Dear Cavers, Amazing set of trips to the Dales this weekend just gone. Heavy snow earlier in the week was still there, we sledged down from the caves on our slippery Meander oversuits. Getting changed outside actually felt quite warm (totally still), except for the way our harnesses froze stiff! Here's some photos: <http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/rcc/caving/photo_archive/trips/2008-12-05%20-%20yorkshire/> http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/rcc/caving/photo_archive/trips/2008-12-05%20-%20yo... ---- * Christmas Tour (**20-24th/28th December)* We have a minibus for Saturday afternoon (to give everyone a chance to recover from the end of year parties), and will then zoom up to the Dales to the NPC (central heating, large kitchen, 2 showers, drying room, new bunks upstairs etc.).

From here we'll have the opportunity of doing the longer, better, harder, caving trips available in some of the most picture-esque region of the country.

On the 24th we'll drop off any students who want to go home at a suitable train station (Clapham, Lancaster, Skipton are good ones), and then move ourselves to BPF in the middle of the massive Easegill system. Conversely, if anyone would prefer to come up to Yorks on the 26th/27th you can get a good long weekend of caving in and then come back to London in the bus. Christmas day will see a big roast dinner at the Farm, but only after an Epic traverse trip to build a suitable appetite. For the 25th-28th we'll concentrate on Easegill & Leck fell (the Western most caves in the Dales) before revving the minibus back down the M6 to regain London in time for a midnight snack on the Sunday. Cost should be as Low as possible, we have a small amount of travel subsidy and shouldn't burn too much fuel once we're up North. And if you've never spent a Christmas away from the family, I'd definitely recommend it just as an experience & to escape that long dark Christmas TV tea-time of the soul with some good honest caving. Read about prior year's excitements & add your own trips to the 'hit list' on the website: http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/rcc/caving/yorkshire/yorkshire-2008-winter-tour.ph... Make your interest know or find your seat taken by an enormous tacklesac full of rope - you will not regret it, its a real 'caving event of the year' kind of thing! Jarv