Expo - UK Caving Blog post: my first expedition
Sun 25 Jun 2023
Adam B
Adam B
Blog Author: Adam 63
A little something on preparing for my first expedition,
[Author has to be an on-expedition member, and we don't know which of the two adams this is who are new this year, so guessed.]
CUCC Austrian Expo 2023 will be my first expedition I’ve written this short piece sums up my preparation. Getting ready for my first expedition is an exciting but also quite daunting task. With the amount of new gear needed and the dangers and of the expedition itself it has proven a somewhat intimidating experience, however slowly I’m getting my shit together. A big help has been meeting with the other first time Expo cavers in Leeds, starting a group chat and meeting up to group order and discuss gear and insurance and generally about the expedition.
To be honest the biggest task has been just buying all the gear. One of the great parts of Expo is its affordability in terms of accommodation with travelling out making up most of the cost. Although for the first time going with not owning much gear for UK sport trips let alone the extra gear for alpine expeditions, getting the extra gear has somewhat affected my bank balance. However, aside from a few expensive items (a harness and over suit) there is plenty of general gear such as layers and dry bags that scrounging deals and charity shops, borrowing and gear exchange hasn’t been too hard to source.
In terms of practical preparation, I’ve been trying to get down the bigger and longer SRT heavy caves in the Dales and practicing rigging with other Leeds cavers going Expo. I have also been reading Alpine Caving Techniques and the Cambridge website. Furthermore, the Expo training weekend and CHECC have been really helpful to practice rigging and surveying.
This pretty much sums up my prep for my first time on expedition and aside from the nightmares of caves crumbling just by looking at them and flash floods lurking around each corner I’m psyched as f*** and basically just saving up money working, and getting down caves.
[Author has to be an on-expedition member, and we don't know which of the two adams this is who are new this year, so guessed.]
CUCC Austrian Expo 2023 will be my first expedition I’ve written this short piece sums up my preparation. Getting ready for my first expedition is an exciting but also quite daunting task. With the amount of new gear needed and the dangers and of the expedition itself it has proven a somewhat intimidating experience, however slowly I’m getting my shit together. A big help has been meeting with the other first time Expo cavers in Leeds, starting a group chat and meeting up to group order and discuss gear and insurance and generally about the expedition.
To be honest the biggest task has been just buying all the gear. One of the great parts of Expo is its affordability in terms of accommodation with travelling out making up most of the cost. Although for the first time going with not owning much gear for UK sport trips let alone the extra gear for alpine expeditions, getting the extra gear has somewhat affected my bank balance. However, aside from a few expensive items (a harness and over suit) there is plenty of general gear such as layers and dry bags that scrounging deals and charity shops, borrowing and gear exchange hasn’t been too hard to source.
In terms of practical preparation, I’ve been trying to get down the bigger and longer SRT heavy caves in the Dales and practicing rigging with other Leeds cavers going Expo. I have also been reading Alpine Caving Techniques and the Cambridge website. Furthermore, the Expo training weekend and CHECC have been really helpful to practice rigging and surveying.
This pretty much sums up my prep for my first time on expedition and aside from the nightmares of caves crumbling just by looking at them and flash floods lurking around each corner I’m psyched as f*** and basically just saving up money working, and getting down caves.