of holds on the damp, muddy rock, wondering if anyone would remember I was there - would they hear me, maybe I would have to go back down the hole again.  I suppose I would eventually pluck up the courage to do the little bridging movement and traverse I thought would take me out, if they had gone.  Then Bill appeared at the edge -  "You can't get out of there can you?"

The others appeared and we tried to decide what to do and if anyone had a rope- this wasn't supposed to be a scrambling day -  Albert said he had one back in the car!! I scrambled over the slab of rock that bridged a cleft in the rock which dropped straight down to that tiny hole and started the traverse, but it was still a little bit slippy and I didn't quite have the confidence to do it solo.  Suddenly, Albert found his Knicker Elastic - Eureka- I tied it around my waist and made the move to enable me to scramble out, somewhat red-faced - as I do consider myself to be very sensible on the mountains. 

The day continued pleasantly despite the teasing and threats of exposure in Crux. You can see that "quarry" from the start of the south ridge to Snowdon as a deep black scar on the landscape.  An enjoyable and amusing weekend in good company was finished off by a pleasant drive in glorious sunshine across the hills  via Ffestiniog and Llyn Celyn 

Anne Berk

I would just like to put the record straight concerning this incident of my  getting stuck in the quarry. Whilst we were approaching the mine shafts, examining the inclined plane on Y Aran and the workings in general, Keith explained excitedly that there were mine shafts in the mountain and that there was one which you could walk through to, to quote "the other side of the mountain".  As a Geographer by training, this implied a bump with a hole through  from one side to another

(see diagram).
So when the opportunity came to actually investigate the aforesaid adit through the mountain, I donned my torch and walked through.  When we came to the end of it by the pit props, I could see there was a scramble to exit the shaft, but thought the other side of the mountain would be there!!  Keith wimped out at this point, so I thought I'd go on.  It was quite a scramble up the scree as the whole slope was coursing with water.  Imagine my surprise when I found myself in a deep, gaping hole in the hillside dripping with water and not a dry hold in sight.  I looked down towards the tiny hole out of which I had just climbed and thought I wasn't going to go back down there, wishing I had a helmet.

I scrabbled around for ten minutes trying to get a good set

The HMC library is back! Contact Dawn Wyllie for details of books available. Full list in next edition of Crux (Dec / Jan)

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