Imperial are currently on expedition Z Miga na Kuk (Slovenia 2013) and will be in the field July 12th – August 18th. Updates here will be rather patchy, but keep up to date directly from the mountain via Tweets and Facebook updates.
A pleasant and productive trip to Derbsyhire. For a change staying at the TSG, ICCC managed trips to Oxlow, Maskhill and Peak.
The ICCC once again leaves the confines of Yorkshire! We headed out to Andalucia in Spain for a week of caving, canyoning, via ferrata and most importantly; wine. We succesfully completed 3 caves, including 1 to a depth of 300metres. We traversed several via ferrata routes, a sport sure to return in future tours. And we had a go at 1 canyon. All the time making new friends amongst the local cavers.
The end of term spectacular! The winter decided to give it one more go so ICCC spent a great amount of time battling blizzard conditions and trudging through snow to go caving. Caves visited included Shuttleworth and Great Douk.
Home at last, the NPC! This weekend a small, rather international team headed into King Pot. The T-shapped passage made a lasting impression on everybody, a particularly fine first UK trip for two of our members. Sunday, however, was spent exploring the depths of Ingleton. The sweet shop made a lasting impression on everybody, a particularly fine first UK doss for two of our members.
Bullpot farm, ever a favourite for it's proximity to Easegill, once again proved most hospitable. On Saturday three teams went in three different entrances; Cow, Pippikin, and Wretched Rabbit. On Sunday, despite the blizzard conditions a team headed down Lancaster for a quick photo trip.
The first trip of the new year was a resounding success. It seems like everyone turned up. Swildon's saw a few teams completing tours to sump 1 and back and others bailing for hours before managing the short round. The night passed by in a blur of alcohol and caving games leaving many too tired for caving. A determined group headed to Eastwater on Sunday, with everyone else enjoying a variety of cakes and pastries.
Ah, Winter Tour! Recently we've had a lotta lotta snow. This year we had a lotta lotta rain, while the temperature stayed resolutely above freezing. Though this restricted our choice of caves, it meant that at least we didn't have any problems driving to the entrances!
The usual mix of hardcore caving, experimental cooking (with the now excellent NPC facilities) and one-on-one tuition of leading and rigging skills was enjoyed by over a dozen cavers who made it along.
Come rain or shine, we go caving. In this case mostly rain which lead to some difficulties. A Saturday trip to Giants had to be cut short due to concerns about the water level, however a successful trip to Oxlow introduced many to the delights of SRT. On Sunday our Peak Cavern permit proved useless with the cave being inaccesible due to flooding but undeterred we went to Carlswark Cavern instead. It may not be as big as Peak but it was just as fun!
This trip marked the beginning of the SRT season with a classic Lost John's exchange. We rigged Centipede and Dome, and down beyond to the main streamway. Most turned back at the Battleaxe, but a few brave souls descending a booming Valhalla and marvelled at the shuddering bulk of the waterfall. Clare's birthday was celebrated in style with candles & cake at the Battleaxe Traverse. We delved into the delights of Notts 2 on Sunday. Here a novel system of ladders, scaffolding and cinder blocks leads down the vertical entrance shaft and into the very enjoyable and pretty streamway.
