Altitudes: (from old kataster)
- -Laser rangefinding puts an entrance (which we believe is 40a - the -highest) at E 36458.2 N (52)81700.4 H 1689.5 - -
Location: SSE of Vd. Schwarzmooskogel and -ENE of a large basin in the hillside which often contains a lot of snow. -Roughly a 450m NNE of -Sonnenstrahlhöhle. - -
Approach: From the Bergrestaurant, take path 201 to the -left turn to the plateau at Egglgrube (where the -cows often are; the second signpost you encounter along the route to Top -Camp). This is about 15-20 minutes' walk from the Bergrestaurant. - -
Instead of taking the path to Top Camp, continue along the 201. Pass the -junction path left to Kratzer and continue until a -spit with a red circle around it is seen in the middle of the path. After -about 10 metres a faint red upper-case Omega is seen in the middle of the -path, marking Kat. 28 (we think). This is about 10 minutes from the -Egglgrube turn-off. (If you reach a drop into the -valley, initially steep and then easing off, then you have gone too far). At -the Omega, there is a well-marked (cairns and red paint spots/arrows) branch -path.
- -Follow this past a wire traverse and into a gully with a tree which has -been struck by lightning on the right. (The path up the limestone to the left -here leads to -Schwabenschacht). After -about 10 minutes' walk from the Omega you reach a small cliff with two red -arrows pointing in opposite directions on it. (note: not a -double-headed arrow, which you encounter on the route to -Schwabenschacht). Do not continue straight on but -climb up to the left, slightly doubling back on yourself.
- -After about fifteen minutes from the pair of arrows the path reaches a -traverse (already rigged with an orange rope in 2000) over a deep hole; about -five minutes after this you reach Bunter's Bulge -(Weiße Warze; the Nipple) on your right. Pass -this in the grassy gully and head round to the right after about fifty -metres. Here new red paint marks appear and take you to 40a -(Oberer Eingang), a very large entrance with a plaque -proclaiming 'Schwarzmooskogel Eishöhle' and a -green Nature Reserve sign bolted to the wall. This is about twenty minutes' -walk from Bunter's Bulge. 40a is believed to be the Germans' (Munich) bivvy -site. Note that in the dark the route between 40a and Bunter's Bulge can be -difficult to follow.
- -To reach the main row of entrances (40s, 40h and 40e), continue past 40a -up through some bunde and follow the path (heading in -2000 for a snow plug). Before the drop to the snow plug the path bears right -slightly to a step over a small gully with a large hole on the right -(believed to be 40b). Continue at about the same level until a short traverse -round a bunde-covered outcrop of limestone with a fairly large entrance on -the left is reached (choked in 2000). From here descend about ten metres and -continue on a shelf at the same level to a 5m climb down karren. Continue at -the same level to the left to reach a snow plug. The -Nichts50 entrance (not yet connected to -Eishöhle) can be seen as an arch ahead with a -rubble slope leading down inside and a terrace for a bivvy site (believed to -have been used by the French). 40h is about ten metres further along, -draughts strongly (very cold!) and has a large snow slope leading down. -Following the path leads past a small choked entrance (vocal connection to -40e discovered in 2000) to a point where the path ends abruptly and -unambiguously. This is the site of the 40e entrance -Brennerbeserlschluf), also strongly draughting. This is -about ten minutes' walk from 40a.
- -Schwarzmooskogel Eishöhle is an extensive -cave over 1600m long before 1983, extended to 2500m by a German group by -1985. The system is mainly horizontal, though tackle is needed to explore it -fully, and crampons are necessary in parts, because of the substantial -quantities of ice in the cave. Was extended by the Germans who work in the -area in the early eighties, who suggested then that there was potential for -extension vertically. Subsequently linked via a 30m pitch to -Lärchenschacht (1623/88) -which in turn was connected to the -Stellerweghöhlensystem, -giving no increase in depth if the laser-rangefound altitude is correct -rather than the old kataster one, which seems likely. - -
From 'Längsten und Tiefsten Höhlen in -Österreich', translated by Wookey and -Thilo. Entrances have been labelled with the modern -convention and parts in [square brackets] have been added for clarity. - -
The cave is on the south-eastern slopes of the -Vorderer Schwarzmooskogel (1843) developed in -Dachsteinkalk. From seven partly shaft-like -entrance points, a huge, flat-floored level with impressive ice formations -can be approached. The Schneevulkanhalle at the northern end -is the biggest ice-bearing chamber in middle Europe. - -
Four entrances lead into the central area. A 40m shaft from the Top -Entrance Oberen Eingang (40a) breaks into the ice-decorated -Altausseer Halle. To the west from here via a 25m ramp -accessing Schneehalle leads both to entrance 40b and the -connecting gallery from the ice-bearing Thalhammerhalle, -that can be entered from entrances 40c and 40d too. South of the Schnee and -Altausseer Halles, the Teufelberger Halle connects, the -bottom of which contains an ice lake. A wide passage with side shafts goes -southsouthwest to Hans-Pfandl-Halle. The east connected -room, also reached by a 23m high chimney (entrance 40g), is divided into two -by a high block barrier. The Flußtunnel south from -here ends blocked. - -
From the Altausseer Halle, a lofty passage with -ice figures heads off NNE. The continuation is the Halle des -Schiefen Turms, where the Wahnsinnschächte -branches off on the west. It was thought that this was blocked by ice. -However, over a wall of ice one reaches the 130 by 75 by 50 m -Schneevulkanhalle, on the eastern wall of which rises a -steep snowslope flowing from the Königsschachts -(entrance 40f). The chamber with its very impressive ice formations can also -be reached via the Brennerbeselschluf (entrance 40e) -[and by Eistunnel (entrance 40h)]. At its northern end a -climb reveals the easterly-running Kalten Gang and the -parallel Spinnenfriedhof. - -
The principal objective of both pushing and tourist trips is the huge ice -chamber of Schneevulkanhalle, which requires some -serious ice work to reach from the older entrances (40a - d and 40g) in the -middle of the system. - -
If entrance 40h is open this provides the easiest way to reach -Schneevulkanhalle. In the left-hand wall, just -before the start of the tube at the bottom of the daylight snow slope, are -two Spits from which to rig a 35m rope. If the entrance is open you can -abseil straight down the ice slope and stroll out into -Schneevulkanhalle, entering just behind the 'elephant' -formation seen in the top right of the picture below. Crampons are necessary -from the surface onwards. - -
-
-If 40h is blocked by snow or ice, follow the description to the 'new'
-entrance (Brennerbeselschluf, 40e), with a somewhat
-limited area to get changed, perched between the icy blast from the cave and
-whatever the Austrian weather is offering.
-
-
The entrance is not walk-in, and low crawling in the face of the icy -draught starts at once. A small descending tube (somewhat muddy - irritating -in crampons!) leads in about 20m to a short climb down into larger -(walking/stooping) passage Geröllgang. This goes -downhill to a scramble up. This was totally ice-covered in 1997 and 1998, but -not 1999 or 2000 and has a fixed rope -(VfHO-installed), which may be buried in ice at somewhat critical points - a -certain amount of care is needed if chipping it out with an ice-axe and -gloves really are needed ! - -
Partway up this slope is a space on the left -[C0000-40-05 A], including a pitch in the floor. At the far end of this space, a -short crawl and a grovel down through boulders where a stream comes in from -above both choke. The pitch is a c3, p20, p30 - the last part being very wet -in early summer. Leading to -Schotterland. - -
Survey data also suggests a passage off to the right of the iceslope -for 20m or so. - -
Above the scramble up is a short traverse, also rather interesting when -covered in hard ice (and also protected by a fixed rope which had to be dug -out in 1998). A steeply ascending passage to the L holds a quantity of -particularly scrofulous rope (presumably a previous fixed rope). This can be -climbed ~10m until it gets too vertical. It draughts. Beyond the ice is a -steep snow/ice slope down into the huge -Schneevulkanhalle. It is strongly recommended -to equip this with a properly rigged SRT rope rather than anything less - the -cave has seen a number of accidents, some fatal. Although the slope -looks like soft snow, it is a layer of coarsely crystalline hard -névé over solid ice. In parts it is -almost impossible to kick steps into, whilst in others it offers only minimal -purchase for crampon points. Conditions no doubt vary with the season as well -as with position on the slope and the year. Tackle required: 50m rope, -crampons. - -
There is one bolt at the top, for a traverse line to two bolts off to the -right in the roof where the snow-slope proper starts. Sometimes the traverse -area is full of snow and an ice-screw or ice-axe rebelay/deviation (club -first ? in 1989) may be needed. A deviation (from rock) at the head of the -steep section was found adequate in 1998. - -
The 50m Königschacht (40f) entrance is the -source of the snow slope and comes in here. It is often full of snow but was -open in 1999 and so was surveyed (by ARGE). - -
At the bottom is the main chamber from which the pitch does indeed look -like a snow-covered volcanic cone. Most of the floor area is ice-covered and -only a slight slope is necessary to make crampons vital here. Most of the -chamber is filled with ice formations up to 15m high (end of season). Those -with two ice-tools can climb almost anything in the chamber, though the -formations are no doubt rather more spectacular and fragile in spring or -early summer. Formation-ice can also shatter very easily as melting occurs -between component crystals later in the season, so it is probably safer for -climbers to stick to hard névé. Ways on -are mostly reached by steeper slopes that definitely require ice-gear and can -be quite unnerving approached from above. Note that the slopes are usually -hard ice, ice-axe-braking after a slip is not an option - lifeline or -don't fall ! - -
The foot of the piss-wet pitch opens out into very large triangular -passage. You can go NE about 35m until it chokes (a good draught comes -out of one hoplessly choked corner) or SW 20m to a T-junction. Right (W) -is Kleiner Keller. Left, ducking under the low -wall, is Schotterland. - -
Kleiner keller is about 50m in huge passage to -where the end is choked with glacial fill and a waterspout comes in the from -the roof 3m up. A sling ladder makes it possible to ascend the waterspout - -you can even do it without getting very wet, as the spout is unusually -well-concentrated, and thus avoidable. This comes into an E-W rift, with the -water coming from the east end. It can be ascended in both directions at -various traverse levels for about 30m, but the top appears choked at all -points. The top is probably very close to the floor of -Elefantengang.
- -The old Munich cavers' data suggests that there is a passage off -Kleiner Keller that we missed - which seems hard to -believe, but maybe it is worth another visit?
- -Schotterland is more enormous passage (10m wide) -going SSE, presumably Schotterland, due to the -flooring of small rocks. A ramp goes up steeply on the left after 30m. It -closes down after 40m. Ahead the passage slowly narrows until it chokes at -the end - probably very close to the surface.
- -Starting from the base of the pitch from the 40e and 40f entrances (facing -outwards from the slope), heading round the chamber to the left leads over a -large flat area of ice to where a gap between ice and rock -[C0000-40-01 A] drops 10m -(2 bolts, one added 1999) into large passage: -Elefantengang. - -
Right next to it is an icefall coming in from above -[C0000-40-02 C]. -Just to the right of this is a very low gap -[C0000-40-06 B] -made rather unpleasant by the pool of icy water that can't be avoided. -This was apparently explored by GSCB in early 80s for approximately 40m, -but was revisited in 2000 by Shinwell and Horsley. This led to the discovery -of further passages, the Night Manipulations -Series.
- -40m round the wall of the chamber is a rubble run-in, iced on the top -half. This was climbed by Haines (1998) and Atkinson (1999), as well as -the GSCB. At the top is a wet boulder choke that definitely doesn't go, -but the GSCB plan shows a narrow rift on the right marked 'tight'. Halfway up -this slope on the left is the narrow entrance to Persistence -of Vision.
- -
-
-20m further round another couple of icefalls come in. Both are about 8-10m
-and vertical
-[C0000-40-03 A].
-The first of these was bolted up by Betts in 2000 and is now permanently
-rigged. This is the way to Mission Impossible which comes very close
-to Kaninchenhöhle.
50m further round (downslope) the ice drops away steeply under the wall. -A line is advisable for the descent. 20m down, the ice slope peters out -giving way to sand and rocks. At the end here is a very strongly draughting -hole [C0000-40-04 B]. -This was excavated by Shinwell and Merson in 2000 to get through to -Kalten Gang and -Spinnenfriedhof (surveyed by VfHM, 1984). To the right -at the foot of the slope closes down with rocks and ice - it would probably -connect with Plastic Hell. A few metres up from the bottom of the slope on -the left hand (N) wall is a gap between the ice and rock -[A1998-40-06 A] leading to -Express Finish. - -
Back in Schneevulkanhalle, another 10m clockwise round -the chamber is another, steeper iceslope. A rope is definitely needed for -this. This is the way to Plastic Hell. - -
Beyond and above are more thin icefalls coming from high in the ceiling -- trying to climb these would be bonkers - the debris from the collapse -of some of them is all around.
This passage leads to the 'old cave' via some difficult sections of -steep ice. +steep ice.
The pitch drops down into large passage blocked by the ice wall behind. There is a crawl on the right that doesn't go. The main passage leads 80m @@ -469,7 +146,7 @@ the bottom is too tight, and the draught seems to have gone.
+
An interesting series off Schneevulkanhalle, with some
tortuous small passage of a highly 'Mendip' nature, including tight bends,
squeezes, ridiculous climbs, insane bolt traverses, and bizarre hading
@@ -481,9 +158,9 @@ far. The end (bottom of Eiscream) is the point closest to
(Breeze block area of Chile) which
makes it a very interesting spot.
-
-
About 10m up the left edge of the funnel-shaped rubble/ice slope at the
western edge of SVH is a narrow rift. (You can leave your crampons at the
@@ -494,7 +171,7 @@ reaching a very narrow and rather awkward 180 degree bend, leading to another
7m of unhelpfully small wiggly passage. At least the wind stops you
overheating :-).
-
Exploration:
-
-The main passages as far as Elefantengang were
-explored by 1938. Since then a variety of groups have worked here finding
-numerous extensions, of which Schneevulkanhalle is
-the most significant.
-
- Until recently, it has been difficult to come close to a
-comprehensive survey or even a good estimate of the length of the system
-because of a lack of contact and some misunderstanding between the groups
-involved. However, in 1997 a chance encounter (at the International
-Congress) by Wookey with Denis Motte, of the
-G.S.Clerval,
-led to renewed contacts with one group who explored this area, and
-Thilo Müller of ARGE has contacted the leaders of
-other groups and obtained all the rest of the 1980s information that
-survives. This is being merged into a coherent set of information which will
-guide necessary resurvey work to complete the picture.
-
- Stellerweghöhle in turn is connected to
-Schwabenschacht which
-was over 7km at the time and exploration continues. This must make the
-combined system at least 19 km long. We have seen figures quoted as high as
-25km, but this may involve some double-counting, given the uncertainties
-involved. Arge's estimate (entirely from extant survey data) was 22.7 km
-after summer 1999.
-
-
At the end there is a hole in the floor, which is made awkward by the
chockstone in the middle of it. The way on to Up, up and
@@ -544,7 +221,7 @@ and no ways on.
Up, up ... (CUCC, 1999)
-
Ascending the steep, rifty passage for 4m leads to a squeeze over a boulder
into a spacious chamber. At the left hand edge is access back into the top of
@@ -557,7 +234,7 @@ sloping right hand wall of the chamber to a window.
... and away
-
At the top a lined 2m climb leads to a passage, And away. The main Delaying
Tactics rift also continues ahead for about 12m (including a bad step)
@@ -588,7 +265,7 @@ called Radio 3 because it was crap.
Angle of Dangle (CUCC, 1999)
-
Most of the draught at the rock bridge comes from a window across the Radio
3 pitch. This is reached by a 5-bolt tension traverse. (Originally done
@@ -720,71 +397,6 @@ a deadman. (horrid polyprop garden rope coiled up in situ!)
-
-
-The length comes from:
-VfHM 1980s survey - 693m: Original part of cave plus extensions
-VfHO 1991 survey - 374m: Schneevulkanhalle from
-40e entrance
-CUCC 1998-9 surveys - 751m: Heaven and Hell and Persistence of Vision SVH
-extensions
-Arge 1999 surveys - 130m: Königsschat and
-Grüner Eingang
-
Schwarzmooskogel