Borehole to Wretched Rabbit

From Ease Gill

Borehole to Wretched Rabbit[edit | edit source]

This trip can be done as a pull-through trip. It can be shortened by not continuing to Holbeck Junction, or extended by the Gypsum Caverns round trip.

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.

Holbeck Junction[edit | edit source]

Holbeck Junction is a major junction in the upper Easegill main streamway. The junction itself is often dry, as the stream runs in an oxbow.

Several routes lead from Holbeck; in clockwise direction:

  • Downstream soon leads to a choke; a crawl to the left provides an alternative route to Green and Smelly Passage.
  • Upstream is Thackray's Passage leading towards Top Sink with a connection to Boundary Pot.
  • To the left of the stream, behind a 2m high boulder, is a dry passage leading to Green and Smelly Passage, with routes to Pool Sink, Spiral Staircase in Wretched Rabbit, Slit Sinks and New Slit Sinks.

Green and Smelly Passage, from Holbeck Junction to junction of Spiral Staircase and Pool Sink routes[edit | edit source]

From Holbeck Junction, the way towards Spiral Staircase and Pool Sink starts behind a 2m-high boulder on the left of the stream passage. Walking passage ascends gently to a step over boulders, followed by a gently descending passage; [ascending from the boulders leads into a high-level passage.] The route soon meets the Pool Sink streamway. [To the right, downstream, a wet crawl leads to where the stream disappears ahead. A dry crawl to the right leads back to the main streamway, where it hits a choke.]

Following the stream upstream for a few steps, and veering right, enters a 6m high chamber. A stoop under an arch above a pool, is followed by a left turn and an immediate right turn, through the pool, at the junction of two joints. Ahead is a dry walking passage. After two minutes, a small chamber is reached.

  • Ahead, Green and Smelly Passage leads towards Spiral Staircase leading to Wretched Rabbit, and a connection to the Borehole, Slit Sinks and New Slit Sinks.

Green and Smelly Passage to Spiral Staircase[edit | edit source]

From the junction with the Pool Sink passage, a crawl leads to a small chamber. Walking passage (with the water flowing in an oxbow to the left) leads to another chamber with a junction. [The streamway comes from the passage to the left; this provides an alternative route into Lower T-Piece Passage in Pool Sink.] Ahead, after a few metres, is a 4m climb up the rift between boulders, via a chock stone after 2m. The climb leads to a traverse ahead on the left, above a blind chamber split by a ridge. [If the climb up is missed, the blind chamber is reached after 5m; an obscure crawl at floor level leads under the ridge into the other half of the chamber.]

Across the traverse reaches a chamber overlooking the blind chamber.

  • Going straight on leads into a rift with a climb down into Eccles Bypass; this leads to the Borehole, Slit Sinks and New Slit Sinks.
  • Turning right leads to 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.

Spiral Staircase, outwards[edit | edit source]

Spiral Staircase is reached from the ledge at the end of Green and Smelly Passage, by climbing up via the pile of stacked boulders. A crawl soon leads to a short climb. Ahead, the way on is round a sharp bend to the right, with the water entering from a too-tight passage ahead. Soon a junction is reached. [Ahead soon leads to a pitch, back down to the ledge at the end of Green and Smelly Passage.] The way on is to the left, past formations.

The passage reduces from walking to stooping then crawling. After about five minutes, a hole leading up is reached, which is often quite splashy, and becomes impassible in very wet weather. This opens out into a funnel-shaped hole, lined with boulders, at the end of Big Rift in the Wretched Rabbit entrance series.

  • To the left is Big Rift, which leads to Wretched Rabbit exit.

Wretched Rabbit Exit[edit | edit source]

Big Rift leads past a side passage to the left [which soon leads to a rope climb]. 30m ahead is the start of a series of climbs, rigged with handlines (February 2016). The first climb is 5m, and fairly easy, with good footholds. From the ledge at the top, the next climb, of 4.5m, follows immediately; the bottom 2.5m is steep and awkward with small footholds. [An inlet and a bedding plane crawl enter on the left at the top.] An easy 2m step up leads to the next ledge. The final 3.5m climb is steep with small footholds: there is a useful toehold about 1.7m up. From the top, a short crawl leads round a corner to the exit.