Hardcore trip to Yorkshire with the Clew-mobile. Successful Rift / Large (Marble Steps) exchange... just.
GI Jo + The Clewster zoomed down the rather inaptly/ineptly namedLarge, appearing out of the tiny slot in the main Rift chamber just asTall + Deep prepared to leave at their allotted fail safe time, aftera romantic candlelit dinner. Jo & Co zoomed out Rift into a cloud of midges, slow taxing escape from Large was rather more sordid - bursting into the moonlight at 23:20, absolutely caked in mud...

Sunday saw Jo rig Jingling by throwing Maillons down the pitch, and an obscene quantity of both Tea and Gear bought from Bernie's in order to equip the summer expedition.
Trip Report, Photos.

Absolutely Brillo weekend down Bullpot. Shed was woken up at 4am by a poor CUCC lass dry retching in her sleeping bag after drinking a mite too much Absinthe. Fresher bimble from County to Wretched Rabbit in Easegill, big exchange up on the Allotment and then shopping at Bernie's and pull throughs in Swinstow/Simpsons on the Sunday. Shed had a little difficulty passing the Letterbox, allowing time for the two parties to meet up in the main chamber below and entertain themselves with camera flashes; before a storming zoom out of Valley Entrance to achieve our call-out.
Changing in the afternoon sun was lovely; anyone who says that caving is better in the winter should be taken outside and shot in the snow!

We were too busy caving to vote on the awards during the AGM, so the day-of-voting has been postponed to our LAST EVER SOUTHSIDE SESSION - JUNE 22ND! The race is still open, last minute moments of appaling behaviour could capture you one of these lovely prizes...

The "For Evans Sake's" Award [Most creative use of bodily fluid]: Currently Rik Venn is in the lead with his terrifying Malt Loaf wrapper story from August 2004 in Slovenia.

The "Herman Hertz" Award [For near-death experience while caving]: Sandeep is racing ahead of the pack currently with multiple nominations including: Not buckling his harness before doing an Alpine SRT cave & his impression of an icicle during the Christmas tour.

The anonymous Geeks against Revision subsection of the caving club have been successfully misdirecting their efforts into playing with our Slovenia surveys & some Digital Elevation Model data of the Mountain range where we have our yearly summer expedition to. See a few pretty pictures here. By 2006, we hope to have a fully immersive VR model of the mountains filled in from Low Earth Orbit using ground penetrating radar, allowing us to conduct our expeditions from the safety, comfort and convenience of our armchairs. Note the two comparative photos on the left, comparing the inferior 2004 photo by the Tents to what is possible with the latest in 1980's video game technology! No more smelly cavers working at the limit of endurance, battling abrasive rock and unthinkable heights with Nylon rope & tiny slivers of Steel, gazing keenly in the dim unknown; just a cool, melodious stream of bits floating in over the ether...

Snow, flooded caves & a meeting with ICCC stalwart Dave 'Efficient' Wilson. A mini five person trip powered by the Clew Mobile.

Three old lags, capsule hotels & caving in the snow.

We're back, and Mallorca was absolutely brilliant! Lovely weather, great villa [minus the pond scum on the pool], fantastic caving, fresh oranges + lemons from the trees in our garden, a day of sailing and sunburning. Clouded over on the last day, but other than that - a strictly t-shirt + shorts affair.

Where? Mendips, Somerset
When? Sunday 13th March
What? Strap-on-the-nitro Day Trip
How many? With just day-sacks + no ropes, we should be able to takethe full minibus load... so 15-17
Experience Required? Eager Fresher to Old Hand; multiple trips at multiple levels...
Cost? 10-15 pounds [the more people come, the cheaper :)], plus pocket money for lunch + drink [from admittedly shaky memory; the extremely filling veggie pasta at the Hunters is 2.25]

Low cost, just a single day of your time + some fantastic sporting caving. From Fresher to Old Lag, you really do want to be on this trip! A few spaces left [managed to bag a 17 seater...], email address on the left to sign up!

Just back from a stonking stomp down Somerset; Swildons, Longwood and Goatchurch [failed to find key for Charterhouse] were all enjoyed by a motley crew of 15 ICCC'ers. All trips bar one exited before daylight, weather gloriously sunny but bitter with the occasional dusting of snow; tables were duly traversed, Veggie nosh greedily gobbled, bottles walked and a generally good time endured! Having gone away for the weekend and had such a consistently pleasant experience is most discombobulating, I fear that ICCC is softening! I may have to pour a bucket of snow-melt over my head and sit for a few hours in the fridge to convince myself otherwise...

While the rest of us were enjoying the veritable delights of France, Jan 'NoJob' Evetts and Tetley 'Just call me Sir' Hooper took a load of young boys up the MCG.