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<h1>Cambridge Expo 1983</h1>

<center><font size=-1>Cambridge Underground 1984 pp 7-8</font>

<h2>Exploration and Survey of 1623/142</h2></center>

<p>The 1623/142 entrance lies in thick pine-scrub above the Stogerweg (path
201) roughly halfway between Windloch (32) and Stellerwegh&ouml;hle (41). It
takes about ten minutes to climb/fight/thrash through the bunde to get to
it from the path. The entrance is labelled "P132" in red paint because the
1982 expedition used cave numbers which had been allocated to a german team.
Thus, caves described in "<a href="../1982/newbit.htm">Cambridge Underground
1983</a>" as 131 and 132 have been renamed as 141 and 142. Cave 142 is the
one with the Big Chamber in it, "half the size of Gaping Gill" according to
last year's grade 1 survey. In fact, it is about 90m by 30m, and 40m high.

<p>142 was originally explored by Phil Townsend, Doug Florence and Mike
Thomas in 1982, and almost caused Mike and Doug to call out a rescue for
each other when they got separated in its intestinal complexities. This
year Wiggie found a 20m pitch near the entrance which he nearly lobbed off
(which didn't go anywhere). Gail and Philip had great difficulty finding
the Big Chamber (3rd time lucky) but found a dripping shaft with
caravan-sized jammed boulders in it instead. This was later pushed by
Julian and pronounced to be very reminiscent of the German Series in
Stellerweg (41), but smaller and more miserable. Later that same trip
Julian, with Philip and Naomi, found the connection with 41 along the
Rodent Runway; named after a nondescript skeleton with big teeth found
in the connection chamber at the bottom of the first pitch in 41. This
party had set out to find the connection but had given up after pushing
innumerable 45 degree rifts to their conclusions and were looking for a
pitch-less way to the Big Chamber when they found themselves in
Stellerweg.

<p>Apart from the entrance grovel, a few active drips, the shaft pushed by
Julian and the Big Chamber, the entire 142 system is a dusty abandoned
series of hading chambers formed phreatically on a set of joints at 45&deg;
to the horizontal, parallel to the very similar Stellerweghohle entrance
series. The joints run almost precisely NE-SW and are tilted such that
the chambers all slope down to the SE. The bedding is not obvious in the
cave, but in two widely separated locations it also appeared to lie at
45&deg; to the horizontal, but at right angles to the joints such that it
dipped to the NW. Surface features in the area of the caves, the south
end of the Schwarzmooskogel, supported this observation.

<p>Traversing across the tops of the 45&deg; ramps was generally easier
in 142 than in 41 and so this new discovery provides a slightly easier
way in to this part of the Stellerweghohle-Schnellzugh&ouml;hlensystem.
(However, it is extremely dry and dusty and cannot be recommended for
contact lens wearers). The chamber where the routes to the Big Chamber
and the connection diverge was pretty thoroughly investigated, as were
all leads from there back to Wiggie's pitch near the entrance, but there
are lots of leads in Rodent Runway itself that have not been followed
and the ways out of the Big Chamber have not been entirely exhausted.
There is plenty of scope for more discovery in this cave which is not
only close to the path, but requires very little tackle.

<p align=right>Philip Sargent

<hr />

<h2><a name="possext">Possible Extensions</a> to the 41-142-115 System</h2>

<p>At the end of the 1982 exploration, it was thought that 141 (aka 131)
would connect with the 41-115 system. The 1983 expedition actually
connected 142 instead, 141 being found to get too small quite rapidly.
This connection is not a very significant discovery and added nothing to
the depth of the system. However, the perched phreatic tube found in 144
by Pete and Chas is a very much more interesting possibility: it is at
the same altitude as the Big Chamber in 142 and the confused series of
passages at the head of the Big Pitch in 41 (see area survey), and is
only 150m away from either of these horizontally. If we could push a
connection to 144 next year from the 41-142 leads, we would not only
add 74m to the total depth of the system (making a possible total of
972m) but we would have found our own highest entrance to the system
so that it would become a cucc/EXCS discovery from top to bottom. In
these circumstances we should perhaps take care with the name we give
to 144. We couldn't have our biggest and best discovery go down in
history under its interim description: "Tony's-secondh&ouml;hlen-system"!

<p align=right><font size=+1>Philip Sargent</font>

<p><hr />
<!-- LINKS -->
<ul id="links">
<li>1623/142 current
<a href="../../1623/41/off41.htm#ent142">guidebook page</a></li>
<li>Cambridge Underground 1984,
<a href="http://cucc.survex.com/jnl/1984/index.htm">Table of Contents</a></li>
<li>1983 Expedition info:
<ul>
<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
<li>Main Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1984:
<ul>
<li><a href="wolf1.htm">Wolfeh&ouml;hle</a> - Act I</li>
<li><a href="143144.htm">143 and 144</a> Guidebook descriptions</li>
<li><a href="41svy.htm">142/41 Survey</a> - the truth</li>
<li><a href="list.htm">Summary of Caves 1983</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves &amp; Caving Report</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="../../pubs.htm#pubs1983">Index</a> to all publications</li>
<li><a href="../../index.htm">Back to Expeditions intro page</a></li>
<li><a href="../../../index.htm">CUCC Home Page</a></li>
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