88' Pitch to Echo Aven
From Ease Gill
88' Pitch to Echo Aven[edit | edit source]
Note: the lower streamways flood to the roof in very wet weather, in particular backing up from the sump.
The 88' Pitch (P25) is currently permanently rigged (April 2016). At the bottom, a stream is met. [The stream enters from Cellar Passage, which leads to an aven.] Downstream, after a few minutes, another streamway, The Wormway, is met, entering from ahead. [The combined waters run to the right, and sump almost immediately.]
Continuing up the Wormway, after a couple of minutes, Sausage Junction is reached. A large inlet enters on the right; [ascending this leads to pitches, which need pre-rigging, up into Ramsden's Crawl.] Ahead, a mix of stooping and crawling passage leads, after about four minutes, to a short muddy oxbow. Shortly beyond, a junction is reached, where a large inlet enters from the left, The Grind.
Continuing up the right-hand branch, a boulder in the passage can be squeezed past or clambered over. Stooping/walking passage continues, passing two small inlets on the left. After a couple of minutes, Echo Aven is reached, a chamber with a large, very drippy aven.
The pitch (P26) is currently permanently rigged. The top of the pitch has a slightly awkward traverse. Above, a route leads towards Hylton Hall.