<p>In the summer of 2006, Cambridge University Caving Club is off to Austria for the 30th time on its annual summer expedition. As ever, there are many promising unexplored cave areas remaining, less major side passages to be ticked, and uncountably many caves waiting to be found. This document introduces the major work areas and the current state of exploration, and lists several specific projects on which it is hoped effort will be expended. Note that numbers given by cave names are those of the <ahref="../../indxal.htm">Austrian Kataster for our area</a>.</p>
<h4>General</h4>
<p>For thirty years CUCC has worked on exploring the Loser plateau, a vast expanse of limestone riddled with caves in the Totes Gebirge area of the Austrian Alps, roughly 80km ESE of Salzburg. Over this time CUCC has explored such notable caves as <ahref="../../smkridge/161/top.htm">Kaninchenhöhle (161)</a>, <ahref="../../smkridge/41/41.htm">Stellerweghöhle (41)</a> and <ahref="../../smkridge/40/cucc.htm">Schwarzmooskogel Eishöhle (40)</a>, caves now connected to form a system 56km long and over a kilometre deep; more than half of this length was contributed by CUCC.</p>
<p>More recently, exploration of <ahref="../../smkridge/204/204.html">Steinbrückenhöhle (204)</a> has been the main focus of expedition work. Since 1999 it has yielded 11.7km of passage and is over 500m deep. It is anticipated that it will eventually connect to the Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem. Along the line between Steinbrückenhöhle and Kaninchenhöhle lies <ahref="../../smkridge/234/234.html">Hauchhöhle (234)</a>, the scene of significant exploration in 2004 and 2005; its length is now 619m, and there are still leads to be investigated.</p>
<li>Drop the pitch (01-68A) in 7-11 Chamber, at the end of Merry Fucking Christmas - the most southerly point in the upper horizontal levels.</li>
<li>Push QMs 01-37A (possible shortcut to Hippocratic Oath) and 01-38A (the Eleven Second Rattle).</li>
<li>Drop pitch 02-07A in <ahref="../../smkridge/204/swings.html#merrygoround">Merry-Go-Round</a> with plausible connection to the <ahref="../../smkridge/204/uworld.html">Underworld</a>.</li>
<h4>Surface and shallow work near Steinbrückenhöhle bivvy</h4>
<ul>
<li>There's dozens of holes in the vicinity of 204 that have been marked but never descended, or marked and partially descended but never properly explored or surveyed; these should be properly explored, and properly documented (ideally before we go and find yet more of them) – see section 2d of the <ahref="../../handbook/prospecting_guide_short.html">Prospecting Guide</a>, and the <ahref="../../noinfo/prospecting_guide.html">prospecting map</a> (needs the standard Expo password).</li>
<li>The area around the 204G/H/I entrances is interesting, and should be more thoroughly examined.</li>
<li><ahref="../../smkridge/239/239.html">Rock'n'Roll Höhle (239)</a>: Open lead over blind pit leading 204-wards.</li>
<li><ahref="../../plateau/97.htm">Schneewindschacht (97)</a> probably deserves a revisit, due to its proximity to 76 and a phreatic level known to have a continuing traverse - we should at least check how bad the entrance squeeze actually is!</li>