Sideline Passage, from Monster Cavern to The Surprise

From Ease Gill

Sideline Passage, from Monster Cavern to The Surprise[edit | edit source]

Sideline Passage is reached by an 8m pitch up (rope in situ, February 2017).

  • 10m rope. Back up to small stal thread and boulder in floor; bolt belay.

A low mud-floored crawl leads past formations. After 2-3 minutes, a junction is reached; the way on is to the right. The crawl becomes more bouldery, and passes a few constrictions and lots of straws.

After about 8 minutes, the crawl opens out into a large sand-floored chamber with formations. Continuing ahead over breakdown leads after a few minutes to the top of a 3m drop. An awkward hand-line climb (rope in situ, February 2017) lands in The Surprise, a 15m long, 2m wide, 6m high chamber.

  • Continuing ahead (to the left, as seen from the top of the climb) leads towards Nice Way.
  • Doubling back (to the right, as seen from the top of the climb), down through a choke, leads towards Ease Gill Aven.