Beast D-ring

It’s a neat bit of kit, it seems; how could you live without … a D-ring?

Of Tigers and Old-Timers

The latest expedition to return from the giant caves of Mulu was a stunning success, combining exploration with cutting-edge science and drawing on the talents of not only newcomer cavers, but those of greater years and experience.

A Life in Caves

We say a final farewell to Claude Chabert.

The Siren Song

Artur Kozlowski continues his account of diving exploration in the Green Holes of Doolin on the Atlantic coast, where unentered passages weave their spell.

A Wharfedale Weekend (Part 5)

With a new Hidden Earth weekend on the horizon, we conclude our major coverage of the 2008 event.

Working with St Patrick

Yet more passages have been found and the survey is now far advanced, so the team thought it was time for an update on work in Shannon Cave.

Resurrecting Fernhill

What was lost was not forgotten – these are cavers, after all! They knew full well that the void of Fernhill Cave still lay beneath the quarry spoil. It seemed that the time to excavate had come, to reveal once more the cave’s rich decorations.

The Bottom Line

Life As We Know It

Yes, it’s the return of Alan Jeffreys with another of his occasional, captivating musings, this time concerning what might become of his blood!

Cover: Mandy Voysey in Fernhill Cave. Photo: Mark ‘Gonzo’ Lumley

Back cover: Whiterock Cave, Mulu. Photos: Robbie Shone

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In only a short period, Artur Kozlowski has become known for his cave diving exploration – but when and where did his exploration fever take hold? The Green Holes of Ireland is where, so join Artur as he enters Hell and keeps on going.

The Rescues of 2008

Each year the BCRC assembles the cave rescue statistics on behalf of British teams. Why? So that we can learn what the commonest factors are that led to a callout. Read, digest and take care down there!

Gear Review

Three Petzl Headlights

With so many headlights on the market, what parameters are important for cavers? Take a look at three very different lights from the Petzl stable.

A Feast of Science

Gather cavers and archaeologists and what do you have? An incredible weekend of science.

A Wharfedale Weekend (Part 4)

Our major report on the Hidden Earth event of 2008 continues with further coverage of every lecture.

The Descent Retrospective

The Rise and Fall of Northern Caving

Caving publications come and go, judging by the repetition of their titles appearing in print. Not Descent, we hasten to add but, in the next in our occasional series of Descent Retrospectives, we look at the independent caving publications of yore. Read on to learn more of the Rise and Fall of Northern Caving.

Cover and back cover: Toni Sharp with David Holmes in Swildon’s Hole. Photo: Steve Sharp

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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.

Post-war Britain was very different from our world, but while you ’ad to be ’ard to be a caver without today’s lightweight kit and leisure time, the 1950s was a decade of comparative freedom that engendered the best of exploration.

A Wharfedale Weekend (Part 3)

Here is part three of our continuing report on the Hidden Earth 2008 conference.

Almost a Hammer Horror

Give an inch and take a mile, so goes the saying. For Hammer Pot, it was a rumoured mile but, well, it has to be said that the breakthrough was somewhat shorter.

The Best Caving in the World

There was a clusterfaff and they partook of some of the best caving to be had anywhere. And there were celebrations and great joy for locals and cavers alike. The pig didn’t necessarily agree.

In a Hospitable Land

The caves of Iran have seen an upsurge in exploration in recent years not only by visiting teams but from local groups. Simon Brooks has been back to this astonishing country, where surveying continues apace.

The Rich History of Cango

For many years a heavily publicised showcave, Cango Cave in South Africa has seen many changes, from the production of an early colour photograph linked to the installation of electric lights – and once upon a time visitors were even issued with special ‘cave clothing’.

Cover: Serena Povia in Peak Cavern. Photo: Toby Speight

Back cover: Dan Hibberts in the newly re-entered Earth Leakage Chamber in Giant’s Hole, with the breakthrough point at lower left. Photos: Rob Eavis

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.

Cavers have always sought to set a record, be it to explore the planet’s deepest or longest. Yet, what – geologically speaking – controls how a long cave forms? Cave geologist of world renown Art Palmer takes us on a rocky trip to discover the answer.

For Fun and Revelations

Climbing Titan on ladders seems an odd way of having fun – but every caver will understand the thrill of discovery, as a new extension leads from the Titan Streamway into well-decorated voids.

A Wharfedale Weekend (Part 2)

Here is part two of our continuing report on the Hidden Earth 2008 conference.

Deep Down and Dirty

British expeditions to Cuetzalan in Mexico have seen their share of both exploration and controversy. With a cave rescue, politics and deportation now left far behind, it’s time for a new approach.

The Promised Land

From The Depths of Hades to Colosuss, the White Mountains of Crete provided plenty of shafts for the most recent SUSS expedition to explore.

Ireby from the Inside

‘North East Inlet crashed out of the roof, obliterating the passage – the river reminded me of the colossal Nare river cave in Papua New Guinea.’ So it was to experience a flooding Ireby Fell Cavern.

Jim’s Last Words

Caving raconteur Jim Eyre died in September 2008, leaving behind a wealth of outrageous stories and cartoons. We pay tribute to this unusual man of hidden talents, one of the last greats from a different era.

Cover: Tim Webber climbing the cascades in Titan Streamway. Photo: Rob Eavis

Back cover: Katie Dent in The Narrow and Absolution in the newly discovered extension at the end of the Titan streamway. Photos: Robbie Shone

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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.

Caving has lost one of the most popular characters to have ever lived on Mendip. His friends pay tribute to digger and explorer Tony ‘J-Rat’ Jarratt.

Proving Martel’s Postulate

The search for a link between Bagshawe Cavern and its resurgence has taken many years, but at last the underwater connection has been made – and a new dig leads onwards into the flow.

Onwards Through The Bellybulger

Since its discovery in February, Cripple Creek, a dry link bettween Ireby I and II, has seen cavers push and push onwards again and again. Even after being trapped by floodwater, they are far from finished with the system.

A Wharfedale Weekend

One of the best attended Hidden Earth conferences in recent years was held in September. Here is the first part of our coverage of this popular event.

A Speleologist and Man of Iron

Jack Myers is perhaps best known for his co-authorship of the classic 1952 Underground Adventure, yet here was a man who knew how to fight adversity and accomplish so much more.

Assessing the Radon Risk

If cavers encounter a high concentration of radon underground, they are unlikely to even know it as the gas is invisible and carries no smell. The latest research from the Peak District is accompanied by advice on how to assess the health risk for yourself.

On Floods and Flooding

When it comes to rainfall and high water, we all know what we should do to avoid becoming another rescue statistic. So why are so many cavers getting it wrong?

Wrap-round cover: Eishöhle at 2,100m asl, Tennengebirge, Austria. Photo: Andi Schober and Gaspard Magarinos

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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.

For many years the restricted depths of Wookey Hole have challenged cave divers, who have successively added a few metres to the record books. To everyone’s surprise, though, a dive in Ireland has smashed the record for the deepest cave dive in the British Isles, now over 100m below the earth and open and ongoing.

Playing Russian Roulette

With one fatality and another serious incident due to ‘bad air’ occurring in recent months, this is a timely warning of what to watch out for underground.

Sores for Charity

Surely, only an idiot would contemplate the exhaustion and pain of climbing a mile of rope by SRT – but the spur was to raise money for charity. Enter (multiple) trips up Titan during some of the wettest of British weather.

Gear Review

Freeloader Charger

Recharging batteries when there is no mains electricity can be difficult on expeditions, but perhaps a solution lies with using solar power.

Revealing Gaping Gill

Surveying using a laser is not the cheapest or fastest method of depicting a cave, but the 3D results are stunningly effective.

Overground Underground …

For a long time the hype was building, then came the fourth European Speleological Congress – and from the far side of the world, a national caving event in New Zealand!

The Bottom Line

On Knowing Gibberish When I Hear It

The inestimable Alan Jeffreys returns with another of his occasional and apposite series on aspects of caves and caving. This time periphrasis, prolixity and even prescriptivism come to mind …

Cavers’ Hairy Ancestors

With much effort expended in filming an archaeological cave dig, what claims were made in the ensuing programme?

Cover: Tony ‘Badger’ Radmall in Ogof Draenen’s entrance series. Photo: Paul ‘Footleg’ Fretwell

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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 Changing Face of British Expeditions

Our series of ‘retrospective’ articles, looking at changes in caving since Descent was first published, continues with Dave Checkley’s examination of the evolution of British caving expeditions.

Adieu: The British Caver

With its subtitle A Netherworld Journal, The British Caver was published for over seven decades until it finally ceased publication in 2007. It is time to bid farewell.

Caring for Our Caves

Our caves are our heritage; we are their custodians for tomorrow’s cavers, so isn’t it time to put in some effort?

Quote of the Month

The Grotto of Adelsberg

Only after a good night’s sleep did the travellers realise that they had not been ‘under the influence of a midnight dream, during all that strange voyage of discovery to the heart of the earth.’

Researching Cave Radon

The results of the latest radon gas studies in the caves of Llangattock in South Wales were surprising, to say the least.

The Wolf Den: Ten Years On

The human bones discovered by cavers in the Wolf Den over ten years ago have been returned to their resting place, but not before some further research was undertaken.

It was Only a Fishmonger’s Tooth

Continuing the archaeological theme, another team is busy excavating and filming in Fishmonger’s Swallet.

The Dig

There was only a five-inch gap to get through. That’s all …

Cover: Rob Eavis in Tripa tou Voria, Greece. Photo: Robbie Shone

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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.

Working in a little-visited caving region, in this edition of Descent a determined band of cavers reveals the major discovery of Excalibur Pot.

The Descent Retrospective

Into British Depths

With a look at the changes and advances made in British cave exploration since Descent began reporting in 1969, Ric Halliwell presents the next in our series of ‘retrospective’ articles.

Student Cavers in Wales

CHECC’s annual training-and-caving-and-party weekend was a huge success.

The Rescues of 2007

What went right and what went wrong? Here’s a run-down of last year’s cave rescue incidents.

Gear Review

Shewee

It’s a delicate subject, but it’s time the question was tackled: how might women (ahem!) best pee in a cave?

Young, Free and Desperate

Exploration in Shannon Cave is a story of gains and losses, but with renewed access through a collapsed choke it was again time to tackle the sump – at last, through the cold and mud and squalor, it was breakthrough time!

Caving’s Hour of Exercise

The concluding part of our major report on Britain’s annual caving conference, Hidden Earth 2007.

Images from the Past

Off to Duke Street

Our occasional series of olden-day images continues with a 1961 trip to Ireby Fell Cavern.

Cover: Matt Ewles and the Holy Grail formation in Excalibur Pot, North York Moors. Photo: Gary Douthwaite

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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.

It’s been hard work, but a major depression in South Wales is finally yielding results.

Gear Review

Scurion Headlamp

Caver-designed and caver-built, how does the Scurion handle the dark?

Gentleman of the South

Mike Thompson’s name was not as prominent as that of some cavers, yet his caving life was inextricably linked with a broad sweep of UK exploration.

The Parallel Universe

There’s mud and there’s mud – at least, there seems to be enough to entirely fill an alternate, Parallel Universe in Notts Pot II, deep beneath Leck Fell.

Gear Review

Warmbac Daren Bag

A new tackle bag has been designed specifically to stand up to the rigours of Daren Cilau.

The Expeditions of 2008

Once again, British cavers are heading overseas; here’s the details of the year’s expeditions.

Caving’s Hour of Exercise

It’s part three of our major report on the annual caving conference, Hidden Earth 2007.

Malkins, Fairies and Hobthrushes

Also named for a wildcat, a pair of archaeologists and mythological beings, this is the cave of Moking Hurth revisited.

A Half-century Underground

A number of clubs have reached their half-century; it’s Oxford’s turn to commemorate its first fifty years underground with a trip back to their very first cave.

The Link with Link Pot

When members of the Red Rose CPC were asked to help produce a live television broadcast from within Link Pot, they rose to the challenge.

Cover: Jim Lister in The Eyehole in Pickering’s Passage, Peak Cavern. Photo: Richard Tooley

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.

Caving’s Hour of Exercise (Part 2)

Here is the continuing report on the National Caving Conference, Hidden Earth, that began in Descent (199).

Hunting the Heights of Miao Keng

Unable to help himself, despite all he suffered in 2006, Rich Gerrish is back in China – determined to climb upwards above a half-kilometre-deep shaft.

Farewell to Jim

Another of caving’s characters has left us: we say farewell to caver, climber, author and reporter Jim Lovelock.

Up the Creek in Inlet 14

Given all our modern equipment, exploration – when it comes down to it – still depends on the right never-give-in attitude. Even if it almost kills you.

Descent’s Competition 200

Your challenge was to write something personal about your caving career: we can now announce the winner and you can read and enjoy the winning entry.

Safeguarding Our Future

Our speleo heritage is being gathered back together from far-flung corners of the country. David Judson writes of the plans being laid to set up a national caving library and heritage centre.

Connections II

South Wales and the 1960s: an area rich in exploration fever, in particular making the connections between the different parts of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu. How Top Entrance was discovered might surprise you.

The Descent Retrospective

You Mean You Actually Used That?

To help celebrate our 200th edition, Descent asked several cavers to write about changes that have taken place since it began in 1969. The first, by Alan Jeffreys, takes a close look at our equipment: this is how it used to be!

Cover: A mosaic of 200 covers for this special edition of Descent

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.