From 879188305f04631a426981fd43945d08f86569d7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Philip Sargent Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2025 19:54:41 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] from aerw archives --- handbook/expo-history-aerw.txt | 174 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 174 insertions(+) create mode 100644 handbook/expo-history-aerw.txt diff --git a/handbook/expo-history-aerw.txt b/handbook/expo-history-aerw.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000..9d71723fe --- /dev/null +++ b/handbook/expo-history-aerw.txt @@ -0,0 +1,174 @@ +It's at this point that I realise that there is a huge amount of written stuff, +but no good introduction in the archives. However ... + +> And what took you down to Austria in 1977? + +The story goes back a long way. In the early seventies or maybe even late +sixties, there was a caver named Nick Reckert, who was British, but had an +American passport, and lived in France. He caved with the Spéléo Club de +Rouen, who visited the Gouffre de Pierre St. Martin area in the Pyrenees +every summer. Later, he became a member of the Cambridge University Caving +Club, who thus had a very good intro to the rather elaborate beaurocracy of +ARSIP, who control expeditions in the area. CUCC went to the Pyrenees for +several summers, but eventually found the 'organisation' sufficiently +oppressive that they felt they should look for their 'own' area. + +Austria was just becoming known (in the UK) as a country with a huge amount +of limestone and comparatively few cavers to explore it. Apparently Austrian +cavers welcomed the help of experienced cavers from elsewhere to help them +in their own explorations. [It should be noted at this point that the attitude +is very different today]. Consequently, members of CUCC wrote to the Austrian +National caving organisation (in Vienna) asking for contacts. The National +organisation suggested about three areas, with appropriate contacts. One of +these areas was the Dachstein, where the caving was very expeditionary, with +a high camp set up by helicopter at the start of the expedition each year. +This seemed a little more serious than CUCC (used to heavy post-caving drinking) +had in mind. The deepest new exploration in the Pyrenees had been about -500m, +so they weren't looking for 1500m potential... + +The area which seemed to hold most promise was the Loser-AugstEck plateau, +at that time the stomping ground of just three active cavers of the Sektion +Ausseerland of the Landesverein fur Höhlenkunde in Steiermark. None of these +cavers were macho vertical types, and all were quite keen to have outsiders +come and help explore the more vertical systems. A toll-road up to 1600m had +just been built, making the area much more accessible than previously. The +vertical potential looked like about 900m - perhaps more if you were +optimistic. Contact was made with Karl Gaisberger and Gunther Graf, and a +reconnaissance expedition went out in 1976. CUCC helped explore a cave found +the previous autumn by Karl, and this proved an interesting, though modest, +vertical system just on the edge of the plateau at 'The Col'. CUCC was also +invited into a few things out of the area, such as Nagelsteghöhle (a major +resurgence for caves to the NE of CUCC's area) and Hirlatzhöhle (a major +fossil cave at the bottom of the Dachstein massif). + +Only a small amount of prospecting was done in 1976, but enough was seen to +be sure that a return was worthwhile. Maybe at this stage I had better point +out that expeditions in those days were essentially organised by graduates +who had been in CUCC as undergraduates, so they were really exCS +(ex-Cambridge Speleogists) rather than CUCC expos. In 1977, a return was +planned, and those CUCC undergraduates who had shown themselves competant +during the year were invited to join. This basically meant three of us at +the end of our second year in the club went out for three weeks. At that +time, Single Rope Technique was hardly used at all in the UK, and only +expedition veterans from the Pyrenees were really into it. Hence 'Team +Youth' were exploring on ladders. + +That tells you how we started, and how I came to be there in 1977. In 1978, +the same three undergraduates, plus a few more, did all the organising for +the expedition. Our cave Eislufthöhle, which had reached -150m on ladders +in 1977, was pushed to c -350m on SRT, while another cave, Gamshöhle, was +explored mainly on ladders, but bottomed at -280m via a large SRT pitch. +As usual, many smaller caves were explored. 1979 saw a very small team +push Eislufthöhle to -506m (best estimate by some very minimalist surveying). +In 1980, we tried to change venue to the Tennengebirge, but by this time, the +permissions situation was much more difficult, most especially in this area, +which is a military reserve. We moved base back to Altaussee. It so happens +that the area I had picked out as the one to go to in the Tennengebirge, +produced a 1250m cave, which was already being explored in 1980. Having +done the walk in to this area, I can be very pleased that we didn't get +involved in it - it is like Loser without the road, and with some huge steep +snowfields. + +Casting about for new things to do on Loser in 1980 (having not really +planned on going there at all), we decided to go and investigate +Stellerweghöhle, whose entrance had been shown to two of us the previous +year by Karl Gaisberger who was collecting cave fauna. This cave was +supposed to have 200m of horizontal passage ending in a 220m pitch. In fact, +because of the amount of snow in 1980, this known way on was almost blocked, +and two of us explored a new passage from c 10m inside the entrance. This +led to much more passage, up and down ramps to two series of pitches, down +to c 300m. The old route was also found and pushed, but the alleged 220m +pitch turned out to be a constricted shaft series of maybe 220 FEET before +it just got too scrofulous. An almost independent subgroup of the expo +explored Sonnenstrahlhöhle to -330m in about four trips - the easiest and +nicest deep cave CUCC has found. + +I missed 1981 (away caving in Mexico and at the Int. Speleological Congress), +but CUCC returned with some members of the University of Bristol Speleological +Society, found a new entrance to Stellerweg, and pushed a series of large +phreatic passages at c -500m. + +1982 saw Stellerweg pushed (via the Schnellzughöhle entrance) to an apparent +sump, which was pushed for form's sake, and went, as a low airspace duck, to +more streamway, and a deep shaft, 'Orgasm Chasm', leading to a deep vertical +sump at -898m from the Stellerweg entrance. + +1983 saw a new cave, Wolfhöhle, pushed to c -300m, and two new entrances +above Stellerweghöhle pushed to reasonable depths. These were not connected +to the main system, though both seemed close, promising to increase its +depth to 971m. The bigger one went to a big pitch, below which ways on +closed down, but beyond which was an inaccessible big passage which would +merit further attention. Steinschlagschacht went in a big loose shaft to -194m. + +1984 saw Wolfhöhle (actually, the skeleton after which it was named proved +to be a bear) pushed to a rather dismal conclusion just below -400m. One of +the high entrances above Stellerweghöhle proved to have a vocal connection +to the main cave but much hammering failed to widen the final squeeze. +Steinschlagschacht finished at c -240m but was so horrid that it wasn't +surveyed. The expo suffered a lot from the weather and not a great deal else +was done, other than pushing side passages in the upper parts of +Stellerweghöhle. + +1985 was successful in that the continuation of the high entrance found in +1983 was reached by a sneaky bouldery bypass to the pitch. New passage then +led into the known part of Stellerweghöhle. This entrance was 1m lower than +the one with the vocal connection so the new depth was 970m. A new entrance +was found which led into Sonnenstrahlhöhle about half way down, but added no +new depth. + +Interest had by now waned to such an extent that the 1986 expo did not +happen. 1987 was staffed by members with little experience of the area, and +though many new entrances were looked at and a few old caves reexplored, not +much new was found. It was, however, enough to inspire a new generation to +return. French and German cavers in the area linked their system into +Stellerweghöhle, and also to the Schwarzmooskogeleishöhle, a mile-long cave +known for many years. We believe that this raises the depth past 1000m, but +as we have never been able to obtain a survey of their work, we are not +sure. + +By 1988, I hadn't been for four years, so I'm getting out of touch - also I +don't have the reports on disc. However, the 1989 report claims that the 88 +expo was the biggest ever. Kaninchenhöhle was discovered and pushed to +-300m. New blood was obviously important here, since 161 has the sort of +entrance we oldies had learnt to ignore, as big open shafts are 'always' +choked. + +I was back in Austria in 1989, though not caving much. As well as the major +exploration of Kaninchenhöhle, when the major outlines of the system were +defined and depths of c -500m achieved, we also had four cave divers trying +to locate a resurgence in the lake. They found it - it wasn't penetrable. +They also found human remains from someone who had drowned in the late +fifties. This was the year of two rescues from falls in 'The Squeeze' (now +avoidable) in Kaninchenhöhle. Becka broke a leg, which was a serious rescue, +with lots of helicopter rides. The day she came out of hospital, Chris, her +boyfriend, fell in the same place, and cracked his pelvis (though only bad +bruising was diagnosed at the time). To avoid major embarassment, CUCC +carried out this rescue entirely on their own, hauling Chris across the +plateau at night in a torrential downpour. + +1990 was almost all exploration of Kaninchenhöhle, which really needs writing +up as a whole adventure in itself. The Trisselwand was climbed again (real +outdoor rockclimbing) by myself (who had done it before), Wookey, Joe and +Juliette. We had to walk down in the dark, same as the first time, so this is +now traditional. This was the first year with radios, which seemed a good idea +after last year's rescues, and they were very effective posh ones on loan, +which we have striven to match (unsuccessfully) ever since. + +1991 saw everyone studiously avoid Kaninchenhöhle to explore +Bovisundpudzuckerhöhle (Puffball), which soon proved sufficiently unpleasant +to get 161 going again. 161 started to have bits a very long way from the +entrance, so 161c was invented to push France. By now 161 was so complex +that I won't attempt to describe the finds in this (supposedly brief) intro. + +In 1992, there was so much snow, that three cavers walked right over the top +of the 161 entrance on a snowplug, and lived. Puffball was finished and +Kaninchenhöhle certainly wasn't. + +In 1993 Kaninchenhöhle still wasn't finished, but nearly all the leads +sensibly near the entrance were pushed. + +1994: you know more than me ! + +The general style of expeditions you will now be familiar with, though this +has changed quite a bit over the years. +