This history file is really intended to evolve into a clickable index to every 161 (now including 136) trip write up in the log books from 1983 to present. There are a few trips unrecorded, and a few with no time underground recorded, so the figure of 439 trips occupying 9871½ man-hours underground (up to 1999) is undoubtedly an underestimate. Those write-ups will then be linked with Next/Previous trip (in the same area) links, and with cross-links to other trips on the same day. This should enable you to follow a piece of exploration through in sequence, even if it stretches over several log books, and was written up out of sequence.
[Editor Note: now that all the logbooks have been converted to the new format in 2023, these Previous/Next manual links have been rendered inoperable. But there are automatic links which link to the next trip on a per-person (not per-cave) basis. All the internal id fields for the individual log entries have been renumbered, but some manual work could repair these manual per-cave links. Sorry.]
Not every log book is linked up, yet, partly because linking the trips takes several hours for each log book - especially if trips are written up wildly out of order or undated (eg. 1992) which causes considerable hair loss :-)
Note that the 161c entrance was originally explored by the French Groupe Spéléologique de Clerval - Baume les Dames under the name VSS2 in 1988 and 1989, reaching -285m. None of this exploration is included here, and it should be borne in mind that much of the T/U in "France" from 1990 is re-exploration of the GSCB finds.
| 1983 | 194m depth in 136 | 5 trips | 39 hours recorded (+1st trip no TU) |
| 1984 | c-260m in 136 | 5 trips | 68 hours recorded (+ 1 trip) |
| 1988 | some* | 29 trips | 483½ hrs |
| 1989 | 4022m | 43 trips | 1526½ hrs |
| 1990 | 6716m | 52 trips | 1181 hrs |
| 1991 | 7941m | 22 trips | 570 hrs |
| 1992 | 8790m | (check) 26 trips (some missing from list ?) | 536 hrs |
| 1993 | 10210m | 29 trips | 782 hrs |
| 1994 | 29 trips | 615 hrs (+3x no TU (journal says 665½)) | |
| 1995 | 14233m | 31 trips | 722 hrs |
| 1996 | 19752m | 75 trips | TU not yet clear - 1171½ so far (plus c 15 man-trips) |
| 1997 | 21836m. provisional new depth 506.7m | 25 trips (+ 14 in 136) | 559 hours (+ 254 in 136) |
| 1998 | 22440m. provisional new depth 534m | 18 trips (+ 4 in 40) | 435 hours (inc. estimates for 1 long and 1 short trip), (+ 68½ in 40) |
| 1999 | 24485m, no new depth | 36 trips (11 161; 25 136; maybe one missing? Also 4 trips in 40) | 865 hours (inc. 7 guesses; also 131½ hrs in 40) |
| 2000 | a bit more than 24485m, no new depth | 4 trips in 161d (several trips in 40) | 40-ish hours ? |
The exploration history of Steinschlagschacht (136) is now included in this page, since the cave was connected in 1997. The initial exploration of 136 predates the discovery of Kaninchenhöhle.
Our work in Schwarzmooskogeleishöhle is not included above. All have been tourist trips prior to 1998 when serious effort was first made to connect to 161. 1998 saw 4 trips, 68½ hours, but no connection.