Hall of the Ten to Pippikin Pot

Hall of the Ten

Hall of the Ten is a major junction, where the normal route down Pippikin Pot enters the Leck Fell Master Cave. It is in a very large section of passage. The following routes are described in clockwise order.

• Ascending the mud slope to the south leads to a continuing large passage. After 20m is a junction.
  • An arch to the left leads, after 20m, to a route over muddy boulders to the top of Hall of the Mountain King.
  • Continuing straight ahead leads to Cross Hall and Gour Hall.

• Ascending the mud slope to the north leads towards Dusty Junction, with routes to Mistral Hole and the caves of Easegill.

• Descending through boulders leads into the Pippikin Streamway Choke; the normal route is to follow the Pippikin Streamway; various other routes lead off from within the choke.

Pippikin Pot Streamway, upstream

From Hall of the Ten, descending through boulders leads to a crawl upstream through a boulder choke. After a couple of minutes, the end of the choke is reached. Ahead, an oxbow soon rejoins the stream. Continuing upstream is pleasant walking passage, passing various roof passages. After about five minutes, a junction is reached.

• Straight ahead is Ratbag Inlet.

• To the right is the Pippikin Pot Pitch Series.

Pippikin Pot Pitch Series, outwards

Note: all the pitches in this series need pre-rigging.

A clamber over boulders regains the pitch series streamway, and leads to the bottom of the sixth pitch (P6).

Above the pitch, a traverse leads to a short section of rift, leading to a route up between boulders into a small chamber. The bottom of the rift ahead is narrow. It is best to ascend to an obvious traverse level, a couple of metres above the stream. After about five minutes, the traverse ends at a descent into a small chamber with a pool.

A 3m climb, with a handline in situ (August 2016), leads up into a rift. Round the corner leads to narrow walking rift. After about four minutes, the bottom of the fifth pitch (P3) is reached; it is necessary to swing out a bit on the rope to reach a wide-enough section.

Round the corner is the fourth pitch (P8). Immediately above is a short climb up to a scaffold bar, best rigged as a pitch. Above, is an awkward narrow rift, Stemple Rift, best done wearing minimal SRT kit, pushing tackle in front. Immediately beyond the rift is the third pitch (P14).

A short section of narrow rift leads to the second pitch (P5). Above, is a short narrow rift followed by an upwards slot. Beyond is a hole in the floor; the way on is up to the right, a narrow slot about 2m above the floor. The slot leads to a small tube, which soon leads to the top of Cellar Pot; if pushing gear in front of you, avoid pushing it down the pot. A scaffold bar provides a traverse above the top of Cellar Pot (care!). Beyond, a crawl leads to a chamber, at the base of the entrance pitch (P6).