Steinbruckenhöhle
+href="../204.htm">Steinbruckenhöhle
Cave Description Back to Expedition Intro
The first two right turns encountered when heading downhill from the foot of Jim'll Fix @@ -133,9 +135,7 @@ keyhole passage. Left leads after 15m to a climb up behind a precariously placed boulder, to an immediate climb down of 4m which emerges in the 1999 main route through the near end before Pendulum -Pitch. Right leads immediately to an undescended pitch [C1999-204-08 B]. A difficult and exposed traverse round +Pitch. Right leads immediately to a 8m pitch. A difficult and exposed traverse round the left hand wall leads to a further 30m of passage with a steadily lowering roof culminating in a boulder choke.
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ about half way along its length.
Marble Run runs along a fault line that created a small passable phreatic tube, which has subsequently been intersected by a tight rifty stream way. 20m along the rift bears to the right and is too tight to pass, whilst the phreatic passage continues on to a small -chamber. Here the passage doubles back on itself to continue above the original +chamber. Here the passage doubles back over itself to continue above the original passage. The passage does this once more to end in an earth blockage.
Treeumphant Passage disappears into an approx 5m drop [C1999-204-20 B].
At the foot of the pitch, the way on is a very chossy, sloping descent which will require either re-rigging or bypassing (which may be possible by a climb up and over) in future. This leads to a further short pitch (10m), which lands in -an aven chamber of ample proportions. From here is another short, undescended -pitch [C1999-204-21 A], a crawl leading off from the foot of the +an aven chamber of ample proportions. From here drops an 8m pitch, +landing on a rubble floor. The only way on is a tight rift +[C2000-204-60 C], +which was penetrated for only a short distance. +More progress might be possible by someone small and imaginative. Not surveyed in 2000. +Back at the head of the 8m pitch. a crawl leading off from the foot of the pitch just descended, and a descending rubble slope. The rubble slope curves round to the right, passing a tight rift on the left [C1999-204-22 C], to reach the bottom of a short climb up of 3m on the right, which is followed by a scramble down on the other side. From here, straight ahead is a climb up into the foot of an aven, half-right is a short ascending passage leading to a chamber where a traverse around the right -hand wall leads to a slope down to an undescended pitch [C1999-204-23 A], and full right is a stooping/crawling +hand wall leads to a slope down to Fledermausshacht. +Full right is a stooping/crawling height phreatic passage with a mud floor. This passes on the right the other end of the crawl which led off from the foot of the previous pitch.
Some 50m of alternate crawling and stooping, including a single point where the roof dips and the crawl is flat-out, leads to a small chamber. Here there -are two holes in the floor. One, which has not been descended, is a reasonably -large drop (stones bounce off the walls a couple of times and then fall free for -some 3s)[C1999-204-24 A]. The other drop is much shorter, and is +are two holes in the floor. One leads to +Kiwi Suit; the other drop is much shorter, and is split into two sections by ledges on each wall part way down. The first section of 8m reaches these small ledges, where a stream enters from the foot of a very large aven. The next section of 11m is wet, and lands on a small ledge overlooking a massive shaft. Stones thrown out from here fall for 3s. This is -believed to be the same pitch as C1999-204-24, which will probably prove to -provide a drier descent. This ledge is the current limit of exploration at --226m. +believed to be the same pitch as the first pitch of Kiwi Suit. + +
The first pitch begins with a funnel-shaped opening. The initial approach is rigged +from a large pillar at the edge of the funnel (the approach to this could be further +protected by a traverse line tied round an even larger pillar a couple of metres back). +Suddenly, at the base of the funnel, there is an impressive black space. In 2000 the +descent was rigged New-Zealand style, entirely from naturals, which seemed sound, but +worrisome for us bolt-junkies, especially given the record of 'Bomb-Proof' naturals in +KH visiting the bottoms of pitches. Two deviations keep the descent clear of walls and +the small trickle of water which falls down the shaft (probably becomes a much bigger +trickle after rain). The floor is reached after 54 metres of descent. The way on is a +short traverse, an 8 metre pich, another short traverse, and then a 20 metre pitch to a +ledge. The final pitch from this ledge is an impressive rift of 47 metres depth, rigged +in 2000 from a natural, one bolt, and the rope from the pitch above.
+ +At the bottom, a +merry little stream is reached (similar volume of water to the Top Camp waterhole in +spate). Upstream was not pushed, but reportedly leads quickly to the foot of a +waterfall +[C2000-204-63 B]. +Downstream quickly narrows to about 50cm wide, and +progress is made by constantly changing level to stay where the passage is wide enough. +After about 40m a small cascade of about 4m is reached, which could probably be +free-climbed, but a handline here helps avoid getting soaked. The passage is +considerably wider for a few metres below the cascade, but soon resumes in its previous +manner. Suddenly, the head of a pitch +[C2000-204-64 A], +estimated at about 10 metres, +is reached. This was the limit of exploration in 2000. The streamway can be seen to +continue below the pitch, and perhaps becomes a bit wider.
+ +The traverse round to the pitch head +is protected by a thread belay at the start of the traverse. A substantial thread +(requiring 2 slings due to its girth) at the pitch head enables the first, sloping +section of the pitch to be descended. Soon the pitch becomes vertical, and a +rebelay on the far wall (at -5m) allows the next few metres to be descended. +Unfortunately the shaft still hades slightly, and a further two rebelays (at -15m +and -28m) are required before the magnitude of this 112m shaft starts to become +apparent. A 40m freehanging section leads to a sloping ledge, where the shaft +doglegs again and a scrappy descent down a gulley, and a further two rebelays (at +-68m and -80m), reaches a sloping ledge overlooking the final section of the +pitch. A chossy traverse across the left hand wall appears to head into a parallel +shaft [C2000-204-61 C]. +A bolt round the corner to the right allows a descent of +the final 22m to the floor to be made, where a boulder choke is met, with no way +on. The whole pitch, particularly the far wall, is rather loose and due care must +be taken. A large chockstone near the second rebelay could not be shifted, but +should be treated with suspicion.
+ +Nature Note: A bat was observed flitting around +in here on two occasions.
+ +At the start of the traverse to the head of Fledermaus Schacht is a small crawl +leading off to the right. This is initially flat-out over crumbly mud, but enlarges +after a short distance to enter a series of small mud-filled chambers. There is no +obvious way on, other than to start excavations in the mud banks +[C2000-204-62 Dig] +Not surveyed in 2000.
+The White Elephant Series is a series of rift pitches which has not been pushed to a definite conclusion, but does not appear especially promising, @@ -547,7 +604,7 @@ quickly arriving at the head of a 10m pitch with a constricted take off, rigged from boulders. An eyehole part way down this pitch appears to lead into a parallel shaft [C1999-204-25 B]. The pitch lands on a rubble floor with a +name=qC1999-204-25>C1999-204-25 B] (This is probably the connection through to pleasure dome). The pitch lands on a rubble floor with a blind pit. Heading south quickly reaches a loose pitch head, with a rift passage continuing beyond.
The pitch is 28m, rigged from a bolt on the left hand wall and deviations diff --git a/smkridge/204/qm.htm b/smkridge/204/qm.htm index baa831877..39f82873a 100644 --- a/smkridge/204/qm.htm +++ b/smkridge/204/qm.htm @@ -1,6 +1,5 @@ - -
Steinbruckenhöhle
+href="../204.htm">Steinbruckenhöhle
Cave Description Back to Expedition Intro