A view from the junction of paths at where the way to Bräuning Alm +branches off from the Stöerweg (route 201). Off right, out of the +picture, is the continuing path 201 towards the Stellerweg area. Ahead is the small valley +full of choked sinkholes which leads up to Bräuning Alm. The walk-in to +the plateau goes down a slope then up right towards the Bräuning Wall, seen on the +skyline.
+Note that at this point one is leaving the main signposted paths and so +"begehen auf eigene gefahr". Though in fact the path is fine until the Schwartzmoossättel. + +
Photo © Philip Sargent, 2017
+ |  | ||
| -Path 201 approaching Egglgrube | Valley to -Bräuning Alm |
Take this left turn, up the west side of the grassy valley to a collection of six huts (seven from 1995) on level pasture near a number of @@ -73,10 +77,13 @@ Bräuning Nase to the left. Ahead is the site of CUCC's bivouac of 1979, and, slightly beyond, the broad col of Schwarzmoossattel.
-The plateau lies directly ahead over this col, and may be reached by any +
The plateau lies directly ahead over this col, and may be reached by any of several routes through dwarf pine, with various amounts of scrambling. The whole area is pathless and very rough, though a few routes are marked -with sporadic cairns.
+by hunters with sporadic cairns. In recent years we have cairned a route +(it is not a path) from just below the col (via a hidden climb down) to +the Steinbrücken top camp bivvy. Every year we repair the cairns and +place reflectors on them just for the period that expo is running.Following the path round to the left (WNW) soon leads to a big cairn and
a short scramble down to the old Top Camp, which
@@ -91,7 +98,8 @@ reach the inaccessible pasture of CUCC Expedition Handbook
SAFETY. Everyone gets lost on the plateau. Don't get lost for long as this causes rescue plans to be initiated.
+ SAFETY. Everyone gets lost on the plateau. Don't get lost for long as this causes rescue plans to be initiated.
So get this essential data onto your phone (or handheld GPS).
SAFETY. Turn on location tracking in Google Maps (or OsmAnd) before you leave the car park and share your location with someone you know at basecamp and also with someone you know at top camp. This will show your last known location if you walk into an area of bad signal.
@@ -22,9 +22,10 @@ These are the smooth, curved lines.]
The file also includes all the cave entrances for the entire Schvartzmooskögel system (SMK).Essential GPS information
-
-
Don't be misled by the apparent simplicity of the above tracks. The plateau is very broken and an almost unbroken -extent of cliffs, holes and imapssable dwarf-larch scrub ("bunde" as it is known on expo). -You can be 5m from the route and have lost it entirely. +
Don't be misled by the apparent simplicity of the above tracks. The plateau is very broken and is +an unremitting extent of cliffs, holes and impassable dwarf-larch scrub ("bunde" as it is known on expo). +You can be 5m from the route and have lost it entirely. The walk to and from +col leading to the plateau is comparatively easy is it is an obvious path, and marked and signposted in the earlier section.
Much of the area of the Loser Augst-Eck plateau is rough limestone +
Much of the area of the Loser Augst-Eck plateau is rough limestone pavement (karren), liberally covered with dense areas of dwarf pine, and interspersed with small cliffs, open shafts and snow patches. The latter, in particular, can change the appearance of the plateau from year to year, @@ -18,10 +19,21 @@ and even from week to week in the summer. Getting from one point to another may involve detours to avoid any of these obstacles, and the whole effect is very disorientating. There are few landmarks recognisable from a distance or from a variety of angles, and little chance to relate the ground to the -1:25000 Austrian Alpine Club map. Prospecting is either a matter of searching +1:25000 Austrian Alpine Club map. If you are only 5m off the route you may +have lost the way on. + +
So walking on the plateau is difficult, and in bad weather (as in +July 2019) can be +seriously dangerous if attempted unaccompanied. The +route to the plateau +is deceptively safe and easy by comparison. + +
Prospecting is either a matter of searching for promising-looking caves with a draught, or shaft bashing many open holes in the hope that one will go. This latter approach is often a waste of time, -but just a few of them lead to really significant finds!
+but just a few of them lead to really significant finds! Much of the +exploration now is beyond the Steinbrücken bivvy in the area known as +the far plateauShaft bashing:
fixed points located by laser
theodolite/rangefinder from local trig. points.
The web pages contain as much description as we have of every cave we know +
The web pages contain as much description as we have of every cave we know about. To avoid any possibility of errors, this includes some info on caves not explored by CUCC, though for reasons of Austrian Kataster politics, these are not publicly accessible on the "live" web site.
@@ -153,7 +165,7 @@ vaguely deprecated.Anything longer than 10m needs a number, a survey of appropriate accuracy, and location information (bearings from -entrance to known points and description of route to entrance as a +entrance to known points, entranc photos and description of route to entrance as a minimum - surface surveys are really required for caves within a reasonable distance of existing known points, a GPS fix is probably a convenient compromise in the @@ -214,7 +226,7 @@ net pages) to other groups with a bona fide need.
Since 2003 the bivy site at Steinbrückenhöhle (the stone bridge) has had a number of solar panels -and a car battery, which are mainly used for charging lamp battery packs, drill -and AA/AAA batteries (and phones). Much bigger flexi solar panels arrived in 2007 +and a car battery, which are mainly used for charging lamps and drill +battery packs, but also AA/AAA batteries and phones. Much bigger flexi solar panels arrived in 2007 and a second, larger, battery around the same time.
In 2018 two new PV panels were bought. @@ -67,7 +67,10 @@ All the circuits should be covered with plastic sheeting (There should be a cut To charge the (now rarely-used) Bosch 24V drill batteries, the four solar panels should be connected together with two pairs of serially connected solar panels connected together in parallel. Crocodile clips can then be used to connect to the battery terminals. Note that the battery will not stop charging, and may damage the battery if left to over charge.
Store the batteries full, this means that you should stop discharging the batteries a few days before they are to be put away to allow them to charge. Grease the battery terminals, and place the batteries where they will stay dry, do not cover with anything that may get soggy and short the battery (e.g. cardboard box). +
In 2019, as we had long feared, inexperienced and under-supervised cavers in a hurry dropped a lead-acid battery +several metres while putting it away. Fortunately no one was hurt. We now plan to try to run +power cabling in a much longer run to the PV panels and the bivvy so that the batteries need to bemoved as little as possible.
+The plateau is reached via the visible col +(the Schwartzmoossättel) to +the right of the Bräuning Nase, the small sharp peak in the +centre of the skyline. The Schwartzmooskögel is the dark +green pine-clad hill on the right.
Photo © Andy Atkinson, 1991