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<h1>CUCC Austria Expeditions: Introduction</h1>

<p style="color:red">How to contact us: <a href="/handbook/onlinework.html">email, chat etc.</a>
  
<p><b>For more than four decades, Cambridge University Caving Club, CUCC, have
explored caves on the <span lang="de-at">Loser</span> Plateau, about 80 km east
of <span lang="de-at">Salzburg</span> in Austria.  
The cave system we have discovered and explored over these years now 
extends to more than 150km of passages and shafts.</b></p>

<p>The expedition runs in the Summer, usually July/August.This website (over 900
pages and over 800 images) contain much of the documentation from the
exploration of these annual expeditions.</p>

<p>For those coming on an Austria expedition for the first time, this great
bulk of material can seem a little overwhelming. However, it's important for
people to have some idea of what they are coming to, in order that they can get
the most out of expo. It is probably worth starting with the 
<a href="/handbook/primer.html">Expedition Primer</a> - a document intended specifically for
new expo members, and leading to some of the more important pages which you
should read in the <a href="handbook/index.htm">Expo Handbook</a>.</p>

<img src="/expofiles/location_maps/20210402_overview.jpg" style="margins: 10px">
<br><i>Overview - <a href="/1626/359/359.html">Homecoming Hole (359)</a>, 
<a href="/1623/258/258.html">Tunnocks (258)</a> and <a href="/1623/264/264.html">Balkonh&ouml;hle (264)</a>  - credit Nat Dalton</i>
<hr />

<h4>A little history</h4>

<p>Northern Branch (an informal group of CUCC graduates) first visited
Austria in 1976 as something of a reccy, but 1977 saw increased numbers,
definite objectives and the first undergraduates from CUCC. From 1978, the
annual expedition has become largely a CUCC undergraduate-organised affair,
but with many ExCS (ex-Cambridge Speleologists) still taking part.</p>

<p>Although originally we camped at <span lang="de-at">Altaussee,</span> by
the lake, since 1983 <a href="/handbook/bcamps.html">Base Camp</a> has been at
<span lang="de-at">Gasthof Staud'n'Wirt,</span> by the
<span lang="de-at">Grundlsee</span> road from <span lang="de-at">Bad
Aussee,</span> where we are annually made very welcome by
<span lang="de-at">Hilde</span> and <span lang="de-at">Karin Wilpernig</span>
and family.</p>

<p>Only in 1986 has an expedition failed to visit
<span lang="de-at">Loser</span>, and a substantial part of the journal of
CUCC and exCS, "Cambridge Underground" is taken up by expedition reports. The
majority of these are reproduced within these web pages and can be reached
through the <a href="/pubs.htm">list of published reports</a>.</p>

<p>Accounts of these expeditions also make it to all the usual places, such
as the BCA <i>Speleology</i> magazine or occasionally <i>Descent</i>, and also
to the journals of the various other clubs to which various <a
href="/folk/index.htm">expedition members</a> also belong. Much of this material
is also being incorporated into these pages and can be reached through the
above list.</p>

<p>Most of the expedition <a href="/pubs.htm#logbooks">logbooks</a> which we
still possess have also been transcribed, and these, too, appear in this
archive. When reading the logs, please bear in mind that the authors (often
shattered after a hard day's caving, or, even more likely, drunk), never
expected these accounts to be read by a wider public. Whilst some accounts are
detailed and factual, others are.... lets say "informal" :-)</p>

<p>Since 1988 CUCC has received generous help from many companies, mostly in
the form of food. We are grateful for this support and are happy to promote
the names &amp; products of <a href="/sponsr.htm">our sponsors</a>.</p>

<p style="text-align: center">
<img alt="STOP" src="/images/Stop.jpg" class="icon" width="40" height="40"/>
Thinking of visiting the area independently ? Then please read
<a href="dclaim.htm">this</a>.
<img alt="STOP" src="/images/Stop.jpg" class="icon" width="40" height="40"/></p>

<p>This archive is constantly being updated as the current year's work
is integrated into the whole.</p>

<p><b>We need to know what you think</b> about this site - did you find
your way around easily? Did you find any errors, omissions, some confusion?
Are there areas where you would like more information? If so, email one of the
<a href="/folk/author.htm#maintainers">maintainers</a>.</p>

<p>There is also a list of <a href="/folk/author.htm">contributing
authors</a>.</p>

<div class="centre"><img src="/smk000.jpg" width="100%" 
alt="Schwatzmooskogelsystem superimposed on the map" /></div>
<p><i>Winkler & Day, Die Hohle/64 Jg./Heft 1-4/ (2013) pp 62-71</i></p>

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