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<h1>Expedition Report: CUCC Totes Gebirge 2003</h1>
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<p><i>This is the text that was submitted for publication in the January 2004
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issue of <a href="http://www.bcra.org.uk/pub/speleology/catalogue.html">
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Speleology</a> magazine. It has been slightly edited for
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the web (some links have been added) but is otherwise verbatim.</i></p>
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<p>The 2003 Cambridge University Caving Club expedition to the Loser Plateau in
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Austria's Totes Gebirgewas a resounding success, with two major new horizontal
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levels discovered in Steinbrückenhöhle and nearly 2km of new passage
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discovered in total.</p>
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<h2>The story so far</h2>
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<p>This summer was CUCC's 27th annual expedition to the Loser plateau. All that
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effort has not exhausted the potential of an area less than 5km square, which
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now contains over 75km of surveyed passage.</p>
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<p>The majority of the passage found in the 1970's and 80's was towards the
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southern end of the plateau. The major caves are <span
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lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogel Eishöhle</span>, which boasts the largest
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chamber in the area - <span lang="de-at">Schneevulkanhalle</span>, 115m across
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and stunningly decorated with ice formations - and <span
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lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span>, the deepest cave in the area,
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descending to a sump at -898m. These were connected together by a French group
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(<span lang="fr"><a href="../../others/gscb/index.htm">Groupe
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Spéléologique de Clerval - Baume les Dames</a></span>) in 1987,
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forming a composite system exceeding 20km.</p>
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<p>In 1988, a new entrance further to the north, <span
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lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>, was discovered. This rapidly became
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the main focus of CUCC exploration, with 4km of passage discovered in the first
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two years alone; by 1999 it stood at 24km long and 534m deep. This included the
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huge passage of Chile, heading southwards towards <span
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lang="de-at">Eishöhle</span>; much effort was spent in the next few years
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seeking a connection, with the gap eventually narrowed to around 30m, but there
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was no breakthrough; a fault in the rock appeared to have stopped all
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development.</p>
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<p>Meanwhile, further to the south a German group, <span lang="de"><a
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href="http://www.arge-grabenstetten.de/">Arbeitsgemeinschaft Höhle und
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Karst Grabenstetten e.V.</a></span> (ARGE), were exploring in the Stellerweg
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area; finally, in summer 2002 a group of muddy but elated Germans arrived at
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our camp with the news that their cave (still known by the name originally
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given to it by CUCC, Tony's Second <span lang="de-at">Höhle</span>) had
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dropped into an aven near the southern end of Chile, tying together <span
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lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span> and the southern caves to form the
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54km long <span lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem</span>.</p>
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<p>Since 1999 most of CUCC's exploration effort has focussed on the area around
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the <span lang="de-at">Hinterer Schwarzmooskogel</span>, the peak which lies
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above the northernmost reaches of <span
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lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>; this was begun as an attempt to find
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an easier entrance to the remote northern reaches of <span
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lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>, but gained a momentum of its own with
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the discovery of <span lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>.</p>
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<p>Exploration this year primarily focussed on <span
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lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>, 1623/204 in the Austrian
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'<span lang="de-at">Hoehlenkataster</span>' (cave index), a cave towards the
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northern end of the plateau discovered by CUCC in 1999. Four years of
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exploration had already revealed 5.3km of passage, with a vertical range of
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454m.</p>
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<p>This year's most major discoveries were in the horizontal levels of the
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system, in the 'Swings and Roundabouts' area. On one of the first caving trips
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of the expedition, Julian Haines spotted a passage leading off from the far
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side of 'Gaffer Tape' pitch (an imposing 80m deep and 20m wide shaft), and
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Julian and Earl Merson set out the next day to bolt across the yawning gulf.
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After some very airy traversing, they reached the entrance to this side passage
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only to find that although it drafted inwards strongly, it was choked with
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precarious boulders. Attempts to dislodge these proved rather hair-raising, as
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there was nowhere at all to stand, and were abandoned; the bolt traverse was
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removed, to allow another party to rig down the pitch into the Gaffered to the
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Walls series without being deluged with falling rocks. </p>
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<p>At this point, Earl and Julian headed off to investigate 'Dutch Beauty', a
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tight crawl leading off from the main Swings and Roundabouts passage slightly
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further north. Earl squeezed through, returning slightly later with tales of a
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spacious passage ('Rhino Rift') connecting to the far side of Julian's Gaffered
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boulder choke! The next day, Julian and Becka Lawson surveyed this, discovering
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in the process a short pitch ('Deviated Pitch') which led to yet more
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horizontal passage, stretching off several hundred metres to the north-west and
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carrying a substantial draught, with more leads branching off in all
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directions. Within five days 900m of passage had been surveyed in the new
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series, and there are still many leads awaiting exploration.</p>
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<p>The location of the new series is particularly interesting, as the area of
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plateau to the west of <span lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>
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has not been thoroughly explored, and beyond it lies the vast 78km system of
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<span lang="de-at">Raucherkarhöhle</span>. The ultimate dream of CUCC's
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work in the plateau is to connect <span
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lang="de-at">Raucherkarhöhle</span> to the <span
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lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogel</span> system, which would result in a composite
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system in excess of 130km long. This is a remote prospect as yet, but the
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westward trend of the new series is encouraging. Although the present end is in
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a boulder choke close to the surface, there are several undescended pitches
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which might lead to deeper levels of westward-trending passage, possibly
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intersecting caves in the unexplored region further west.</p>
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<p>There were also many discoveries elsewhere. The 'Gaffered to the Walls' pitch
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series, of which Gaffer Tape is the first pitch, had been explored last year
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to a depth of 207m. Only 26m further on, a new series of horizontal passages
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(known as the Underworld) was found, which is the deepest known phreatic
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development in <span lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>. According
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to Martin Green,</p>
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<blockquote><p>"A complex series of horizontal passages were discovered
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intermingled with large shafts, with clean washed walls and floors, where pools
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of crystal clear water could be found. A number of the chambers were covered in
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a thin black layer of mud, which was broken though upon being trodden on into
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richer light brown sediment. Within some of the sediment were piles of bat
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bones, presumably washed down from higher levels, where bats are occasionally
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seen. To our great surprise we encountered several fine grottos of stalagmites,
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which are uncommon in our area. A grotto named the Sirens has bright white
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foot long stalagmites which were actively dripping water, suggesting that
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stalagmite formation is still active. Horizontal development is still going in
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the area and there are a number of shafts to explore, as well as avens to bolt
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up."</p></blockquote>
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<p>There was also exploration at the deepest point of <span
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lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>., the streamway of
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'Razordance', which is entered at around -350m and proceeds downwards at an
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average gradient of about 1:2, interrupted by occasional small pitches.
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Anthony Day, Mark Shinwell and myself explored a further 150m to reach a new
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deep point to the system 487m below the main entrace, putting the total
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vertical range at 510m. Much of the new passage is similar to the existing
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sections, an awkward, narrow, high rift; but this is interrupted by a sizeable
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boulder-filled chamber, 'God Loves a Drunk', formed by breakdown at a point
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where a small inlet streamway enters. This offers the first viable site for an
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underground camp, which may well be used in the planned further exploration of
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Razordance next year.</p>
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<p>Razordance has clearly carried an active stream for an extremely long time,
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which is unusual in the area (most of the known caves consist of fossil
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phreatic passages). This has given rise to hopes that it may lead to a
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significant deep system: over CUCC's 26 years of exploration in the Loser
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plateau, all but one of the deep pitch series that have been found terminate
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at a common level approximately 550m below the surface. The exception is <span
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lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span> (1623/41), where a similar rift
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streamway apparently breaks through this layer and plunges down to -1030m. It
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is hoped that Razordance may do the same; since its entrance is significantly
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higher up than that of <span lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span>, this
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would be a major discovery, and motivates plans to continue the exploration of
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Razordance next year (hopefully with a larger team).</p>
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<p>There were also discoveries outside <span
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lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>. Ten new entrances were
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explored; the majority of these lie on the eastern slopes of the
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Schwarzmooskogel ridge, where the plateau drops away sharply into a glaciated
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valley; it was hoped that this downcutting would have opened up entrances where
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it intersected levels of horizontal development. A number of such entrances
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have already been found further south, particularly the <span
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lang="de-at">Eishöhle</span> 'portal row' which is a cluster of over a
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dozen entrances within a 100m radius.</p>
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<p>Our hopes of finding a new entrance to <span
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lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span> were fulfilled by 2003-06, which
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rapidly led into the Iceland area; but this will not make too much difference
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to the ease of exploration of <span lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>, as
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it is close to the existing 161e and f entrances. 2003-05, being further west,
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offered a chance to connect to the much deeper and more remote northwestern
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reaches of <span lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>, but proved to be
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choked at only -50m.</p>
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<p>Further north lies 2003-02, where an awkward entrance rift gives access to a
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shaft. Rocks dropped down the shaft fall for two seconds, bounce off a ledge,
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then fall for a further four seconds, suggesting a pitch of impressive
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dimensions; this will be investigated next summer.</p>
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<p>Further west near the 204d entrance is 2003-09 (<span
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lang="de-at">Weizeneishöhle</span>); although quite short, this is well
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decorated with ice formations and has a strong inward draught. This draught can
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be followed to an unstable descending boulder slope, which was not followed
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downwards for safety reasons, but the original explorers have vowed to return
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next year with a crowbar! As this point is only 30m from the terminal choke of
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'On a Mission', the northwestern extremity of the new Rhino Rift series in
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<span lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>; this choke draughts
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strongly outwards, so it is natural to suspect that they connect.</p>
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<p>All in all it was a most successful expedition, with the final tally at 1.9km
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of passage surveyed; and a great time was had by all the expedition's 14
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participants (including two expedition newbies). Planning has already begun in
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earnest for next summer's return visit; we can only hope for similar luck next
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year! Further information is available on CUCC's website at
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http://cucc.survex.com/, including a complete archive of expedition findings
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from 1976 to the present.</p>
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<h3>Expedition members</h3>
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<p>Julia Bradshaw, Anthony Day, Martin Green, Julian Haines, Becka Lawson,
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David Loeffler (leader), Brian Outram, Olly Madge, Earl Merson, Tony
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Rooke, Mark Shinwell, Julian Todd, Frank Tully, Lucia Vittorini.</p>
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<h3>Acknowledgements</h3>
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<p>We would like to thank the following for their sponsorship of the
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expedition:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Thomas Tunnock Ltd, for their generous donation of Tunnock Bars;</li>
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<li>G. Costa + Co, UK distributors of Blue Dragon instant noodles, for
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supplying us with nearly a thousand packets of the latter;</li>
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<li>The Ghar Parau Foundation, for their generous financial support.</li>
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</ul>
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<p>We would also like to thank the management of the Loser Panoramastrasse toll
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road; the local caving authority, the <a href="http://www.hoehle.at"><span
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lang="de-at">Verein für Höhlenkunde in Obersteier</span></a>; and,
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last but not least, Hilde, Karin and everyone else at the Gasthof Staud'nwirt
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in Bad Aussee (location of our base camp) for their hospitality.</p>
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<p style="font-style: italic; text-align: right">David Loeffler (dl267 - at - cam.ac.uk)<br />
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Expedition Leader 2003<br />
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Trinity College, Cambridge, CB2 1TQ, UK<br />
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11th January 2004</p>
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<hr />
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<ul>
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<li>2003 Expedition info:
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<ul>
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<li><a href="index.htm">2003 index</a></li>
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<li>Pre-expo <a href="goals.htm">mission statement</a></li>
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<li>Expedition Report</li>
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<li>Expedition <a href="logbook.html">logbook</a></li>
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<li>2003 <a href="sponsors.html">Sponsors</a></li>
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</ul></li>
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<li><a href="../../pubs.htm">Index</a> to all publications</li>
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<li><a href="../../infodx.htm">Expeditions Index</a></li>
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<li><a href="../../infodx.htm">Expo</a></li>
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</ul>
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