Pool Sink to Wretched Rabbit, via Spiral Staircase Passage

From Ease Gill

This route turns around at Holbeck Junction. It can be shortened slightly by heading out directly from the junction of T-Piece Passage and Green and Smelly Passage.

Pool Sink Entrance Series[edit | edit source]

The cave starts as a crawl in a small tube. After the initial left-hand bend, an awkward left-then-right double bend is reached; this is best approached on the right-hand side, flipping over in the first bend; tackle is best pushed in front.

Ahead the way becomes easier, as a wide low crawl, gradually rising to hands and knees crawling and then stooping passage. The passage becomes more rift-like, before a 2.5m climb down into a small chamber where small inlets enter. Ahead a meandering stream passage, with a larger inlet entering from the right, soon reaches the first pitch (P17). The pitch descends past a ledge to land on a ledge just above the streamway.

  • 22m rope; back-up to bolt; traverse from bolt; Y-hang off two bolts; optional deviation from bolt 3m down.

[Upstream leads to Magpie Grotto]; downstream leads towards Holbeck Junction.

Pool Sink streamway[edit | edit source]

Note: sections of the lower streamway flood to the roof in wet conditions.

Downstream from the first pitch, a pleasant streamway reaches the second pitch (P8) after about two minutes.

  • 16m rope; backup to large thread on previous corner; traverse from bolt high on left wall; main hang from bolt high on left; deviation with short sling from thread 1m down. [An alternative route traverses over the pitch and descends further downstream.]

Ahead, a couple of short climbs lead to the third pitch (P8).

  • 12m rope; bolt for traverse; two-bolt Y-hang.

Two minutes caving down the streamway, with a couple of deeper pools, reaches the fourth pitch (P10). The pitch can be rigged direct, but this way is very wet and not recommended; better is to traverse up to the right, following the obvious line of bolts.

  • 21m rope; five bolts for traverse; two-bolt Y-hang.

The pitch lands on a ledge by the waterfall. The stream flows along a tall rift passage with short climbs, T-Piece Passage. A clamber over rocks leads to a step up onto a shelf where the water is lost. A short rift passage leads to a clamber over more boulders into a chamber where the water is regained. Ahead, striking horizontal flakes of rock protrude from the walls. A short section of stream leads to more boulders. These boulders mark a four-way junction, although two of the ways are unobvious.

  • The easiest way to Holbeck Junction is a dry passage starting at a shelf on the right, 2m above the stream. This soon enters a chamber. To the left is Upstream Green and Smelly Passage, with connections to Spiral Staircase Passage in Wretched Rabbit, the Borehole, Slit Sinks and New Slit Sinks. To the right is Green and Smelly Passage to Holbeck Junction, leading to Holbeck Junction.
  • [Alternatively, straight on from the four-way junction intersects Green and Smelly Passage just upstream of the chamber mentioned above.]

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.