CNCC's Anchor Scheme takes further steps forwards
Over 30 years ago, CNCC launched our anchor scheme to install stainless steel resin bonded anchors in many of the popular potholes of our region. This aimed to replace spit anchors which were starting to degrade, and to try to provide an anchor that cavers could be confident in using to reduce the proliferation of individual bolts at pitch heads.
The amount of work that went on through the 1990s and 2000s by Les Sykes, Glenn Jones and others was phenomenal. This era saw thousands of anchors installed in most of the popular sporting SRT trips in our region, as well as a huge amount of research and development into safety, equipment and techniques.
The anchor scheme hit some challenges in the early 2010s due to a lack of UK supply, but the introduction of the IC anchor, designed and manufactured by Simon Wilson, provided the perfect timely solution. The CNCC adopted this anchor and soon commissioned a production batch of 650 of them to allow our work to continue.
Ongoing projects included many of the ‘Black Book’ caves made popular by Mike Cooper's ‘Not For The Faint Hearted’, caves which were previously off-the-radar of many cavers but were now seeing a resurgence of interest.
Some excellent new discoveries also put demands our diminishing pool of anchor installers.
The IC anchor was a game-changer, requiring a smaller hole to be drilled (12mm instead of the 18mm hole used for previous Bolt Products and DMM anchors) which made installation quicker, requiring far fewer batteries, less resin, and causing less damage to the cave. Importantly, the IC anchor could be extracted (by a special tool made for the purpose) and the hole re-used should any anchors need replacing in the future.
The IC anchor has now been adopted by BCA and is also in use in Wales and Mendip.
Today, the installer's workload is supplemented by reports we receive of some early generation anchors (typically 1990s) showing slight movement caused by a ‘resin shrinkage’ effect. When these anchors are reported to us they are triaged, and we do the best we can to perform remedial action.
Cavers are reminded of the need to perform a pre-use inspection of anchors, to ensure multiple belays so you are never reliant on just one anchor, and to report unsatisfactory anchors.
Replacing anchors first requires extracting them. This is by no means a trivial task and despite slight movement, most still demand significant force. The hole, usually 18mm, can be re-used if the rock integrity allows, and thanks to Simon's work we have identified a resin which is better rated for larger diameter holes and which should not (in theory) show the same shrinkage issues in 20-30 years time.
Research, development and testing remains an ongoing process, to identify new products and techniques.
The BCA has undergone quite a few changes in recent years, including to its anchor policy. This policy recommends Regional Councils such as CNCC approve installers and assessors. In the last year we have been joined by Ian Walker as our Anchor Coordinator, who has been working hard to improve our anchor scheme and align more with BCA's policy. Many improvements have already been made, with our regular installers now in much better communication, and more aligned on practices, and even sharing practices nationally. However, we want to take this one step further with annual meetings to re-validate existing installers, discuss new ideas and provide structured opportunities for anyone new wishing to join the installers team to do so, as this has been absent for many years.
The first such event took place on 2nd May at the Yorkshire Dales Guides barn, attended by our Anchor Coordinator Ian Walker, installers Ian Patrick, Toby Buxton and Gary Douthwaite, with CNCC Secretary Matt Ewles observing.
This was a very productive meeting. We agreed on the structuring of future events and a training pathway for new installers. The three installers present took the chance to demonstrate techniques, compare tips and tricks, and identify areas for improvement. Topics discussed included choice of resin (FisV and FisEM), anchor pulling (with demonstration of the CNCC's anchor puller), spit removal techniques, hole re-use, and whether holes not being re-used should be filled and ‘camoflaged’ for aesthetics or left open, with mixed opinion on the latter.
We hope that these events will become annual, with another later in the year to re-validate our other installers, and perhaps providing a chance for some new people to receive training.
We have already heard from a few experienced cavers who may be keen to join the team, which is great news!
It is important to remind cavers that our installers do this for fun! They don't get paid (other than consumables and travel expense… many not even claiming the latter and often damaging their own kit in the process). Underground days can be long and hard, carrying huge amounts of kit and often getting cold and wet due to limited movement. We do welcome constructive feedback, but urge some understanding next time you are at a pitch-head cursing the installer because you wish the anchor was a few centimeters lower or higher. Sometimes factors play into anchor location which you may not have considered, including rock quality, protection from elevated water levels, or simply the feasibility of drilling a site. We aim to ensure our installers are working as a harmonised team, but critically we need to remember the importance of embracing some individuality, to ensure that anchoring remains a fun and appealing activity.
Thank you to those attending for giving up the only dry day of the Bank Holiday weekend.
Photos (by Matt Ewles) showing practical demonstration of anchor installation and removal.