Two of them then unfurled a blue flag with "Save the Arctic" written on it.

The charity said it was protesting against plans to drill in the Arctic by the oil company Shell, although the firm said drilling there was "not new".

Six climbers accessed the Shard by climbing on to the roof of London Bridge Station. They were later arrested, the Met Police said.

They are being held on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

It took the women 16 hours to reach the top of the building after they started their ascent in the early hours.

The Shard stands at 310m (1,016ft) and has 87 storeys.

As the protesters reached the summit, Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven said: "It is an honour to stand here at the foot of Europe's highest building and witness this remarkable achievement by these women.

"Watching them fly the flag to protect the Arctic from the top of the Shard is a remarkable sight.

"And I'm not the only one watching this today – the executives of Shell, whose offices are all around this building, simply won't be able to ignore what we have done.

"As a result of our action, 50,000 extra people have joined up to the campaign.

"If Shell continues to ignore the huge groundswell of support for protecting the Arctic then they will do irreversible damage to their reputation."

In a statement Shell said oil and gas production from the Arctic "was not new".

It said: "The Arctic region currently produces about 10% of the world's oil and 25% of its gas.

"If responsibly developed, Arctic energy resources can help offset supply constraints and maintain energy security for consumers throughout the world.

"Shell has been operating in the Arctic and sub-Arctic since the early 20th Century, giving us the technical experience and know-how to explore for and produce oil and gas responsibly."

The viewing platform in the skyscraper was closed to visitors for the safety of the public and the protest group.

A Shard spokesman said the building's emergency response team had advised that "The View" – the platform on floors 68, 69 and 72 which gives a view of London from 800ft (244m) up – should be closed with immediate effect.

"We apologise to guests for the inconvenience caused and The View will be pleased to honour their tickets either later on today or on a different date," he said.

The spokesman added that offices and restaurants in the complex remained open.

BBC reporter Jonathan Savage, who was at the scene, said the group climbed the edge of the building as it has a ladder-like structure, and also used ropes.

Police and ambulance teams remained at the scene.

Greenpeace said the location was chosen because it sits in the middle of Shell's three headquarters and because the building was "modelled on a shard of ice".

The climbers were live-streaming the ascent using helmet cameras.

In its statement, Shell said: "We respect the right of individuals and organisations to engage in a free and frank exchange of views about our operations.

"Recognising the right of individuals to express their point of view, we only ask that they do so with their safety and the safety of others, including Shell personnel and customers in mind."

The Qatari-owned building, which was opened in February, contains offices, restaurants, a hotel and residential apartments.

Source

Does a rope maintain full strength when wet?
By Alex Biale

By the very nature of our sport, there will come a time when you’re faced with using a wet rope. Can you safely rappel on it? Can you lead on it? Will water permanently damage the rope? Instead of making an “educated guess” in the alpine, learn the basics here to guide your decisions in the field. We polled five leading rope companies to see what they had to say about the strength of a rope before, during, and after being exposed to water. Note: All info provided specifically regards nylon dynamic climbing ropes.

TRUE

It is safe to rappel on a wet rope (dry-treated or not).

A wet rope is not dangerously weakened for rappelling compared with a dry rope. Static strength is most important when rappelling, and ropes can have up to a 30 percent strength loss there. However, when wet, it is possible to see as much as a 70 percent reduction in dynamic performance, which is important when taking a lead fall (see below).

A dry-treated rope can still freeze even though it doesn’t look or feel wet.

The goal of dry treatment is to prevent the rope’s nylon fibers from absorbing water, but a rope is a woven collection of yarns and fibers, so it’s possible for water to be suspended between the fibers of a rope, but not be absorbed. That suspended water can freeze and turn the rope into an unusable cord. This affects its ability to absorb impact in a lead fall.

If a nylon rope is dried properly, and there are no signs of abrasion in the sheath and/or core, strength and elasticity return to normal and can be used safely.

If there were any long-term effects of soaking and then drying ropes, rope manufacturers would not recommend washing them at all. However, the rope has more elongation and is more susceptible to abrasion when wet, which can reduce the cord’s ability to absorb future impacts. So if it underwent any major trauma when wet, retiring the rope is recommended.

FALSE

It is ok to fall on a wet rope.

Rope companies do not recommend falling on a wet rope, which may have its dynamic performance reduced by up to 70 percent when wet. Modern dry-treated ropes are a bit better, with dynamic performance reductions of about 40 percent, depending on the type of dry treatment. Any fall on a wet rope causes more damage, so its future performance (even when dried) is compromised.

A dry-treated rope can never get wet.

Correction: The goal of the drytreatment process is to prevent the rope’s nylon fibers from absorbing water for as long as possible, but with enough wear, age, and exposure to water, any rope will eventually get wet. This isn’t waterproof like your rain jacket; it’s more a treatment on individual fibers that keeps them from absorbing water like a sponge.

Your rope must be thoroughly soaked through to suffer dynamic strength reduction.

Tests have shown that just being splashed under a shower had comparable strength reduction to ropes that have been fully soaked; i.e., the amount of strength and performance loss is nearly equal for both a damp rope and a fully soaked rope.

Dry It: When drying a rope, keep these tips in mind. Avoid exposure to direct sunlight and never use a tumble dryer, or any artificial heat source, which can damage the fibers of the rope. It is best to loosely flake the rope (avoid stacking the coils on top of one another to eliminate the chance of mold) in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated place. Be sure to rotate the pile in standardized intervals to ensure uniform drying. A regular house fan on a low setting can expedite the drying process.

He has dedicated his life to exploring and photographing some of the world's most remote caves.

His incredible journey has taken him to countries such as Indonesia, China and Portugal.

But as these pictures show, despite travelling the globe, it seems that adventure photographer Robbie Shone, 32, found the best cave in Sheffield.

The giant storm drain called Megatron looks stunning when lit up and is all the more incredible because it is located directly beneath Sheffield City Centre.

Mr Shone used his rope and abseiling skills – gained from his previous job inspecting tall buildings and bridges for structural damage – to access the caves to photograph and record details about them for the first time.

The explorer is so committed, he even spent 13 days in a row underground – camping, sleeping and eating in a remote cave in Vietnam.

Mr Shone said: 'Exploring somewhere no one else has been before, is a very, very special feeling. It pushes me on to keep finding unexplored caves.

'The more difficult caves are the vertical ones when you're suspended on a rope for a long time. Sometimes you don't even know when you're going to reach the bottom.

'You can run out of rope before you reach the cave floor, in which case you have to go back up and get a longer rope.

'The longest time I spent underground was 13 days in a cave in Vietnam. It was so remote in the middle of a forest that it didn't make sense to leave and come back. So we camped and slept in the cave.

'We slept under some skylights in the cave to try and keep our body clocks in check.

'Caves are truly fascinating places. Of course I am drawn in by the photographic challenge.

'The challenge of lighting a place up that is so dark and so black that you cannot see your hand when it is up against your face, even when it is touching your nose.

'Every bit of light required has to be carried in by hand and this can mean dragging bags and bags for days and days to the ends of the earth just for one shot.

'But when the flashbulbs crackle into life and the flashes all go off together casting a picture before your eyes of the space you are in and the image is displayed on the back of the camera.

'For only a few seconds, I smile and see the beauty of our planet.'

Since a school geography trip to Peak Cavern in Castleton, Derbyshire as a 14-year-old he has been hooked on caves and has now revealed this truly incredible collection of photographs taken over a six year period.

'This a collection of six years work from some of the most beautiful and remote caves ever discovered.

'Some of these photographs will be the only record of these places that we ever see as no one will ever go back to some of these caves.

'Most of these pictures have been shot from a tripod on the floor which makes it all very safe, comfortable and easy to set-up.

'There are a couple which were shot hanging on a thin rope several hundred meters off the floor.

'All of these expeditions to these places were self-funded expeditions where I was selected to participate as the 'expedition photographer'.

'The most challenging expedition was in 2006 to Papua New Guinea. We stayed for three months exploring caves.

'They could be quite dangerous as they had a large amount of white water flowing through them. So care had to be taken when crossing the river because if you slipped in it would be quite dangerous.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2225955/You-travel-globe-looking-World-s-beautiful-cave-best-Sheffield.html

Once feared by explorers as a killer cave where all but the most daring feared to tread these pictures show how humans have triumphed over the underworld.

At 3,680-feet deep (about two-thirds of a mile) six people, including one-female Briton have died while exploring the Gouffre Berger limestone cave in south eastern France.

It was the first cave to be explored over 1,000 metres under the surface of the Earth and was named after the man who discovered it – Frenchman Joseph Berger.

It's possible to get to the bottom in a day but I camped for three days so I could spend time on my pictures.'

Cavers, many of whom were British, used ropes to rappel down vertical shafts and swam across hauntingly beautiful underground lakes.

The adventurers were dwarfed by mighty formations as they used lanterns to navigate the huge caverns.
 

 

 

Into the abyss: The Gouffre Berger limestone cave in south eastern France was the first over 1,000 metres deep to be explored 

'There are sheer drops to descend,' said Robbie. 'As well as passages flooded with water. Once the bottom is reached there's a real sense of being someone very deep underground.

'There are the initials of the original explorers in the last flooded cavern. That's the end for dry cavers – those who don't cave dive underwater.

'After that if you want to go further you have to pull on diving gear and explore the totally flooded tunnels.'

First discovered in 1953 it was the deepest known cave at the time – and has a rich history of British achievement with the world record for the deepest cave dive going to British diver Peter Watkinson and his team in 1967.

Watkinson and other team members received international acclaim for reaching the deepest point possible on foot and then completing a perilous 130-feet underwater dive.

Because of Gouffre Berger's limestone walls water can penetrate the cave is liable to flooding after heavy rainfall, which caused five of the deaths, including Briton Nicole Dollimore from Oxford in 1996.