That's the one. I have just looked it up on Graham's plan of the mine.
There is also a large block above the steps waiting to come down, being held up with air and sky hooks.

---

Are the steps from floor A down to floor C in Chamber 8E affected by the fallen blocks? It would be a real shame if they were, as the steps are very fine.

Are the blocks detatching from the East wall or the West wall of the chamber, or from the center of the roof of the chamber?

If 8E becomes unsafe, might it be possible to rig a rope route down 10E from Floor A to Floor C ? - that chamber seems to be the most viable alternative route to judge from Graham's plans.

The steps are going to have a very nasty incident when the slab detaches from the wall - at a guess the main impact will be beyond them and they may only take an indirect impact, but they're certainly under some threat.

SimonRL took a photo a few weeks back:

🔗Cwmorthin-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-48151[linkphoto]Cwmorthin-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-48151[/linkphoto][/link]

There may be a slightly better angle if you were to look from the side, but we don't appear to have a photo of it - and I'm not convinced I want to go back to get one!

As far as an alternative route... I don't think there is one - Floor A is not reachable beyond Chamber 8 and (iirc) Chamber 10 is the second-most terrifying chamber I've been into in a slate mine. It might have been Ch.9 or Ch.11, but anyway...

There's been a nasty fall at the top of the chamber, somewhere around the height of Floor A - there's basically a wall of boulders (broadly the size of cars) trapped between the floor and the ceiling which will someday come down in a massive rock avalanche.

This on its own is bad enough, if it wasn't for the moment of realisation when I noticed what's currently preventing the several hundred tonnes of rock from heading downwards: a pulley block on a chain, pinned against the roof. At some point, the chain is going to snap and the whole lot will come down.

The debris is unlikely to get far enough to block the route round the mine as there's quite a large flat area at the bottom of the chamber, but it's got the potential to be a pretty big fall.

---

Re: steps No Scale 😮 😮 😮

I guess each step is about 10 inches?

---

Re: steps No Scale 😮 😮 😮

I guess each step is about 10 inches?

There or thereabouts... :confused:

---

Blimey, with all that coming down it could change a few things!
Never did tend to 'look up' much in that chamber.

Lucky I always wear a helmet :blink:

---

Not sure a helmet will do you much good if 5 tonnes of wall lands on your head! 😮

---

Blimey, with all that coming down it could change a few things!
Never did tend to 'look up' much in that chamber.

Lucky I always wear a helmet :blink:

You need something stronger than a helmet for that big slab.
Something like this would soften the inpact.
🔗Personal-Album-106-Image-056[linkphoto]Personal-Album-106-Image-056[/linkphoto][/link]
Seriously though I think the bigest problem might be a secondary collapse caused by the shock and vibration when the slab hits the floor.

---

Like the sponge on the head :lol:

Was being slightly ironic with the helmet thing. I only wear one so they can tell that the squashed pancake bit of human left is me as I always write my name in my lid. ::)

Anyway wouldn't my feet just pop out and I'd scurry away??
Im sure I saw it in a cartoon once :thumbsup:

---

---

Interesting film made at Gloddfa ganol in 1989 near the tourist mine that closed in 1997.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmK_kLqRewo 

---

The steps are going to have a very nasty incident when the slab detaches from the wall - at a guess the main impact will be beyond them and they may only take an indirect impact, but they're certainly under some threat.

SimonRL took a photo a few weeks back:

🔗Cwmorthin-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-48151[linkphoto]Cwmorthin-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-48151[/linkphoto][/link]

There may be a slightly better angle if you were to look from the side, but we don't appear to have a photo of it - and I'm not convinced I want to go back to get one!

As far as an alternative route... I don't think there is one - Floor A is not reachable beyond Chamber 8 and (iirc) Chamber 10 is the second-most terrifying chamber I've been into in a slate mine. It might have been Ch.9 or Ch.11, but anyway...

There's been a nasty fall at the top of the chamber, somewhere around the height of Floor A - there's basically a wall of boulders (broadly the size of cars) trapped between the floor and the ceiling which will someday come down in a massive rock avalanche.

This on its own is bad enough, if it wasn't for the moment of realisation when I noticed what's currently preventing the several hundred tonnes of rock from heading downwards: a pulley block on a chain, pinned against the roof. At some point, the chain is going to snap and the whole lot will come down.

The debris is unlikely to get far enough to block the route round the mine as there's quite a large flat area at the bottom of the chamber, but it's got the potential to be a pretty big fall.

I did a report on this a few months ago with some pics attached. It is on ME, but I cannot access the site to put a link up. It appears to be down?

---

It is on ME, but I cannot access the site to put a link up. It appears to be down?

Yes, won't be down for long we hope ::)

Glad it's not just me.

There have been some recent (since February) falls at the Oakley end of Cwmorthin, a Rock twice the size of a landrover has dropped off the northern wall of chamber 13, compressor level, even some of the tunnels have cracked roofs and small fresh chips on the floors.

---

Did you mean the DE level with 'compressor' level Owain? Any photos?

---

Think so, it's got the remnants of a couple of electric water pumps in it, sorry no pictures. Remember walking through most of the chamber before, there's a tunnel to Oakley at the back and only climbing over quarry spoil at the back to find this tunnel, now the whole floor is littered with clean dust free rock. Several chambers close to this seem to have recent damage.

---

I think that area is generally known as 'lefel French where the remains of the motor and centrifucal water pump is. Carry on along it and you will reach the bottom of the back vein incline after wading thrugh the water.
Is that where you were?

---

I'll have to have a look at the plan to confirm, Might try to get back to get some pictures, anyone with a better camera/more powerful flash want to join me in a mission to photograph dangerous chambers??

---

There has been some fresh fall in this area. if I remember correctly it is the chamber at the top of the manway steps adjacent to the CH34 incline (or the next one along?)

A large section of the chamber side wall has fallen, along with sections of the tunnel entrance heading towards level Ffrench.

---

Thanks Chris, now we know where the area of the fall is.
It has been ages since I went underground at Cwmorthin.
But I have recently found out that my Great Grandfather Evan, John Evans was killed by falling off an underground bridge in 1875. Not sure where in the mine exactly, but I am working on it.
The newspaper report of the time stated that his body was smashed to pieces on the descent.

---