mirror of
https://expo.survex.com/repositories/expoweb/.git/
synced 2024-11-25 08:41:54 +00:00
121 lines
5.7 KiB
HTML
Executable File
121 lines
5.7 KiB
HTML
Executable File
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
|
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
|
|
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
|
|
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
|
|
<head>
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content=
|
|
"text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
|
|
<title>1980: Nick Thorne's report for Descent 49</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href=
|
|
"../../../css/main2.css" />
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<p style="font-size: 80%">CTS 81.1410: Descent 49 (Jul/Aug 1981) p 46</p>
|
|
<p>This article first appeared in <i>Descent</i> (49) for Jul/Aug
|
|
1981, p46 and is reproduced here with the permission of the author
|
|
and Wild Places Publishing.</p>
|
|
<h1>Stellerweghöhle</h1>
|
|
<h2 style="text-align: center">CUCC's -1200ft Alternative to Early
|
|
German Route</h2>
|
|
<p style="text-align: right"><b>By Nick Thorne</b></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>FOR THE FIFTH year in succession, Cambridge University Caving
|
|
Club again visited the Loser Plateau of Austria for their annual
|
|
expedition in 1980. This expedition's personnel was supplemented
|
|
by a University of Bristol contingent to give a relatively hefty
|
|
thirteen man team. In all we spent three weeks in the fray, the
|
|
fray being a combination of deep potholes, long walks,
|
|
prospecting trips, eating schnitzels and drinking beer.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The expedition started with a brief inspection of the
|
|
limestone of the Tennengebirge above Golling and Abtenau. This
|
|
area has a depth potential of around 4000ft/1200m and is under
|
|
heavy scrutiny from many foreign caving clubs. Consequently we
|
|
soon returned to our 'home patch', the Loser Plateau, above Alt
|
|
Aussee in the Totes Gebirge. Although it has a smaller depth
|
|
potential, this area is almost virgin, is much more accessible
|
|
and isn't yet crowded out with hopeful speleos.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This time we concentrated our explorations not on the plateau
|
|
itself, but on the nearby Stoger Weg area. This was prompted by
|
|
the presence there of a cave called Stellerweghöhle
|
|
(designated 1623/41 in the Austrian catalogue). Stellerweg was
|
|
pushed several years ago by a German team, supposedly all in one
|
|
shaft, to a depth of 905ft/276m and left unfinished due to lack
|
|
of tackle.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On descending Stellerweg, the cave we found was nothing like
|
|
what we expected. Initially, the German route was missed and a
|
|
promising alternative follwed across several traverses, down a
|
|
couple of pitches, and one huge, broken 330ft/100m shaft, until
|
|
things became more cramped and sporting. Courageously, we
|
|
abandoned this route and made more determined efforts to find the
|
|
original German's route.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Once located, this proved to be fairly disillusioning too, and
|
|
we pushed it down a series of stepped pitches, past what we
|
|
reckoned was the German's limit of exploration, until this route
|
|
also became fairly squalid - and we were still only about
|
|
650ft/200m deep. Leaving this way unfinished we returned to our
|
|
route.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>As the expedition unfurled, our route was explored down more
|
|
amiable cave with many pitches to a depth of about 1200ft/370m,
|
|
the cave continuing. The whole of Stellerweghöhle is very
|
|
interesting and sporting, resembling, in parts, a huge version of
|
|
Mendip's Eastwater, with many passages developed along inclined
|
|
bedding planes. The place ramifies considerably, draughts
|
|
encouragingly, and is more laterally extensive than anything else
|
|
we'd previously come across in Austria. It will undoubtedly
|
|
become one of the most important caves of the area, and as it
|
|
stands now, will repay any work, albeit quite hard, undertaken in
|
|
it.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In addition to the exploration of Stellerweg, the expedition
|
|
also prospected the immediate vicinity, and discovered a
|
|
considerable number of interesting sites. Some of these finds
|
|
draughted phenomenally, occasionally the wind being strong enough
|
|
to be audible and to move small stones. The caves found here
|
|
were, not surprisingly, developed along similar lines to
|
|
Stellerweg, and many leads were left unpushed.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Our most significant find after Stellerweg was one we called
|
|
Sonnenstrahlhöhle (1623/113). An airy 100ft/30m entrance
|
|
pitch led down several steep ramps, more pitches and easy going
|
|
to reach a restriction at minus 1120ft/340m. During its
|
|
exploration one trip proved to be fairly exciting. Whilst a party
|
|
was below a damp series of pitches near the bottom of the cave,
|
|
the cloudburst of the year started. The water runs off this
|
|
limestone like greased W.S., and the party were soon overtaken by
|
|
something akin to a tidal wave. Fortunately, they had dry
|
|
sanctuary in a passage just above the final pitch, and there they
|
|
sat out the flood until the water abated and a relief party got
|
|
down to them.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Further details of our discoveries in this area will be issued
|
|
in future CUCC and UBSS publications. Stellerweghöhle and
|
|
environs offers exciting rewards for hard work. The possibility
|
|
exists of inter-connecting many of the caves here, thus producing
|
|
a system both long and deep. We'll be back.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Many thanks to locals, Fritz Madlmaier, Karl Gaisverger, and
|
|
Gunter Graf.</p>
|
|
<hr />
|
|
|
|
<!-- LINKS -->
|
|
<ul id="links">
|
|
<li><b>1980 Expedition info</b>:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../years/1980/log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../years/1980/report.htm">Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1981</a></li>
|
|
<!-- <li><a href="../../../years/1980/bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves & Caving Report</a></li> -->
|
|
<li>Austria 1980 - from <a href="../../../years/1980/npcpub.htm">NPC Newsletter</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../years/1980/song.htm">Another Kick in the Balls</a> (expedition song)</li>
|
|
</ul></li>
|
|
<li><a href= "../../../pubs.htm#pubs1980">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>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|