Holbeck Junction to Borehole

From Ease Gill

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.

Eccles Bypass, outwards[edit | edit source]

From the ledge below Spiral Staircase, a climb down a rift leads into a bouldery area. Crawling to the left over boulders soon leads to a junction.

  • To the left, an alcove 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 start 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.

Lower Borehole Passages, outwards[edit | edit source]

From the junction of Eccles Bypass and the squeeze from Pool Sink, the passage continues as a crawl in a bedding plane. After a couple of minutes is a low wet section. Just beyond is a hole up in the roof, just before the passage seems to close down. Ascending the hole leads between boulders into an ascending passage, soon reaching a chamber. [Ahead to the left is the well decorated Stal Passage.]

The way on is to the right, a large ascending shattered passage. This soon reaches an awkward 1.5m climb on the right wall; [beyond the climb, the passage soon starts to descend steeply.] Up the climb, a few steps ahead reaches a slot to a junction. The way is to the right: a muddy traverse leads to a descent into a 4m-high chamber. Ahead is a choice between an ascent over boulders followed by a crawl, or a crawl between boulders followed by an ascent up a rift, the two routes uniting. Ahead soon reaches Motterhead's Chamber [from where a passage goes off ahead, under a roof of straws].

The way on from Motterhead's Chamber is to the left, following a stream upsteam. This soon reaches a junction: [to the left is a route up over boulders]; the way on is the less-obvious route, a crawl ahead to the right with a trickle of water, with an interesting calcite band in the floor. After about five minutes a passage enters on the left. Ahead is a short thigh-deep pool; beyond the pool, a stream enters from a slot on the left. Ahead leads to the pitch (P15), which needs pre-rigging, leading to the Borehole Exit Series.

Borehole Exit Series[edit | edit source]

Above the pitch, a crawl passes a side passage to the right. The passage soon enlarges to a mix of walking and stooping, with one short crawl. The passage is well decorated, and passes a few side passages to the right.

After about five minutes, the passage becomes a crawl over cobbles. A couple of minutes ahead, a route between boulders enters a 4m-high chamber. [Ahead is a decent-size passage, with the water entering from a slot on the left after a few metres.] The way on is to the left: at the base of a boulder slope, a small slot on the right at floor level. The stream is re-joined, and a low crawl continues. The roof soon raises slightly, and the passage continues as a crawl in a canal.

Ahead reaches a junction in a deepish section of water, with the way on to the right. A few minutes of continuing crawl in a canal leads to the base of a slightly awkward 3m climb. Above, ascending passage soon reaches the exit.