Freshers

LUPC is happy to welcome new members at any time of the year but special Freshers Trips and basic training run at the beginning of the academic year and after Re-Freshers Fair in January.

Q: Who can cave?
A: Anyone can cave, you don't have to be that fit (which one look at us lot will tell you), in some situations it helps to be tall, in others you'll wish you were smaller - for most caving, technique is more important than any physical attribute.

Q: What are the potholes and caves like?
A: The caves and potholes of the Yorkshire Dales area are incredibly varied. Some trips can take you from what looks like a large animal burrow into miles and miles of passageways, chambers and streamways, whilst in others you can spend hours never more than 10 metres away from the light down a deep gash in the hillside. If you've been down Show Caves you'll be familiar with cave formations (stalactites etc.) but you're only seeing a few big chambers with bulky features that don't get destroyed by thousands visiting them a year. In 'natural' caves you'll find things hundreds of times more intricate and beautiful which just wouldn't survive in somewhere visited more often.

Q: What's the difference between a cave and a pothole?
A: Caves generally go across, and potholes generally go down more. Nothing more complicated than that. Caves and potholes can be found next to each other and the club explores both. Q: Will I like it?
A: There's only one way to find out: try it! No one's going to force you to do anything thats unsafe or you really don't want to do, and if you really want to head out after 5 minutes on your first trip then thats not a major problem.

Q: What do you do underground?
A: Mostly exploring, though sometimes (and mostly on foreign trips) people will be digging (or blasting) out new passageways, surveying or doing some scientific research. One of the great things about cave exploration is that you never know whats round the next corner - on the surface you don't find sudden changes from sand dunes to moorland, but you can get this sort of variety underground. Some trips require frequent ladder or rope ascents and descents whereas in other you'll just need to walk (or crawl).

Q: Is it safe?
A: Generally, yes. Genuine freak accidents can always happen but most of the time serious problems are due to people going down a cave in the wrong weather. This may sound weird, but surface rainfall is the key factor in nearly all cave fatalities in Britain. At LUPC we take safety very seriously and often will reject several potential trips if the weather forecast is bad. In 2000 there was only one caving death in the whole of the UK, whilst there were many from 'normal' sports and activities like rugby and show-jumping. The club has an excellent safety record and spends much of its funds on making sure all equipment is up to date and in the safest possible condition.

Q: Do you do training?
A: Yes. Everyone has to at least be shown how to climb a ladder (of flexible wire, not a rigid household one!) and be given basic safety advice before they're allowed down a cave. This happens at the Training session which run between about 7.30 and 9.30pm each Tuesday at the Climbing Wall of the University Sports Centre (up to the first floor, then go left). Ideally you should try and get to this session every week so you can learn more advanced skills and practice Single Rope Technique (SRT) - a combination of ascending and abseiling down ropes which is how most drops are tackled. The more you know, the more interesting the trips you'll be able to go on, especially on any foreign expeditions which are coming up.
After training we move on to the Liver Bar in the Guild for a few pints and plan the trip for the weekend.

Q: What happens on a trip?
A: Most trips are on a Saturday (though sometimes we stay for the entire weekend night, £3 a night) and set off at about 8am. Someone will collect you from halls or your house and then we normally head off to Ingleton, North Yorkshire or occasionally we could be going to the Peak District, Mendips or South Wales. If going to the Yorkshire Dales, we have a good breakfast at about 9:30 at a Cafe in Ingleton before hiring gear (helmets, lamps etc.) and admiring lots of pieces of shiny metal from Inglesport. Depending on the cave we're doing we'll then either head straight for it (or atleast the bit of road nearest to it) or go to Bull Pot Farm, home of the Red Rose Climbing and Potholing Club where after some tea and a chat, we get changed. We then walk to the cave and can be underground for anything between 1.5 and 6 hours, though occasionally much longer. An average Freshers Trip might take 3hrs, but time moves much faster underground. Bring a Mars Bar to eat half way through! We then go back to the farm, change, and head to the pub (often the Craven Heifer). We drop people back in Liverpool at about 8 - 10 O'clock.

Q: What do I need?
A: All essential caving equipment (harness, rope etc.) will be provided but you should bring:
Old or cheap warm clothes (such as a track suit, available at St. Johns Market in the City Centre for a few pounds). Not jeans as they get waterlogged and heavy or anything you want to wear outside a cave again - cave mud is near impossible to totally wash out.
A change of clothing and a towel for after the trip
Thick socks, or wetsuit socks if you have them (£15) Wellies if you have them, otherwise they can be bought (£10) or hired (£1.50)
You'll also need an Oversuit (normally a PVC overall or boilersuit) but these can be borrowed from the club or members.
As time goes on you may want to buy knee pads, arm cuffs, a hood and various other clothing for comfort but none of these are vital.
You'll need to hire an electric lamp, battery belt and helmet (£2)

Q: Any social events?
A: There is a club social night every week around 9ish the location of which changes so ask us at the wall. This is where trip details are finalised. We then sometimes move on to a club (i.e. Krazy House) afterwards.
There are plenty of other get-togethers throughout the year such as trips away, vaguely based around (at least the idea of) doing some caving such as at New Year, Bonfire Night (home made/modified fireworks anyone?) or at the AGM (pronounced 'piss-up') during the summer.

Q: Does the club do anything else?
A: Many members go climbing (beginning at the Awesome Walls Climbing Centre) on Wednesday evenings and play Squash each week. Other members are involved in activities from diving to flying.