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<font size=-1>CTS 79.1866: Northern Pennine Club Journal vol 3 no. 2, 1979 pp 46-50</font>

<center><h2>Austria 1977/1978</h2></center>

<p>The summer saw three NPC members out in Austria on the Cambridge
University expedition: Nick Thorne, Andy Waddington and Simon Farrow. We were
located at <span lang="de-at">Altaussee,</span> a quiet Spa town full of the
Austrian equivalent of old-age pensioners. It is about 50 miles ESE of <span
lang="de-at">Salzburg</span> in the <span lang="de-at">Dachstein</span> Alps.
We were mainly interested in an area of the <span lang="de-at">Totes
Gebirge</span> known as the <span lang="de-at">Loser</span> Plateau, which
has recently had a new toll road built up to it. This meant that our area of
interest was only an hour's walk away on level ground (hostile cattle
permitting).</p>

<p>The CUCC had been out the previous year and had only scratched the surface
by the time they had to depart.</p>

<p>The three of us travelled out by train; a fairly arduous 30-hour journey
without any real sleep. Eventually we met up with the other members of the
expedition and I was able to swop my two-day old copy of the 'Times' for a
good English cup of tea; it's remarkable how British one becomes when on the
continent!</p>

<p>Our first night under canvas was greeted by a classic alpine storm with
thunderbolts and lightning (pyrotechnics worthy of even Hryndyj). Later we
made acquaintance with the Austrian lager, not a patch on Tetleys but very
potent.</p>

<p>Next day we began prospecting and spent the following few days inspecting
small shafts (100'). These all choked so we concluded that we were looking
for the wrong sort of entrance. What was needed was an entrance with
horizontal passage so that any glacial debris could not enter and block the
pitch below.</p>

<p>We eventually came across a small hole which was draughting violently.
Andy descended and found a snow slope on which he rigged a ladder as a
handline; on the way out he discovered two alternative exits. Continuing down
the hole he found another snow slope which led to the head of a pitch with a
large gale, sufficient to put out a carbide lamp, blowing up it. Returning
the following day, with a bolting kit, since there were no natural belays, we
rigged the pitch and descended to discover a vertical snow plug. Deeper still
a pitch belled out to Bar Pot dimensions.</p>

<p>We later had grave doubts about the stability of this snow bridge which
was definitely melting and only seemed to stay suspended above the void by
will-power. Pressing on down the shaft we had great problems rigging it; in
fact we spent a good two days bolting/rigging and rerigging before the thing
was satisfactory. The total depth of the pitch was 70 metres.</p>

<p>At the base of the shaft we passed into a hole with fluted walls soaring
up into the distance further than our lights could penetrate; it was
intensely satisfying to think that we had found this superb piece of
subterranean architecture. The floor was covered with large rocks giving us a
natural belay (our first) for the next pitch of 13 metres. When the pitch was
rigged and I descended we had finally escaped from the snow and, by
inference, any debris from the surface. I turned the corner and to my horror
came to a boulder choke! This was a surprise; we had not considered this
possibility because of the large draught. First appearances suggested a total
choke. However, a man-size hole was found at the base of the choke and the
boulders seemed safely stuck. We pushed Andy through the hole and he found a
pitch, so we retreated until the next day.</p>

<p>The shaft was descended for 30 metres to another pitch but the draught had
disappeared, so we named it 'Keg Series'. We traversed over this pitch into
an open vadose passage; homely, dry, and reminiscent of Yorkshire. This was
taking the draught so we were back on the trail again. We found two more
pitches; the first was a good hang of 16 metres, the second (down the side of
a large vadose passage) was 11 metres. Then came the first bit of horizontal
development we had encountered - it led to a large chamber and a hefty inlet
making the place a maelstrom of spray.</p>

<p>Unfortunately at this point we ran out of both ladder and time so we had
to derig with the sight of more pitches ahead (a sort of Ghar Parau in
miniature). The pot is definitely still going and we shall be back next year
to continue on into the unknown....</p>

<p>I think we were all impressed by the area, which is virtually virgin
territory. The <span lang="de-at">Loser</span> Plateau must be one of the
least explored areas of Europe; it has 800 metres potential and large areas
of cavernous limestone which are totally unexplored.</p>

<p align="right">S.Farrow</p>

<h3><a id="id1978">Austria 1978</a></h3>

<p>August 1978 saw a return of University cavers to the <span
lang="de-at">Totes Gebirge</span> of Austria. Since five members of the
expedition were also Pennine members, this report is included to show that we
don't spend all year digging on Fountains Fell.</p>

<p>Following a successful trip in 1977, a much more organised group set off
in July with a ton of gear (mainly food and rope) for the two-and-a-half day
drive out, arriving after only one van breakdown (in the U.K.). We set up
camp at <span lang="de-at">Altaussee</span> (about 80 km east of <span
lang="de-at">Salzburg)</span> and started to rig into <span
lang="de-at">Eislufth&ouml;hle,</span> our all-NPC, 150-metre hole from last
year, while a second group continued prospecting on the surface. Shortly
inside the entrance is a broken 80 metre shaft blocked with various snow
plugs. The snow had increased since 1977 so Simon, Doug and Andy spent three
days of icy digging and bolting to rig 'Plugged Shaft'. At the bottom was a
15-metre free drop overhung by a large ice boulder in the process of melting
- indeed, below this point, we were the target for any ice falling in the
shaft. The pitch lands in a large round chamber, on a pile of shattered ice
blocks.</p>

<p>From the chamber a further 13-metre pitch (Saved Shaft), drops over the
last of the ice into 'Boulder Chamber'. A small hole in the wall of huge
blocks ending the chamber leads to a traverse above the 32 metre pitch of the
'Keg Series', which was looked at last year but ignored this year because it
has no draught. The icy wind blows from the continuing rift where a climb
down leads to the head of 'Follow-through shaft', a 30-metre pitch broken by
a large ledge half-way down. An abandoned stream passage leads out into a
high rift chamber - 'The Taproom' - last year's terminus. On our first trip,
the heavy drip in the chamber was absent, but later it returned with a
vengeance.</p>

<p>A climb down leads to the continuing rift - too narrow at stream level -
but a traverse to sections of false floor leads to an alternative way down.
Boulders dropped here told us of a deep pitch ahead but much bolting was
needed to rig it - one for a handline down the first short but exposed climb
down and two for the pitch itself; none of which was helped by the rather
loose take off. Indeed, we almost psyched out on our first realisation that
one wall was just a big boulder. The pitch was finally descended on a long
overnight trip by Nick Thorne with Julian Griffiths. It drops in stages of 20
metres and 35 metres to a large ledge lashed by spray in wet weather (run-off
is very rapid, reaching here in a couple of hours after rain starts). The
final 15-metre section can be quite damp - and our 80-metre rope was a metre
or so short! Another traverse leads above the quickly descending stream to a
rocking boulder where the black spaces start to appear. Upwards, above jammed
boulders, a large black hole suggests a chamber going up a vast distance, but
downwards is more directly interesting and accessible. The explorers rigged a
short drop to a narrow slit which rapidly opened into a magnificent 55-metre
free drop from which it was seen that the upward black space is the top of an
80-metre high chamber - the Hall of the Greene King.</p>

<p>Doug and Andy reached the chaotic boulder floor of the chamber after
descending a short 'Balcony' pitch. The Hall is about 20 metres in diameter
and at first seemed to be a colossal choke at 280 metres. A way on leads,
however, over the boulders and under some highly unnerving boulder bridges.
Descending a less than stable slope, the explorers found a nasty overhang and
had to put in a bolt to rig a short pitch to another chamber which felt a
little safer. Two small streams merged and flowed off in a rift passage which
we ignored in favour of a dry OFD-type cave. This soon intersected a deep
muddy rift at right angles. An enticing step across the rift led to the
continuation, but neither caver would try it, instead starting to rig a pitch
down to the rift. A large boulder which Doug was standing on fell over and
split in half, causing the floor below Andy to drop 6 inches! Shortly after,
a series of mysterious sump-like gurgling noises from below suggested that
surface rain was coming through - the explorers retreated from the
increasingly intimidating hole - twelve hours plus, this time, having been
spent underground.</p>

<p>The third and final overnight visit was the last pushing trip. Nick, Simon
and Julian descended the rift to find a muddy stream passage - again too
narrow at stream level - so a long, muddy traverse was necessary. An inlet in
the left made little difference and the traversing continued to a muddy climb
down. More traversing led to an oxbow containing an incredible volume of
sticky mud. A 13-metre pitch descends down a filthy wall - prussiking here
was a losing battle except with Gibbs. We called the pitch the 'Fiesta Run'
for reasons soon to be apparent. More traversing leads to an unbottomed black
space where the stream could be heard below.</p>

<p>We got 5 metres down what seemed to be a 50-ish metre pitch. From a depth
of about 330 metres the party slogged out to the surface after 12 hours
underground and set off to drive back. The mountain road was descended safely
but a couple of miles out of the village a 10-metre pitch was descended in a
spectacular leap (double somersault with twist). Nick, Simon and Julian woke
up to find themselves in the river - eliminating two of our group of five on
the spot. There were three more trips involving members of the other groups.
Two derigging and one surveying trip cleared the pot and took the survey to
-140 metres.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the other group had found a powerfully draughting entrance
which took three days of Yorkshire digging to enter. This soon proved to be a
going concern and was threatening to overtake <span
lang="de-at">Eislufth&ouml;hle</span> at one stage. Pitches of 20, 25 and 20
metres led to a complex horizontal area and a large black rift. This was
studiously ignored by the team (exploring on ladders) who descended instead a
smaller rift by pitches of 5, 40 and 30 metres (by-passing a parallel
75-metre free drop) to more rift streamway and further pitches. ExCS
descended the big rift in a 95-metre pitch to reach the same point and
eventually reached a very nasty choke at -280 metres, thus making <span
lang="de-at">'Gemseh&ouml;hle'</span> the second deepest on the plateau.</p>

<p>At least two NPC will be out again in 1979 to push <span
lang="de-at">Eislufth&ouml;hle,</span> and to look at other leads in <span
lang="de-at">Gemseh&ouml;hle</span> - finding deep pots is amazingly easy out
there, pushing them just a little more trouble.</p>

<p align="right">A.Waddington</p>

<hr />
<!-- LINKS -->
<ul id="links">
<li><a href="https://northernpennineclub.org.uk/">Northern Pennine Club</a>
<a href="http://www.waddingtons.info/NPC/1979/CUCC7778.HTM">1979 Journal</a>
(from which the above is taken)</li>
<li>1978 Expedition info:
<ul>
<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
<li><a href="report.htm">Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1979</a></li>
<li><a href="bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves &amp; Caving Report</a></li>
<li>Eislufth&ouml;hle - <a href="descnt.htm">from Descent 40</a></li>
<li>Nick Thorne's write-up in <a href="782034.htm">Belfry Bulletin 366</a></li>
<li><a href="sponsr.htm">Sponsors</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="../../pubs.htm#pubs1978">Index</a> to all publications</li>
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