# 1980: Nick Thorne's report for Descent 49

CTS 81.1410: Descent 49 (Jul/Aug 1981) p 46

## Stellerweghöhle

### CUCC's -1200ft Alternative to Early German Route

By Nick Thorne

FOR THE FIFTH year in succession, Cambridge University Caving Club again visited the Loser Plateau of Austria for their annual expedition in 1980. This expedition's personnel was supplemented by a University of Bristol contingent to give a relatively hefty thirteen man team. In all we spent three weeks in the fray, the fray being a combination of deep potholes, long walks, prospecting trips, eating schnitzels and drinking beer.

The expedition started with a brief inspection of the limestone of the Tennengebirge above Golling and Abtenau. This area has a depth potential of around 4000ft/1200m and is under heavy scrutiny from many foreign caving clubs. Consequently we soon returned to our 'home patch', the Loser Plateau, above Alt Aussee in the Totes Gebirge. Although it has a smaller depth potential, this area is almost virgin, is much more accessible and isn't yet crowded out with hopeful speleos.

This time we concentrated our explorations not on the plateau itself, but on the nearby Stoger Weg area. This was prompted by the presence there of a cave called Stellerweghöhle (designated 1623/41 in the Austrian catalogue). Stellerweg was pushed several years ago by a German team, supposedly all in one shaft, to a depth of 905ft/276m and left unfinished due to lack of tackle.

On descending Stellerweg, the cave we found was nothing like what we expected. Initially, the German route was missed and a promising alternative follwed across several traverses, down a couple of pitches, and one huge, broken 330ft/100m shaft, until things became more cramped and sporting. Courageously, we abandoned this route and made more determined efforts to find the original German's route.

Once located, this proved to be fairly disillusioning too, and we pushed it down a series of stepped pitches, past what we reckoned was the German's limit of exploration, until this route also became fairly squalid - and we were still only about 650ft/200m deep. Leaving this way unfinished we returned to our route.

As the expedition unfurled, our route was explored down more amiable cave with many pitches to a depth of about 1200ft/370m, the cave continuing. The whole of Stellerweghöhle is very interesting and sporting, resembling, in parts, a huge version of Mendip's Eastwater, with many passages developed along inclined bedding planes. The place ramifies considerably, draughts encouragingly, and is more laterally extensive than anything else we'd previously come across in Austria. It will undoubtedly become one of the most important caves of the area, and as it stands now, will repay any work, albeit quite hard, undertaken in it.

In addition to the exploration of Stellerweg, the expedition also prospected the immediate vicinity, and discovered a considerable number of interesting sites. Some of these finds draughted phenomenally, occasionally the wind being strong enough to be audible and to move small stones. The caves found here were, not surprisingly, developed along similar lines to Stellerweg, and many leads were left unpushed.

Our most significant find after Stellerweg was one we called Sonnenstrahlhöhle (1623/113). An airy 100ft/30m entrance pitch led down several steep ramps, more pitches and easy going to reach a restriction at minus 1120ft/340m. During its exploration one trip proved to be fairly exciting. Whilst a party was below a damp series of pitches near the bottom of the cave, the cloudburst of the year started. The water runs off this limestone like greased W.S., and the party were soon overtaken by something akin to a tidal wave. Fortunately, they had dry sanctuary in a passage just above the final pitch, and there they sat out the flood until the water abated and a relief party got down to them.

Further details of our discoveries in this area will be issued in future CUCC and UBSS publications. Stellerweghöhle and environs offers exciting rewards for hard work. The possibility exists of inter-connecting many of the caves here, thus producing a system both long and deep. We'll be back.

Many thanks to locals, Fritz Madlmaier, Karl Gaisverger, and Gunter Graf.

1980 Expedition info:
Logbook
Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1981
Austria 1980 - from NPC Newsletter
Another Kick in the Balls (expedition song)
Index to all publications
Back to Expeditions intro page
CUCC Home Page