Highest drop 40m
2.5 hrs
Public access
Imp Grotto is a very short, but spectacular canyon, with a little bit of everything. The access is quick and easy, providing excellent rewards for minimal effort.
Formed over a fault line, the stream has created a deep and narrow canyon, with some of the most fascinating sculpted bedrock in the area. This makes it committing and very dangerous in higher flows. Avoid this little gem if any rain is forecast.
Always stop for a quick imp
Big log still in 1st pool, check before jumping
Great canyon.
All anchors fine.
Slide at the end is great!!
Great trip!
R3 dry rap not super obvious. Thought we could just aim left of main flow but ended up in flow at the bottom. If you want to do the dry route, head hard TL immediately after bolts to a bit of a step around all the way to the other side of the the big arete.
Primary anchors all good condition. One or two rusty mallions for handlines etc. but all acceptable for what you need them for.
Descend in moderate / high flow. A few new logs in the top of the canyon. All anchors survived the winter. One log jam has collapsed in the middle section of the canyon so the compulsory jump pool is a little shallower than before.
We’ve had reports that as of today, there is rock scaling work on the highway adjacent to Imp Grotto, which effects access to the canyon.
We don’t know how long this will be an issue: but ask locally before making the journey to Imp!
It’d be great if the next team through can bring some 10mm ring hangers to tidy up the anchors in this canyon. We used both our ‘just in case’ ring hangers to replace rusty/absent hangers on the R2 True left drop.
In total, you’d want 5 ring hangers to replace all the hangers that have rusty maillions on them:
R2, 2x
R3 1x
R4 2x
There’s also a ‘new’ hazard that’s been revealed as wood has been flushed out… a really nasty looking potential foot entrapment at the bottom of R2..
Years ago it was jammed up with wood, and you’d just ‘walk the plank’ to exit the pothole. But now its clear of wood.. The bedrock at the exit to that pothole has a flared, foot-width slot. (ie, ankle width at the top and it flares out to foot width lower down). Most of the water goes through the slot, only a bit goes across the top, camoflaging the hazard..
Its easy to not notice that hazard, but if you stepped in the middle of the flow as you exited the pothole, you could defintely trap your foot. If you were exiting in a hurry and slipped forward, the flow could potentially hold you forward and you’d be stuck by your leg, upside down in a small waterfall.. Lots of ‘ifs’ but worth being aware of I think: low likelihood/high consequence hazard! Super easy to avoid it, but super sketchy if you weren’t aware and the flows were up…
Otherwise, canyon in good condition, all jumps on, last slide pool is clear and deep- as!
Did Imp in full today. Nothing seems to have changed since last season (see previous comments re changes from guide book). Last JS still goes 🙂
Everything up until the 40m rap all good, used midway exit as it was very high water and we just wanted to have a quick peak in there. Most likely the last bit is still good but I will post again if I go through again this season to confirm this. The landslide that was reported did not go into the canyon itself but slipped into the pool under the bridge. I tried checking the pool but the water was very high (strong current) and no visibility from the bubbles. But I did spot some new logs and rocks in what I did see so maybe don’t jump or slide until its been thoroughly checked.
As noted by Pete, that big log is still in the first pool so check your jump!
Went down, replaced the slings on R1, everything else in good condition.
Amazing Canyon, we ran a party of 5 through it.
All anchors still in place.
not sure if someone has already updated the condition of imp since the flood, so just thought I’d make sure. The log in the entry jump pool has moved sightly, the jump still goes but you gotta jump out pretty far. The fixed handline to access the bolts on R2 is no longer usable. And R4 bolts are completely smashed and will need replacing. The top bolt is in better shape than the lower bolt and can still be used but only out of necessity. I placed a maillon on the top bolt so it can be used, in case someone was caught out needing to use it. Other than that, the canyon is still as amazing as it ever was and has had a good old fashioned water blast so everything’s super grippy. Cheers
23 Dec 14. All anchors in good condition, nice flow!
25mins up, 2hrs down, but we spent a little time checking a few things out…