Notes in 2000#34
Notes in 2000#34
The entrance leads to a non-obvious way on to the head of the short Bell Pitch, from where very awkward going leads out to a bigger passage to reach The Ramp a series of off-vertical pitches. The damper but technically easier Inlet Pitches drop to a Big Chamber, from where Pete's Purgatory starts, and leads in 800m of tortuous going to The Confluence and the larger streamway leading to the deepest point.
Better is the Purgatory Bypass which starts as dry fossil tubes, with a choice of routes to reach Junction Chamber where the Big Rift of Stellerweghöhle enters. Opposite, the huge fossil tube of Dartford Tunnel makes for easy progress to the Confluence, about halfway down the system. The continuing main streamway is interrupted by a bypassable sump and numerous pitches before a low airspace duck at the end of an unpromising canal leads to the spectacular Orgasm Chasm. Careful rigging avoids the water in this 140m shaft, ending in muddy passage and another short drop to a deep and terminal sump.
The entrance leads to a non-obvious way on to the head of the short Bell Pitch, from where very awkward going leads out to a bigger passage to reach The Ramp a series of off-vertical pitches. The damper but technically easier Inlet Pitches drop to a Big Chamber, from where Pete's Purgatory starts, and leads in 800m of tortuous going to The Confluence and the larger streamway leading to the deepest point.
Better is the Purgatory Bypass which starts as dry fossil tubes, with a choice of routes to reach Junction Chamber where the Big Rift of Stellerweghöhle enters. Opposite, the huge fossil tube of Dartford Tunnel makes for easy progress to the Confluence, about halfway down the system. The continuing main streamway is interrupted by a bypassable sump and numerous pitches before a low airspace duck at the end of an unpromising canal leads to the spectacular Orgasm Chasm. Careful rigging avoids the water in this 140m shaft, ending in muddy passage and another short drop to a deep and terminal sump.
A predominantly vertical entrance series leads to a level of extensive fossil phreatic development, not fully explored. The main passage, The Yellow Brick Road, leads to the lip of a 25m pitch into a large muddy chamber. From the bottom, a steeply dipping tube is followed down until a canyon is reached from a boulder chamber. Most ways close down quickly from here.
Across the pitch from Yellow Brick Road is a large continuing passage, gained by an obscure and somewhat exposed route in boulders. It soon leads to a bolted climb, but a ramp down below drops to another large passage. Right here, the draught is followed through winding passage until it emerges 20m up in a chamber. Backtracking leads to a squeeze and muddy crawls to the bottom, from where a canyon develops, finally dropping into Stellerweghöhle below the Big Pitch via a 10m chimney.
There are a significant number of unpushed leads in the cave, but all are expected to connect back to already known passage. One may provide a connection to the northernmost reaches of Schwabenschacht (1623/78).
Notes in 2000#34
Notes in 2000#34
WARNING: Entrance pitch floods dangerously in wet weather
- -Bivy Bag and Brew Kit should be left at the bottom of the entrance pitch!
- -Entrance Description - -WARNING: Entrance pitch floods dangerously in wet weather
+ +Bivy Bag and Brew Kit should be left at the bottom of the entrance pitch!
+ +Entrance DescriptionCrawling passage for 11m
(Piglet Cave in English)
10m crawl with outward draught to walking passage. -Pitch down 12m to choked chamber.
-Main passage continues over pitch ascend, ending in boulder run in. -Opposite pitch small tube heads off, explored for 20m becoming tight, [qmc]
-10m crawl with outward draught to walking passage. +Pitch down 12m to choked chamber.
+Main passage continues over pitch ascend, ending in boulder run in. +Opposite pitch small tube heads off, explored for 20m becoming tight, [qmc]
Sub-horizontal passages lead through steeply-hading rifts from this entrance. A lower route was originally explored by a German group before CUCC's first visit, and remains poorly documented and not fully explored. The higher route, explored by CUCC, leads past connections to 142, another CUCC find. Passages trend downhill to reach the Big Pitch of 100m vertical.
Lärchenhöhle connects at the bottom of the Big Pitch, and a streamway leads down. A roof passage connects to CUCC's 144, and another leads on to smaller pitches to the Big Rift, dropping steeply down several pitches to reach Junction Chamber with connections to Schnellzughöhle (115).
The route to 115 also leads to Pete's Purgatory, 800m of awful streamway to the Confluence, much more easily reached by large fossil passages starting with Dartford Tunnel from Junction Chamber. The Confluence is around half the depth of the system, and marks a transition to a single linear streamway leading to great depth, a feature currently unique in the known caves of the area.
The streamway is interrupted by a bypassable sump and several, mainly short, pitches, before a low-airspace canal appears to mark the end. However, a low duck can be passed to reach a deep and very wet shaft Orgasm Chasm which drops to the final muddy passage and short pitch to a dismal and deep rift sump.
The sump is 898m below the 41a entrance, and is at just about the same level as Altausseer See, in whose underwater risings the Stellerweg water is presumed to emerge. The scope for greater depth here seems minimal, but connections to various higher entrances have increased this to c971m, with perhaps a little more potential still to realise (optimistically up to 1058m).
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| Entrance | Phil at the entrance | Junction inside |
Photos © Peter Clifton 2005 - - -
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| Entrance | Phil at the entrance | Junction inside |
Photos © Peter Clifton 2005
