Was a later start owed to me walking the Wharfdale 3 peaks the previous day. Cave bottomed despite neither rope was long enough on account for the me bringing the wrong one for the upper pitches and the lower pitch being deeper than it used to be.
Written by Chris sharman...
After debate about the weather, the day, and Alex’s fitness, we eventually decided on the Mohole on Kingsdale – despite the 1975 write-up Alex had found talking of tight and awkward parts.
Alex had pre-packed the ropes, and had walked up to the cave only the week before, so he knew the way.
For reasons unclear, we took the scenic route up, rather than the direct route Alex had taken previously.
For once we were carrying just the essentials, rather than bags of extra gear.
Eventually found the cave, with a nice little hobbit sized door, and Alex started rigging the first rope, which was to take us down 2.5 pitches. Since it seemed disappointingly short for the reputedly tight and awkward 3rd pitch, I tied on the second rope to reconnoitre. A first feel convinced me to move my rack to my short cows tail – but it wasn’t that bad. Quite short with a pleasant free climb where it opened out, so we removed the second rope, and made do with the first – just the perfect length to leave a little free climb from the bottom of the rope to the bottom of the pitch.
I rigged on down the 4th, which after a slightly awkward corner opened out into a biggish pitch, with a steeply sloping floor – continued abseiling down the slope, until I got to a spit for the last section, which I tried to rig while Alex came down. The spit was shot, so I descended down to the scaff off a natural, then carried on descending the scaff, until the rope ran out again, leaving a somewhat greasy free climb to the bottom. Someone’s done a lot of digging down here, because it goes on quite a way.
After a visit to the end of the dig, which we reckoned got to about 40m above Kingsdale Beck, we headed out – the free climbs seemed easier on the return, and we had an uneventful trip out.
Down the hill to the cars by the direct route, quick change, then I turned round (employing the famous Jackson manoeuvre Roll Eyes), and ten minutes later headed off to Bernies to return a borrowed lamp.
A fine trip.
