From the chamber, the passage curves to the left and opens onto the head of a 7m pitch, which drops onto a large ledge. A rebelay just over the lip of the ledge at the left hand side gives a further 18m free-hanging pitch to a landing on boulders several metres across, which appear to be jammed across the shaft.
A narrow rift around a corner stops at a drip and a small pool. The way on is through a gap to a hole with a jammed block. Climbing down to the block leads to the head of an 18m pitch which rapidly opens into a huge split-level chamber. The pitch lands on Big Bertha, a boulder some 4m in diameter.
To the north, a narrow rift has been followed for about 10m to a tight vertical drop of at least 5m down the rift, but this has not been pushed. East from Big Bertha leads to a 5m drop to the lower half of the chamber, which is floored with loose rock. An archway to the left leads to a 7m pitch to a small stream. This disappears down an impassable slot, but is met lower in the cave.
From the archway, a climb up behind a boulder propped against the side of the chamber leads to a col. One side rapidly curves up to the roof. The other ascends over very loose boulders for at least 25m (15m vertical) until the roof is met. This area has not been exhaustively pushed, but seems unlikely to lead anywhere.
Descending the other side of the col gives a series of ledges via 5m, 7m and 8m pitches, in a canyon some 5m wide and at least 15m high. The stream enters at the bottom of the 7m pitch. Below, the rift continues down a moderate slope and round a corner, with a final short 4m pitch to a soil and rock floored chamber.
A strong draught is felt around the edges of the chamber, rising from the choked floor. It is possible to descend in loose boulders in a number of places but all ways meet the roof and choke - pushing in this area is dangerous and unpromising.
Near the bottom of the previous pitch, a 5m deep circular pit in the floor can be descended. This takes a large drip from the stream above. At the bottom, a tight (22-26cm) rift leads on for 3m to a further 3m pitch to a small chamber. An impassable passage continues, while a small window gives a view of a widening beyond.","","","","","In dataset","Grade 3 plan and elevation in Cambridge Underground 1988, p 6
","","","128m (deepest surveyed point is -118m)","","","","","p158","on big rock at entrance","","Surface survey","","gps00.158","","","","","","400m NNE of The Nipple (Weißen Warze) at the base of a wall to the left after passing a sandy depression (walking from the Nipple).","","","","Paint","","Surveyed",""
159,"2/S +","","","","plateau/159/159.html","","","Winded Hole","","","1a","CUCC 1988 (1st pitch Chris & Becka, bottomed by Chris).","Two bolts in entrance for Y-hang to give c40m vertical to a boulder floor, then a further 20m in a big boulder chamber. A ""nice skeleton"" and an old colander (!) were found on the terminal choke in 1988.","","","","","","","","","c50m","","","","t159","","","","Surface survey","","","","","","1990 Bearings (we have no idea where these came from and they aren't remotely in the right place): HSK 116°, Nipple 174°, Bräuning Nase 199°, Bräuning Zinken 216°
1996: HSK 059°, VSK nipple 111°, Bräuning Nase 152°, Kleine Wild Kogel 009°(left) and 010°(right), Bräuning Wall pt. 1828 209°, Bräuning Wall pt. 1835 221°, Bräuning Zinken 232° ","","Near 'crapping region' of Top Camp (1990). Cave is on the same fault/joint as 1623/90, 1623/207 and 1623/208, but further out from the Bräuning Wall, c 100m on 067°.","Cave relocated 1990, 1996 and surveyed to in 1998. Entrance reached in two minutes from upper top camp by heading west and dropping down one terrace.","","
| View towards col | View down shaft (note tag on shaft wall just below number board) |
Photos © Andy Waddington 1998 and David Loeffler 2005","Tag","orange number ""159"" facing north. 1998 tag ""1623 159 CUCC 1988"" attached to more northerly of two Y-hang bolts, just below surface. This is the anchor visible in the photograph (with an orange circle painted round it), taken before the tag was attached.","Surveyed","" 160,"2/S/ +","","","","plateau/160.htm","","","Plateau Schacht 160","Jared's Hole","","1a","CUCC 1988 ","Bottoming trip used a 70m rope to reach a choke (with a draught). A small side rift at the bottom choked after 3m.
The cave could probably do with another descent to record some details of the interior or even a survey !","","","","","","","","","","","1988 logbook implies that this is "Jared's Hole". Was provisionally numbered "181" but apparently never marked. ","","p160","","","","Surface survey","","gps00.160","","","","","","On plateau, near B10 (according to B10 info). Map in 1988 logbook shows 160 as out on the plateau from Bräuning Scharte in an area of terracing, and WSW of B10. Hole tagged in 1998 is just east of 91, and can also be reached by following the terrace west from the 159 entrance.","","","","Tag","The hole believed to be 160 was unmarked until tagged in 1998 ""1623 160 CUCC 1988"" on flat limestone 1m east of entrance. This had been relocated in 1996 and was then thought to be 159, but latter was found marked in 1998.","Surveyed","" -161,"5/S/E x","a–h","","yes","smkridge/161/top.htm","","","Kaninchenhöhle","","","2c","CUCC 1988-98","Rather than adopting the usual approach of describing every side passage in the main description, which makes the 'normal' descent route hard to follow, this description describes each main route down the cave first, mentioning side passages only where necessary to make the correct main route clear. Various side passages and connecting routes are described subsequently, area by area. The directions left and right are always relative to travel in the direction of the description, compass directions are given where there is any ambiguity. Most passages are described going 'into the cave', on the assumption that this is how they will be first met. Some passages are described in both directions, either because it is difficult to follow them without getting into side leads, or because they form important links between different parts of the system, and may be traversed either way on various round trips.
The clickable index has developed into a glossary, which it is hoped will make it easier to find bits of the cave by name - be warned, this became so big that it was decided to split it up and it is now a framed page.
There are also virtual tours, containing thumbnails of all the pictures of the caves. Although these pages are kept small, all the photos mean that they can require a lot of memory to load. The original comprehensive tour has been split into two, for the Right Hand Route, and for passages most conveniently reached from the Scarface entrance. Two new tours have been created for the Lost World and Wheelchair Access, and for the new way into the Forbidden Land via Steinschlagschacht.Each thumbnail on these tours links to a full-size version of the picture, and each full-size picture has links into the appropriate bit of the description.
Throughout the guide, the date of exploration is noted for each area. There is a history page which can be used as a clickable index into the logbook write ups of all the 161 trips, so it should be easy to follow the exploration of any part of the cave. Warning, this was also getting too big and is now framed.
The upper part of the system can be best thought of as a number of separate areas, each with its own vertical development. The more recently found extensive horizontal development, being easier to traverse, is generally better connected. Although there are various links between the vertical routes, a given destination will tend to have one 'obvious' approach. These areas are France, the Left Hand Routes, the Right Hand Routes, the southernmost part of the system reached via Steinschlagschacht, routes from Scarface entrance. So rapidly has exploration proceeded from Triassic Park that now more than half the total length is most conveniently reached via 161d.
The key to all the deepest and most remote parts of the system is the huge collapse chamber of Knossos. This was reached from the 161a entrance via the Right Hand Route, and now via the 161d ""Scarface"" entrance through Triassic Park. This provides a much easier route in, making trips to the further reaches less strenuous. From Knossos, horizontal trunk passage leads north, giving access first to a series of deep vertical systems, and further on to complex areas of rifts and old passages. A significant horizontal route leading northwest, Siberia, has only been pushed as a result of the new entrance, but has yielded a new deep point to the cave. There appear to be deep vertical leads in the far north, too, though they have mostly been avoided by a series of ""mental"" tyroleans and bolt traverses.
It is still probably some way off the time when one might choose a tourist trip on the basis of its ""classic"" quality. Mostly, choices available depend on what is rigged this year for exploratory purposes. This will usually only include one main route into an area, so trips like a Left Hand Route / Garden Party or Drunk & Stupid exchange will not be easy. Similarly, the original classic Right Hand Route / Dreamtime exchange was only really possible during the exploration of the latter, before the Squeeze was bypassed and this modified RHR became the trade route.
However, now that Knossos is accessible from the Scarface entrance, this has opened up the possibilities for a whole raft of pull-through trips with a minimum of pre-rigging. The one fly in the ointment is the relative difficulty of surface travel between the 161d and upper entrances. The route used in 1996 seems to be good enough to have become a trade route, and after one benightment through loss of the route in 1997, it has been very well marked with cairns.
Already possible is the 161c to 161d through trip via France. In the future, pull-throughs of LHR, Garden Party or Drunk and Stupid should all be possible via Ambidextrous. Right Hand Route or Dreamtime give access to Knossos. Care must be taken, however, not to try rapelling down any of the plethora of routes which don't connect into the Knossos area.
As in the more famous Dent du Crolles system, route-finding errors on bridge-burning trips could entail a long wait for someone to figure out where you went!
Line plots of the cave give some idea of it's shape, extent and structure.
The main entrance at 1787m drops to a major sub-horizontal level at 1720-1750m, containing the large passages of Big Sainsbury's and its continuation into the upper part of Dreamtime, and the smaller passages of the Rabbit Warren and the French entrances 161b and 161c. From this level a number of vertical routes drop to another significant sub-horizontal level dipping from around 1700m in the SW of the system (upper part of France) to around 1600m where this level is lost in the roof of Knossos. [This is probably debatable, as Boulder Alley from Poxy Pitch downwards is probably in a fault rift].
Multiple, predominantly vertical, routes drop to the cave's most important sub-horizontal passages around 1540m in the area below the entrance dipping to c1510m in Tower Blocks and the start of YAPATE. This is a major fossil passage rising up the dip to the NNE, and continuing as Chicken Flied Nice to c1540m where complexity increases. The major horizontal development in France is entered at c1550m, with the lowest passages down to 1480m. The major trunk route through Triassic Park is between 1560 and 1620m, and this level is also lost in what is presumed to be the roof of Knossos.
Whilst none of the routes below the entrance area get below about 1480m, there are a series of interconnecting shafts dropping below YAPATE and Chicken Flied Nice ending at or just above 1290m in sumps or tightness. The original deepest point, at the bottom of Flapjack, is at 1289m, 498m below the main entrance. Passages to the northwest led through a bitterly cold, draughty passage known as Siberia, which was left well alone until access via 161d made it easier. It was pushed in 1997 and 1998 down two very large pitches to a new deep point 534m below the 136 entrance at 1258m altitude.
There is just one section of horizontal level at c1400m, which is not very extensive to date, and similarly a tantalising glimpse of what appears to have been very large trunk passage below 1300m in Siberia, but this is comprehensively choked in both directions.
This overview is currently mostly updated to reflect exploration to 1995, though the line plots are up to 1996. ","","Outstanding and now finished","","","In dataset","? grade 5","smk-system.svx","24485m after 1999 expedition","534m","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","On the limestone ridge between the Hinterer and Vorderer Schwarzmooskogels, about 200 metres up towards the Hinterer from the col, and about 20m down the east side of the ridge itself. The main 161a entrance shaft overlooks a gully dropping steeply SE towards Augstwies See. The 161b and 161c (French) entrances are close together about 75m to the SE, down the gully. Considerably further down the gully, a traverse is possible (somewhat engineered) to reach an area of recently fallen rock, where the ""Scarface"" 161d entrance is located. Continuing the traverse, but regaining about 20m of height to the NE, the ""exits"" of 161f and then 161e can be reached.","","","","","","","" +161,"5/S/E x","a–h",,"yes","smkridge/161/top.htm",,,"Kaninchenhöhle",,,"2c","CUCC 1988-98","Rather than adopting the usual approach of describing every side passage in the main description, which makes the 'normal' descent route hard to follow, this description describes each main route down the cave first, mentioning side passages only where necessary to make the correct main route clear. Various side passages and connecting routes are described subsequently, area by area. The directions left and right are always relative to travel in the direction of the description, compass directions are given where there is any ambiguity. Most passages are described going 'into the cave', on the assumption that this is how they will be first met. Some passages are described in both directions, either because it is difficult to follow them without getting into side leads, or because they form important links between different parts of the system, and may be traversed either way on various round trips.
The clickable index has developed into a glossary, which it is hoped will make it easier to find bits of the cave by name - be warned, this became so big that it was decided to split it up and it is now a framed page.
There are also virtual tours, containing thumbnails of all the pictures of the caves. Although these pages are kept small, all the photos mean that they can require a lot of memory to load. The original comprehensive tour has been split into two, for the Right Hand Route, and for passages most conveniently reached from the Scarface entrance. Two new tours have been created for the Lost World and Wheelchair Access, and for the new way into the Forbidden Land via Steinschlagschacht. Each thumbnail on these tours links to a full-size version of the picture, and each full-size picture has links into the appropriate bit of the description.
Throughout the guide, the date of exploration is noted for each area. There is a history page which can be used as a clickable index into the logbook write ups of all the 161 trips, so it should be easy to follow the exploration of any part of the cave. Warning, this was also getting too big and is now framed.
The upper part of the system can be best thought of as a number of separate areas, each with its own vertical development. The more recently found extensive horizontal development, being easier to traverse, is generally better connected. Although there are various links between the vertical routes, a given destination will tend to have one 'obvious' approach. These areas are France, the Left Hand Routes, the Right Hand Routes, the southernmost part of the system reached via Steinschlagschacht, routes from Scarface entrance. So rapidly has exploration proceeded from Triassic Park that now more than half the total length is most conveniently reached via 161d.
The key to all the deepest and most remote parts of the system is the huge collapse chamber of Knossos. This was reached from the 161a entrance via the Right Hand Route, and now via the 161d ""Scarface"" entrance through Triassic Park. This provides a much easier route in, making trips to the further reaches less strenuous. From Knossos, horizontal trunk passage leads north, giving access first to a series of deep vertical systems, and further on to complex areas of rifts and old passages. A significant horizontal route leading northwest, Siberia, has only been pushed as a result of the new entrance, but has yielded a new deep point to the cave. There appear to be deep vertical leads in the far north, too, though they have mostly been avoided by a series of ""mental"" tyroleans and bolt traverses.
It is still probably some way off the time when one might choose a tourist trip on the basis of its ""classic"" quality. Mostly, choices available depend on what is rigged this year for exploratory purposes. This will usually only include one main route into an area, so trips like a Left Hand Route / Garden Party or Drunk & Stupid exchange will not be easy. Similarly, the original classic Right Hand Route / Dreamtime exchange was only really possible during the exploration of the latter, before the Squeeze was bypassed and this modified RHR became the trade route.
However, now that Knossos is accessible from the Scarface entrance, this has opened up the possibilities for a whole raft of pull-through trips with a minimum of pre-rigging. The one fly in the ointment is the relative difficulty of surface travel between the 161d and upper entrances. The route used in 1996 seems to be good enough to have become a trade route, and after one benightment through loss of the route in 1997, it has been very well marked with cairns.
Already possible is the 161c to 161d through trip via France. In the future, pull-throughs of LHR, Garden Party or Drunk and Stupid should all be possible via Ambidextrous. Right Hand Route or Dreamtime give access to Knossos. Care must be taken, however, not to try rapelling down any of the plethora of routes which don't connect into the Knossos area.
As in the more famous Dent du Crolles system, route-finding errors on bridge-burning trips could entail a long wait for someone to figure out where you went!
Line plots of the cave give some idea of it's shape, extent and structure.
The main entrance at 1787m drops to a major sub-horizontal level at 1720-1750m, containing the large passages of Big Sainsbury's and its continuation into the upper part of Dreamtime, and the smaller passages of the Rabbit Warren and the French entrances 161b and 161c. From this level a number of vertical routes drop to another significant sub-horizontal level dipping from around 1700m in the SW of the system (upper part of France) to around 1600m where this level is lost in the roof of Knossos. [This is probably debatable, as Boulder Alley from Poxy Pitch downwards is probably in a fault rift].
Multiple, predominantly vertical, routes drop to the cave's most important sub-horizontal passages around 1540m in the area below the entrance dipping to c1510m in Tower Blocks and the start of YAPATE. This is a major fossil passage rising up the dip to the NNE, and continuing as Chicken Flied Nice to c1540m where complexity increases. The major horizontal development in France is entered at c1550m, with the lowest passages down to 1480m. The major trunk route through Triassic Park is between 1560 and 1620m, and this level is also lost in what is presumed to be the roof of Knossos.
Whilst none of the routes below the entrance area get below about 1480m, there are a series of interconnecting shafts dropping below YAPATE and Chicken Flied Nice ending at or just above 1290m in sumps or tightness. The original deepest point, at the bottom of Flapjack, is at 1289m, 498m below the main entrance. Passages to the northwest led through a bitterly cold, draughty passage known as Siberia, which was left well alone until access via 161d made it easier. It was pushed in 1997 and 1998 down two very large pitches to a new deep point 534m below the 136 entrance at 1258m altitude.
There is just one section of horizontal level at c1400m, which is not very extensive to date, and similarly a tantalising glimpse of what appears to have been very large trunk passage below 1300m in Siberia, but this is comprehensively choked in both directions.
This overview is currently mostly updated to reflect exploration to 1995, though the line plots are up to 1996. ",,"Outstanding and now finished",,,"In dataset","? grade 5","smk-system.svx","24485m after 1999 expedition","534m",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"On the limestone ridge between the Hinterer and Vorderer Schwarzmooskogels, about 200 metres up towards the Hinterer from the col, and about 20m down the east side of the ridge itself. The main 161a entrance shaft overlooks a gully dropping steeply SE towards Augstwies See. The 161b and 161c (French) entrances are close together about 75m to the SE, down the gully. Considerably further down the gully, a traverse is possible (somewhat engineered) to reach an area of recently fallen rock, where the ""Scarface"" 161d entrance is located. Continuing the traverse, but regaining about 20m of height to the NE, the ""exits"" of 161f and then 161e can be reached.",,,"See the photo gallery for entrance photos.",,,, "","","a","","entrance","smkridge/161/161a.htm","","","","","","2c","","Click here for underground description","","","","","","","","","","","","","","p161a","","","Nils","","gps00.161a2","","","","","","","","","","Tag","","Surveyed","" "","","b","","entrance","smkridge/161/161b.htm","","","","","","2c","","Click here for underground description","","","","","","","","","","","","","","p161b","","","Nils","","","","","","","","","","","","Tag","","Surveyed","" "","","c","VSS 88AF","entrance","smkridge/161/161c.htm","","","","","","2c","","Click here for underground description","","","","","","","","","","","","","","p161c","","","Nils","","","","","","","","","","","The 161c entrance is shown here.","Tag","","Surveyed","" @@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ s (mainly deduced from survey data) don't correspond well with the 1997 experien 201,"1/S +","","1998/01","","smkridge/201.htm","","","Haftefelle Schacht","Ski-skin shaft","","2c","CUCC 1998 - a single descent.","2m diameter shaft drops 25m to a boulder floor - a short second pitch follows immediately leading to a too-tight rift. A 40m rope is sufficient.","","","","","In dataset","? pic","caves/201/201.svx","15m","15m","","","","","p201","","","Surface survey","","gps00.201","","","","","","NW flank of Vorderer Schwarzmooskogel. 20m N of Laser 0/1","Follow the cairned path which ascends the Vorder Schwarzmooskogel from the NW. Shortly before the obvious open rift entrance of 1623/156 (which is 50m south of Laser Point 0/1) is a small (2m diameter) open shaft.","","","Tag","metal tag stamped ""CUCC 201"" fixed by M6 stud epoxied into horizontal surface on NW side of main entrance (stud placed 1998, proper kataster number tag replaced provisional one in 1999).","Surveyed" 202,"","","","","noinfo/smkridge/202.html","","","Dominoschacht","","","2a","","","","","","","In dataset","","caves/202/202.svx","","","","","","","p202","","","Surface survey","","","","","","","","","","","","","","Surveyed" 203,"","","","","noinfo/smkridge/203.html","","","Sonnenscheinschacht","","","2a","","","","","","","In dataset","","caves/203/203.svx","","","","","","","p203","","","Surface survey","","","","","","","","","","","","","","Surveyed" -204,"5/S x","a–f","CUCC 1999/03","yes","smkridge/204/204.html",,,"Steinbrückenhöhle",,,"2d","
","
",,"Question mark list and Completed question mark list. ",,,"In dataset; download .3d file or Raw survey data","
","caves/204/204.svx","11.7km","542m","645m (approximately N-S)",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"The cave is situated on the west side of the col between the Hinterer Schwarzmooskogel and Nieder Augst-Eck. It is currently one of the main areas of exploration for CUCC, who in 2001 established a bivvy site under the stone bridge opposite the entrance.","The route from Top Camp used since 1999 (probably near optimal) is a cairned path via Wolfhöhle (1623/145) and Laser Point 5, then up to the top of the bare patch of white limestone visible from Top Camp, passing 195 and 196. The path used in 2001 then skirts around the contours, passing the unmistakable arched entrance of Hauchhöhle, to arrive directly opposite the stone bridge after which the cave was named (in previous years a route slightly higher up towards the Hinter was used, which some people still prefer; this is also cairned). Alternatively, the cave may be approached from the summit of HSK - probably the optimal route if you are coming from any of the 161 entrances.",,"Photo gallery",,,, +204,"5/S x","a–f","CUCC 1999/03","yes","smkridge/204/204.html",,,"Steinbrückenhöhle",,,"2d","
","
",,"Question mark list and Completed question mark list. ",,,"In dataset; download .3d file or Raw survey data","
","caves/204/204.svx","11.7km","542m","645m (approximately N-S)",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"The cave is situated on the west side of the col between the Hinterer Schwarzmooskogel and Nieder Augst-Eck. It is currently one of the main areas of exploration for CUCC, who in 2001 established a bivvy site under the stone bridge opposite the entrance.","The route from Top Camp used since 1999 (probably near optimal) is a cairned path via Wolfhöhle (1623/145) and Laser Point 5, then up to the top of the bare patch of white limestone visible from Top Camp, passing 195 and 196. The path used in 2001 then skirts around the contours, passing the unmistakable arched entrance of Hauchhöhle, to arrive directly opposite the stone bridge after which the cave was named (in previous years a route slightly higher up towards the Hinter was used, which some people still prefer; this is also cairned). Alternatively, the cave may be approached from the summit of HSK - probably the optimal route if you are coming from any of the 161 entrances.",,"See the photo gallery for entrance photos.",,,, "","","a","","entrance","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","p204a","","","Nils","","","","","","","","","","","","Tag","","Surveyed" "","","b","","entrance","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","p204b","","","Surface survey","","","","","","","","","","","","Tag","","Surveyed" "","","c","","entrance","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","p204c","","","","Surface survey","","","","","","","","","","","","Tag","","Surveyed"