Borehole to Holbeck Junction

From Ease Gill

The Borehole Entrance Series[edit | edit source]

A descending passage soon reaches the top of a 3m climb. This drops into a canal passage. [Upstream, the passage is small.] Downstream, to the left, a couple of minutes crawling leads to a T-junction. The way on is to the left, a crawl in a canal.

After a few minutes, the roof lowers, and the water goes through a slot to the left; the way on is ahead, through a slightly tight slot over boulders, into a 4m-high passage. [A passage to the left brings in the water, and continues beyond.] Ahead, between boulders, leads to a continuing crawl over cobbles.

After a couple of minutes, the passage enlarges to a mix of walking and stopping, with one short crawl, and becomes well decorated. Several side passages on the left are passed. After about five minutes, the passage lowers to a crawl, passing another side passage to the left. The crawl soon reaches the pitch (15m).

  • 18m rope; backup bolt; bolt for main hang; bolt for rebelay or deviation (short sling) 0.5m down; alternatively, the pitch can be rigged from a scaffold bar in the roof. A 35m rope can be used for a pull-through.

Ahead leads towards the Lower Borehole Passages, with connections to Pool Sink and Spiral Staircase in Wretched Rabbit.

Lower Borehole Passages[edit | edit source]

Downstream from the pitch, a stream enters from a slot on the right. Ahead, a short thigh-deep pool meets another passage entering from the right. Downstream is a crawl, taking about five minutes, the latter part having an interesting calcite band in the floor.

A larger passage is reached; [a route up through boulders enters from the right.] Downstream soon reaches Motterhead's Chamber. [A passage goes off to the left, under a roof with straws.]

To the right from Motterhead's Chamber is a choice between a slot down to the left past boulders, or a crawl ahead to a descent past boulders, the two routes uniting in a 4m-high chamber. Ahead is a climb up to a muddy traverse. This leads to a junction. The way on is to the left: a slot leads into walking passage, which, after a few steps, leads to a 1.5m climb down into a larger passage.

The passage slopes down from right to left. [To the right, soon leads to a steep drop.] The way on is to the left, down a large shattered passage to a chamber. [Ahead, to the right, is the well decorated Stal Passage.] [Ahead to the left is a blind alcove.] Doubling back to the left is a route behind boulders, rejoining the main passage further up. At the base of the first short climb down, doubling back under the climb is a hole down between boulders, which is easily missed.

A 2m descent leads into a bedding plane crawl, low and wet near the start. After a couple of minutes is a junction.

  • An alcove to the right contains a tight squeeze which leads to the four-way junction near the bottom of Pool Sink:
    • To the right leads towards the Pool Sink pitches;
    • Straight on is a dry passage starting on a shelf, 2m above the stream; this soon enters a chamber; to the right is Green and Smelly Passage, leading to Holbeck Junction;
    • To the left intersects Green and Smelly Passage just upstream of the chamber mentioned above.
  • Continuing past the alcove is Eccles Bypass, leading to Spiral Staircase Passage and Green and Smelly Passage.

Eccles Bypass[edit | edit source]

From the junction at the bottom of The Borehole, Eccles Bypass continues as a crawl. Soon a crawl up over boulders is reached, which leads to a climb up a rift into a chamber.

  • To the left is a pile of stacked rocks; a climb via the rocks enters Spiral Staircase.
  • Continuing past the stacked rocks leads to a pitch up at the end of a rift, which needs pre-rigging; this gives an alternative route into Spiral Staircase.
  • To the right leads to a balcony looking down into Green and Smelly Passage, which leads to the connection with Pool Sink and to Holbeck Junction.

Green and Smelly Passage[edit | edit source]

From the confluence of Spiral Staircase and Eccles Bypass, a balcony looks down onto a chamber, split by a ridge. The way on is a short traverse to the right, followed by a climb down between boulders. This drops into Green and Smelly Passage. [Doubling back leads into the split chamber noted above; an obscure crawl at floor level leads under the ridge into the other half of the chamber.]

A few metres ahead, a streamway enters from the right [which leads into Lower T-Piece Passage in Pool Sink]. Walking passage (with the water flowing in an oxbow to the left) leads to a small chamber. A crawl leads to another chamber. [To the right is a dry route into Lower T-Piece Passage.] Ahead leads towards Holbeck Junction.

Green and Smelly Passage to Holbeck Junction[edit | edit source]

From the confluence of the Pool Sink and Spiral Staircase/Borehole routes, the passage continues as walking passage, with the water flowing in an oxbow to the left. After two minutes, a pool is reached at the junction of two joints: turning left then immediately right, a stoop leads into a 6m high chamber with the stream flowing from the right. A few steps downstream, a dry passage to the right provides the easiest way to Holbeck. [Continuing ahead, a wet crawl leads to where the stream disappears ahead. A dry crawl to the right leads to the main streamway, where it hits a choke.] Taking the dry passage leads to a step over boulders, followed by a gentle descent to Holbeck Junction.