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<title>1994: BCRA Caves & Caving report</title>
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<font size=-1>BCRA Caves & Caving 73, Autumn 1996, pp n-n [ISSN 0142-1832]</font>
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<center><h1>EXPO 1994 - 1995 REPORT</h1>
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<h3>by Anthony Day and Steve Bellhouse</h3>
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<h2>1994</h2>
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</center>
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<p>In July 1994, Cambridge University Caving Club mounted an expedition to
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explore caves beneath the Loser plateau in the Totes Gebirge of Austria -
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not for the first time. The principal focus of the expedition was the
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complicated Kaninchenhöhle system - not for the first time. We found
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some more cave (1.8 km) and still have enough leads to entice us to return
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next year at least - not for the first time.
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<p>For the umpteenth year out of umpteen, a motley collection of 18 cavers, 5
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cars and 1.4km of rope installed themselves outside the Gasthof Staud'nwirt
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near Bad Aussee to amuse and entertain the local population for another
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Summer. Amongst our number were four cavers from the University of London
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Caving Club (ULCC), founded by CUCC member Alistair Morris and others in
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September 1993. They made a full contribution to the expedition, providing
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both money and equipment in addition to cavers. We hope to continue
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welcoming ULCC members as guests over the next few years.
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<p>There were times when it seemed doubtful that the 1994 expedition would
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get off the ground. The expedition leader for the previous three years,
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Wookey, decided to go somewhere nicer this Summer, and so the reluctant Nick
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Procter took over the reigns. However, a month before departure, he
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contracted glandular fever - one of the more watertight excuses for
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abdicating all responsibility for the expo - and so the title of expo leader
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was bestowed upon a committee consisting of Anthony Day, Pete Lord, Ali
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Morris, and Mike Pigram. Despite this setback, and a chronic transport
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shortage which was only fully resolved two weeks in, the expo got underway
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only a week late.
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<p>The first wave of intrepid adventurers arrived on Sunday 3rd July. That
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all three car loads arrived on schedule without a major incident owes more
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to the inherent good fortune which follows these cavers around than the
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mechanical soundness of their vehicles. There then followed two days of
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supreme efficiency, so that by the time the fourth car arrived on Tuesday
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evening, we had set up top camp (though it was later to be moved 200m down
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the hill because the grass was in a poor state) and rigged in the cave as
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for as Knossos from 161a entrance and Algeria from 161c entrance ("France.")
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<p>The scene was set for a big effort to find lots of cave... So we festered
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in the sunshine for two weeks. Some people did spend rather too long
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pratting around on a big pitch in France which everyone knew was going to
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link into Twin Tubs from 1993 (it did, and was duly named "Top Loader") and
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there were a few abortive attempts to reach the far end. It had been planned
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to camp at the far end this year, but to nobody's great surprise it was
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decided that since the proposed campsite was only a four hour round trip from
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the surface and was in a cold draughty part of the cave, underground camping
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would be both unnecessary and too unpleasant. Unfortunately, we only worked
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this out after all the camping gear and food had been taken underground.
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<p>Most of the caving during the first half of expo concentrated on a lead at
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the end of Gnome Passage. This was mainly investigated by Andrew Atkinson
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and Mike Richardson with a variety of partners, for few other people made
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more than one trip to this part of the cave. Maybe this was due to the
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squeeze at the beginning, which must have come as a surprise to the novices
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who had been fed stories about unexplored passages big enough to drive a bus
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through during the year. Andrew and Mike had a nice time dragging our
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electric drill and it's cumbersome heavy battery through the squeeze and the
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rift passage beyond it to the top of an undescended pitch only to find that
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it didn't want to drill any holes: Thus the pitch was named "Driller Killer."
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(On a later trip, Andrew spent 40 minutes upside down in this rift whilst
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attempting to rescue the drill power lead.) This section of cave was
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eventually found to link into Vestabule.
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<p>By the time of the expo dinner, halfway through expo, we had found the
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unimpressive total of 600m of cave. Clearly we would have to make a more
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concerted effort during the last two weeks. At this point Julian Haines
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arrived, which was good news since his car had a tow bar and we now had a
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realistic means of getting the trailer load of gear back to Britain. He took
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a party down France the day after the dinner to investigate a pitch leading
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off Algeria called Sultans of Swing. In one trip, they found and surveyed
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250m of cave with several promising leads. This proved to be the major find
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of the expo and revived interest in caving. A long boulder strewn passage
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became "Mississippi" because it resembled a dried up river bed, and the
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muddy side passage was named "Mississippi Mud Pie." This started a trend for
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naming bits of cave after items of food as subsequent trips explored and
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surveyed "Fudge Brownie," and a series of pitches passages and chambers
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named after biscuits which reflected the quality of the rock for bolting.
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<p>One trip discovered a long phreatic passageway ("Infinite Improbability
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Drive") which contained footprints and emerged in the middle of a big wet
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pitch with spits in about 30m above the floor. This led to much speculation
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about what we had broken into: Was it the main part of Kaninchenhöhle?
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Was it another French discovery on the far side of the ridge that we knew
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nothing about? Was this the rumoured and much bullshitted about connection
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with Stellerweg, the longest and deepest CUCC find to date? When the survey
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was completed and linked in, it was found that we had in fact broken into an
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active shaft which runs parallel to Fat Not Fruity - another part of France.
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The spits had been placed by the French, so there must be a way into the top
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of this big pitch. Although there are many theories as to where it may be,
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the connection has yet to be found.
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<p>Further trips down France discovered a rift passage at the end of Fudge
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Brownie, the roof of which was made of loose boulders and earth supported
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(in typical Austrian fashion) by thin air. It was called "Rocky Horror."
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This linked in a nice loop to a pitch at the end of Mississippi, which was
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named "Black Suspender." On one trip to this area, one of our novii learned
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a valuable lesson: In Austria, where thunderstorms are common, it is not a
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good idea to leave your dry clothes strewn about the cave entrance open to
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the elements. In total, we found another 1150m of cave in this area of
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France, with many promising leads remaining.
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<p>Two individuals still managed to work up enough enthusiasm for a trip to
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push Exhaustion Pitch, in the depths of the main part of
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Kaninchenhöhle. They found and surveyed another 140m of passageway
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culminating in a pitch with a wet landing. So remote, cold and draughty was
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this part of the cave that it was named "Siberia."
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<p>Despite all this industry, we did find time for a little relaxation, which
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usually meant sitting in the river warding off the local population of
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biting insects. We paid a visit to nearby Halstatt and re-enacted some of
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the great naval battles in history in a pair of pedaloes on the adjacent
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lake. On one day when some lucky individuals got the chance to take
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photographs of Vestas and Duracells in the depths of Kaninchenhöhle,
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some of us went to play on an artificial toboggan run. The regular clientele
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probably suspected there were some reckless nutters in their midst when we
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showed up on a swelteringly hot day wearing long trousers and long sleeved
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shirts.
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<p>All too soon it was time to derig the cave, which was completed in three
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trips. Then came the annual sight of waves of cavers staggering down the
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hill with overfull rucksacks, and standing in the river washing all the
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rope. We then packed most of the expo into one car and a trailer, and bade
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farewell to Austria on Friday 29th July. Roll on Expo '95.
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<p>Despite a slow start, and considering the many difficulties encountered
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before leaving Britain, the 1994 CUCC expedition must be regarded as a
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success, with another 1866m of cave found, bringing the total length of the
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Kaninchenhöhle system to 12009m. There were still enough leads
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remaining in Kaninchenhöhle to keep us going for another year. However,
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there are almost certainly many more holes in the plateau waiting to be
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walked into. Given that Kaninchenhöhle had been the main focus of our
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expeditions since 1989, it was considered that in 1995 a concerted effort
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should be made to find some of them.
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<p><a href="../1995/bcracc.htm">1995 report</a> from same article...
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<hr />
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<!-- LINKS -->
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<ul id="links">
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<li>1994 Expedition info:
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<ul>
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<li><a href="index.htm">Index</a> (more complete than this list)</li>
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<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
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<li>Expedition <a href="report.htm">Report</a> 1994</li>
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<li><a href="ustour.htm">American Wrinklie on Tour</a>
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(an independent view of the expo)</li>
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<li>Index to <a href="161.htm">Kaninchenhöhle trips</a> in the log</li>
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<li>This year's <a href="sponsr.htm">sponsors</a></li>
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</ul></li>
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<li>(Index of) <a href="../../pubs.htm#pubs1994">Published accounts</a></li>
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<li><a href="../../index.htm">Back to Expeditions intro page</a></li>
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<li><a href="../../../index.htm">CUCC Home Page</a></li>
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</ul>
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