Depot Passages

Depot Passages, outwards

From the lowest point at the bottom of Stop Pot, clambering over boulders, slightly upstream, to the right-hand (true left-hand) wall, leads to the bottom of a 2m climb. The climb leads onto a ledge at the start of a 1m high bedding plane with small stal bosses. [To the right is Depot Passage 2, which leads to a choke.] Following the main route, easy hands-and-knees crawling leads round a bend to the left.

Immediately after the bend, the passage splits into two much smaller passages, which reunite. The easiest way is to the right, as a hands-and-knees crawl over cobbles. This soon passes the confluence with the other branch. A few metres ahead is a squeeze over boulders [or a small wriggle round a bend at floor level]. Continuing crawl rises to walking. A step up reaches a crawl over breakdown at roof level; [alternatively, a crawl at floor level reaches the same point]. Beyond, narrow walking rift leads over breakdown to a small chamber. [Beyond the chamber, the floor-level route leads to a choke.] An awkward 2m climb leads up to continuing rift. The rift passes an unstable-looking boulder slope on the right. A route between boulders leads to a small chamber with a 3m climb up (rope in situ, February 2017).

A few metres ahead reaches a junction. The right branch is the start of Depot Passage 1.5. This starts with Flashbang Crawl, a small crawl with a calcite floor. After a few minutes this passes an inverted-'T' shaped section to a squeeze. Immediately beyond is another squeeze, over calcite flow. Beyond is a constricted ascent over calcited boulders into a small chamber. At the end of the chamber, a 3m ascent straight up the rift pops out into Ahaa Chamber, a 5m diameter decorated chamber.

[To the right in Ahaa Chamber leads to a 30m crawl to a choke.] [Across the chamber to the right leads into a choke.] The way on is to the left from the point of entry: a step up onto a ledge enters a rift with a calcite floor. Soon a side chamber to the right is the base of an aven. Ahead soon leads to a small crawl to the right, which leads after a couple of metres to the base of a 4m aven. At the top, a small 1.5m-long crawl leads to an awkward drop onto a boulder slope. Descending the slope leads to the Wretched Rabbit streamway.

• To the left, upstream, leads towards Wretched Rabbit Exit.

• To the right, downstream, leads towards Eureka Junction.