Trip Report 1st July 2012 – A Slate Mine
Present :
Janeway (Leader)
Paris
Riker
Chekov
Scottie
Wesley
The day was to start earlier for some than for others with peeps travelling from both the North and also the South. Notwithstanding late nights and roadworks, we all managed to arrive at the rendezvous where drinks were drunk and bacon baps the size of footballs were eaten in part or in full. Armed with full tums we set off...
The trek up the hill to the mine was a constant slog and the promised estimate of 15 minutes proved to be inaccurate. We did, however arrive and Janeway took command and led us in and down, down, down and down.
Going down we first left the upper adit and negotiated a short drop which, at first glance, appeared to be a drop of minor peril but proved to be much easier upon closer inspection. This placed us in a huge chamber with a slope of spoil heading down. This was a tricky slope and the party went down one by one avoiding causing avalanches of slate spoil. Wesley, being both at the rear and being a smart 4rse, found a much easier route down with virtually no peril at all. Janeway didn’t see this being at the front but Riker did and he chose this route to return later as did Janeway.
As we went down we peered upwards to see tall ceilings several hundred feet above us with large cavernous shafts to surface – it made us feel very small. We were soon as low as we could go and we popped back into a tunnel and headed for the ladders of dark dominion.
Janeway brought us unto the ladder breach where Chekov announced he wanted to look down. After a few moments recovering from anxious uncertainty, Chekov announced that, if we were to descend we should do so now and not delay. Janeway made for the ladder of dark dominion, Chekov prepared himself, Paris was unphased, Riker’s legs went, Scottie whitened and Wesley gulped. Nevertheless, the party triumphed over this dark demon and, after several cigarettes, the party moved down again, down another ladder – this one being a ladder of lesser peril and being much much much shorter.
Now on the lowest level, we made our way along the tunnel passing in situ vehicles and equipment and came upon the first chamber. This was flooded but was a reasonable size with a gantry near the ceiling. Janeway knew of another route which took you up there and she clambered up and crossed the walkway. Sitting on the edge with legs dangling over and a chamber full of water around 100 feet below, Janeway posed for photos – at this time both Riker and Wesley again lost control of their lower legs.
The next chamber was to prove more impressive with a crane in situ and a large pack wall on one side with a ladder that did not reach the top. The crane hung over the water of the chamber in exactly the way that bricks float in the air – it was impressive but to cross the crane would probably have resulted in a plunge into the watery abyss. Paris, however, took off up the ladder against the pack wall but came short of the top and he could not enter an obvious and large chamber above and beyond.
We passed several more chambers, all big and all flooded and then we could see daylight down the tunnel. As we entered the daylight we realised that we were stood in a huge mother of a chamber which went to surface. Impressive was not a word I would use although I just did. This chamber cut through every level of the mine and probably extended upwards around 500feet- it was seriously tall. It was at this time we scoffed our lunch and Janeway complained bitterly about sesames seeds being stuck in her teeth. It was decided the best solution would be a tongue job and there were five immediate volunteers.
Following lunch we finished the level and headed back to ascend the ladders of dark dominion which we all managed although some of us again lost control of the lower legs and it is probable that some pants now contained small ”accidents”.
Walking along the tunnel in this level we came across the chambers and, quite suddenly, the awesomeness of the mine hit us like a meteorite on heat. The chambers were massive in the extreme in height, in depth, in width, in fact – in every way. We looked upwards and in some cases we genuinely could not see the ceiling even with all our lights combined. One chamber looked the size of a large hotel. Standing near the edge of the entry into the chamber with a hellish drop down and an impossible look upwards was so fear wrenching, so overwhelming and so “out of this world” that one person (Chekov) uttered a single word – “fuck”. Seriously, we were shocked into mesmorisation. The grandeur, the splendour and the total magnificence of these chambers were totally overwhelming. Speaking for myself, as I stood and gazed across the vast expanse I felt myself reeling forwards as my legs feigned a collapse. My mind was numb with wonder and I was stuck with feelings that I had forgotten even existed. My mind was lost in an endless world and all words were lost. After each chamber, the next was more impressive making an impossible dream more impossible. I have never seen, and I expect I will never see again, chambers as mighty as these and I have never felt so humble and small.
Proceeding onwards we came to the open chamber which, although it remained impressive in the extreme, it had been championed by those we had see inside the mountain. At the back of this chamber was a narrow ledge (with the obvious terminal drop below) which Janeway and Paris both strode across. There being no particular reason to go over it, I chickened out. It was interesting to note that, due to the stupendous experience we had beheld on the brink of the previous chambers, both myself and Riker were stood at a greater distance from the edges – this was an in-built sub-conscious self-warning system designed to keep us alive. Or you can use its alternative name, “fear”.
Paris clambered out from a sealed adit gate that we were on the inside of (to get bearings) and on his return he pondered a freeclimb to an adit above the tunnel which no one else considered possible. He was about to attempt what I would have considered “almost impossible” when Janeway located the otherside of the adit rendering his climb unnecessary.
We wandered back and up the long, difficult slope of spoil to explore the upper workings which, although enjoyable, did not meet the finesse of those below.
Out out out into the light we trundled, back down the hill and back to the cars. We sorted ourselves out and, still struck with awe, we made our way home for dreams and nightmares of chasms so vast that not even imagination could fill them.
... Looking forward to Paris’s photos and Riker’s video. Special thanks to Janeway for leading us through.
Wesley out.
(posted on behalf of Wesley who could not post it)
