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<h1>Expedition Report: CUCC Totes Gebirge 2003</h1>
<p><i>This is the text that was submitted for publication in the January 2004
issue of <a href="">Speleology</a> magazine.</i></p>
issue of <a href="">Speleology</a> magazine. It has been slightly edited for
the web (some links have been added) but is otherwise verbatim.</i></p>
<p>The 2003 Cambridge University Caving Club expedition to the Loser Plateau in
Austria's Totes Gebirgewas a resounding success, with two major new horizontal
@ -20,147 +24,165 @@ effort has not exhausted the potential of an area less than 5km square, which
now contains over 75km of surveyed passage.</p>
<p>The majority of the passage found in the 1970's and 80's was towards the
southern end of the plateau. The major caves are Schwarzmooskogel Eish&ouml;hle,
which boasts the largest chamber in the area - Schneevulkanhalle, 115m across
and stunningly decorated with ice formations - and Stellerwegh&ouml;hle, the
deepest cave in the area, descending to a sump at -898m. These were connected
together by a French group (Groupe Sp\'el\'eologique de Clerval - Baume les
Dames) in 1987, forming a composite system exceeding 20km.</p>
southern end of the plateau. The major caves are <span
lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogel Eish&ouml;hle</span>, which boasts the largest
chamber in the area - <span lang="de-at">Schneevulkanhalle</span>, 115m across
and stunningly decorated with ice formations - and <span
lang="de-at">Stellerwegh&ouml;hle</span>, the deepest cave in the area,
descending to a sump at -898m. These were connected together by a French group
(<span lang="fr"><a href="../../others/gscb/index.htm">Groupe
Sp&eacute;l&eacute;ologique de Clerval - Baume les Dames</a></span>) in 1987,
forming a composite system exceeding 20km.</p>
<p>In 1988, a new entrance further to the north, Kaninchenh&ouml;hle, was
discovered. This rapidly became the main focus of CUCC exploration, with 4km
of passage discovered in the first two years alone; by 1999 it stood at 24km
long and 534m deep. This included the huge passage of Chile, heading
southwards towards Eish&ouml;hle; much effort was spent in the next few years
seeking a connection, with the gap eventually narrowed to around 30m, but
there was no breakthrough; a fault in the rock appeared to have stopped all
<p>In 1988, a new entrance further to the north, <span
lang="de-at">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span>, was discovered. This rapidly became
the main focus of CUCC exploration, with 4km of passage discovered in the first
two years alone; by 1999 it stood at 24km long and 534m deep. This included the
huge passage of Chile, heading southwards towards <span
lang="de-at">Eish&ouml;hle</span>; much effort was spent in the next few years
seeking a connection, with the gap eventually narrowed to around 30m, but there
was no breakthrough; a fault in the rock appeared to have stopped all
development.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, further to the south a German group, Arbeitsgemeinschaft H&ouml;hle
und Karst Grabenstetten e.V.~(ARGE), were exploring in the Stellerweg area;
finally, in summer 2002 a group of muddy but elated Germans arrived at our
camp with the news that their cave (still known by the name originally
given to it by CUCC, Tony's Second H&ouml;hle) had dropped into an aven near the
southern end of Chile, tying together Kaninchenh&ouml;hle and the southern caves
to form the 54km long Schwarzmooskogelh&ouml;hlensystem.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, further to the south a German group, <span lang="de"><a
href="http://www.arge-grabenstetten.de/">Arbeitsgemeinschaft H&ouml;hle und
Karst Grabenstetten e.V.~(ARGE)</a></span>, were exploring in the Stellerweg
area; finally, in summer 2002 a group of muddy but elated Germans arrived at
our camp with the news that their cave (still known by the name originally
given to it by CUCC, Tony's Second <span lang="de-at">H&ouml;hle</span>) had
dropped into an aven near the southern end of Chile, tying together <span
lang="de-at">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span> and the southern caves to form the
54km long <span lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogelh&ouml;hlensystem</span>.</p>
<p>Since 1999 most of CUCC's exploration effort has focussed on the area around
the Hinterer Schwarzmooskogel, the peak which lies above the northernmost
reaches of Kaninchenh&ouml;hle; this was begun as an attempt to find an easier
entrance to the remote northern reaches of Kaninchenh&ouml;hle, but gained a
momentum of its own with the discovery of Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle.</p>
the <span lang="de-at">Hinterer Schwarzmooskogel</span>, the peak which lies
above the northernmost reaches of <span
lang="de-at">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span>; this was begun as an attempt to find
an easier entrance to the remote northern reaches of <span
lang="de-at">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span>, but gained a momentum of its own with
the discovery of <span lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span>.</p>
<p>Exploration this year primarily focussed on Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle, 1623/204 in
the Austrian 'Hoehlenkataster' (cave index), a cave towards the northern end
of the plateau discovered by CUCC in 1999. Four years of exploration had
already revealed 5.3km of passage, with a vertical range of 454m.</p>
<p>Exploration this year primarily focussed on <span
lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span>, 1623/204 in the Austrian
'<span lang="de-at">Hoehlenkataster</span>' (cave index), a cave towards the
northern end of the plateau discovered by CUCC in 1999. Four years of
exploration had already revealed 5.3km of passage, with a vertical range of
454m.</p>
<p>This year's most major discoveries were in the horizontal levels of the
system, in the 'Swings and Roundabouts' area. On one of the first caving trips
of the expedition, Julian Haines spotted a passage leading off from the far
side of 'Gaffer Tape' pitch (an imposing 80m deep and 20m wide shaft), and
Julian and Earl Merson set out the next day to bolt across the yawning gulf.
After some very airy traversing, they reached the entrance to this side
passage only to find that although it drafted inwards strongly, it was choked
with precarious boulders. Attempts to dislodge these proved rather
hair-raising, as there was nowhere at all to stand, and were abandoned; the bolt
traverse was removed, to allow another party to rig down the pitch into the
Gaffered to the Walls series without being deluged with falling rocks. </p>
After some very airy traversing, they reached the entrance to this side passage
only to find that although it drafted inwards strongly, it was choked with
precarious boulders. Attempts to dislodge these proved rather hair-raising, as
there was nowhere at all to stand, and were abandoned; the bolt traverse was
removed, to allow another party to rig down the pitch into the Gaffered to the
Walls series without being deluged with falling rocks. </p>
<p>At this point, Earl and Julian headed off to investigate 'Dutch Beauty', a
tight crawl leading off from the main Swings and Roundabouts passage slightly
further north. Earl squeezed through, returning slightly later with tales of a
spacious passage ('Rhino Rift') connecting to the far side of Julian's
Gaffered boulder choke! The next day, Julian and Becka Lawson surveyed this,
discovering in the process a short pitch ('Deviated Pitch') which led to yet
more horizontal passage, stretching off several hundred metres to the
north-west and carrying a substantial draught, with more leads branching off
in all directions. Within five days 900m of passage had been surveyed in the
new series, and there are still many leads awaiting exploration.</p>
spacious passage ('Rhino Rift') connecting to the far side of Julian's Gaffered
boulder choke! The next day, Julian and Becka Lawson surveyed this, discovering
in the process a short pitch ('Deviated Pitch') which led to yet more
horizontal passage, stretching off several hundred metres to the north-west and
carrying a substantial draught, with more leads branching off in all
directions. Within five days 900m of passage had been surveyed in the new
series, and there are still many leads awaiting exploration.</p>
<p>The location of the new series is particularly interesting, as the area of
plateau to the west of Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle has not been thoroughly explored, and
beyond it lies the vast 78km system of Raucherkarh&ouml;hle. The ultimate dream of
CUCC's work in the plateau is to connect Raucherkarh&ouml;hle to the
Schwarzmooskogel system, which would result in a composite system in excess of
130km long. This is a remote prospect as yet, but the westward trend of the
new series is encouraging. Although the present end is in a boulder choke
close to the surface, there are several undescended pitches which might lead
to deeper levels of westward-trending passage, possibly intersecting caves in
the unexplored region further west.</p>
plateau to the west of <span lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span>
has not been thoroughly explored, and beyond it lies the vast 78km system of
<span lang="de-at">Raucherkarh&ouml;hle</span>. The ultimate dream of CUCC's
work in the plateau is to connect <span
lang="de-at">Raucherkarh&ouml;hle</span> to the <span
lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogel</span> system, which would result in a composite
system in excess of 130km long. This is a remote prospect as yet, but the
westward trend of the new series is encouraging. Although the present end is in
a boulder choke close to the surface, there are several undescended pitches
which might lead to deeper levels of westward-trending passage, possibly
intersecting caves in the unexplored region further west.</p>
<p>There were also many discoveries elsewhere. The 'Gaffered to the Walls' pitch
series, of which Gaffer Tape is the first pitch, had been explored last year
to a depth of 207m. Only 26m further on, a new series of horizontal passages
(known as the Underworld) was found, which is the deepest known phreatic
development in Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle. According to Martin Green,
<blockquote>"A complex series
of horizontal passages were discovered intermingled with large shafts, with
clean washed walls and floors, where pools of crystal clear water could be
found. A number of the chambers were covered in a thin black layer of mud,
which was broken though upon being trodden on into richer light brown
sediment. Within some of the sediment were piles of bat bones, presumably
washed down from higher levels, where bats are occasionally seen. To our great
surprise we encountered several fine grottos of stalagmites, which are
uncommon in our area. A grotto named the Sirens has bright white foot long
stalagmites which were actively dripping water, suggesting that stalagmite
formation is still active. Horizontal development is still going in the area
and there are a number of shafts to explore, as well as avens to bolt up."</blockquote>
</p>
development in <span lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span>. According
to Martin Green,</p>
<p>There was also exploration at the deepest point of Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle, the
streamway of 'Razordance', which is entered at around -350m and proceeds
downwards at an average gradient of about 1:2, interrupted by occasional small
pitches. Anthony Day, Mark Shinwell and myself explored a further 150m to
reach a new deep point to the system 487m below the main entrace, putting the
total vertical range at 510m. Much of the new passage is similar to the
existing sections, an awkward, narrow, high rift; but this is interrupted by a
sizeable boulder-filled chamber, 'God Loves a Drunk', formed by breakdown at a
point where a small inlet streamway enters. This offers the first viable site
for an underground camp, which may well be used in the planned further
exploration of Razordance next year.</p>
<blockquote><p>"A complex series of horizontal passages were discovered
intermingled with large shafts, with clean washed walls and floors, where pools
of crystal clear water could be found. A number of the chambers were covered in
a thin black layer of mud, which was broken though upon being trodden on into
richer light brown sediment. Within some of the sediment were piles of bat
bones, presumably washed down from higher levels, where bats are occasionally
seen. To our great surprise we encountered several fine grottos of stalagmites,
which are uncommon in our area. A grotto named the Sirens has bright white
foot long stalagmites which were actively dripping water, suggesting that
stalagmite formation is still active. Horizontal development is still going in
the area and there are a number of shafts to explore, as well as avens to bolt
up."</p></blockquote>
<p>There was also exploration at the deepest point of <span
lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span>., the streamway of
'Razordance', which is entered at around -350m and proceeds downwards at an
average gradient of about 1:2, interrupted by occasional small pitches.
Anthony Day, Mark Shinwell and myself explored a further 150m to reach a new
deep point to the system 487m below the main entrace, putting the total
vertical range at 510m. Much of the new passage is similar to the existing
sections, an awkward, narrow, high rift; but this is interrupted by a sizeable
boulder-filled chamber, 'God Loves a Drunk', formed by breakdown at a point
where a small inlet streamway enters. This offers the first viable site for an
underground camp, which may well be used in the planned further exploration of
Razordance next year.</p>
<p>Razordance has clearly carried an active stream for an extremely long time,
which is unusual in the area (most of the known caves consist of fossil
phreatic passages). This has given rise to hopes that it may lead to a
significant deep system: over CUCC's 26 years of exploration in the Loser
plateau, all but one of the deep pitch series that have been found terminate
at a common level approximately 550m below the surface. The exception is
Stellerwegh&ouml;hle (1623/40), where a similar rift streamway apparently breaks
through this layer and plunges down to -1030m. It is hoped that Razordance may
do the same; since its entrance is significantly higher up than that of
Stellerwegh&ouml;hle, this would be a major discovery, and motivates plans to
continue the exploration of Razordance next year (hopefully with a larger
team).</p>
at a common level approximately 550m below the surface. The exception is <span
lang="de-at">Stellerwegh&ouml;hle</span> (1623/41), where a similar rift
streamway apparently breaks through this layer and plunges down to -1030m. It
is hoped that Razordance may do the same; since its entrance is significantly
higher up than that of <span lang="de-at">Stellerwegh&ouml;hle</span>, this
would be a major discovery, and motivates plans to continue the exploration of
Razordance next year (hopefully with a larger team).</p>
<p>There were also discoveries outside Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle. Ten new entrances
were explored; the majority of these lie on the eastern slopes of the
<p>There were also discoveries outside <span
lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span>. Ten new entrances were
explored; the majority of these lie on the eastern slopes of the
Schwarzmooskogel ridge, where the plateau drops away sharply into a glaciated
valley; it was hoped that this downcutting would have opened up entrances
where it intersected levels of horizontal development. A number of such
entrances have already been found further south, particularly the Eish&ouml;hle
'portal row' which is a cluster of over a dozen entrances within a 100m
radius.</p>
valley; it was hoped that this downcutting would have opened up entrances where
it intersected levels of horizontal development. A number of such entrances
have already been found further south, particularly the <span
lang="de-at">Eish&ouml;hle</span> 'portal row' which is a cluster of over a
dozen entrances within a 100m radius.</p>
<p>Our hopes of finding a new entrance to Kaninchenh&ouml;hle were fulfilled by
2003-06, which rapidly led into the Iceland area; but this will not make too
much difference to the ease of exploration of Kaninchenh&ouml;hle, as it is close
to the existing 161e and f entrances. 2003-05, being further west, offered a
chance to connect to the much deeper and more remote northwestern reaches of
Kaninchenh&ouml;hle, but proved to be choked at only -50m.</p>
<p>Our hopes of finding a new entrance to <span
lang="de-at">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span> were fulfilled by 2003-06, which
rapidly led into the Iceland area; but this will not make too much difference
to the ease of exploration of <span lang="de-at">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span>, as
it is close to the existing 161e and f entrances. 2003-05, being further west,
offered a chance to connect to the much deeper and more remote northwestern
reaches of <span lang="de-at">Kaninchenh&ouml;hle</span>, but proved to be
choked at only -50m.</p>
<p>Further north lies 2003-02, where an awkward entrance rift gives access to a
shaft. Rocks dropped down the shaft fall for two seconds, bounce off a ledge,
then fall for a further four seconds, suggesting a pitch of impressive
dimensions; this will be investigated next summer.</p>
<p>Further west near the 204d entrance is 2003-09 (Weizeneish&ouml;hle); although
quite short, this is well decorated with ice formations and has a strong
inward draught. This draught can be followed to an unstable descending boulder
slope, which was not followed downwards for safety reasons, but the original
explorers have vowed to return next year with a crowbar! As this point is
only 30m from the terminal choke of 'On a Mission', the northwestern extremity
of the new Rhino Rift series in Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle; this choke draughts
<p>Further west near the 204d entrance is 2003-09 (<span
lang="de-at">Weizeneish&ouml;hle</span>); although quite short, this is well
decorated with ice formations and has a strong inward draught. This draught can
be followed to an unstable descending boulder slope, which was not followed
downwards for safety reasons, but the original explorers have vowed to return
next year with a crowbar! As this point is only 30m from the terminal choke of
'On a Mission', the northwestern extremity of the new Rhino Rift series in
<span lang="de-at">Steinbr&uuml;ckenh&ouml;hle</span>; this choke draughts
strongly outwards, so it is natural to suspect that they connect.</p>
<p>All in all it was a most successful expedition, with the final tally at 1.9km
@ -169,7 +191,7 @@ participants (including two expedition newbies). Planning has already begun in
earnest for next summer's return visit; we can only hope for similar luck next
year! Further information is available on CUCC's website at
http://cucc.survex.com/, including a complete archive of expedition findings
from 1976 to the present.
from 1976 to the present.</p>
<h3>Expedition members</h3>
@ -183,47 +205,37 @@ Rooke, Mark Shinwell, Julian Todd, Frank Tully, Lucia Vittorini.</p>
expedition:</p>
<ul>
<li />Thomas Tunnock Ltd, for their generous donation of Tunnock Bars;
<li />G. Costa + Co, UK distributors of Blue Dragon instant noodles, for
supplying us with nearly a thousand packets of the latter;
<li />The Ghar Parau Foundation, for their generous financial support.
<li>Thomas Tunnock Ltd, for their generous donation of Tunnock Bars;</li>
<li>G. Costa + Co, UK distributors of Blue Dragon instant noodles, for
supplying us with nearly a thousand packets of the latter;</li>
<li>The Ghar Parau Foundation, for their generous financial support.</li>
</ul>
<p>We would also like to thank the management of the Loser Panoramastrasse toll
road; the local caving authority, the Verein f&uuml;r H&ouml;hlenkunde in Obersteier;
and, last but not least, Hilde, Karin and everyone else at the Gasthof
Staud'nwirt in Bad Aussee (location of our base camp) for their hospitality.</p>
road; the local caving authority, the <a href="http://www.hoehle.at"><span
lang="de-at">Verein f&uuml;r H&ouml;hlenkunde in Obersteier</span></a>; and,
last but not least, Hilde, Karin and everyone else at the Gasthof Staud'nwirt
in Bad Aussee (location of our base camp) for their hospitality.</p>
<p style="font-style: italic; text-align: right">David Loeffler (dl267 - at - cam.ac.uk)<br />
Expedition Leader 2003<br />
Trinity College, Cambridge, CB2 1TQ, UK<br />
11th January 2004</p>
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