I was in Marble Steps last weekend on a moderately damp day. Went to the bottom via the Intestines (lovely bit of cave!). The CNCC rigging guide has some very dire warnings about the flood risk in this lower section but it seemed very dry despite the moist weather. The second pitch after Stink Pot had a trickle going down it that I imagine could make the low crawl to the pitch head unpleasant and below this a stream joins in from some cracks in the wall but the passage by this time is quite open.

I'm wondering if I just saw it in very dry conditions. However apparently Ireby on the same day was extremely wet!

Has anyone seen it in flood? Which bits are dangerous, and where can you shelter? How fast does it respond to rain?

I think its all right up to a point then whammo a vast amount of water comes into a normally dry route. The dry weather is covering their own backs as no one knows how much rain is required for a whammo moment.

Best wet weather cave in the dales...?

Caves that don't flood in Yorkshire

Not many suggest the lower sections of Marble Steps, take care, although a long time ago Mike McShea drowned there in 63.

ib

The drainage has changed in Marble Steps over the past few decades. During the 1960s the hole in the floor before Stink Pot used to be, as often as not, full of water. This meant if the inlet coming down from the Pearce's Passage area which re-appears at the end of the 240' Rift flooded, the water ran straight into the Intestines - leaving the 90' pretty dry. The passage at the bottom of the hole has now re-opened, and the water disappears down there re-appearing on the 90', making that' unpleasant but leaving the Intestines dry.

Quite a few years ago a couple of friends of mine were digging in Marble Steps.  I'm not sure what conditions were like lower down but they got trapped at the foot of the Gully Route.  They were pretty hardy chaps but the amount of water going down the normally dry gully surprised them and was completely impassable.  I expect some sort of storm or weather bomb was involved.  I've never seen it impassable but I guess nearly all caves can be given the right conditions.

Thanks for the reponses. Very interesting about the drainage change!

Badlad: The Gully Route could do with a wash now, there's a rather bloated sheep on one ledge (and its head is about 20m lower :yucky: ).