after this the stream runs away into gravel and the way on is a series of easy climbs up into a short length of passage which brings you to a large rift. Now is the time to put SRT kit on again as there is a slippery rope traverse to pass avoiding a down and up pitch in the rift. On the other side of the traverse, a passage with a squeeze ends at a short pitch into the vastness of Jupiter Cavern in Ireby II. The pitch is rigged with another rope ladder.

From Jupiter Cavern there are two ways to get to Duke Street II, but only one of these can really be recommended. The non-recommended way is to go straight across Jupiter Cavern and down a canyon with an incredibly slurpy mud floor, to reach a pitch into Waterfall Passage. This pitch is also rigged with a rope ladder but I believe can also be bypassed by traversing upstream. Down the waterfalls enters the top of the scary boulder choke in Escalator Rift. The route through the choke practically defies description, but does at one point involve diving out of a sideways squeeze head first over a 20m deep hole! Hopefully I have put you off by now!

The recommended route out of Jupiter Cavern involves turning to the right left* and climbing up into a short crawl which quickly enters another chamber. This chamber is much smaller than Jupiter cavern but still quite impressive, and there are several ways off. To the left is a rope pitch up into Frink chamber. The way on is to the right at floor level into another short crawl which soon ends at a series of pitches (8m, 11m ,12m) into Escalator Rift. These pitches are currently rigged for SRT although there has been an alarming rub on the bottom rope. At the bottom of the pitches, follow the stream down Escalator Rift to enter the far end of Duke Street II.

Duke Street II is one of the most magnificent large passages in the Dales (see photo), ending all too soon at a large junction where the main Ireby water is met. Right quickly reaches the sump between Ireby I and II, but the way on is left into a roomy and tall canyon passage taking the combined Ireby and Escalator Rift water. The canyon contains a canal which is mostly wading, with a short section which is chest deep (this can be avoided by traversing on underwater ledges). One arrives at a rope climb up into the end of Skylight passage. This is about 15 mins of mostly hands and knees crawling to end at a permanently rigged SRT pitch into Whirlpool chamber in Duke Street in Ireby I. From here the way back to the Glory Holes is the standard Ireby tourist trip.

Whilst it is strongly recommended that Well and Rope pitches are pre-rigged before attempting the round trip, it is possible to use NE inlet to gain access to Adulterer's traverse and bypass these pitches, although SRT kit is still essential to protect the traverse. The climb into NE inlet is up a slope on the left (facing downstream) in the first aven downstream of Rope pitch. This 4m climb is followed by a small chamber and a second rather trickier 4m climb. The water in NE inlet is soon encountered. Follow the canyon upstream until a small chamber with a large fallen block is met. There is a rope hanging down from an (impenetrable) inlet on the right here. Backtrack downstream a few metres and start climbing up whilst traversing back downstream. The key is to locate a vertical point squeeze between calcited walls just before some fallen blocks at head height. The squeeze is tight (probably best attempted without SRT gear) but somewhat easier than it appears. Climbing above this reaches easier going in the roof of the canyon passage. Upstream leads to a look-out above the fallen-block chamber. Downstream, bear right to leave the top of the canyon passage and go through a couple of sandy chambers connected by short crawls. This section ends at a 4m climb down (on the left) to a spacious platform overlooking the avens in the main Ireby streamway below Rope pitch. SRT kit can be donned at this point. Adulterer's traverse starts on the right here, and winds past a couple of side passages to a slightly awkward narrower section in the roof ending at the top of Well pitch. The traverse is currently rigged. Take great care if there is a party in the main Ireby streamway below, as parts of the traverse remain alarmingly loose despite extensive gardening.

The Ireby Survey

What started as a survey of the newly discovered Cripple Creek soon became an attempt to sort out Ireby's elevations, and finally mutated into a complete resurvey project. This took over most of my caving activity in the Dales over the last couple of years, but I found it very interesting and a lot of fun, as we often got into places where few people had been before. The Ireby survey has now been declared finished, but the connection to Rift (see below) means attention has shifted to resurveying Rift and Large Pot. This has already resulted in a number of memorable trips...including one where we were caught out with flooding in the Temple of Doom extensions in Rift, ultimately ending in meeting the CRO at the bottom of the Rift entrance pitch and being 'escorted out'!

On one of the above-mentioned Grand Days Out, Becka and I took the opportunity to 'close the loop' by surveying from Jupiter Cavern, down Escalator Rift, along Duke Street II and back through the drained sump. Becka works in the psychology department at Liverpool University and at the time was collecting data on how well people could estimate elevation angles. In this case Becka was silently recording the actual clino readings she was making with a Suunto, alongside my guesses of the same. To a casual observer it appeared I was just guessing the clino readings which Becka was writing down. From overheard comments I think we left the digging party distinctly unimpressed with the quality of the surveying! Fortunately the loop closure was excellent.

The Ireby-Rift connection

As the elevations were gradually sorted out, the great mystery was why the 'best, last hope' for a connection between Ireby and Rift, namely Adulterer's passage in Ireby, was apparently some 20m above the putative 'other end', namely the far end of the Temple of Doom extensions in Rift. But in May of this year, this frustrating state of affairs was suddenly and unexpectedly resolved.

On the day in question Becka and I were joining Neil and Dave Ramsay for what I thought would be just another Sunday trip to NE inlet. On the way up from Liverpool, Becka said Neil and Dave had found something interesting on their previous Thursday evening trip, in the vicinity of East Inlet. It transpired that they had pushed back up an oxbow to the main passage below Well Pitch, through a flat out duck, to discover (or rediscover) a hidden junction.

The Sunday trip therefore turned out to be something completely different. At first Dave and I dug the inlet branch from the rediscovered junction whilst Becka and Neil surveyed in from the main passage in Ireby. After about an hour of steady progress along a flat out muddy crawl, past a couple of bends, Dave announced the way on was getting easier. Almost before we knew it, the digging was over and we were crawling into virgin territory. We passed some fine straws, then the roof started to rise to make first a hands and knees crawl, then a walking canyon passage. Somewhat astonished at our good fortune, we returned to Becka and Neil to share the good news. We agreed we would push into the new passage whilst they continued surveying.

Back at the canyon passage, Dave and I pushed onwards into about 100m of narrow walking canyon. The floor stepped up, and the passage became much wider. It was at this point I noticed an odd-looking pebble in the floor which on closer inspection turned out to be a piece of expanded polystyrene. Rather puzzled, I pointed this out to Dave, who became quite excited since it seemed that such pieces of polystyrene had been introduced into the far end of the Temple of Doom extensions in Rift. Soon after this, we found ourselves looking into a small but strongly draughting crawl, with an easily diggable mud floor. We dug this for a while, then Neil and Becka turned up having completed a substantial amount of surveying, and we called it a day.

The following Saturday Neil and Becka completed the survey revealing we had found about 140m of new passage. When added to the the compilation it showed the end of the new extension (subsequently called South East inlet) was only about 10m from the end of the Temple of Doom extensions in Rift Pot, and at about the right level. We should have believed what the elevation data was telling us all along!

On the Sunday of the same weekend (May 30) a concerted attack on both sides of the gap was put in place. Becka, Neil, George North and I would go into Rift. Diane Arthurs, Simon Cornhill, Ian and Liz Lawton, Ruth MacDonald and Dave would go into the new extension in Ireby. The trip into the Temple of Doom extensions was new ground for me. I was suitably impressed by the dodgy boulder chokes, the tight squeezes, and the never-ending crawling. We arrived at the sharp end and started digging. After about an hour, we heard the Ireby team arrive at the other side; in fact the initial voice connection was remarkably encouraging. At our end, the dig became a flat-out yoga-like exercise in moving excavated material back from the front. This was nearly our undoing because after a couple of hours it became apparent the air quality was deteriorating so that one could only spend about 15 mins at the digging front before being forced to retreat. At the Ireby end though there was enough space to maintain a decent size, and the air quality started to improve as the two ends approached each other. Whilst the oral connection was crystal clear, a visual connection remained elusive for several hours. In fact at one point we wondered if we were digging past each other. Eventually the Ireby team turned a vital bend in their dig and light could literally be seen at the end of the tunnel. After another hour crowbars touched, followed in about half an hour by a handshake, and subsequently the long-sought-after breakthrough.

We all realised of course that this was an historic occasion – a key link in the three counties system had been made, and for the first time a cave in Yorkshire had been connected to a cave in Lancashire. Wensleydale cheese, Black Sheep Bitter, and Yorkshire teacakes were enjoyed by the Rift Pot team; Lancashire cheese, Lancaster Red Beer, and Chorley cakes were enjoyed by the Ireby team. We then more or less completed the exchange, with the Rift team exiting Ireby, and most of the Ireby team exiting Rift.

That was not quite the end of the story though, as Dave Rose, a caving freelance journalist, had got wind of the story and sought agreement to do an article for the Mail on Sunday. When this appeared, the story was subsequently picked up by various news organisations, culminating in interviews of carefully selected MMMMC representatives for the BBC, and even a front-page spread in the Westmoreland Gazette.

Ireby-Rift route description

Coming from Rift Pot, follow the excellent description in “Not for the Faint-Hearted” and keep going (follow the draft). Approaching the connection, there is a crawl which becomes a duck in wet weather, and the connection itself is known to sump off (in which case the draft will vanish). Once through the connection crawl, a sizeable passage soon becomes a tall canyon with a descending floor, before the roof lowers to make a hands and knees crawl, and then a flat out crawl through unpleasant soupy mud. This section ends at a junction with a larger passage. Straight ahead is blocked by cobbles but there is a voice and light connection to the main passage in Ireby. Right (the way on) enters a partially-flooded bedding plane crawl with about 6 inches of air space. This is often done on one's back, and at least has the benefit of cleaning the mud off. After this a short section of crawling over cobbles reaches the main Ireby passage at the start of the lower main streamway.

Going the other way, descend Ireby's Well and Rope pitches into the large chamber where NE inlet enters. At the far end and straight ahead under the wall is the other end of the above-mentioned voice and light connection. Continue past the Bolton extensions (a cobbly crawl on the left) into a short section of hands and knees crawling in a passage with a remarkably flat roof. Where this opens up (the start of the lower main streamway), the first passage on the right is East inlet, and the second passage on the right is the crawl leading to SE inlet and through to Rift Pot.

Current activities

With the link between Ireby and Rift forged and our 15 minutes of fame over and done with, MMMMC attention has now focussed on the last key problem – the link between Notts II and Lost Johns'. At time of writing digging teams are attacking both ends of what appears to be the same boulder choke. The best estimate is that there is maybe 10-20m to go (there is an uncertain sound connection). Given enough time, enthusiasm, and scaffolding, a breakthrough is surely not far off. This will finally realise Dave Brook's vision of a system of cave passages connecting Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria, and take the total length of the three counties system to around 100km.

In October, almost by accident, another connection was made. This was between the end of the left hand branch of the Glory Holes and the top of NE inlet and confirmed the long-held suspicion that the large passage at the top end of NE inlet is a continuation of the abandoned trunk route of the Glory Holes. The connection itself is through a liquid mud duck and sounds very unpleasant!

A third connection that is on the cards is between Low Douk and the near reaches of the Temple of Doom extensions in Rift. If this connection is made, it will afford a pitch-free route into Rift, and ease access to the more remote parts of this system.

Elsewhere Becka, Neil and I are focussing attention on completing the Rift and Large parts of the Ireby-Rift-Large survey, and following up leads identified during the resurvey project. It's apparent for instance that Large pot has not received much serious attention since its original discovery, at least from people willing to put the effort into digging in the more obscure corners.

Watch this space for further news!

Further reading

Descent 215 has a full account of the Ireby-Rift connection and much background material on the three counties system.

RRCPC Journal 10 has accounts and description of the exploration of Cripple Creek

Mike Cooper's “Not for the Faint-Hearted” has an extensive bibliography and describes the route through the Temple of Doom series more or less all the way to the Ireby-Rift connection.

The Mail on Sunday article by Dave Rose can be found at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1296308

The MMMMC survey is freely available and can be found online at http://www.cavemaps.org/.

Latest – the book Adventures Underground by Dave Haigh and John Cordingley also contains an account.

Adapted from CPC Record 101, 29-33 (Jan 2011). *corrected Jan 2021

Copyright © (2011) Patrick B Warren and Craven Pothole Club Ltd.