Lancaster Hole to Fall Pot

From Ease Gill

Lancaster Hole Entrance Series[edit | edit source]

The entrance pitch is 30m deep.

  • 40m rope (with minimal rigging); Y-hang from drilled thread and bolt; rebelay from one or two bolts at -1.5m; Y-hang from two bolts at -5m. (The pitch has many superfluous bolts, which should be ignored.)

The pitch lands in a 5m diameter chamber. Two rifts lead off. [The left-hand rift, to the south, leads to Slug World.] The way on is to the right. A short climb reaches a ledge. The continuing passage soon crosses a ridge and descends a long boulder slope. Several routes lead off from the slope.

  • The first two passages lead to Sand Caverns;

At the bottom of the slope is Bridge Hall, a large chamber containing a rock arch.

  • [Ahead leads towards the Colonnades.]
  • The normal way on is at the bottom of the chamber, a descent through boulders, Kath's Way, leading to Bill Taylor's Passage.

Bill Taylor's Passage[edit | edit source]

Kath's Way descends through boulders, past two scaffold bars. This drops into a stooping/crawling passage with a small stream trench. The passage gradually enlarges. It passes a chamber with water entering from the roof. The main passage then turns to the left; [ahead leads to Sand Caverns]. This leads to a slightly awkward climb through a V-shaped slot between a large boulder and the left-hand wall, or a stoop underneath to the right. Beyond, the passage splits.

  • To the right is the quickest route to Fall Pot.

Bill Taylor's Passage to Fall Pot[edit | edit source]

From the junction at the end of Bill Taylor's Passage, turning right gives the choice of two ascending mud slopes. Ascending the left-hand slope leads up to a slot, and then a descending mud slope.

[Turning left at the bottom of the slope leads to a careful step across a hole. Beyond, the mud slope leads up to Montagu Passage West, while turning left soon leads back to the junction at the end of Bill Taylor's Passage.]

Turning right at the bottom of the mud slope, and following the right-hand side of the passage, passes a hole in the floor; care: the hole drops into the main streamway. The passage soon leads to a balcony overlooking Fall Pot, with the sound of inlets entering. At the start of the balcony, on the right, is the top of an 8m hand-line climb down between boulders (rope in situ, March 2016).

At the base of the climb, to the left leads after a few steps to a rift between a very large boulder and the right wall. This opens out by a stal boss with large stals above. A choice of two routes, either to the right, or descending to the left under huge jammed boulders, leads to Fall Pot.