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<title>CUCC's Austria Base Camps</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/main2.css" />
</head>
<body>
<h1>Base Camps</h1>
<h2>Altaussee</h2>
<p>The first CUCC expeditions camped courtesy of Fritz Madlmeier (who annually
plied us with free beer on arrival and departure) at his campsite by the lake
in Altaussee, with splendid views of the Trisselberg and very convenient for
the <a href="tollrd.htm">Loser Panoramastrasse</a>, as well as various local
hostelries.</p>
<table class="imgtable">
<tr>
<td><a href="piclinks/bc81.htm"><img src="tinypix/bc81.jpg" alt="" /></a></td>
<td><a href="piclinks/fritzs.htm"><img alt="" src="tinypix/fritzs.jpg" /></a></td>
<td><a href="piclinks/bc78.htm"><img src="tinypix/bc78.jpg" alt="" /></a></td>
<td><a href="piclinks/bc82.htm"><img src="tinypix/bc82.jpg" alt="" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="caption">
<td>1981 base camp</td>
<td>View across the lake from 1981 base camp</td>
<td>1978 mess tent</td>
<td>1982 base camp</td></tr>
</table>
<h2>Gasthof Staud'nwirt</h2>
<p>Eventually we outgrew this rather restricted space and moved to the other
side of Bad Aussee, at <a
href="http://www.staudnwirt.at/">Gasthof
Staud'nwirt</a>, by the road to Grundlsee. Here <a href="http://s451585858.website-start.de/s/cc_images/teaserbox_43283908.jpg?t=1543516733">Hilde and Karin Wilpernig</a> have
made us very welcome for many years, and have provided us with many luxuries
including some office space in 1984 and use of the "Potato Hut" ever since,
which has sported a fridge for cold beer since 1995! So vital is this to expo
morale that <a href="1623/161/fbland.htm#ealgor">some passage</a> has been
named after it.</p>
<table class="imgtable">
<tr><td style="width: 33%"><a href="piclinks/staudn.htm">
<img src="tinypix/staudn.jpg" alt="" /></a></td>
<td style="width: 33%"><img src="tinypix/bc94.jpg" alt="" /></td>
<td style="width: 33%"><a href="piclinks/base95.htm"><img src="tinypix/base95.jpg" alt="" /></a>
</td></tr>
<tr class="caption"><td>
Gasthof Staud'nwirt (1995).
It no longer looks like this, having been extended, and reclad for 1998.</td>
<td>Typical Mess tent at Base Camp (wet in 1994)</td>
<td>Typical Mess tent at Base Camp (dry in 1995)</td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="piclinks/washit.htm"><img src="tinypix/washit.jpg" alt="" /></a></td>
<td><a href="piclinks/gearbc.htm"><img src="tinypix/gearbc.jpg" alt="" /></a></td>
<td><a href="piclinks/trailr.htm"><img src="tinypix/trailr.jpg" alt="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr class="caption"><td>The Staud'nwirt sports a river which is
excellent for end-of-expo ropewashing, if it's not in too high a
flood!</td>
<td>Typical expo gear behind better-than-average transport</td>
<td>More typical expo transport - knackered trailer (1995)</td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="piclinks/phut1.htm"><img src="tinypix/phut1.jpg" alt="" /></a></td>
<td><img src="tinypix/phut94.jpg" alt="" /></td>
<td><a href="piclinks/potato-hut.html"><img src="tinypix/potato-hut.jpg" alt="" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="caption"><td>Vital supplies for the Potato Hut.</td>
<td>Inside the old Potato Hut.</td>
<td>The old Potato Hut from the outside.</td></tr>
</table>
<h3>Transport Links</h3>
<p>See <a href="travel.htm">Getting to Expo</a> for how to get to the Stuadnwirt base camp.
<p>We also have <a href=handbook/bike.html>a bike</a>.
<hr />
<ul id="links">
<li>Back to <a href="infodx.htm">Main Index</a></li>
<li>CUCC's <a href="tcamps.htm">Top Camps</a></li>
</ul>
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<title>CUCC's Austria expeditions: Primer</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/main2.css" />
</head>
<body>
<h1>CUCC Austria Expeditions: Primer</h1>
<table class="trad"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0 30px">
<p>The annual CUCC expedition to Austria lasts around five weeks each summer
and concentrates mainly on new exploration in the high alpine karst of the
<span lang="de-at">Loser</span> plateau (about 80km E of <span
lang="de-at">Salzburg).</span> Recent large projects are:</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Schwarzmooskogel</b> system formed from the linkage of several caves into one system, 150km or so long, and 1033m deep,
of which around nine tenths of the length (and the highest and deepest points) were explored by CUCC. This now includes connections
with Kaninchenh&ouml;hle, Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle and Balkonh&ouml;hle.</li>
<li><b>Heimkommenh&ouml;hle</b> (Homecoming) discovered in 2018 is on the edge of the plateau and has not been connected with any other cave yet.</li>
<li><b>Fischgesichth&ouml;hle</b> (FGH) and <b>Gluklischesmetterlingh&ouml;hle</b> (Happy Butterfly)
were discovered in 2017 and despite being only a few metres apart they have not yet been connected. FGH has gone deep but was snow-plugged in 2019.</li>
<li><b>Tunnocksschaht</b> and <b>Balkonh&ouml;hle</b> the focus of exploration since 2016.
In 2018 they both went deep and three connections between them were made.
</li>
<li><b>Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</b> the most major cave in the area and the principal focus of CUCC's work 2000-2008.
</li>
</ul>
<p>Over two hundred shorter caves have also been explored and
recorded over the forty year history of expo, and prospecting for new
entrances is still an important activity. Every year we discover more new entrances than we can explore.</p>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>So much for the executive summary, but what does that mean for the new
expo member? What is actually involved in going on expo?</p>
<p>Very few people, whether undergraduate or old lag, can afford the time
to go on expo for the full period. People come and go, and people pursue
their own particular interests within the larger context. But there has
to be some overall strategy and some degree of planning. It is no good
putting more resources into rigging than we have manpower to use, nor
concentrating on so few goals that the cave is always crowded. So it is
important that those doing the organising have a pretty good idea a few
weeks before expo of who is going, for how long, and how hard they expect
to cave.</p>
<p>But don't expect too much from that word "organising" &ndash; expedition is not a
boot camp! No one will kick you out of your pit and make you go caving (except
perhaps in an emergency, such as a call-out). Nor is it entirely a holiday -
once the effort has been put in to rig things, it is important that people get
in there and do the work exploring, surveying, photographing and eventually
derigging. The "organisation" is essentially a matter of pre-expo
behind-the-scenes things like getting grants and sponsorship, buying tackle,
coordinating transport and the like. On expo itself, it is a matter of judging
which projects can reasonably be tackled by the number of people present, and
suggesting the best lines of attack. This avoids rigging things which no one
has the time or will-power to push, and ensures that there is enough gear to
tackle the things which folk <em>are</em> keen to explore.</p>
<p>There are important differences between expedition caving and a typical
Yorkshire weekend. On a tourist trip in the UK, a party will rig in, bottom the
cave and rig out (or, at most, there may be a separate rigging in and rigging
out trip on the same day). In Austria, a project cave will be rigged at the
start of expo, and then numerous working trips will use that rigging until
either the cave or the expedition finishes, and derigging takes place. This
clearly places a lot more wear and tear on the ropes, which also tend to get
muddier, so quality rigging is essential. Of course, some of this rigging is
new exploration, not just "follow the P-hangers", so it is an exciting and
challenging activity. Also, unlike a Yorkshire tourist trip, you must survey
and describe what you find &ndash; <a href="handbook/logbooks.html">logbooks write-ups</a>
form part of a long-term record
of what has been done so are rather more important than on weekend meets at
home. <a href="handbook/survey/why.htm">Surveying may be an entirely new activity</a> for first-time expo members,
but it is also a very important one, and one which it is worth making the
effort to get right from the start.</p>
<p>The caves in Austria are as different from Yorkshire and Mendip as those two
areas are from each other. There are few sporting streamways and few
formations. The caves are colder (often not much above freezing, and sometimes
below). They are often much deeper than Yorkshire trips, though the entrances
we are currently using mean that even the remotest places are not at vast
depths. However, pitches may be big, and close together in deep shafts of up to
a couple of hundred metres. Though often dry in good weather, run-off is rapid
and a damp pitch can rapidly become a serious proposition with near-freezing
water pouring down it. Rigging will sometimes seem unnecessarily gymnastic
until you have seen the pitch after a thunderstorm! Set against this is a large
amount of huge stomping horizontal passage found in the last few years, with
many leads still to push not needing a lot of vertical work at all.</p>
<p>In Austria, expo is effectively split into "<a href="bcamps.htm">Base
Camp</a>" and various "<a href="tcamps.htm">plateau camps</a>". Base camp is in
the valley, near the pub, shops, lake and other "R&amp;R" facilities. It is
here that we have the bulk of the documentation, computers, lamp charging, log
book and survey book. The plateau camps are right outside the cave entrances, and
are reached by a toll road (on which we have a deal which avoids paying each
time) which ascends 900m to a tourist car park from where it is around a 40
minute walk (on good paths) to the edge of the plateau. From here it is a
one-and-a-half-hour slog across rough limestone pavements to the main <span
lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span> bivvy site.
We also have other shorter-lived high camps such as <span
lang="de-at">Organh&ouml;hle</span> (from 2017).</p>
<p>The plateau camps and and Base camp are linked by mobile phone, which are much
better for coordinating and reporting activities than the radios we used
previously. The result of this is that trips are
mostly organised by the people in top camp, and it is usual to spend periods of
three or four days or so at top camp, alternating with festering at base.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the plateau a nature reserve where camping is
theoretically not allowed at all, so we need to keep it as low-profile and
undamaging as possible to avoid being banned. Camping is essential, not only
for caving convenience and efficiency, but also for safety. Meeting these needs
consistent with local politics is something of a balancing act which needs
everyone's cooperation.</p>
<p>If we have a spell of truly awful weather, usually everyone will come
down to Base Camp, and this is a good time for getting surveys drawn up,
passage descriptions written, log books up to date etc. It's also not
unknown for a certain amount of beer consumption to occur. This is also
the case at "expedition dinner" which is usually organised somewhere in
the middle of expo, when the greatest number of people can attend.</p>
<h3>What to read next?</h3>
<p>Obviously, those coming on expedition will have a better and more
productive time if they know more about what goes on, what has been done
previously and what our particular caves are like. I'd love to think that
everyone would find time to read everything on the website. In reality,
however, not everyone wants to effectively memorise the guidebook, and
devour several books on the history, culture, geography, geology, food,
weather and other <span lang="la">minuti&aelig;</span> of their holiday area.
Even if you are that sort of person, it helps to have some idea of where to
start &ndash; there's about three long novels' worth of stuff on the site and much
of it is of mainly historical interest, concerned with caves whose
exploration is considered complete.</p>
<p>We have attempted to condense the "how to do it" material into an
<a href="handbook/index.htm">Expedition Handbook</a>, which covers topics
such as Surveying, Prospecting, Rigging and Rescue. There is also a rather
embryonic section on photography, and some smaller sections that are also worth
reading. This is still a fairly big chunk of stuff to read, so an effort has
been made this year to provide a "primer" page for each section, which should
be read by <b>everyone</b> new to expo. It is particularly important that you
understand the aims of each activity, since a job done badly is actually worse
than a job not done at all. This is especially true of cave survey and passage
description, or, for prospecting, the recording of locations.</p>
<p>To get a feel for what trips are like, it is perhaps worth dipping into
one of the <a href="years/2018/logbook.html">logbooks</a>
<a href="years/2001/log.htm">for</a> <a href="years/2003/logbook.html">recent
</a> <a href="years/2017/logbook.html">years</a>. To
get an idea of what expo will be trying to achieve, there is a "<a
href="years/2018/index.html">mission statement</a>" for the current year. And
to see how much potential there is, a glance at a recent <span
lang="de">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span> <a
href="1623/204/qm.html">Question Mark list</a> is a revelation. Leads are
numbered by year, with the oldest first. Following links from any of these
leads will get you into the relevant section of the <a
href="1623/204/204.html">cave description</a>, which gives an idea of the
sort of caving.</p>
<p>For the ambitious, there is a complete description of <a
href="1623/161/top.htm"><span lang="de-at">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span></a>,
which absorbed almost all of CUCC's expedition effort from 1989 to 1999 and now
forms the largest single component of the <span
lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogel</span> system. The description runs to about 90 A4
pages when printed, so is rather too much to digest in one go! We recommend
looking at the printed survey to get an overall idea of the cave and which
parts have the most potential. However, as this is too big for a web page,
there are now useful survey fragments incorporated throughout the main
descriptions.</p>
<p>If you want to delve deeper into the site, <!--it's worth a quick look
at the site <a href="../rdmap.htm">road map</a>. This gives you an idea
of the structure of the site and where you can expect the graphical links
to lead. There are also plenty of textual links, as exemplified by the
expo --> use the <a href="infodx.htm">site index</a>.</p>
<hr />
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<meta id="description" content="Cambridge University Caving Club's Advanced
expedition camps on the Loser Plateau" />
<title>CUCC's Austria Expeditions: High camps</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/main2.css" />
</head>
<body>
<h1>CUCC's high camps on <span lang="de-at">Loser</span></h1>
<p>Over the almost four decades during which CUCC have been visiting the <span
lang="de-at">Loser-AugstEck</span> plateau, they have found it essential to
camp nearer the caves than the base camps in <span
lang="de-at">Altaussee</span> (1976-82) and <span lang="de-at">Grundlsee</span>
(1983 to present). The <a href="years/1978/log.htm#driveroty">1978 accident</a>
demonstrated the foolishness of trying to conduct long explorations without a
high camp. Several people have been benighted on the plateau over the years
and rescues in 1989, 2007 and 2016 as well as numerous other incidents show
the value of rapid assistance from Top Camp in
the event of a mishap underground.</p>
<p>From 2002 to date our only top camp has been in "204 Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle" (see below).
In 2017 we (mostly UBSS guests)
established a bivvy camp very close to Organh&ouml;hle (see below)
which will be established more soundly in 2018.</p>
<p>The terminology of these camps has become very confused over
time, as the campsites have changed. At some time, virtually every
early camp has been called "Camp 1" by someone or other, and several
sites have been called "Top Camp"! Note that it has been
<b>illegal</b> to camp within the Nature Reserve <span lang="de">(Naturschutzgebiet)</span>
area since 1993, and we obtain special permission every year for
exploratory purposes.</p>
<h3><a id="id1977camp">1977</a> Advance Camp</h3>
<p>CUCC's first high camp was set up in 1977, on a site identified on the first
visit in 1976. This was on an area of pasture above a small limestone scar from
<a href="1623/l/tc1977.htm"><span lang="de-at">Br&auml;uning Alm</span></a>. At
the time, the springs in the valley here were the only reliable water supply we
had discovered. There were caves nearby, as well as ones on the plateau to
explore, so the site proved very pleasant, until washed out in one (of many)
mega-thunderstorm.</p>
<div class="centre">
<a href="1623/l/tc1977.htm"><img src="1623/t/tc1977.jpg"
width="158" height="108" alt="Camp 1977" /></a>
&nbsp;
<a href="1623/l/tc77a.htm">
<img src="1623/t/tc77a.jpg" width="138" height="103"
alt="Camp 1977" /></a>
&nbsp;
<a href="1623/l/tc77b.htm">
<img src="1623/t/tc77b.jpg" width="151" height="88"
alt="Camp 1977" /></a>
<p class="caption">
Views of 1977 Advance camp.
</p></div>
<h3><a id="id1979camp"><span lang="de-at">Schwarzmoossattel</span></a>
bivouac</h3>
<p>Once most exploration was centred on the plateau, the camp at
<span lang="de-at">Br&auml;uning Alm</span> proved of little real value, and
all exploration was conducted by driving up from the valley. The difficulties
and dangers of returning across the plateau in the dark led to some cavers
doing "overnight" trips, in which the cave was descended in daylight, and
exitted in daylight the next day. The risk associated with this approach was
that of <a href="years/1978/log.htm#driveroty">falling asleep</a> on the
drive down, as Julian Griffiths demonstrated. Having stayed awake down all
the seriously fatal hairpin bends, the car drove itself through a fence and
down a 10m drop in the valley below. The mangled steering wheel, bent by a
tree-sized piece of fence coming through the windscreen, became CUCC's
"Driver of the Year" award at subsequent dinners.</p>
<p>It was realised that for overnight trips to work, there had to be at least
a bivouac of some sort near the plateau. A tiny trickle of water was found,
which could be used to fill a water container buried in the ground, and a
single tent established just to the south of <span
lang="de-at">Schwarzmoossattel</span> ("The Col") in 1979. This never really
deserved the title "camp". It was never used again, as exploration in 1980
switched to the <span lang="de-at">Stellerwegh&ouml;hle</span> area, and
neither of the previous high camps were really of any use.</p>
<h3><a id="topcamp">Schwarzmoossattel Top Camp</a></h3>
<table class="imgtable">
<tr><td><a href="piclinks/tpcamp.htm">
<img src="tinypix/tpcamp.jpg" width="166" height="114"
alt="Top Camp" /></a></td>
<td><a href="piclinks/tc1996.htm"><img width="200" height="134"
src="tinypix/tc1996.jpg" alt="Top Camp" /></a></td>
<td><a href="piclinks/tc-161.htm">
<img src="tinypix/tc-161.jpg" width="181" height="123"
alt="Top Camp from 161" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="caption">
<td>Top Camp on upper site, 1993
</td><td>Lower site, 1996</td>
<td>Seen from <span lang="de">Schwarzmooskogel</span> ridge
</td>
</tr></table>
<p>A really good permanent spring was found in a small
climbable shaft a short way beyond
<span lang="de-at">Schwarzmoossattel</span> ("The Col").
As this was adjacent to one of the very few flat areas of grass, and right
next to the path as well, this has made an ideal camp site, and was the normal
Top Camp from 1988 to 2001. <a href="handbook/logbooks.html">Logbooks</a> and Journal accounts at the time
referred to this as "Camp I", despite its not being the first high
camp. A few references are to "Camp 3", which tried to reflect the
chronology. Later it was known just as "Top Camp". In
fact, to minimise the impact on grassy areas, the camp alternated between
the small site immediately adjacent to the spring and a larger (but boggier)
area a little lower (used in 1994, 1996, 1998 etc.).</p>
<h3><a id="vd1camp">VD1 Camp</a></h3>
<p>In 1988, and again in 1989, there was a small advance camp much nearer to
the <span lang="de">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span> entrance, again to overcome the
trials of crossing the very rough plateau in the dark. This was on a relatively
flat area of low bunde (dwarf pine) just on the east side of the flat area of
limestone on which the permanent survey station "VD1" is located, on the normal
walk up to the 161 entrances on the col between the <span
lang="de-at">Vorderer</span> and <span lang="de-at">Hinterer
Schwarzmooskogels.</span> This was variously known as 'far campsite' or 'Camp
2', in the <a href="handbook/logbooks.html">logbooks</a>.
A lack of water, sanitation, space and comfort led to this
camp being abandoned.</p>
<h3>Scarface Camp</h3>
<p>It was hoped that in 1996, a new Top Camp would be established somewhere
where access to the 161d, 'Scarface' entrance to <span
lang="de">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span> would be easier, as all trips used this
new entrance, giving rapid access to the majority of current question marks in
the cave. Unfortunately, access via the <span lang="de-at">Stogerweg</span>
proved to be more strenuous than from the old plateau top camp, and no usable
water supply was found, so this campsite never came into existence.</p>
<h3>40 Eish&ouml;hle bivvy</h3>
<p>In 2001 people decided to bivvy nearer to the the cave entrances. This
involved putting up tarpaulins in natural shelters, and sleeping on inflatable
lilos. The 40 bivvy is in the main 40a <span lang="de-at">Eish&ouml;hle</span>
entrance. It is surprisingly comfortable as this entrance does not have a cold
gale coming out of it, and the floor is very flat. It is luxurious for 2, comfy
for 3 and can sleep 4. Water is collected by putting a tarp. in a steep gulley
opposite with a hose to a butt in the bivi - very effective.</p>
<div class="centre"><a href="images/40bivy.jpg"><img src="tinypix/40bivy.jpg"
width="200" height="128" alt="40 bivvy" /></a></div>
<h3>204 Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle ("The Stone Bridge") bivvy</h3>
<p>Cavers working in 204 (<span
lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span>) used the eponymous stone
bridge as a bivouac. The sloping floor was terraced and flat sleeping
and cooking areas were made. Tarpaulins were put up to reduce the
drips and wind. Water was obtained from snow at 231, collecting drips
in 231 and a funnel inserted in a grike on the roof of the stone
bridge. Initially two, and later 3 butts were used for
water storage. </p>
<p>This has been the main high camp since 2002; it has
been extensively reterraced to increase its capacity (as of 2003 it
could sleep 12 and by 2017 22 could be jammed in), the water
collection methods refined, and a cooking area created, to give an
exceedingly comfortable bivvy site. A much larger single tarp covering
the whole length, used since 2015, has made it much drier at the back,
and the place is now very civilised indeed.
See the <a href="handbook/bivirig.html">bivvy rigging guide</a> for tarp erection details.</p>
<div class="centre"><a href="1623/204/bivvy.html">
<img src="tinypix/204bivy.jpg" width="233" height="168"
alt="204 bivvy" /></a></div>
<h3>76 Eislufth&ouml;hle bivvy</h3>
<p>In 2004-2007, the 76 <a href="1623/76/76.htm">Eislufth&ouml;hle</a>
re-exploration project necessitated a camp close to the 76 entrance. A bivouac
was established in a convenient rock shelter nearby. This was also
used in 2012,13,15,16. Camping on the nearby grassy bit, which has
room for 2 small tents is a lot warmer than staying in the bivi cave.</p>
<div class="centre"><a href="1623/others/l/76bivvyvw.html">
<img src="tinypix/76bivvy.jpg" /></a></div>
<h3><a id="id2017camp">2017</a> Organh&ouml;hle Camp</h3>
<p>Sleeping 3 or 4, a bivvy with rainwater collection was established in a small
overhang very closeto <a href="http://expo.survex.com/noinfo/1623/bs17.htm">Organh&ouml;hle</a> and Guten Morgen h&ouml;hle. This is a further hour or two walk from
the main top camp at Steinbruckh&ouml;hle; and would be very hard to establish without
the resources available at Steinbruckh&ouml;hle. The usual route goes very close to Tunnocksschaft entrance and within view of the
entrance to <a href="http://expo.survex.com/1623/264/264.html">Balkonh&ouml;hle</a> - and then rather a lot further and over the ridge with a view down to the Appelhaus area.
<p>When UBSS first explored Organh&ouml;hle they approached from the other direction. See their write-up
in Descent (see page 18
of <a href="http://expo.survex.com/others/ubss/UBSS_NL_web_series2_v6_sv3.pdf">UBSS newsletter</a>)
for the horrendous walk that this involves.
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<h1>The Loser Panoramastra&szlig;e</h1>
<p>This is a toll road, clearly signposted from the village of Altaussee. A
public road leads northeast (this bit is one-way) from the centre of the
village. At the end of the one-way system is a junction left, leading over
the river to a further junction right to the tourist Salt-mine, and left
back to the village.</p>
<p>Straight on (now two-way), leads uphill, often narrow, to a further
junction. Straight on here is a deteriorating track to Blaa-Alm, offering
a restaurant with Reininghaus bier, excellent views of the cliffs NW of
Loser, and an aerial ropeway intended for kids, but well worth playing
on for groups of inebriate cavers. This is also the approach for the
Naglstegh&ouml;hle and resurgence - outside our area, but worth a visit.</p>
<p>Right at the junction is a metalled road, the <b>Loser
Panoramastra&szlig;e</b>, which immediately has a toll-gate (and often the
queue for this blocks the main road). This is only manned during daylight,
when tourist traffic is expected. The road leads steeply up, with numerous
hairpins, first to the Loser H&uuml;tte, 550m above the start. This was once
a relatively isolated mountain hut, but now serves as a convivial lunchtime
and evening hostelry - it was rebuilt as "Hotel Loser" for 1995. Beyond the
old hut, the road continues to a new (in the mid-seventies) Bergrestaurant,
only open during the day, and with a huge car park, full of tourists whenever
the weather is half decent. The area is also a small ski resort in the
winter, and various lifts line the hillsides.</p>
<div class="centre">
<a href="../piclinks/tollrd.htm"><img alt="Toll road photo" src=",,/tinypix/tollrd.jpg" width="160" height="83" /></a>
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<a href="../piclinks/bgrest.htm"><img src="../tinypix/bgrest.jpg" width="143"
height="170"
alt="BergRestaurant picture" /></a>
<p class="caption">The Loser Panoramastra&szlig;e with view to the Dachstein</p></div>
<p>The cost of the toll road is fairly reasonable if you want to make one
trip for the view, but quickly becomes prohibitive for a caving expedition
made up mainly of impoverished students needing to make a dozen or more
return journeys. Cyclists go free, but 900m of ascent from the village is a
little excessive with heavy gear. It does make a splendid run back down,
however ! Trying only to travel at night is possible, but is both underhand
and rather restrictive, particularly if an emergency arises. Permission is
needed to camp within the Nature Reserve at the top, so it is best to
negotiate a cheaper deal. The owner is very interested to know about the
caves on "his" plateau, so it's important to send a report as soon as
possible after the expedition.</p>
<p>Familiarity soon breeds contempt, and typical expo drivers don't spend
much time looking at the view after the first couple of trips. This style of
driving, combined with visits at quiet times of the day/night, tends to
result in some fairly quick trip times. For those wanting to do comparisons,
timings are between the "stop" line across from the toll booth at the bottom,
and the drainage line (looks like a narrow cattle grid across &frac34; of the
road) at the west end of the car park. We don't recommend speeding through
the car park owing to the propensity of tourists to wander around looking at
the views, not the traffic :-)</p>
<table class="trad"><tr><th>Vehicle</th><th>Time up</th><th>by</th><th>Time down</th><th>by</th></tr>
<tr><td>Bike</td><td>00:48:00</td><td>Becka Lawson (2016)</td><td>00:09:26</td><td>Clive George</td></tr>
<tr><td> </td><td>01:15:00</td><td>Justin (1992)</td><td> </td><td> </td></tr>
<tr><td>Car</td><td>00:07:15</td><td>Haydon Saunders (2018)</td><td>00:06:43</td><td>Haydon Saunders (2018)</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td>00:07:46</td><td>Andy Waddington (1998)</td><td>00:07:30</td><td>Andy Waddington (1998)</td></tr>
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