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106 lines
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<title>1980: Nick Thorne's report for Descent 49</title>
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<font size=-1>CTS 81.1410: Descent 49 (Jul/Aug 1981) p 46</font>
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<h2>Stellerweghöhle</h2>
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<h3>CUCC's -1200ft Alternative to Early German Route</h3>
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<p align=right>By Nick Thorne
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<p>FOR THE FIFTH year in succession, Cambridge University Caving Club again
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visited the Loser Plateau of Austria for their annual expedition in 1980.
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This expedition's personnel was supplemented by a University of Bristol
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contingent to give a relatively hefty thirteen man team. In all we spent
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three weeks in the fray, the fray being a combination of deep potholes, long
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walks, prospecting trips, eating schnitzels and drinking beer.
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<p>The expedition started with a brief inspection of the limestone of the
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Tennengebirge above Golling and Abtenau. This area has a depth potential of
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around 4000ft/1200m and is under heavy scrutiny from many foreign caving
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clubs. Consequently we soon returned to our 'home patch', the Loser Plateau,
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above Alt Aussee in the Totes Gebirge. Although it has a smaller depth
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potential, this area is almost virgin, is much more accessible and isn't yet
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crowded out with hopeful speleos.
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<p>This time we concentrated our explorations not on the plateau itself, but
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on the nearby Stoger Weg area. This was prompted by the presence there of a
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cave called Stellerweghöhle (designated 1623/41 in the Austrian
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catalogue). Stellerweg was pushed several years ago by a German team,
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supposedly all in one shaft, to a depth of 905ft/276m and left unfinished due
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to lack of tackle.
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<p>On descending Stellerweg, the cave we found was nothing like what we
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expected. Initially, the German route was missed and a promising alternative
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follwed across several traverses, down a couple of pitches, and one huge,
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broken 330ft/100m shaft, until things became more cramped and sporting.
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Courageously, we abandoned this route and made more determined efforts to
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find the original German's route.
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<p>Once located, this proved to be fairly disillusioning too, and we pushed
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it down a series of stepped pitches, past what we reckoned was the German's
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limit of exploration, until this route also became fairly squalid - and we
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were still only about 650ft/200m deep. Leaving this way unfinished we
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returned to our route.
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<p>As the expedition unfurled, our route was explored down more amiable cave
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with many pitches to a depth of about 1200ft/370m, the cave continuing. The
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whole of Stellerweghöhle is very interesting and sporting, resembling,
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in parts, a huge version of Mendip's Eastwater, with many passages developed
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along inclined bedding planes. The place ramifies considerably, draughts
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encouragingly, and is more laterally extensive than anything else we'd
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previously come across in Austria. It will undoubtedly become one of the most
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important caves of the area, and as it stands now, will repay any work,
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albeit quite hard, undertaken in it.
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<p>In addition to the exploration of Stellerweg, the expedition also
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prospected the immediate vicinity, and discovered a considerable number of
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interesting sites. Some of these finds draughted phenomenally, occasionally
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the wind being strong enough to be audible and to move small stones. The
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caves found here were, not surprisingly, developed along similar lines to
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Stellerweg, and many leads were left unpushed.
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<p>Our most significant find after Stellerweg was one we called
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Sonnenstrahlhöhle (1623/113). An airy 100ft/30m entrance pitch led down
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several steep ramps, more pitches and easy going to reach a restriction at
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minus 1120ft/340m. During its exploration one trip proved to be fairly
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exciting. Whilst a party was below a damp series of pitches near the bottom
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of the cave, the cloudburst of the year started. The water runs off this
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limestone like greased W.S., and the party were soon overtaken by something
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akin to a tidal wave. Fortunately, they had dry sanctuary in a passage just
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above the final pitch, and there they sat out the flood until the water
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abated and a relief party got down to them.
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<p>Further details of our discoveries in this area will be issued in future
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CUCC and UBSS publications. Stellerweghöhle and environs offers exciting
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rewards for hard work. The possibility exists of inter-connecting many of the
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caves here, thus producing a system both long and deep. We'll be back.
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<p>Many thanks to locals, Fritz Madlmaier, Karl Gaisverger, and Gunter Graf.
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<hr>
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<!-- LINKS -->
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<img alt=">" src="../../../icons/lists/0.gif">
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<b>1980 Expedition info</b>:<br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.gif">
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<a href="log.htm">Logbook</a><br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.gif">
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<a href="report.htm">Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1981</a><br>
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<!-- <img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.gif">
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<a href="bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves & Caving Report</a><br> -->
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<img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.gif">
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Austria 1980 - from <a href="npcpub.htm">NPC Newsletter</a><br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.gif">
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<a href="song.htm">Another Kick in the Balls</a> (expedition song)<br>
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<img alt=">" src="../../../icons/lists/0.gif">
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<a href="../../pubs.htm#1980">Index</a> to all publications<br>
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<img alt=">" src="../../../icons/lists/0.gif">
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<a href="../../index.htm">Back to Expeditions intro page</a><br>
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<a href="../../../index.htm">CUCC Home Page</a>
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