Kayaking Sessions in the Lake District. Thursday 13th March 2014.

Colin Brooke came out with us for the first time exactly two weeks ago when he booked a half day Kayaking Session in The Lake District with Iain.

Colin has a forthcoming adventure race in Ireland in a few months time and, as it was some considerable time since he had last been in a kayak, he contacted us for some Kayaking Skills Training. On that particular day, Iain took him to Rydal Water.

Photo one from this post sees Colin preparing to go out on the water with us again, but this time Iain chose Windermere as the venue and this first photo was taken at Waterhead.

After Colin's previous flat water Kayaking Session on Rydal Water, Iain thought it would be good to go to a different venue and here there was the opportunity to look at more moving water skills on the Rivers Brathay & Rothay - or, as Colin has a long Kayaking journey ahead of him, go for a paddle on Windermere covering as much distance as time would allow in four hours.

Colin's preferred option was the Kayaking Journey on Windermere , conditions today were flat calm on the lake with a blanket of fog obscuring the otherwise magnificent views of the area.

We set out from Waterhead and west towards the mouth of the main river, then on via Pull Wyke Bay, Low Wray Campsite and High Wray Bay to Red Nab Car Park - one of the areas few remaining free car parks. Here, we got out of our kayaks for a few minutes to stretch our legs and get the blood flowing again.

As we continued onwards from here towards Bowness on Windermere, the fog started to burn off and the sun put in an appearance. In photo three Colin unpacks his lunch at our halfway point near Rayrigg Hall. In the distance one can see Belle Isle - Windermere's biggest island.

As we set off back towards Waterhead via Windermere's eastern shoreline, visibility continued to improve and it started to get quite warm. Iain took this photo of Colin about 3/4 of the way back and he looks happy and relaxed; although he was starting to get quite warm in the wet suit he was wearing underneath the spray deck, cagoule & buoyancy aid!

All in all, we covered approximately 13km or pretty much exactly eight miles - half of the distance Colin has to cover on his adventure race.

This was done in around three & a half hours - not including the two stops we made. Great effort Colin!

For Colin's 5 hour session with Iain he paid £100 and this included being collected and dropped off again in Kendal and then around 4 hours Kayaking on Windermere accompanied one on one with a Kayaking Coach who provided him with a kayak and everything else you see him wearing (apart from the wet suit that is!) Whilst we do not usually offer clients transport on some occasions it just make sense - particularly as we were both travelling from the same side of town.

A typical half day beginners Kayaking Session in The Lake District with us starts at just £45 for a minimum of two persons (or one person at the two person rate) and it gets cheaper as your group size increases. A half day session is typically four hours - starting at 9am or 1pm. You can specify different start or finish times to these if you wish to as we aim to be as flexible, accommodating and as helpful as we can whenever possible.

We want you to enjoy your visit to The Lake District and our motto is "Giving you what you want", book an Activity Session in The Lake District with us and we will do our best to make sure you get exactly that! We look forward to working with you in 2014.

Kayaking Skills Training Sessions in The Lake District. Rydal Water. Thursday 27th February 2014.

Last Thursday, Iain found himself out on one of The Lake Districts many lakes with Colin Brooke. Colin enjoys adventure racing and is currently in preparation for such a forthcoming event in Ireland involving a 15 mile Kayaking section.

Because of this, Colin decided to book a refresher course in Kayaking. He "Googled" Kayaking Courses in The Lake District and found that Kendal Mountaineering Services offered just such courses.

A quick call to Iain confirmed that yes - he was available to work with Colin and that yes, Thursdays were convenient. This suited Colin, as most weeks, both he & his wife are in  Kendal visiting a relative on this day.

As Colin was staying literally just up the road, Iain was happy to collect him and drop him off again at the end of the session. We drove to Rydal water which Iain figured would be suitable for the aims of Colin's kayaking session, got kitted up and were on the lake by 10am. Thursday was a bright, sunny day with a few light showers in the morning and a fair breeze which sprang up on occasion - making paddling quite interesting!

We still have snow in The Lake District as you'll see in photo two. The snow covered top in the distance is High Raise which is approximately the most central fell in the Lake District National Park.

So what did we do on Rydal Water? Well, Iain started off by going back to basics, how to hold the paddle and setting up of the kayak for the paddler - important this - you have to be correctly fitted to your boat in order to paddle effectively!

Once on the water, Iain demonstrated efficient forward paddling strokes, stopping and paddling backwards and then coached Colin in order to get these strokes right! Colin's forward paddling was quite good and it was clear that he had kayaked before and had remembered some things - even if it was 30 years since he was last in a Kayak!

In photo three, Colin is practicing a more advanced kayaking stroke - the Sculling Draw. This involves holding the paddle as shown and slicing the paddle backwards & forwards down the side of the kayak always making sure that the leading edge of the paddle blade is angled slightly away from the boat. The stroke is done in line with the paddlers body which should be rotated towards the side of the craft. Doing the stroke too far forwards or backwards will translate into a turning stroke rather than a sideways movement.

We did a complete circuit of Rydal Water practicing various manoeuvres and strokes including a combination of forward & backwards paddling strokes to execute a 360 degree turn and also other turning strokes such as the Stern Rudder and Sweep Stroke.

We broke at around mid-day for some lunch and then got back on the water - practicing some moving water skills on the River Rothay where it flows into the lake before heading back on to Rydal Water to consolidate those skills already learned.

In photo four, Colin practices the Low Brace Support Stroke - useful if you think you are about to capsize! Fortunately, Colin remained upright & dry throughout our session - probably because he was very relaxed and happy about being in a kayak again.

We packed up about 2pm and headed back to town. Iain wold like to wish Colin all the best with his forthcoming adventure race and maybe we will see him again at some point for some more Kayaking or Canadian Canoeing.

For Colin's 5 hour bespoke Kayaking Skills Training Session he paid £100. This included the provision of a kayak & paddle, a wet suit (although Colin had his own), a cagoule and buoyancy aid and one on one tuition with a kayaking coach. We do not usually offer transport but on this occasion it made sense to do so and we are happy to help if & where we can. This session was slightly longer than our usual 4 hour half day session priced at £90 for a minimum of two or one persons but, we are happy to be flexible in order to ensure you get what you want!

To book your own half day Kayaking Session in The Lake District with Iain contact him here. We look forward to working with you.

Guided Winter Climbing Days in Scotland. Beinn a Chaorainn East Ridge. February 21st 2014.

Friday morning saw us start out early from Aviemore as we had over an hours drive to the days venue for Winter Climbing.

Iain had chosen the East Ridge of Beinn a' Chaorainn as the venue. The reason, he figured that it would be sheltered from the strong south westerly wind due to be sweeping across the Highlands.

To get to the foot of the ridge from Loch Laggan there is a route via forest windbreak leading on to the forestry track that leads to within 500m of the ridge foot. As we gained height it was evident that there had been a considerable fall of fresh snow overnight (photo one).

Iain was joined by Neil Mackay (green jacket) to assist with providing the groups winter climbing day.

As we climbed on to the foot of the ridge, it was already becoming evident that we were not going to get the shelter Iain was hoping that Beinn a' Chaorainn would provide and that the wind was more south easterly than south westerly!

We found a place of some shelter in which get get "geared up" ie adding extra layers of clothing, getting helmets, harnesses & crampons on and having a bite to eat and drink. Due to the strong & gusty conditions, we had already decided that this would be a "guided" climbing session as the conditions were such that coaching would be almost impossible.

Neil headed off up the ridge with Bill & Jono and Iain with Bryn & Joel (photo two) who can be seen here "tucking in" as a particularly vicious blast of wind sprayed us with spindrift. Martin decided at the foot of the ridge that what we were doing was not for him and made his way back to the vehicles.

We made our way up the ridge tackling any rock buttress en route to add interest to what was basically a Guided Winter Mountaineering Day. Neil stayed out in front and made good progress with Bill & Jono despite the strong wind.

Iain followed up behind with Bryn & Joel and we climbed about five pitches. Unfortunately due to the difficult weather conditions we reached a point where both  decided they had had enough and wished to descend.

Photo three shows Joel & Bryn at our high point at about half way up the East Ridge of Beinn a' Chaorainn just before we commenced to descend.


Our final photo from this winter climbing post shows the East Ridge of Beinn a' Chaorainn with Bryn & Joel back at the foot of the ridge - now out of the wind. Our route had taken us up the lower part of the ridge on the left and then in order to get some shelter from the wind - up the rightward trending snow gangway on the right of the black buttress in the distance. About halfway up this gangway, we cut left back on to the crest of the ridge and turned around there reversing our route down the gangway and then heading straight down the slope below.

It had been a tough climbing winter session but Bryn & Joel had enjoyed the experience as had Bill & Jono who, with Neil, had gotten a few hundred metres higher than us before turning around. They can be seen descending in this photo - almost at the foot of the black buttress; and joined us back at the edge of the forestry plantation around 20 minutes later. Despite the early start, it is always surprising how fast these days go and it was not until about 16:45 that we all set off on the return journey to Aviemore.

This post concludes Bryn, Joel, Martin, Bill & Jono's five day winter course which consisted of a two day winter skills Training Course and a two day Winter Navigation Skills Training Course - both carried out in The Cairngorms; and a Winter Climbing Day in the Creag Meagaidh area of the Western Highlands. We had encountered unseasonably warm temperatures. large quantities of unconsolidated snow and at times, very windy conditions, yet we managed to achieve success on all three courses. All five leave with new skills having enjoyed a sustained and adventurous course in one of Scotlands best winter training grounds. The instructional cost for each person for these five days was only £290 each.

If you would like any information on our Winter Courses in Scotland then do not hesitate to contact us. Winter conditions are very much alive & well in Scotland and we are ready and able to organise your winter experience right now.

Winter Map Reading & Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Cairngorms. February 19th & 20th 2014

After our two day Winter Skills Course in The Cairngorms, we moved on to our two day Winter Navigation & Snow holing Skills Training phase of the week.

Our Winter Navigation & Snow holing Skills Training Courses usually involves a walk in to a snow holing site such as Ciste Mhearaid, or Coire Domhain learning & practicing map reading & navigation techniques along the way. On arriving at the snow holing site, hopefully, it is usually a case of clearing out & enlarging existing snow holes then settling in for the night. However, on occasion, new snow holes have to be dug from scratch, so we always arrive at the snow holing site in good time - just in case!

However, the MWIS forecast for the next day indicated storm force winds on the Cairngorm plateau meaning that we would likely be "pinned down" waiting for the wind speed to drop. So, the other option was to spend the night in Ryvoan Bothy and just have two days out on the hills.

Today had a glorious start as can be seen in photo one during our walk in to Coire Na Ciste. Blue skies, sunshine & a light breeze made up for having to tramp through difficult snow (hard crust on top, soft underneath!) We spent the day navigating from point to point as directed by Iain and the party learnt all about pacing & measuring distance and taking & walking on a bearing.

We started off by walking up the ridge between Coire Na Ciste & Coire Cas before crossing to the north ridge of Cairngorm where we encountered a strengthening wind and whiteout conditions as we approach the summit of Cnap Coire Na Spreidhe (photo two)

Everyone in the group picked up the skills taught by Iain well; and were spot on throughout the day with their accuracy. Having reached our high point of 1150m at Cnap Coire Na Spreidhe (very close to where we had been the previous day - Ciste Mhearaidh) we headed north back along the ridge and upon hitting hard ice just above Coire Laogh Mor, donned crampons before descending into the back of this coire.

It was quite an exciting descent! The back wall of Coire Laogh Mor is pretty steep and the sudden onset of whiteout conditions certainly added to the atmosphere. However, just as we reach the corrie floor the cloud lifted to reveal a beautiful sunset over Loch Morlich (photo three). After a short pause to look at a Rutschblock and Hand/Shovel Shear Test (avalanche prediction skills) here, we walked back out to the car park at Coire Na Ciste.

20 minutes later we were walking away from the vehicles at the road head by Glenmore Lodge with different rucksacks packed for our overnighter in Ryvoan Bothy. Imagine our disappointment when we arrived after walking for around 40 minutes to find it already packed with a group from a local Adventure Training Centre. About turn and back to Aviemore!

On Thursday, the weather was indeed as forecast and the usual associated "cloud cap" was in evidence on The Cairngorms. Uplift had been cancelled by Cairngorm Mountain and was apparently to remain that way all day.

We returned to the Glenmore Lodge road head with a view to staying low for the day and learning additional navigation techniques and it was as well we did! Whilst in the floor of Ryvoan Pass, we were relatively sheltered from the wind we could both see & hear roaring through the Caledonian Pines only a few hundred meters above our heads on the slopes of Meall a' Bhuachaille.

For the first hour or so, the wind was accompanied by a light drizzle (photo four) which Iain surmised was more likely to be windblown snow scoured from the plateau turning to water as it dropped below the freezing level.

On our route through Ryvoan Pass we looked at finding "tickoff features" something that had been rather absent during our previous day on the snow covered ground higher up. These included various paths and stream junctions along our linear route (the track through the pass) In doing this we were able to focus more not only on measuring distance but also pacing it accurately too.

We took a break for a brew at the now empty Ryvoan Bothy (photo five) and spent some time learning about grid references and how to find them and give one for a known location.

The group had asked for an early finish today and wished to be back at the vehicles for 2pm. After learning additional new skills today we continued out on to the open plain at the foot of Strath Nethy in order that we could put all of what had been learnt into practice. We made for  one of the many small lochans in the area (photo six) and spent some time there using the compass to identify an unknown feature from our "known location".

Following this, we made our way back to Ryvoan Bothy and commenced the walk back through the pass to the vehicles.

Photo seven is a view taken just beyond Ryvoan Bothy as we headed back towards Ryvoan Pass. Though the pass way in the distance across Glen More can be seen a snow covered Lurcher's Crag with the notch of the Chalamain Gap to its right.

On the opposite side of Lurchers Crag to this view is an excellent winter climbing venue - also called Lurcher's Crag, where Iain had been hoping to take the group the next day. By the time this photo was taken the wind speed had dropped and the wind had changed to a westerly. However, the MWIS forecast for the next day was if anything, wilder than ever with a south westerly wind gusting up to 70mph! As Lurchers faces in that direction it would be a totally unsuitable location for a teaching climbing day. We would have to use another venue other than The Cairngorms.

You can read about that day in the next post, in the meantime, if you are interested in attending one of our Navigation & Snow holing Training Courses in The Cairngorms then contact us here. This group paid only £100 each for their two day course with Iain.

Winter Skills Courses in the Cairngorms. February 17th & 18th 2014

Bryn Anderson booked this five day bespoke Winter Course for himself & his son Joel and friends Bill who came along with his son Jono; and also their mate - Martin. We were also joined by Iain's friend Cressida (Cress) Allwood who, contemplating her Winter Mountain Walking Leader Assessment had asked if she could shadow this course.

The first two days of the groups course consisted of a Winter Skills Course - undertaken in The Cairngorms. Photo one shows the team on the lower slopes of Cairngorm's North Ridge on our way to try & find a decent snow slope to look at Ice Axe Braking. We had already covered using the boot as a tool by this point.

Photo two shows the group at our Ice Axe Braking venue on Mam Suim (part of the north ridge of Cairngorm) and here, Bill is having a go at braking.

There are various permutations of Ice Axe Braking - on your front feet first is the way you want to finish up so that you can dig that ice axe pick into the snow under your chest and stop a slide. However, a slip can start in many ways - feet first on your back as well as your front or worse - head first on your back or front, or even a cartwheel! Iain demonstrated all of these types of fall and how to arrest before everyone else in the group followed suit. It was a good session!

It is amazing how quickly the day will pass when practising all manner of Winter Skills and before we knew it, there was only an hour left before it would be time to head off the hill. As the snow at the Ice Axe Braking site was suitable for looking at snow anchors Iain demonstated a horizontal buried axe belay.

This involves cutting a horizontal slot across the fall line of the slope the length of the axe and deep enough that when loaded, the axe will be braced against a layer of solid snow (preferably neve) which serves as the anchor. It is important that the slot is cut in such a way that when loaded - the axe will receive a sideways and downward pull. To attach the rope to the axe a sling is used attached to the axe with an inverted Clove Hitch and placed  in a vertical slot cut in such a manner that once again, the load on the axe is always sideways and down. The rope is then attached to a sling with a karabiner.

Photo two shows the whole group (six persons) trying to test a buried axe belay to destruction. How easy they failed would be an indication of just how well each individual had constructed theirs. Everyone had to make their own buried axe belay and then we had a fair bit of fun trying to destroy them. Most held with a steady pull, however, through tugging (shock loading) a few did fail. However, this was an opportunity to see that a well constructed snow belay in good snow can be quite strong!

The weather on Monday had been quite mild with the freezing level only at around the altitude we had been working. Winds were light and precipitation, negligable. Tuesday was looking similar so, in a bid to find better conditions, we had an earlier start in order that we might get into the upper car park at the Cairngorm Mountain Ski Area at Coire Cas and get high up on the mountains.

We had quite a walk to get to Ciste Mhearaidh - our venue for the day at 1050m just below the summit of Cairngorm. We had been told that conditions here were good for Winter Skills and on arriving, we found a massive snow hole (photo four) which was an ideal place to have lunch.

The walk in to Ciste Mhearaidh was quite interesting. We had to avoid the many skiers on our walk up to the Ptarmigan Restaurant and from there to our venue it was a walk in thick cloud (whiteout conditions) across around 500m of low angled slope to get there.

The whiteout conditions continued to prevail at Ciste Mhearaid. On arrival, we had some lunch in the snowhole and then ventured out to get our bearings and find out what snow slopes were available to use for our Winter Skills Session.

Amongst other things - we did find was this massive hazard - fortunately well consolidated! Photo five sees Bill standing underneath a ten foot high cornice and in places it was even higher! These are formed at the top of a lee slope when snow, carried along by a strong wind, is deposited creating an overhanging lip. Cornices are very dangerous things that can collapse creating an avalanche or frequently, people can walk over them in conditions of poor visibility such as a whiteout; or fall through them whilst trying to get a view down to ground below! From above, this was hazard was virtually invisible in the whiteout conditions today!

Time was getting on after our long walk in to Ciste Mhearaidh so after our discussion about hazards such as cornices we continued on with our theme of snow belays from the previous day. In photo six Cress is sat in a bucket seat and is using a body (indirect) belay to safeguard a person climbing the slope towards her.

A bucket seat belay is a very basic snow belay used to safeguard some one on an easy climb such as a grade 1 or 2 snow gully. If the integrity of the snow is in doubt then one would "back it up" by also using something such as a Buried Axe Belay, Snow Bollard or Deadman. Iain demonstrated all of these snow belays and then everyone had to construct and test their own - more fun for the group tugging on ropes again! Many might consider including snow belays as part of a Winter Skills Course unnecessary, but as a day of winter climbing was planned for later on during this week, Iain considered that thes would be useful skills to learn and indeed, these were new techniques to everyone in our group!

After practising the remaining snow belay techniques we had a wander around the various types of snow shelter that had been constructed by previous groups. As well as the obvious massive snow hole there were various "lean to, sitting bivvis" and a "snow grave". We discussed how to construct the various types of snow shelter before packing up and setting off back to The Ptarmigan Restaurant - doing the return journey to our vehicles in under an hour! Photo seven taken on our walk out shows just what the day was like - still whiteout conditions!

However, there had been no wind; and even though the MWIS forecast had predicted the freezing level would be around 800m, we reckoned that even at 1050m it had barely been freezing - if at all! Conditions had been pleasant even if the visibility was poor.

Today had not been a bad a day at all but there we still aspects of the Winter Skills Syllabus that were yet to be covered. However, there was still time with another three days of this Winter Course in The Cairngorms to run.

Mixed Winter climbing in The Lake District. Bowfell Buttress, Monday 10th February, 2014.

Not all of the posts on our blog relate only to the work that we do at Kendal Mountaineering Services. Sometimes Iain likes to mention the other things that he gets up to in the outdoors - so here he goes!

Towards the end of last week I received an invite to join a mate - Dave, for some winter climbing, if suitable conditions presented themselves in the area.

We all know about what a poor winter it has been so far as low pressure systems have tracked one after the other across the country bringing with them copious amounts of rain, strong winds and mild temperatures. None of these are conducive to "good" winter conditions and so far this season, The Lakes have seen little of such conditions.

However, Dave seemed to think that Monday was going to be a settled day and that there would be "winter conditions" higher up. We left Kendal at 06:00 and set off on the walk in to Bowfell Buttress from Langdale at about 07:00. In the valley it was mild and everywhere was green. As it got lighter, we could make out some snow peeping out from under the cloud shrouding Crinkle Crags!

As we reached the point where the Climbers Traverse path breaks from the main path to Three Tarns (at about 600m) there was a distinct "bite" to the air and we were already in snow. The Climbers Traverse (photo one) was tricky, banked out with snow having a thin hard crust but being deep & soft underneath resulting in our constantly breaking through - for me at times - right up to the tops of my legs. This was not a place to slip today, the slope below the path is preciptitous and and an Ice Axe would not have stopped you! Today, the traverse was best described as arduous!

At least the weather was calm. There was no wind when we arrived at the foot of our route and it would remain this way all day. Also, there was virtually no precipitation during the day either, but it was to remain largely cloudy.

As a winter route, Bowfell Buttress is given a grade of V'6, in Summer it is one of the areas classic Rock Climbs and given the grade of Vdiff in the FRCC Langdale guide. Overall, it is 110m long and generally climbed in four pitches, however, as we had my 2 60m ropes, Dave decided to pitch the route in two ropelengths.

Here in photo two, Dave can be seen leading off on the first pitch, the route was thin and conditions not great. However, after the early start and long walk in, we weren't for turning back  particularly as the weather seemed so settled! 

Time passed slowly as it can do on winter climbs, but this was largely due to Dave having fun with the cruddy conditions we found on the route. Being barely freezing - it was more a case of torquing and hooking rather than being able to bash picks into lovely frozen turf or ice. It was quite a while before the ropes went tight on me indicating I could climb. The chimney at the top of the first pitch gave me considerable difficulty but eventually I joined Dave on the spacious midway ledge.

Dave led off up the next steep wall and across the traverse knocking off loads of snow & ice as he went. I knew he was traversing as initially, all the rubbish was falling down to my right, then on my head and then off to my left! Dave reckoned that the final chimney was the crux (hardest part) of the route and whilst moving on the exposed start to that chimney was exciting, I certainly found the second two pitches easier than the first. Photo three sees Dave at the final stance as I climbed up to join him.

At the top of the final pitch things were properly frozen - even the turf. We peeled off down the l/h slanting couloir leading into the gully to the south of the buttress and descended through crappy snow back to the sacks and after a bite to eat, packed up and left.

It was good to get off the Climbers Traverse and on to turf - even in a pair of Nepal Extremes! It was no less knackering a return journey to this point (photo four) than it had been on the way in with my constantly floundering about in the deep soft snow. At least I was getting a good workout!

However, it was a good, long hard day out and nice to have been out on one of the areas classic mixed winter routes in what, other than the cloud, had been a decent day. The views as we descended back to Langdale were fantastic! Thoroughly satisfying stuff!

There is still time for the weather to cool down and hopefully we will see better winter conditions spread to a lower level in The Lakes so for anyone interested in learning Winter Skills or winter climbing we are available to take you out. Contact Iain at Kendal Mountaineering Services if you are interested. His next post is likely to be about a winter adventure booked with four clients in The Cairngorms next week. Happy winter climbing!

Caving sessions in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Wednesday 29th January 2014.

Winter in The Lake District can be a cold, wet time of year and so far the winter of 2013-14 has been just that! However, you can still get out and have an adventure with Kendal Mountaineering Services and either wrap up warmly - or go underground!

That was exactly the though of Beccy Phillips and Aldene Woodward when they booked an Introductory Caving Day in the Yorkshire Dales National Park with Iain.

Photo one shows the pair as we made our way underground from Diccan entrance in Long Churns - one of the areas best introductory caving venues.

The pair enjoy spending time in the outdoors - hillwalking & mountain biking amongst other things and on this visit to The Lake District, had decided to try caving. The weather was ok, cool but not too windy or wet and water levels were moderate in Long Churns.

As an army group arrived around about the same time as us, Iain took the pair straight in via the shortest route to The Cheese Press (photo two) where Al can be seen here giving this famous tight squeeze a go. Good effort!

After trying The Cheese Press for size, we visited the top of The Dolly Tubs Pitch where daylight was clearly visible entering from Alum Pot before heading upstream visiting Middle Entrance and then Cross Passage (Baptistry Crawl).

After revisiting Middle Entrance from its upstream entrance, we then continued on through Upper Long Churns to exit via the waterslide at Doctor Bannisters Washbasin.

There was as much water as we wanted in Long Churns today, any more would have certainly made the fall at Doctor Bannisters a bit tricky but as it was, this "up for it" pair took everything in their stride! Beccy can be seen doing exactly that in photo three as she "bridges" across a notorious deep pool in Upper Long Churns.

The pair were quite keen to try something harder in the afternoon so Iain offered them the option of a level 2 Caving Session in the Calf Holes/Browgill system. If you are wondering what the difference is a Level One Caving Session has vertical drops of no more than 2m involved whereas a level 2 Session has vertical pitches of up to 18m (60 feet) involved. The entrance pitch to Calf Holes is 11m (33 feet).

A level 2 Caving Session is therefore a more serious proposition and requires more equipment and skill to keep people safe, but Calf Holes is a relatively straightforward pitch and easy to manage. So, Iain was happy to lower the pair down so that we could then investigate downstream in Browgill Cave.

There was as much water in Browgill Cave today as Iain wanted to see and indeed the volume and noise of the water made it seem a more challenging environment than Long Churns. After lowering the pair down the Calf Holes Pitch, we made our way downstream, squeezed through Hainsworths Passage and "The Slot" and descended to marvel at the absolutely thundering waterfall below. Shortly afterwards, we emerged at the downstream exit (photo four) where the pair, were happy to call it a day.

This exciting, adventurous & challenging Caving Day in The Yorkshire Dales National park cost Beccy & Aldene £75 each. For that they got a full day out with a qualified & experienced Cave Leader and were provided with all of the equipment you can see them wearing. To book your caving session with us contact Iain here. Caving is one thing you can do underground when above ground - the weather might not be fit to do much. Our caving trips usually start with our meeting at Inglesport in Ingleton - the areas best outdoor sports shop with it's legendary cafe.