From aeeee80b0384ab6f598d5ac59eb3d5b4084c4575 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: edvindeadman Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2009 18:47:22 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] update --- years/2009/report.html | 181 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 181 insertions(+) create mode 100644 years/2009/report.html diff --git a/years/2009/report.html b/years/2009/report.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000..3ea33b9c2 --- /dev/null +++ b/years/2009/report.html @@ -0,0 +1,181 @@ + + + + +2009: Expedition report + + + + +

Expo 2009
+Cambridge University Club
+18th July - 15th August 2009

+ +

In the summer of 2009, twenty-two brave, hard and (mainly) good-looking +cavers from CUCC (plus some guests from other clubs) returned to the +Totes Gebirge mountains in Austria to continue exploring the cave +systems of the Loser Plateau. The expedition lasted for four weeks.

+ +

Background

+

Over the past three decades, CUCC has explored many different caves +on the +Loser plateau. Bit by bit, connections have been found between these +caves (and also potholes explored by other groups, such as ARGE). This +has resulted in the formidably-named +Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem, a 55km long and 1km deep goliath.

+

For the past ten years, the focus of CUCC's expeditions has turned +to the exploration of +Steinbrückenhöhle. This +has slowly been extended over the years and is now a major cave system +in its own right: 16km long and well over 600m deep. It lies to the +north of a cave in the Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem known as Kaninchenhöhle. In 2006 Tunnockschacht was discovered, +and recent expeditions have also been dedicated to its +exploration. Tunnockschacht lies to the north of Steinbrückenhöhle.

+ +

There were hundreds of promising unexplored leads in +Kaninchenhöhle (KH), +Steinbrückenhöhle (204) and Tunnockschacht (258), and this was reason +enough to continue exploring. In addition, there is now a very +realistic prospect of finding connections between the three caves, +thereby extending the Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem.

+ +

Aims of the Expedition

+

For more details see the mission statement.

+

Some rather hard exploration in 2007 established that the +closest point between KH and 204 was at the bottom of a particularly +miserable rift known as Razordance. So it was decided that a more +pleasant way of seeking the connection would be to look from the KH +side, in the Far North, where happily there were also many large +undescended pitches to look at.

+ +

In addition to returning to KH, plans were afoot to continue +exploring leads in 204 and in 258. At the end of the 2008 expedition a +new horizontal level was found, named Pussy Prance (in "honour" of +Razordance). Meanwhile, Tunnockschacht was still "going like a train", +and its southern extremities were tantalisingly close to the north of +204, so this was also an exploration goal for 2009.

+ +

This year's expedition also had a non-caving goal (not just +drinking Gösser). Recently members of CUCC have started to +develop a piece of software called Troggle, which aims to facilitate +keeping track of logbook entries, typing up surveys, caves etc, and save time in a lot of the +work that goes on behind the scenes when expo is over. This year was +the first time Troggle would be tested "in th field" (well, spud hut).

+ +

The Expedition

+

And so it was that on the 18th July 2009, various cars from Cambridge, +Sheffield, Bristol, Southampton, Norway and France converged on the +campsite at the Gasthof Staud'n'wirt, Bad Aussee. In keeping with expo +tradition not all the vehicles quite made it unscathed, Julian and +Becka experiencing a rather exciting "bonnet-on-the-windscreen" moment +on the autobahn.

+

The first few days were spent carrying equipment and supplies from +the top of the Toll Road to the bivy near the 204 entrance, and +setting up the bivy (tarps, water collection, mouse-proof food storage +etc). Then the caving began.

+ +

Discoveries in Kaninchenhöhle

+

Initialy, things progressed rather slowly in KH. The first few +trips were spent cairning a route from the bivy to G entrance and then +bit-by-bit navigating our way to the far north, replacing some of +the very old fixed ropes and frighteningly rusty maillons as we +went. Finally we were ready to start looking down some of the big +undescended pitches in the area.

+

The pitch near Satan's Sitting Room, dubbed 'Satan's Sitter' was +the first to be explored, dropping for 50m before ending in an +inpenetrable rift. A similar story was met near Silent Fellow, where a +30m pitch 'Solid Rock' led to a promising looking series of clean washed +drops. Unfortunately, once again a narrow rift was met and the lead +was finished.

+

As is often the way, things started to look particularly good +towards the end of expo. By now the route all the way to East Anglia +had been rigged. A very promising pitch series, '6 Mile Bottom', was dropped +until the rope ran out. It is still a going lead. Various other big black spaces were also found. Further back in +Repton, an exciting-sounding bit of climbing led to a large, straight +walking sized passage, which, again, is still a going lead as time ran +out.

+ +

Altogether, 776m was surveyed in KH and more A-grade leads were +found than were ticked off, so if nothing else, we showed that there +is still plenty more to find at the far end, and that a connection to +204 is still a realistic possibilty one day! KH is now 22.3 km long.

+ +

Discoveries in Steinbrückenhöhle

+

Meanwhile, in 204 the expo Women's Institue (dubbed Team Zeus, for +reasons long since lost to Gösser) were exploring the pitch +series, Pussy Prance, that was discovered at the end of last year's +expo. At the bottom (a bit over 200m down) they found an exciting new phreatic +horizontal level with various feline-themed names: Puss in Bolts (a +traverse), Cat Flap, Cat Walk, Snow Leopard and er... Painted Lady.

+

On one particular trip there was a little confusion when a pitch, +Snow Leopard, was dropped for the first time, only to find foot +prints, a pencil and a hanger at the bottom! This turned out to be the +bottom of Brian's Phat +Shaft. In fact, this was a very useful discovery as it offers an +alternative, much easier route into the level than the route via Merry +Fucking Christmas.

+

In total 553m of cave was surveyed in 204. Survex shows that the +new level is perched vertically above +Razordance and not too far from Hauchhöhle. There are vertical leads in Hauchhöhle, and +plenty of vertical leads in this new level of 204, so cleary there is +some exciting caving to be done here in the future. 204 is now 16.5km long.

+ +

Discoveries in Tunnockschacht

+

In previous years, most of the horizontal leads in Tunnockschacht had +been ticked off. Attention had turned to dropping some of the +frighteningly airy pitches, in the hope of finding a lower horizontal +level which might offer hope of a connection with the Wares in 204.

+ +

Frustratingly, the pitches all seemed to 'crap out'. However, this +year, another 100m deep monster, 'Usual Suspects', was dropped and a new +phreatic level found at the bottom, with many ongoing leads. It turned +out, however, that this pitch has a tendency to take a little water +when it rains, as Becka, Julian and Steve found during initial +exploration of the horizontal phreas. As an almighty thunderstorm +raged on the surface (basecamp claimed to find hailstones the size of +golf balls) they were sat at the bottom of the Usual Suspects for +several hours cowering in a 'tent' made of survival bags. The +thunderstorm passed, but their call out time also came and went and so +the well oiled CUCC rescue machine swung into action once +more. Eventually the water levels dropped and everybody returned to the +surface unscathed - see Julian's logbook write up for a far better +account than the one here!

+ +

Plenty more was found higher up in Tunnockschacht. Stone Money was +extended further and the explorers were convinced that it should by +now have reached the surface. Several new caves were found by Frank +and Martin J in an effort to connect Stone Monkey to the surface, but +as yet Tunnockschacht only has the one entrance (although to be fair +it does function quite nicely). Altogether 1462m of cave was surveyed +in Tunnockschacht; it is now over 6km long and 290m deep.

+ +

Some Post-Expedition Remarks

+

Expo 2009 is now over, but writing cave descriptions, typing up +logbooks and drawing up surveys continues. We found just under 3km +this year. The overriding feeling is that there is plenty more cave still to be found in all three +of the major caves we looked at, which bodes well for future expos. In +addition Troggle looks like it will soon come into its own on expo and +streamline all the basecamp computer-shenanigans.

+ +

Thanks go to all the expedition members and in particular everybody +who helped get stuff organised both before and after expo. Thanks also +to our sponsors for their help this year.

+ +
+ + + +