Notes

Cave Exploration In Derbyshire
Another descent of Elden Hole, on the side of Elden Hill, between Castleton and Buxton, was made in August, 1900, by some members of the Kyndwr Club.^[1]
Apparently by reason of unsuitable equipment the descent was not accomplished without considerable risk and unnecessary discomfort, and of the two men who succeeded in reaching the bottom one had to remain below several hours longer than would have been necessary if suitable tackle had been taken and proper precautions observed.

On December 26th a larger number of the members and their friends made another descent. Wisely profiting by the experience of the previous descent the party was on this occasion provided with more suitable appliances. The mouth of the hole is an irregular ellipse in shape, 110 feet long by about 18 feet across. At its widest part it was spanned by a tightly-stretched cable, supported on one (the lower) side by a trestle, and from this cable a pulley was hung, over which a rope carrying an improvised chair was passed to lower the party.

Probably hurry prevented them from taking the precaution of loading the rope beforehand and allowing it time to untwist, hence those who descended were accorded a liberal spin. Otherwise a fair amount of care appears to have been taken, and the fact of 12 men having descended the 200 feet on a short December day bears out our own experience of the suitability of the means employed where a large party is concerned and the hole to be descended is deep.

Though not without “incidents,” this second descent by the Kyndwr Club was on the whole a success, and the members are to be congratulated on it. They are favourably situated for following this comparatively new sport, and with proper arrangements other underground explorations which we learn they have in view should yield good results. We hope they may find as much enjoyment in the caves and pot-holes of Derbyshire as the Ramblers have found in those of Yorkshire.

Correction – Dents Des Bouquetins
. – In a paper by Messrs. Topham and Reade in the “Alpine journal,” May, 1900, attention is called to an error in the Rev. L. S. Calvert’s paper in No. 1 of our journal. On page 37 Mr. Slingsby is credited with having made the first ascent of the S. peak of the Bouquetins. He, however, only ascended “a minor summit S. of the true S. peak, and separated from it by another peak.” (See Conway’s “Central Pennine Guide,” p63.)

On page 36 Mr. Calvert refers to “a deep depression” between the central peak and the first tower he reached on the ridge. He has since informed Messrs. Topham and Reade that “he thinks 180 feet to be an over-estimate for the depth of the gap” (A. J., p. 527). This gap is shown in the foreground of the two views facing p. 36 of the Y.R.C.J.

The Journal – No. 2 is out of print. Copies of No. 1 may still be obtained.

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