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<center><font size=-1>CTS 83.1765: Cambridge Underground 1983 pp 5-10</font>
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<h1>CUCC IN AUSTRIA: 1982 REPORT</h1></center>
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<p align=right>Phil Townsend
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<p>CUCC first went to Austria in 1976. The Loser Plateau on the southwest
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edge of the Totes Gebirge was immediately attractive having considerable,
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though not spectacular, depth potential (about 1100m) and easy access. The
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presence of a toll road from the lakeside village of Altaussee up to the
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plateau area means that the expedition can be based within staggering
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distance of bars and restaurants. The 77-79 expeditions worked on the Loser
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Plateau and bottomed 82 (-215m), 97 (-265m) and 106 (-506m). The 1980
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expedition, seeking less walking and absolutely no camping away from
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civilisation, worked in the area to the south of the Loser Plateau, near the
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Stogerweg (see map). 113 (Sonnenstrahlhöhle) went to -329m, 41
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(Stellerweghöhle) was still going at -350m and 115
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(Schnellzughöhle) was discovered [<a href="../1980/report.htm">Cambridge
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Underground 1981</a>]. In 1981 a large expedition successfully connected 41
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and 115 at circa -400m and pushed on down a tight streamway to a first sump.
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This was easily bypassed, the streamway getting larger and the pitches
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increasing in size. At about -680m time ran out with a 10m pitch undescended
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and at least a further 200m potential [<a href="../1981/report.htm">Cambridge
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Underground 1982</a>].
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<p><center><img alt="Expedition area location map - 7k gif" width=410
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height=370 src="tgloc.png"></center>
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<h4>A wet beginning</h4>
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<p>So; yet again CUCC found itself crammed into ageing vehicles with a crate
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of sardines, 50lb of muesli, and over 1000m of rope, bound for Altaussee.
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This years expedition was smaller in numbers but longer in time than 1981.
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The UBSS contingent failed to materialise but did send along a valuable
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mountain of tackle for which we are very grateful. Having less people meant a
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greater devotion to caving and better organised festering than in '81. There
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was also more beer per capita from Fritz's free crate on arrival.
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<p>So who was there ?
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<pre>
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Dave Brindle Ian Brindle Andy Dolby Doug Florence
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Paddy Gaunt Judith Greaves Pete Lancaster Janet Morgan
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Tim Parker Philip Sargent Beryl Strike Mike Thomsa
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Phil Townsend Andy Waddington Becky Ward Chas Butcher
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</pre>
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<p>-though only a stalwart few - students, UB 40's and Wadders - were able to
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devote a full four weeks of their life to the cause. There was a good mixture
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of old and new faces, over half the group had caved in Austria before and
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most of those on the previous year's expedition.
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<p>As a special consideration for those who had just flown in from the
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deserts of the Middle East, it rained for the first ten days, and frequently
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after that too. When it rains in Austria it surely rains, the campsite
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rapidly became a quagmire despite intensive bailing operations. Acres of damp
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clothes were displayed in every dry spell. Fortunately, this year we had a
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mess (sic) tent - a battle scarred ridge tent that had seen service on many
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Craven Winch meets. Further added luxuries were electric light and music
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ranging from the Grateful Dead to the Grateful Dead. Many a happy day was
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spent festering beneath the canvas with a good book, Gösser beer. Old
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Holborn, and loud music drowning out the thunder and rain.
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<p><center><img alt="location map for caves - 19k gif" width=640 height=960
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src="tg82.png"></center>
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<p>But why are we here ?
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<p>Because it's there. The Yorkshire conditions above ground finally drove us
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underground if only out of a fatal curiosity to find out what the 115
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streamway looked like with so much water about.
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<h4>To the 1981 limit</h4>
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<p>Rigging into last years termination went quite smoothly. Inevitably the
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first trips involved much tackle-bag dropping, hammer-crushed thumbs and
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failing lights; most forms of incompetance underground were exhausted before
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the caving got serious. We rerigged the ramp to stay out of the deep central
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rift; whilst this was a less exposed alternative to last year it was very
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greasy and no less strenuous. The Rift Pitches didn't seem so bad at first so
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apart from putting in a few more back-up bolts the route was unchanged at the
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top. The lower half of the rift (Inlet Pitches) was rigged as dry as
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possible, which meant strenuous changeovers at rebelays surpassed only by the
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nervous and physical energy that must have been expended rigging them.
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<p>So farewell then to an easy natured cave, to productive ten hour trips, to
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regular eating, sleeping and drinking - into Purgatory we descend. The n
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hundred metres (no one ever had the stamina or sufficient masochistic streak
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to survey them) of the lovingly named Pete's Purgatory go on and on. Consider
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the tighter parts of the entrance streamway in Stream Passage or the watery
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bits of Pippikin and stretch them out for nearly two hours - you have
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Purgatory. Furthermore unlike Stream Passage and Pippikin, one has to return
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the same way.
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<p>Once past the confluence with the 41 streamway the going is easier, the
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perched sump bypassed neatly and the classic Yorkshire style streamway
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begins. Two fourteen hour trips reached the previous limit of exploration and
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established a dump of disgusting packet soup at the 115 Final Chamber. In
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fact the body heat supplied by these dieticians nightmares just about
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replenished that lost by sitting around waiting for the damn stuff to heat
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up. These two trips were the first two to exit very sleepily into the early
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morning hours - sleeping under the stars on the Stogerweg whilst returning to
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Altaussee became quite fashionable. These first five days of efficient alpine
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starts and rapid caving should have set us up well for the pushing phase -
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but instead fatigue, a streak of good weather, and some serious drinking with
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local cavers slowed down the pace of exploration.
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<h4>Slow Progress</h4>
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<p>The first four days of August saw a burst of activity. Long pushing trips
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made tortoise-like progress adding one or two pitches at a time. The slow
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progress was due to the cold, the effort required to get through Purgatory,
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and ever increasing hydrophobia. Wilst most pitches were only spray lashed,
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some were viewed with suspicion should there be a storm on the surface.
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Similarly, the streamway, while generally very spacious, had a couple of low
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sections which were enough to make one think twice. The long trip out was by
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now familiar and rutine except for the inevitable niggles like a sit harness
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with a painful propensity for pushing parts into a pre-pubescent position.
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The last trip to traverse Pete's Purgatory both ways was one which spurred
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the expedition on. After the easy 7m Coming Soon pitch was a pleasant gently
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flowing canal terminating in a deep, open pool. The end ?
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<p>Foolishly harkening back to his youth, ex-President Planc goes for plunge
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in the terminal pool. Lo, tucked away in a corner a four inch swimming duck
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and the canal continues quietly. Maybe its just a final twist, but it is with
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apprehension that the pair continue, surely the cave is finished ? The a roar
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and round a corner the floor disappears into a very broad spray lashed
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chamber. An 11m and a 10m pitch are rigged onto broad ledges, traversing
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around to get out of the spray. With no rope left the bottom is invisible.
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They exited slowly to tell tales of "chambers fathomless to man". On the
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surface, a fit of pitch naming hailed the rift Orgasm Chasm.
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<h4>Purgatory Bypass</h4>
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<p>The need for a bypass to the Purgatory was now even more apparent. One
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trip had been made into the large abandoned phreatic passages beyond the
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connection from 115 Final Chamber to 41 Final Chamber. The Dartford Tunnel,
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some 10m square in section and strewn with boulders had been partially
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explored in 1981. To quote Dave in the 1982 log book "suddenly an inscription
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'cucc/UBSS 81' in the mud and ahead an untrodden sloping traverse. This was
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quickly overcome and ahead a stomping passage leads on. A small climb, across
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a deep stream-bearing rift, and ahead the phreatic tube continues. We're
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almost running now, pointing out features, not listening, the tension is
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incredible, how long will it last ? Suddenly a junction with a dry
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"Purgatory" in the floor and a dead bat. Hardly pausing we push up Rampant
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Passage, slower now, panting with exertion and excitement, this tube rises a
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hundred feet in two hundred. At the top we emerge into Cologne Cathedral, a
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silent but huge chamber. A dangerous climb leads to 30m Echo Aven. We return
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and push down the rift. Ahead the roar of water and suddenly we're hanging
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out over an enormous streamway, water cascades down and out of sight. We
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can't go on; so survey out." In fact, as Pete and Phil discovered, this was
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the main streamway just below the confluence at the far end of Purgatory. The
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Bypass was finally made, some aids put in to ease the passage, and Purgatory
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thankfully abandoned.
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<h4>Orgasm Chasm</h4>
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<p>On the same day that the bypass was conclusively established, Chas'n'Dave
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rigged a 42m pitch from a splendid eyrie half way round Orgasm Chasm reached
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by penduling and traversing from the waterfall. This pitch landed on a broad
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ledge from which a pitch in a parallel shaft was rigged to stay out of the
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spray lashed base of Orgasm Chasm. In fact they ran out of rope before
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reaching the bottom. This one really big freehang close to the wall of the
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chasm was one place where the expedition's Interalp rope was not appreciated:
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the bounce made controlled prussiking difficult and very tiring, not to
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mention the all too frequent twangs as one swung into the wall. The pitch
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really needed one or more rebelays but these would have been feats of
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engineering beyond our abilities (or inclinations, to be truthful) at this
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very cold, damp, deep part of the cave. This trip spent seventeen hours
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underground without a proper meal or any rest, and came out completely
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exhausted. The last few trips had been similar, the seven or eight members of
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the expedition - holiday was fast becoming a redundant term - who were keen
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and able enough to get to the bottom were all washed out and a long weekend
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of sleeping, walking, eating and driking was taken. The discovery of the dry
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sandy passages of the Bypass prompted the idea of establishing an underground
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camp. Whilst this camp was well above the bottom of the cave it did mean
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cavers could rest before the final dominantly vertical exit and the walk back
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across the plateau. Perhaps most of all it was a great psychological comfort
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when one was down the streamway to think there was good food and a warm pit
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only three hours away at the most.
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<p>The trip that established the camp, also pushed on down the cave. Tim and
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Phil straightened out the rigging of Orgasm Chasm to make best use of the
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dwindling supply of rope. In fact the job was slackly done. Two ropes were
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left on the main hang, one attached to the lower rebelay, the other dangling
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free in space with no knot in it. Fortunately the next pair narrowly avoided
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a rapid descent. At the floor of the Chasm the water ran down into a metre
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wide rift then over into a slit shaped void. An abandoned polished passage
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provided a second exit from the Chasm. A 6m pitch led to a steep slope above
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the same dark slit that the stream falls into. Cold and tired and suffering
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an attack of light failures the two put in a bolt and exited disappointedly,
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this rift had surely to be the end. The return to the camp was a sorry tale
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of temperamental carbide lamps, wet flints, soggy matches, cigarette lighters
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that failed to cooperate in the cold, all caused by an ammo can which decided
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to disgorge its contents at the head of Letch Pitch on the way in. The only
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god news in this tedious exit was the survival of a very old Timex watch
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after a sixty foot drop and two hours immersed in water, - not so the Casio
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digital wonder. Back to the camp for spag. bol., soup, dig bix, tea and
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cigarettes followed by nine hours solid sleep till midday. On the surface a
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thunderstorm had kept everyone else above ground lamenting the loss of their
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companions whilst auctioning off their cassette tapes, camping gear etc. What
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good friends we are.
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<h4>The End</h4>
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<p>From then on camping trips lasted thirty to thirty six hours and the cave
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suddenly seemed do-able in the two weeks remaining to bottom it, survey,
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photograph and derig. In fact the next couple of trips failed to make new
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ground as the lower pitches were impassable after storms. Finally the dynamic
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duo - Chas'n'Dave (tone deaf version) braved Orgasm Chasm and descended the
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rift, followed by a short free climb and a sump. No great thrill, just a deep
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pool in the rift, no way on. They returned to the camp and after sleep,
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trogged back to Altaussee to break the news to a quietly elated, appreciative
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"squalor" of speleos.
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<p>The only other trip to the bottom, unemcumbered by tackle or apprehension
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of what was to come next, Pete and Andy reached the sump in six hours,
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derigged back to the Duck, surveyed back to Subtle Approach pitch, camped and
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exited to fireworks over the lake. Two more big trips and three or four more
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arduous tackle hauling trips completed the surveying and derigging with a day
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to spare. The writer had sensibly fled the country before derigging
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commenced.
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<h4>Bits</h4>
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<p>We were overjoyed to bottom the system at last, but a little disappointed
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that it didn't make 1000m. The search for higher entrances to the system was
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continued. 131 and 132 are at approximately the same height as 41. 132 is
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almost certainly connected to 41 via the high level abandoned phreatic system
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in that cave, it also contains a series of deep rifts as in 41. The ramps in
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132 were pushed upwards for approximately 40m but no way to the surface was
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found. Some time was also spent in re-entering 113, Sonnenstrahlhöhle
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[<a href="../1980/report.htm#id113report">Cambridge Underground 1981</a>] to no
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avail save that of providing a splendid, clean, varied trip as a rest from
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the rather drab entrance series of 115.
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<h4>And Now for Something Completely Different?</h4>
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<p>At present it is uncertain whether CUCC will return to the same area next
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year. After many years of luxury lakeside camping we will not be able to stay
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at Fritzes next year. Furthermore, a radical change in local caving politics
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in Austria led to a minor coup in which Gunther Graf, our main contact of the
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past, was ousted. A night of much beer drinking and poor German communication
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brought us recognition by the new regime; though we learned that we no longer
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have exclusive rights to the Loser plateau and Stogerweg area. Whilst we were
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there we met a small party of Germans who were slowly exploring a very
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similar sounding system to 41 higher up and less than a kilometre from 41. An
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offer of cooperation may provide the manpower and tackle to bottom this, or
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even connect it to the Stellerweghöhlensystem.
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<p>Many thanks to Fritz Madlmeier, Karl Gaisberger and Co., and all the UBSS
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and CUCC who have had a hand in the deepest CUCC find - so far.
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<hr />
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<!-- LINKS -->
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<ul id="links">
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<li>1982 Expedition info:
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<ul>
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<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
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<li>Main Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1983:
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<ul>
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<li><a href="41gd.htm">Stellerweg Guidebook Description</a> by Pete Lancaster</li>
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<li><a href="41svy.htm">Stellerweg Survey</a> article by Andy Waddington</li>
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<li><a href="41camp.htm">The Underground Camp</a> by Chas Butcher</li>
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<li><a href="newbit.htm">New Discoveries</a> 1982 by Mike Thomas</li>
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<li><a href="bats.htm">The Bats of 115</a> by Dave Brindle</li>
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</ul></li>
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<li><a href="bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves & Caving Report</a></li>
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</ul></li>
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<li><a href="../../pubs.htm#pubs1982">Index</a> to all publications</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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