[the copy cat]

Another early sunday morning means another wet and dirty day out underground this trip for morrisey and boboil needed to be done so 3rd time lucky for them and a second visit here for me all hopefull that we would complete the through trip,(and not have to resort to getting naked) meeting up with manx along the way and then catching up edd carabeener twitch and sir sulk-alot r1, somewhere on the m6.

After everyone kits up we start the hike up to force crag stoping off at the mill for a bite to eat and a drink,a quick scramble up the scree to one of the adits and we say goodbye to daylight for a good few hours.The through trip is quite hard going after the walk up.With a bit of water wadeing, proper scrawping thru some tight gaps,a fair bit of climbing on several sketchy ladders,not forgeting a lil abseil which all make this trip one to stick on the to do lists.more than likely missed out loads as it was a long day

heres a bit of history i borrowed from the internetz,its a nice read and answers a few questions!

It is thought that the mine was originally worked in Elizabethan times as an ore report of 1578 showed the existence of a silver lead vein at Coledale head, but there was no work of any great consequence until the beginning of the 19th century. The early workings concentrated on the Low Force area where Baryte, Blende and Galena ( 35 ozs Silver per ton of Lead metal ) in the ratio 30:10:1 were extracted, since the upper part of the
vein was mainly Baryte with subsidiary amounts of Psilomelane, which did not become saleable until the late 1860’s

It was not until the early 1860’s that any significant quantity of ore was produced and between then and 1865, 590 tons of lead and 1300 ounces of silver were sold. The price of Lead however fell and forced the mine to close late in 1865.

Two years later another company was formed to reopen the mine this time to extract Baryte and after renovating the mine, they were quickly into production in High Force. The ore was brought down from the High Force by slushing it down wooden flumes attached to the crag face, to the mill using water. A 2 mile inclined tramway then took the ore down to Braithwaite. Again the mine closed due to unstable prices in 1879, after producing 5300 tons of Baryte.

Several companies worked the mine between 1907 and the 1930’s and work in this period included the starting of a new level - Zero Level.

In the 1930’s the High Force workings which had not been worked since 1880, were reopened. The Derwent Fells Mineral Company drove the High Force Level exposing a massive deposit of Baryte. This however was not exploited until Tampimex Oil Products took over in 1939. They improved access to High Force by widening the existing track and by constructing an aerial ropeway to the mill 740 Feet below. By 1947 the company had extracted 35,000 tons of Barytes and had sunk 80 feet below the High Force Level. However the severe winter of 1947 forced the mine to close
Two years later the mine was reopened by the Laporte Chemical Company, who started to drive an incline from No. 3 level to a height of 325 ft above No. 3, in order to connect with the High Force workings and drain the levels which had flooded during the winter of 1947. The company put in a 40 foot rise from near the top of the incline but withdrew from the mine in 1952 before the connection between the workings was made.

The mine lay disused for eight years until in 1960 the McKechnie Brothers of Widnes restarted the operation and soon broke through into the workings above. They mined Baryte from the upper workings, which were taken down the incline using heavy scrapers dragged by winches and assisted by water. The mine closed again in 1966 when the knownreserves of Baryte in the high force were exhausted.

The mine was worked by several companies over the next fifteen years but none were successful. The last attempt was made by the New Coledale Mining Company in 1984, who intended to extract Zinc, Lead and Baryte from the lower levels. This operation was short lived however when a large collapse occurred on zero level and flooded the workings up to No. 1 level. The company left the mine in 1990, as the scale of the
collapse was beyond the resources of the company.

My pics and view on another great explore(admin feel free to move this out of deeper if you wish)

edd trys this wild swiming

[boboil]

Nice write up CC !! & great pics.......

This was one of most satisfying explores Iv'e done to date, to enter a mountain at the bottom & reappear at the top to unbelievable views is quite a special feeling I can tell you .

The F.C.T.T. is the new C.R.T.T.















What a view to come out to.


Video of Edds wild swim
http://www.flickr.com/photos/boboilurbex/4939084865/

Video of death race 2010
http://www.flickr.com/photos/boboilurbex/4939620136/

[tarboat]

That looks excellent! Some great shots there too.

[Manx Centor]

This is a super trip. Everything you could ask for from great artefacts to adventure all the way, great company too! Took 3 times to crack it but well worth the hike in each and every-time. A word of warning to anyone who goes though... watch out for the poison squirting killer beetles! Also navigation of the upper levels is a bit dodgy too as this isn't a well trodden route!

[Gibbo]

Thats pretty amazing! That swimming hole looks very nice too!

[Reddood]

Originally Posted by Manx Centor

Took 3 times to crack it but well worth the hike in each and every-time.

how come it took three attempts? is there a problem with access?

[sneak]

Think its flooded in areas?

I liked it here, wouldnt mind a mooch back now the through is doable. Big up too all. swim is full of win to. haha

[andym]

Lovely stuff there guys Saw Boboil and Morrisseys snaps on Flickr, looks a nice explore.

[Manx Centor]

Originally Posted by Reddood

how come it took three attempts? is there a problem with access?

We did a visit, did research and discovered there was a possible way through, returned to find an adit that wasn't passable from one direction then decided to try the trip in reverse so returned again. Worth all of it! This is a proper day of adventure and hairy moments!

[buddah]

we was in there on Sunday it was a top little mooch loved every bit of it, and then a spot of wild camping after