Marilyn Pot

24 February 2014

Posted by
Gary Douthwaite

After two months of constant rain it was hard to find much worth doing that wasn't flooded but we gave Marilyn a go with little knowledge of how wet it got.

No problem with the first couple of pitches, a bit drippy but nothing to cause a problem. At the top of the second pitch I heard the raw or water and descended with a sense of doom. The water in the streamway at the bottom was pretty normal to my surprise so we pushed on.

Some discussion about the couple of low sections followed but with the water still looking pretty low we carried on to the top of the last pitch. Unfortunately at this point the passage was joined by several inlets and the water heading over the last pitch was of a significant volume. As we had a relative novice with us we thought better of the descent through water and gave up.

It would have been nice to see the master cave in flood but we also thought we might not get through the boulders at the bottom. The rigging on the last pitch could do with a couple more anchors further along the ledge to offer a hang well away from the water. Maybe one for a drill next time!