Marble Steps Pot

We wanted a nice simple trip down a classic Yorkshire Pothole, and they don't get much more classic than Marble Steps.

We took the Sidewinder route down, which was a pleasant change as I have always taken the classic gully route on my previous visits. Sidewinder provides a slightly more convoluted and interesting route down with an impressive pitch broken by a huge buttress half way down. This lands at the main chamber where the Gully route also joins. The sobering sight of an entire tree trunk propped against the wall reminded us how glad we were of the settled weather, as Marble Steps floods badly particularly beyond this point. We then took The Ninety route down to the terminal dig. Rope lengths in the CNCC guide were correct. Total time underground was just under five hours, and as always, a superb, clean and fun trip.