Gaping Gill
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Gaping Gill on Ingleborough Hill is one of the deepest potholes in the Yorkshire Dales, England, and one of many entrances to the Gaping Gill cave system.
The 95m deep pothole descends in two stages. A 50m shaft descends from the surface to Birkbeck's Ledge; shortly below, the shaft breaks into the roof of Britain's largest underground chamber. Under normal weather conditions, Fell Beck falls from the surface to the floor of the Main Chamber, making it one of Britain's highest waterfalls. The water disappears into the bouldery floor and is seen only intermittently in the further reaches of the cave system; it resurges from Ingleborough Cave.
The first recorded descent was that of M.J. Birkbeck in 1842, who was lowered a short way down; in a second attempt in 1848 he reached "Birkbeck's ledge". The first complete descent, by rope ladder, was by the French caver Edouard Martel in 1895. Martel's first attempt on 30 July was unsuccessful because of high water conditions. On 1 August he reached the floor of the Main Chamber, in a descent taking 23 minutes. A strong hauling party assisted the climb back out.
Other entrances to the system, which now totals 11.6km in length, include Disappointment Pot, Stream Passage Pot, Bar Pot, Hensler's Pot, Corky's Pot, and Flood Entrance Pot. As of December 2005 there were 19 entrances to the system. The underwater connection to Ingleborough Cave was first made by members of the Cave Diving Group in 1983.
The shaft may be descended by the general public on the Spring and August Bank Holidays, when a winch system is set up.
It is also technically possible to rock climb up and out of Gaping Gill, though this is extremely difficult, requires very dry conditions, and is only done very infrequently. Roger Baxter-Jones and John Moore were the first to do so in 1972, though they used ten points of aid. The first free ascent was made on 11 June 1988, by Paul Eastwood and Dave Hetherington (alternate leads). It is now graded E3, 5c and comprises eight pitches [1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Paul Eastwood (1989). NPC Newsletter 23, January 1989. Retrieved July 21, 2006.
[edit] Sources
- Brook, D. et al., Northern Caves 2 - the Three Peaks, Dalesman Press, ISBN 1-85568-033-5
- Farr, M., The Darkness Beckons, 1991, Diadem Press, ISBN 0-906371-87-2
- Beck, Howard, Gaping Gill, Hale, ISBN 0-7090-1552-6
- Mason, E.J., Caves and Caving in Britain, 1977, Robert Hale, ISBN 0-7091-6195-6
- Marshall, D. & Rust, D., Selected Caves of Britain and Ireland, Cordee, ISBN 1-871890-43-8
