With 48 lectures and a host of competitions, this year’s BCRA Conference was a huge success.

Beyond the Unexplored Extremity

It’s not often that an old archaeological site, well known and oft examined, is extended in a major way, but this is exactly what has happened at Kirkdale.

The Man with the Edge

The news that Rob Parker died in August while diving in the blue holes of the Bahamas came as a crushing shock to everyone. Three of his friends pay tribute to this well loved caver.

The Stench of Tsarparang

An investigation of a cave in Tibet … it was short, but with a difference.

Larf? I Nearly Drowned

Join Alan Jeffreys in a catalogue of errors.

Cover: Two cavers ascend in tandem in Cueva de Cuchilla in northern Mexico. Photo: Ann and Peter Bosted

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VAT is not charged on UK publications. Orders to the EU are posted without tax paid and you are responsible for VAT and any other charges on delivery.

Descent is printed to the highest quality in the UK, as it has been since its inception in 1969.

As electronics impinge more and more into caving, here is a review of what GPS receivers and palm-top computers offer in the field.

In Casteret’s Footsteps

‘We entered a large chamber with walls of pure crystal and its once white floor flat as a still pool. On this ‘lake’ of calcite sailed galleons of rock and we wandered round like children in fairyland.’ Join Len Cook for another of his tales of caving in the 1950s.

A Yorkshireman in the Rockies

Caving is a very different experience 1,500m up in the Rockies at minus 30 degrees. Here is the first ‘Letter from BC’ from Yorkshireman Clive Keen.

A Congressional Hearing

The twelfth UIS International Congress was held in Switzerland in August. If you weren’t able to attend, this is what you missed.

The Twang Cave Extensions

Twang Cave in Dentdale was first explored in December 1995. Now, the sump blockage has been bypassed to more than double the cave’s length.

Cover: Diana Gietl at the bottom of the Moulin de la souveraintete, Greenland. Photo: Marc Tremblay

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VAT is not charged on UK publications. Orders to the EU are posted without tax paid and you are responsible for VAT and any other charges on delivery.

Descent is printed to the highest quality in the UK, as it has been since its inception in 1969.

There’s cave-dedicated music beyond the obvious Hebrides Overture, if you know where to look. The problem is, the songs tend to be somewhat excruciating.

The Limestone Enchantress

When Bruce Sinclair won a holiday in the Descent Caption Competition he headed for the French Vercors. This is his tale, and an overview of the area to whet the appetite of other cavers wanting to drink beer in the sun between trips underground.

Fe, Phai, Ho, Hum

Join the team and Paul Callister for their triumphs in Vietnam: ‘Did it go?’ shouted Howard. ‘Yes’. ‘Was it big?’ ‘Yes’. ‘Is it still going?’ ‘Yes!’ I shouted triumphantly.

Then Came the Call

As a cave diver, Rob palmer was larger than life; he dreamed large, and made it happen. His books and accomplishments remain to remind us of the stories and the man who lost his life doing what he loved best. Here are tributes from his friends and colleagues to add to our memories.

Ex Libris

Alan Jeffreys reminisces of halcyon days, rooting through old club journals.

Cover: Dave Elliot in Alum Pot. Photo: Gavin Newman
Inset: Maurice Hewins digging in Clag Holes, Mendip. Photo: Dave Morrison

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VAT is not charged on UK publications. Orders to the EU are posted without tax paid and you are responsible for VAT and any other charges on delivery.

Descent is printed to the highest quality in the UK, as it has been since its inception in 1969.

The rescue statistics for 1996 – your chance to learn from what happened to other cavers.

Over Three Caves in Six Months? Defocusing!

With attention switching from Ogof Draenen to Ogof Carreg Lem for the next major Welsh discovery, the entrance choke is passed.

What’s Bugging You?

When you’re out there caving in Britain or further afield, which bugs are trying to get you – and what can you do about it?

Planning Brings Prizes

Cave conservation in Derbyshire is benefiting from an agreement between cavers, quarry companies and local authorities. Here are ideas and a model to follow for other areas of the UK.

Caving Nepalese Style

Rumours of a cave under Kathmandu.

Cover: A caver kneels between large rimstone dams and a huge stalagmite name Goliath
Upper inset: Dave Jones stands at the Temple of the Fiery Cave God
Lower inset: Jeff Rutherford in the Volcano Room
The cave names, in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico, USA, are not given for conservation reasons. Photos: Peter Jones

Price shown includes postage within the UK. For customers outside the UK, postage will be added on at checkout.

VAT is not charged on UK publications. Orders to the EU are posted without tax paid and you are responsible for VAT and any other charges on delivery.

Descent is printed to the highest quality in the UK, as it has been since its inception in 1969.

For over three years divers in the Swansea Valley have worked to follow the underground course of the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu streamway, revealing over one kilometre of sumped passages in the process. With success came a new connection between OFD 1 and 2.

With Rationed Ropes and Spits

The 1996 Yangtze Caves expedition was divided into two teams: one ended up with deep shafts and no spits, the other with horizontal cave and lots of rope. How did this latest in the China Caves Project expeditions fare?

The Changing Face of UK Caving

Many cavers do not understand the basis of our national body, the NCA, perhaps never more so than at present. As changes to the constitution are debated, heated words have followed which question its role. Here, Glenn Jones puts forward the views of the CNCC, which Mick Day, the Chairman of the NCA, answers.

Cover: Little Fishes Cave, the second pitch in Flood Cave (upper inset) and Crawling Dog Hole (lower inset), China. Photos: Gavin Newman

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VAT is not charged on UK publications. Orders to the EU are posted without tax paid and you are responsible for VAT and any other charges on delivery.

Descent is printed to the highest quality in the UK, as it has been since its inception in 1969.

Oxford UCC’s latest find in Ogof Draenen continues its inexorable march southwards with the discovery of Dolimore Series.

Mud, Sweat and Caves

Join Pam Fogg, in search for caves in the equatorial heat of Kalimantan.

Subterranean Sketching

If the concept of drawing, rather than photographing, your favourite sport appeals to you, here’s your guide to beginning sketching underground.

De Profundis

Who should have written the foreword to Race Against Time? A celebrity, or a bone fide victim such as Alan Jeffreys?

Caving Beneath the Gobi

Mongolia’s Gobi Desert; an arid, challenging tract of land. the problem is, would such a featureless area contain caves – and how do you find them again, even if you know where they are?

Cover: Pant Mawr Pot in watercolour. Artwork: David Bellamy

Price shown includes postage within the UK. For customers outside the UK, postage will be added on at checkout.

VAT is not charged on UK publications. Orders to the EU are posted without tax paid and you are responsible for VAT and any other charges on delivery.

Descent is printed to the highest quality in the UK, as it has been since its inception in 1969.

The 1996 BCRA Conference was a huge success, with an increase in attendance and an overwhelming variety of lectures. Here are the reports on the talks and competitions, the events and displays.

Lost in the Mine

In 1953 John Butler was lost in a mine working. Alone, his matches damp and his candle extinguished, he settleddown to die in the dark. Alan Jeffreys tells the tale of John’s struggle to survive.

The Caves of Lao

Adrian Gregory takes us to the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic in search of caves, but he not only finds caverns but also frustration and difficulties along the way.

Bring Down the Government

Not every dig immediately yields new passage in Ogof Draenen but that doesn’t stop the fun.

Cover: Steve Openshaw in Tham None (main picture and lower inset) and a passage in tham Hoi, Laos. Photo: Adrian Gregory

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VAT is not charged on UK publications. Orders to the EU are posted without tax paid and you are responsible for VAT and any other charges on delivery.

Descent is printed to the highest quality in the UK, as it has been since its inception in 1969.

Around the country, talk is still on the latest discoveries in Ogof Draenen. This issue brings us up to date with the exploration of the spectacular War of the Worlds.

Lancaster Nights

Join Len Cook for another in his series of tales of caving in the Dales in years gone by.

Fixed Aids in Ogof Ffynnon Ddu

These days, the problem of fixed aids and liability regularly arises. At OFD, where aids have become an established part of the cave, there has been much discussion.: what to retain, what to remove. Here is the rationale, and the results, which affect all cavers and leaders to the system.

Upstream Grabbers Cave

With the jigsaw puzzle of the Upper Dentdale System still under close scrutiny, a well-decorated extension to Grabbers Cave is revealed.

More Fun on Fisht

‘Drawn by the thought of a truly British wet grovel, we descended the treacherous path from our campsite to have a look …’ But this was high on a Russian mountain, not the slopes of Mendip!

Colorado Sunshine

When it comes to a gathering of cavers, the NSS knows how to give everyone a good time: free beer for a week!

Report on the Gouffre Berger accident

In a tragic accident in July two cavers lost their lives in the Gouffre Berger. Here are the facts.

Cover: Steve Thomas in Dip Sump Series, Ogof Ffynnon Ddu. Photo: Gavin Newman

Out of stock

Nearly forty years on, the connection between Swildon’s Hole and Priddy Green Sink has finally been made.

Fifty Years Beneath the Surface

On 11 May the Cave Diving Group celebrated its fiftieth anniversary at Wookey Hole. Probably the largest gathering of cave divers, representing every era of exploration, assembled for the day. Here is a tribute to the CDG.

Under Dentdale

Beavering away in Dentdale, members of Dent House SS have discovered a new cave …

Don’t Lecture Me, Young Man

Hidden Earth is coming… and with this year’s national conference, a host of lectures. Here’s where to pick up your tips on presentation and the anti-yawn factor.

Beyond Turkish Calcite

‘I clutched the rope like grim death and ran like hell before launching myself sideways into space, just reaching the gap before the law of gravity took over. With knees, elbows, feet and teeth I jammed myself in, panting like a landed fish, eyes glazed, heart pounding and a heady exotic mixture of sheer terror and exhilaration coursing through my mind.’

Guns, Dust and Raw Goat

With armed guards for company, for the first time since 1972 a British caving expedition has entered Ethiopia – and brought back good results.

Into the Digital Age

Do photographs never lie? Of course they do; we’re in the digital age and cave photographs will never be the same again.

Hexamine Highways

As Ogof Draenen heads for the 50km mark, a dig gains Hexamine Highways.

Cover: Grasping for Straws, a digitally manipulated image. Photo: Dave Bunnell

Out of stock

The latest from Scotland: charging for mountain rescue. Alan Jeffreys reports whether the politicians are going to drop the idea, or take on caving next.

Turkish Delight

Faced with not knowing where to go on holiday, Jim Eyre left for Turkey for a bout of social interaction with the local population and some exploration thrown in for good measure.

Potholing with a Pencil

Shane Lucas heads for the Berger with a parcel of tips for caving abroad.

Up at the Sharp End

Head into Big Country with the Draenen Diggers – but not every trip gets you new passage!

BCRC Incident Report 1995

The complete report for 1995, a chance to learn details of every incident and learn by others’ mistakes.

To Find Charlie a Cave

Deep in Thailand, a search for a new showcave.

Rubbed up the Wrong Way

‘Very slowly I placed my footloop jammer above the fray, but this placed my chest jammer directly on the strands’. What’s it like to prusik past a severed sheath?

Cave Therapy

When young adults have learning difficulties in society what do the police do? Get involved, and thentake them underground.

For Hades’ Sake

Hades: a caving club name, a link to mythology or a friendly, misunderstood chap? Who was this Hades person, anyway?

Cover: Pauline Rigby in Ogof Draenen. Photo: Tim Guilford

Price shown includes postage within the UK. For customers outside the UK, postage will be added on at checkout.

VAT is not charged on UK publications. Orders to the EU are posted without tax paid and you are responsible for VAT and any other charges on delivery.

Descent is printed to the highest quality in the UK, as it has been since its inception in 1969.