Margot's Blog: Cwmorthin with the YCC

09 December 2022

Cwmorthin with the YCC

I must admit I have stopped keeping an eye on the website of the York Caving Club. I had kept my membership for a while after I left York, but I let that lapse. And I know they tend to show up in December, but I normally am quite busy with teaching around that time, and not really have the space in my head to consider whether maybe my old friends are showing up. It is not unusual that I get a message asking me if I am around and if I want to join anything. But it doesn't always happen!

This year I got a message. It was from Gary; he asked me if I knew a more efficient way to get into Cwmorthin than to first drive to Conwy Falls, get the key, then drive all the way to the mine, do the trip, drive back to Conwy Falls, and only then drive back to the hut they had rented. Of course, this hut is in the complete opposite way from the mine. And I did know a way; just have me along on your trip! They said I should just come to that on Saturday morning and then we would go from there.

When I got there they were already champing at the bit. Sometimes the faffing can be quite extensive, but not this time! So they all got into some car or other and off to Tanygrisiau we went. I had told them I do have a key, but I also have a terrible memory, so maybe they shouldn't use me for navigation. I couldn't even remember how to get to the bits of the mine I had seen with Miles and Lydia! And that was the most recent time I had been in there, except for some Cave rescue training where we barely get to 100 m from the entrance.

Matt was leading the way on the through trip, but quite soon I said we could check out the relatively new bridge. They were up for it! I couldn't quite remember what was on the other side of it. Obviously. When we got there, we saw that it leads to a zip line. We didn't have enough tandem pullies with us to make that really work. So we just went back! And then went the other way. We descended an incline they didn't know, and explored some strange corners. We just explored any passage we thought looked interesting! And that inevitably brought us back to the main route at some point. That was by the drill, and the compressor chamber. There we had some food.

We had actually spent quite a lot of time down there already by that time, so the idea was to do a tiny little bit of extra exploring and then get back to the through trip. Of course, that didn't happen. We got distracted by other options. And these brought us to the corkscrew! Some chaos ensued; one of us didn't quite like the corkscrew and started to go back down, and Matt didn't want us to split up. So everyone who had already done the entire thing was basically told to turn back and do it again in the opposite direction. Okay then! I did suggest we should scout if there was an easy way to get back to the level where we had started, but that idea was torpedoed. One bloke ignore that and did get the fun of doing the bridge that follows the corkscrew, and then a clamber down some steps.

We then just followed the route back to the entrance. We had one last stop; Matt wanted to do the catwalk. I wasn't keen; I have done it several times before, and I had just felt the call of nature, and taken my harness off. And I was quite content watching them do it.

Then we did get out. There will still a little bit of daylight! And it was a very beautiful day. We got back to that parking lot, where we changed.

The Yorkshire delegation was going back to the hut, which is also in the opposite direction from where I live, and would go and have a really late curry dinner in Porthmadog. I wasn't keen on that! I still have a lot of things to do that weekend. And I am not keen on later dinners. So I just gave them a hug and wisdom all the best N make the resolution to keep an eye on when they would next be around. I think it will be September!

Matt said that if anything on their trip list, wherever it was, tickled my fancy I was welcome. They could always put me up for the night! I also got an invitation from Jerry and Tegs, to visit them in south Wales. Their place sounded amazing! So maybe I shouldn't even wait for the YCC to come back. I can travel either east or south and reinforce my ties with this daft bunch!