2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
|
|
|
|
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
|
|
|
|
|
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
|
|
|
|
|
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
<head>
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content=
|
|
|
|
|
"text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
<title>1979: Nick Thorne's report for Descent 44</title>
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href=
|
|
|
|
|
"../../../css/main2.css" />
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
</head>
|
|
|
|
|
<body>
|
|
|
|
|
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<p style="font-size: 80%">CTS 80.1739: Descent 44 (January/February
|
|
|
|
|
1980) pp 36-38</p>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<p>This article first appeared in <em>Descent</em>(44) for Jan/Feb
|
|
|
|
|
1980, pp36-38 and is reproduced here with the permission of the
|
|
|
|
|
author and Wild Places Publishing.</p>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<h1>Cambridge expedition bottoms Austria's Eislufthöhle</h1>
|
|
|
|
|
<p style="text-align: right"><b>By Nick Thorne</b></p>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<p>IN LATE July and August, Cambridge University Caving Club again
|
|
|
|
|
went to the Loser Plateau in the Totes Gebirge of Austria. The
|
|
|
|
|
plateau, situated above the quiet village of Altaussee in
|
|
|
|
|
Steiermark, had been the scene of our previous three summer
|
|
|
|
|
expeditions.</p>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<p>The prospecting done to date on the vast virgin lapiaz of the
|
|
|
|
|
plateau had given us no fewer than three pots in the 650-1000ft
|
|
|
|
|
(200-300m) bracket, and one, Eislufthöhle, 1150ft (350m) deep, and
|
|
|
|
|
as yet unfinished.</p>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<p>As one of our rank concludes, finding deep pots on the Loser
|
|
|
|
|
Plateau is a real cinch; pushing them, however, is just a little
|
|
|
|
|
more difficult. Consequently, this year's expedition concentrated
|
|
|
|
|
not on more prospecting (for fear of finding yet another deep pot),
|
|
|
|
|
but instead on the exciting task of bottoming Eislufthöhle.</p>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>The cave, designated 106 in the official Austrian catalogue, was
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
discovered in 1977 and pushed down to 500ft (150m) depth before
|
|
|
|
|
time forced a derig. Last year we added another 650ft (200m) depth
|
|
|
|
|
before a car accident wiped out (temporarily) half of the pushing
|
|
|
|
|
team. (See <a href="../1978/descnt.htm"><i>Descent 40</i></a> for
|
|
|
|
|
the action replay).</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>The cave to this depth includes (see survey), Plugged Sahft,
|
|
|
|
|
250ft (75m) of horrific snow plugs; The Keg Series, a red herring
|
|
|
|
|
route that diverted our attention until we noticed that - wait for
|
|
|
|
|
it - it had no draught; and the Tap Room, a fair sized chamber with
|
|
|
|
|
a stream inlet in the roof.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Next occurred a superb section of verticality including the drop
|
|
|
|
|
into The Hall of the Greene King, a real belter of a pitch, 180ft
|
|
|
|
|
(55m) free to the floor, huge and black. This was followed by an
|
|
|
|
|
uncharacteristically horizontal section, mainly traversing in a
|
|
|
|
|
tall stream canyon, punctuated by short muddy pitches. The traverse
|
|
|
|
|
below the Fiesta Run was the limit of previous exploration before
|
|
|
|
|
this summer.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>This year's expedition started slowly. A lot of surface
|
|
|
|
|
preparation was needed first, and things were not speeded up by a
|
|
|
|
|
car breakdown in Germany! We supplemented our luxurious base camp
|
|
|
|
|
in Altaussee with an advanced camp up in the mountains on the edge
|
|
|
|
|
of the karren field, about 20 minutes walk from the cave. This walk
|
|
|
|
|
across the difficult lapiaz from cave to camp, we marked in style
|
|
|
|
|
with a continuous piece of white polypropylene string. This enabled
|
|
|
|
|
us to negotiate the walk over the clints at any time of the day or
|
|
|
|
|
night, come rain or shine. And so to the underground.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>The customary ice boulders of Plugged Shaft were merely replaced
|
|
|
|
|
this year by overhanging snow cornices, huge icicles of critical
|
|
|
|
|
plummet potential, and the like. These necessitated a rebolting of
|
|
|
|
|
the shaft, an unpleasant job undertaken by those pulling the short
|
|
|
|
|
straw. Once below Plugged, the other pitches were rigged without
|
|
|
|
|
too much hassle, to bring us to the Fiesta Run and new ground.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>We rigged Madlmaier Shaft, named after our beer vending campsite
|
|
|
|
|
owner, and descended only ten feet before a decision was required.
|
|
|
|
|
Continuing on downwards seemed to be fairly restricted and more
|
|
|
|
|
obvious was a traverse outwards. We opted for the latter believing
|
|
|
|
|
it would lead to a more sociable pitch down to the same place. So
|
|
|
|
|
much for theory. Before long we found ourselves in a totally
|
|
|
|
|
different passage, with the sound of the stream fading into the
|
|
|
|
|
background. This route was followed down two broken 50ft (15m)
|
|
|
|
|
pitches to a fairly small passage. The loon out in front at the
|
|
|
|
|
time squirmed along 100ft (30m) of tight grovel until he popped out
|
|
|
|
|
into the side of a roomy aven. He reckoned it was about 50ft (15m)
|
|
|
|
|
down to a streamway - end of trip.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Enthusiasm for passage at depth like this was low, and the next
|
|
|
|
|
party consequently took a closer look at the way on down Madlmaier
|
|
|
|
|
Shaft. To everyone's surprise and delight, the place soon opened
|
|
|
|
|
out into a comfortable sized rift. On this particular trip a ledge
|
|
|
|
|
90ft (28m) down was reached, the pitch continuing down a second,
|
|
|
|
|
large rift, at right angles to the first.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>The next trip capitalised on the new found verticality that the
|
|
|
|
|
pot was displaying. Madlmaier Shaft was bottomed after a damp 110ft
|
|
|
|
|
(33m) section below the ledge. As the stream sank into the floor a
|
|
|
|
|
dry, broken 160ft (50m) pitch was descended down a vast gulley. The
|
|
|
|
|
next section was very atmospheric. (I mean wet). The stream
|
|
|
|
|
reissued from a hole high up in the wall and cascaded down on the
|
|
|
|
|
free climb and 14th pitch that followed almost immediately. This
|
|
|
|
|
was unfortunate, as the pitch was 70ft (20m) deep! Spitting over
|
|
|
|
|
their shoulders, the two cavers, now firmly believing Loser to be
|
|
|
|
|
hollow, left the cave for a celebration in the local bar.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Then unfortunately it rained... and rained... for days. And it
|
|
|
|
|
only stopped raining when it was time for a thunderstorm. As the
|
|
|
|
|
weather continued to look pretty Schwarz over Wilhelm's Mutter's,
|
|
|
|
|
we spent several sleepless nights up at the advanced camp,
|
|
|
|
|
speculating on run-off times for the water, and the possibility of
|
|
|
|
|
getting flight clearance for our tents.</p>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>When the sun finally condescended to shine, a five-man mega
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
pushing/surveying/photgraphing team stormed underground. The 15th
|
|
|
|
|
pitch was soon rigged sensibly and descended to a large walking
|
|
|
|
|
passage, with the stream flowing just under the boulder floor. The
|
|
|
|
|
passage sloped steeply down/over/under/around boulders of all
|
|
|
|
|
shapes sizes and stabilities, and then, just when least expected,
|
|
|
|
|
absolutely unmistakeable, thick, black mud covered the rock - the
|
|
|
|
|
cave would shortly sump. Another short pitch and we were there. The
|
|
|
|
|
sump pool was a fittingly large lake, and signified the culmination
|
|
|
|
|
of three years' interesting work in the pot.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Whatever feelings we had at the time, either surprise, relief,
|
|
|
|
|
pleasure, disappointment, etc. were soon completely wiped out by
|
|
|
|
|
the sheer effort we put in as we cleared the cave of tackle below
|
|
|
|
|
The Hall of the Greene King. The bottoming party surfaced to a
|
|
|
|
|
starlit sky, after a trip of 15 hours.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>The rest of the derigging and the clearing of the advanced camp
|
|
|
|
|
proceeded with relatively little fuss, but a lot of effort, over
|
|
|
|
|
the remaining few days of the expedition. We then returned to
|
|
|
|
|
England, mission accomplished.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>The survey: A grade 5 survey of the pot stopped at the Tap Room
|
|
|
|
|
with a duff clino. For the rest of the pot we measured pitch
|
|
|
|
|
lengths and feel that 1650ft (506m) is a fair minimum depth
|
|
|
|
|
estimate. A higher grade survey and a surface survey of the Loser's
|
|
|
|
|
cave entrances will be published in <i>Cambridge Underground</i>
|
|
|
|
|
1980.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>In conclusion then, apart from a few odd leads that we didn't
|
|
|
|
|
bother to follow, Eislufthöhle is finished. And sporting though it
|
|
|
|
|
was, I can't see anyone returning to the place for a long time to
|
|
|
|
|
come. And why should they? There's the rest of the plateau to look
|
|
|
|
|
at, and deeper pots to be found by anyone caring to have an
|
|
|
|
|
expedition there. Thanks due to Karl Gaisberger, our local contact,
|
|
|
|
|
and Rocksport for the donation of some rope.</p>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
|
2004-04-29 16:24:54 +01:00
|
|
|
<hr />
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
<!-- LINKS -->
|
2004-05-06 19:55:49 +01:00
|
|
|
<ul id="links">
|
|
|
|
|
<li>1979 Expedition info:
|
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../years/1979/log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
|
|
|
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../years/1979/report.htm">Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1980</a></li>
|
|
|
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../years/1979/bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves & Caving Report</a></li>
|
|
|
|
|
<li>Nick Thorne's write-up in <a href= "../../../years/1979/792026.htm">Belfry Bulletin 378</a></li>
|
|
|
|
|
<li>Odkrycie i eksploracja Eislufthöhle - <a href= "../../../years/1979/811412.htm">original english article</a> (published in Polish in 1980)</li>
|
|
|
|
|
</ul></li>
|
|
|
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../pubs.htm#pubs1979">Index</a> to all publications</li>
|
|
|
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../index.htm">Back to Expeditions intro page</a></li>
|
|
|
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../../index.htm">CUCC Home Page</a></li>
|
2004-04-29 16:24:54 +01:00
|
|
|
</ul>
|
2003-11-09 15:15:14 +00:00
|
|
|
</body>
|
|
|
|
|
</html>
|
