Yrcj 2001; 12(15)
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Summer 2001 The Y R C Bulletin Issue 15 Rambler Photos by John Whalley with detail from expedition sweaters and Harvey Lomas Guangxi Caves 2000 Expedition ............................ Ged Campion 3 One Cave on Palawan ......................................... John Middleton 67 Three Caves in Laos ............................................ John Middleton 68 The Bradford Caving Community a Century Ago ..... S A Craven 71 Fantan B ................................................................ Adrian Bridge 76 Gondogoro La, Karakoram ..............................Martyn Wakeman 78 Cycling with the Tour de France ..................... Dennis Armstrong 94 In Praise of Sterland’s Seat .................................... John Sterland 98 How it Really Used to Be! Number Three .................... Has Been 99 Eccentricity and Munros .......................................... Jeff Hooper 100 Reviews ........................................................................................ 102 Club Proceedings ..................................................... David Smith 106 Chippings ..................................................................................... 108 Meet Reports: ............................................................................... 112 Foreword Rather later than normal, with apologies for the delay from the editor, comes this issue of the Yorkshire Rambler. Pride of place goes to the highly successful and widely acclaimed Club caving trip to China. For this detailed report we are indebted to the team’s hard work in processing and writing up their data on top of their fieldwork. Walking, climbing and caving on British hills have, over recent months, been brought practically to a halt by the precautions against the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease. Several meets have had to be cancelled. Thankfully, as this goes to press, footpaths, crags and caves in our home ground of the Dales are now being re-opened. The Club’s creativity came to the fore once again in dealing with the situation and some novel meet reports await your perusal. Albert Chapman, President _______________________________________________ ©2001 Yorkshire Ramblers’ Club Secretary - Gordon Humphreys, 3 Mountbegon, Hornby, Lancashire LA2 8JZ Editor - Michael Smith, 80 Towngate Road, Worrall, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S35 0AR [email protected] Copy for next issue by September 2001. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the YRC nor its Officers The YRC Bulletin 1 Summer 2001 Contents The YRC Guangxi Caves 2000 Expedition ................. Ged Campion ...... 3 One Cave on Palawan ............................................... John Middleton .... 67 Three Caves in Laos .................................................. John Middleton .... 68 The Bradford Caving Community a Century Ago .......... S A Craven .... 71 Fantan B ...................................................................... Adrian Bridge .... 76 Gondogoro La, Karakoram .................................... Martyn Wakeman .... 78 Cycling with the Tour de France .......................... Dennis Armstrong .... 94 In Praise of Sterland’s Seat .......................................... John Sterland .... 98 How it Really Used to Be! Number Three .......................... Has Been .... 99 Eccentricity and Munros ................................................ Jeff Hooper .. 100 Review: Tom Price’s Travail So Gladly Spent .... Dennis Armstrong .. 102 Journal Reviews ................................................................. Bill Todd .. 105 Club Proceedings....................................................... F. David Smith .. 106 Chippings ........................................................................................... .. 108 Meet Reports: Glen Etive ................................................March 2000 .. 112 North Pennines, Alston .................................. October .. 113 th 87 Annual Dinner, Kirby Lonsdale ......... November .. 115 Lowstern, Christmas ................................... December .. 118 The Old Hill Inn .................................... January 2001 .. 119 Low Hall Garth ............................................ February .. 121 North Wales, Tan – Y – Wyddfa .................. February .. 123 Lowstern .............................................................. May .. 124 The Very Long Bike Ride .................................... June .. 125 The YRC Bulletin 2 Summer 2001 The YRC Guangxi Caves 2000 Expedition Contents of the expedition report collated by Ged Campion: Lingyun Area, Glossary .................. 6 Cave Fauna ............................ 44 Xiashuidong .................................... 7 Person-Hours in the Field ...... 45 Xiashuidong Work ........................ 11 Outline report of surveys ....... 48 Shadong ........................................ 16 Chinese culture ...................... 54 Pengjiawan .................................... 19 Photography report ................ 56 Shendong ...................................... 20 Evidence of cave occupation . 63 Jonglidong .................................... 24 Acknowledgements ............... 66 Xianongyan ................................... 25 Surveys: Yanliudong ................................... 26 Xia Shiu Dong ....................... 10 Conclusions from Lingyun ........... 29 Shadong ............................ 14-15 Exploration in Leye County .......... 29 Dashiwei Doline .............. 31, 33 West Cave and Smoking Cave ..... 34 Xiongjia Dong Dong ............. 36 Xionajiadong, East Cave .............. 37 Lao Mei.................................. 51 Fong Yen ...................................... 39 Nupin Dong 2, Buffalo Cave 2 .. 52 Further potential in Leye County .. 43 Nupin Dong 1, Buffalo Cave 1 .. 66 The expedition to Guangxi was extremely successful having discovered and surveyed seventeen kilometres of cave in just three weeks. The caves were comprehensively photographed and a film was made by the Chinese for television. Our biologist discovered many new species of cave life and a wider chemistry project was completed on Shadong. In all the team undertook over 1,000 hours of work. Vital new contacts were made in China that will provide a platform for further expeditions. The next expedition planned for this area is scheduled for April 2002. The international caving world is interested in our work in China and we have been invited to speak at the Ninth International Congress of Speleology to be held in Brasilia. The YRC Bulletin 3 Summer 2001 Cone Karst on the Li River Photo: John Whalley Why China? Expedition Members The karst of China, over a million Ged Campion, Expedition Leader square kilometres, covers around an John Riley, Deputy Leader eighth of the country’s landmass. Spectacular dolines, karst towers, and Alan Fletcher canyons dwarf similar features Bruce Bensley, Photography elsewhere in the world. Graham Salmon, Survey Chinese Universities and British Arthur Salmon, Water Chemistry cavers have worked jointly for nearly twenty years under the title ‘China Alister Renton, Electronics Cave Projects’. John Whalley, Photography Andy Eavis, doyen of Chinese cave Stewart Muir exploration, has fostered strong links Harvey Lomas with various Chinese institutions, advancing the science of speleology Shaun Penny both in and outside China. Andy was Tony Penny the principal guest at the YRC’s Mike Pitt annual dinner two years ago and he helped the club select a suitable area Bill Hawkins to explore, which would normally be Pascale Bottazzi off-limits to travellers in China. With Arthur Clarke, Cave Biology his knowledge and contacts we were fortunate to secure the necessary Chinese Members permission from the authorities. Professor Zhu Xue Wen Guangxi province probably has the Mr Cai Wutian greatest potential for new cave Mr Han development in South East Asia. Indeed much of the exploration in the Cheiry Echo-Savager (Xue Huaw) region is still in its infancy. Mr Chen Lixin The YRC Bulletin 4 Summer 2001 In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round: And here were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. But Oh! That deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! A savage place! I had been in negotiation with Andy Eavis for almost twelve months and he had identified an area in Guangxi that would provide the basis for an expedition and an additional area further north where reconnaissance work for further China Cave Projects Expeditions could take place. Andy and Kevin Senior had visited Lingyun over a four-day period in 1999, and had identified a number of sites that Anyone, who has visited Guangxi in required a more thorough approach. China and is familiar with the work of So it was that the YRC assembled its Samuel Taylor Coleridge, would find best cavers, some even returning from it difficult not to draw parallels with retirement and, ever mindful of the the rich imagery of Kubla Khan and Club’s strong patriarchal traditions the evocative scenery that abounds in accompanied by a slight lack of this incredible province. Though caving manpower, recruited a female Coleridge travelled extensively in his French caver from the Savoie region. age, even to the glaciers