Reading University Caving Club

masochism

Giant´s Hole round trip, January 2012 – RUCC

Here’s what some of us got up to back in January! Aside from a tight situation with Big Ben’s bum (don’t worry about him; he’s used to it), all went well. Thanks to John W’s keen sense of cinematography and the ingenious invention of the ‘camera on a stick’, we can now appreciate the whole experience in visual form from the comfort of our sofas.

For any viewers thinking “Gosh! I could never find the strength of mind and body to accomplish a feat such as this!” I feel obliged to inform you that Connor, our token American, left for this trip not half an hour after waking up with a truly superlative hangover. Having fallen prey to Martyn’s skittle vodka he so closely resembled a comatose giant that even falling off a top bunk in the middle of the night could not disturb his slumber. Eventually woken by the wafting aroma of bacon, he stumbled downstairs and in an unusually distinct East Coast accent announced

“I HAVE QUESTIONS.”

What are we to learn from this story? That bacon is a panacea for all ills? That caving is more fun than it looks? That mind-over-matter is the best way to deal with a hangover? Nay, the lesson here is … Look at those smiles!

Back from Another Wales Trip

Cavers covered in mud

This weekend, the club went on another very successful trip to South Wales, staying at the Croydon.

Even before we started, we knew that it would be an eventful one – an astonishing 18 people turned up for it – unprecedented for the summer term?! And that indeed turned out to be the case…

Among other things, we:

  • Saw some spectacular helictites in Pant Mawr – well worth the hour’s walk to get there!
  • Indulged in our usual pastimes of Sock Wrestling, The Box Game, etc
  • Navigated our way intrepidly through a non-existent forest, attempting to find our next cave…
  • Once we eventually found it, spent the next hour inside the most pointless, stupid, ridiculous and muddy cave ever – but also one of the most entertaining! See the photo above for the aftermath…
  • Learnt the best techniques for preventing copious amounts of mud getting smeared in the interior of the minibus, whilst attempting to travel somewhere we could clean off …
  • … spent an hour cleaning the interior of the minibus, after said techniques failed spectacularly!
  • Learnt that the best answer to any question is invariably “SAUSAGES!!!”

In short, it was another excellent trip! Thanks to Elsie and the rest of the committee for organising it…