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