expoweb/noinfo/smkridge/88.htm

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<center><table border=0 width=100%>
<tr><th align=left><font size=+2>88</font></th>
<th align=center lang="de"><font size=+2>L&auml;rchenschacht</font></th>
<th align=right><font size=+2>3/S/T x</font></th></tr>
</table></center>
<p><b>Location:</b> E 36305 N 81395 H 1647m<br>
<b>Depth:</b> 215m to connection below <span lang="de">Stellerweg</span> big
pitch.
<p>Few details available, since we were for many years unable to obtain a
survey. A figure of over 6 km long in 1987 was quoted, but this would appear
to include the <a href="40.htm">Eish&ouml;hle</a>. Contact was finally made
with the French group in 1997 and <span lang="fr">Denis Motte</span> has sent
us a plan on 12 A3 sheets, dated April 1995, which gives the length as 1885m.
The following description is made up entirely by looking at the survey, and
should not be taken as reliable. It is hoped that we will do better after
visiting the cave with a view to finding its connections with
<span lang="de">Stellerwegh&ouml;hle</span>
(<a href="../../smkridge/41.htm">1623/41</a>) and
<a href="../../smkridge/144.htm">1623/144</a>.
<p>Open shaft descends 5m to first rigging bolt, then short pitch to
snow plug. The way out is to the NE, where the survey shows a couple of
(inaccessible ?) question marks and a traverse over a pit. Narrow rift
continues past another unexplored small passage to the right, and in 20m
opens out into a sizeable chamber. The boulder floor drops away to the
north (left) and ahead. Up right is a bouldery antechamber with the base
of a ramp up SE. A short passage here chokes.
<p>20m across the boulder slope, it is possible to descend the slope left
into the main part of <b lang="de">Oberpf&auml;lzer Halle</b>, 15m wide and
30m long, now heading west, still descending over boulders. To the right is a
15m rift passage with an inlet. Ahead, the chamber narrows, but large
bouldery passage continues with two or three big boulders (over 5m). To SW is
a junction marking the start of <b lang="de">Jsartal</b>. Up a steep ramp to
the right (NW) is unexplored, whilst left, south, goes directly below the
entrance in a passage with a slot in the floor. After 25m is a widening and
junction. Right curves round to end below an aven. Left goes quickly to
another junction. Right soon chokes in boulders, whilst left ends quickly in
an undescended rift pitch.
<p>Back at the junction at the start of <span lang="de">Jsartal,</span> the
main way SW soon traverses a large hole in the floor, then continues as a
small canyon until 50m from the start is a junction in small passage. Right
pops out immediately into the side of a ramp rising right (north) to a choke.
Down ends in a pitch, which is best reached by the small passage left at the
junction. This quickly doglegs and comes out over the pitch on the opposite
side from the ramp. The pitch (undescended) is seen to be a widening in a
deep floor canyon, which continues as <span lang="de">Jsartal</span> develops
into an 8m wide rocky chamber through which the floor trench meanders.
<p>After a short way, the trench abruptly ends, and a ramp up above it leads
to a junction. Left continues up ramp, but not very far. Right traverses the
ramp (another down-section soon ends), then heads west past another blind
passage on the right, to break out into a larger passage ahead. Left (south)
is the way to <span lang="de">Geburtstagsgang,</span> whilst right (north)
eventually leads to the
<a href="#fsw"><span lang="de">SchwarzmooskogelEish&ouml;hle</span>
connection</a>.
<h3 lang="de">Geburtstagsgang</h3>
<p>Ascending a low ramp leads past various short side-extensions to
<b lang="de">Schafott</b> - apparently a breakthrough point in 1986 ? Beyond
this, small passage continues SW, with a mudbank on the left, for almost 50m
until it widens out and descends a steep slope towards a floor trench. Left
here a further ramp ascends east to a choke. The floor trench continues W,
then NW, but would seem to be too narrow. Staying on the north side of the
trench and heading NW (right from the point of entry) leads through mud
and/or shingle deposits in a small zig-zag passage which meets first a small
canyon which doesn't go, and then a T-junction over another canyon.
<p>Right ends after ten metres or so, whilst left (west) meets another
junction where a further trench comes in from the left (south). This
also appears to be too small to follow, but would seem likely to connect
with one or both of the trenches seen earlier. Ahead reaches a chamber,
with a steep slope down left to yet another trench, but staying high
gains the continuation of <span lang="de">Geburtstagsgang</span> continuing
small with a narrow floor canyon. This now goes NW for 50m, to a T-junction.
Right ends almost immediately, whilst left shortly pops out in bigger passage
on a ledge overlooking a small stream.
<p>Right in the canyon, 12m away, is bigger passage
<span lang="de">(<a href="#gc">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on</a>),</span> and the
original way to Stellerwegh&ouml;hle, whilst ahead/left goes west, quickly
picking up an inlet from the left and dropping 30m in <b lang="de">Ungarn
Ca&ntilde;on</b>, a narrow way for 50m, to where exploration ceased. It is
not clear, but this may well be a pitch, quite possibly into part of the
<span lang="de">Stellerweg</span> system.
<h3>To <span lang="de">Stellerwegh&ouml;hle</span></h3>
<p>By going right at the start of <span lang="de">Ungarn Ca&ntilde;on,</span>
large, bouldery passage is soon met at a T-junction. To the right is an
alternative route from the entrance via
<a href="#fsw"><span lang="de">Frankenschnellweg</span></a> and
<span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on.</span> This route was found first,
but the survey numbering suggests it was surveyed later and I might deduce
that this is not the normal way.
<p>Left in the bigger passage is over boulders, passing a short passage on
the left. A hole in the floor of this appears to connect to
<span lang="de">Ungarn Ca&ntilde;on.</span> Ahead, a slit in the floor is
traversed (on the right ?) to reach a pair of large boulders. Up right here
ends quickly in an unclimbable sediment wall. Continuing west, the trench
reappears (now traversed on left) and soon expands to be a large hole in the
floor. It is unclear from the survey how this is crossed, but on the far
side, it would appear that a pitch of c 35m is descended, over jammed blocks.
Rising steeply to the right (north) from (the foot ?) here is an unascended
ramp, which seems likely to connect to unsurveyed passages below Roddick's
Dive in <a href="../../smkridge/144.htm">1623/144</a>.
<p>A continuation WNW from this point would appear to be part of the
streamway below the <a href="../../smkridge/41/41.htm#bigpitch">Big Pitch</a>
in <span lang="de">Stellerwegh&ouml;hle.</span> This in turn suggests that
the 35m or so descent must be in the lower part of this shaft, and the ramp
seen to the right starts some way above the foot of the pitch.
<h3><a name="fsw"><span lang="de">Frankenschnellweg</span></a> and the way to
the <a href="40.htm"><span lang="de">Eish&ouml;hle</span></a></h3>
<p>From the junction at the west of <span lang="de">Jsartal,</span> large
passage heads north for a short way to a T-junction. Right encounters two
floor trenches, the right hand of which soon widens to a 3m deep blind pit.
Across this is 25m of rising passage to a choke. Left soon swings round and
heads north again, passong another short, blind ascending way on the left. A
short section of floor trench is traversed and a short way beyond is
<b lang="de">Brotzeitplatz</b>, where a large cross-rift goes a short
distance left and right.
<p>Ahead is <b lang="de">Frankenschnellweg</b>, a rifty passage with rounded
roof, heading north with an initial floor trench. Thirty metres or so from
<span lang="de">Brotzeitplatz</span> another cross-rift is met, this time at
an angle. This is the start of a slightly mazey area. To the right is narrow
for 30m to the edge of a wide shaft, <b lang="de">Regenschacht</b>, 4m deep.
By traversing right on the near edge, a small passage is gained which circles
all the way round to the far side, then ends in a small aven.
<p>Ahead in <span lang="de">Frankenschnellweg,</span> another cross-rift is
encountered less than 20m ahead. Right turns sharply back and connects to the
<span lang="de">Regenschacht</span> passage about halfway along. Left is too
narrow to follow, but lines up with another section of rift in the mazey
area. Continuing north in <span lang="de">Frankenschnellweg,</span> the
boulder floor changes and a steep slope down leads to the lip of a canyon at
<b lang="fr">Puits du Sable</b>. Directly opposite is a short blind ramp up.
Right is the way to <a href="#gg"><span lang="fr">Grand Galerie</span></a>,
described below, whilst left is the start of <span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er
Ca&ntilde;on.</span>
<h3><a name="gc"><span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on</span></a></h3>
<p>This is the deep rift reached at the end of
<a href="#fsw"><span lang="de">Frankenschnellweg</span></a>, but it is not
clear that this is the best way to get to it. Back at the start of the mazey
area, the way left (SW) is boulder-floored rift which continues for twenty
metres or so until a junction. Ahead chokes, but two ways right soon unite.
The left way looks harder - a traverse over a trench, whilst the right way is
boulder floored. Beyond the reunion is narrower, with a slot in the floor,
and zig-zagging roughly NW, though clearly interrupted by a number of SW-NE
joints. One of these can be followed for ten or fifteen metres, where it
becomes too narrow, but lined up with a cross-rift in
<span lang="de">Frankenschnellweg.</span>
<p>After this joint, the next junction is effectively an oxbow on the
left, where a bat was found during exploration. Ahead soon reaches the top of
the <b lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on</b>, some 40m downstream from the
point reached in <span lang="de">Frankenschnellweg.</span> A descent to the
bottom at this point is a 30m pitch. Directly across from the point of entry
is a ramp up, with various sediment banks, leading to
<a href="#sh"><span lang="de">Sophienhalle.</span></a> To the right goes back
towards the <span lang="fr">Puits du Sable</span> and
<a href="#gg"><span lang="fr">Grand Galerie</span></a> - see below.
<p>To the left, <span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on</span> heads SW in
a classic meander, or traversing rift. Give or take a couple of zags, this is
straight for almost 100m, at which point it is interrupted by a bouldery
chamber of about 10m diameter. Beyond, <span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er
Ca&ntilde;on</span> continues S then SW again, getting wider. Boulders hide
the trench, and the passage curves west. To the left is the way in via
<span lang="de">Geburtstagsgang</span> and on to <span lang="de">Ungarn
Ca&ntilde;on.</span> Ahead is the main way into
<span lang="de">Stellerweg,</span> described above. It is not clear whether
the stream below <span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on</span> goes on
this way, or joins <span lang="de">Ungarn Ca&ntilde;on.</span>
<h3><a name="gg"><span lang="fr">Grande Galerie</span></a></h3>
<p>Upstream in <span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on,</span> most easily
reached by the <span lang="fr">Puits du Sable,</span> ascending passage heads
east, and soon develops into a very wide passage with a deep canyon floor. It
looks as if this passage is done at the level of the bottom of the canyon,
which leads up, passing an inlet on the right, to a large pool at the foot of
<b lang="fr">Puits Madonna</b>. This is ascended to reach a similar level to
the point of entry above <span lang="fr">Puits du Sable.</span> The
continuation enlarges into <b lang="fr">Grande Galerie</b>, soon attaining
impressive dimensions of 15m wide by 20m high. Question marks mark apparently
inaccessible passages, two on the right and one on the left.
<p>Beyond a couple of impressive boulders, a climb up leads to a smaller
continuation. To the right is a hole in the floor with passage beyond,
but left is a ramp up which soon rejoins the passage beyond the hole. The
way gets bigger again, in passage first explored from
<a href="40.htm"><span lang="de">Schwarzmooskogeleish&ouml;hle</span></a>,
until after 50m, it ends at the foot of a thirty metre pitch from the other
cave.
<h3><a name="sh"><span lang="de">Sophienhalle</span></a></h3>
<p>On the NW side of <span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on,</span>
directly opposite the entry via the mazey area, or 40m downstream from the
entry via <span lang="fr">Puits du Sable,</span> is a ramp up NNW. Right and
left are walls of sediment, but the main way suddenly turns right, though
still ascending steeply. The ramp eases and becomes more bouldery, now
heading NE, suddenly to end at a widening above a deep undescended pit. A
climb up on the right of this reaches the top of the far wall, in a large N-S
collapse chamber, <b lang="de">Sophienhalle</b>. This shows clear bedding in
the walls, and appears to have formed by spalling. Over the boulder floor,
another steep wall precedes a ramp down to a choke. Dotted lines suggest a
northward continuation, though whether this is above or below the ramp is
unclear.
<p><b>Exploration:</b>
<ul>
<li>First descent by <span lang="de">Reinhard Lemmer</span> in 1983, depth
40m, blocked by ice.
<li><span lang="de">Reinhard Kieselbach, Franz Lindenmayr</span> and
<span lang="de">K Peter</span> make second descent over a weekend in
August 1985, finding the <b lang="de">Oberpf&auml;lzer Halle</b>.
<li>In September, FHKF, VHM and HFG-KA returned, discovered
<b lang="de">Frankenschnellweg,</b> and the way to the
<b lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on,</b> and surveyed.
<li>In 1986, exploration continued to <b lang="de">Hall Dom,</b> connecting
to <span lang="de">Stellerweg.</span> Also found
<b lang="de">Geburtstagsgang,</b> which came out in
<span lang="de">Gro&szlig;er Ca&ntilde;on.</span>
<li>In 1987, the German groups were replaced by French
(<a href="../../others/gscb/index.htm">GSCB,</a> GSD, ASCR) who found
<b lang="de">Sandschacht,</b> heading N and E. A 5m climb from
<span lang="fr">Puits Madonna</span> reached a passage with cairns and a
definite connection to <span lang="de">Schwarzmooskogeleish&ouml;hle.</span>
A through trip was done the next day by GSCB and GSD.
<li>In 1988 surveys were tied together with an improved surface survey.
</ul>
<p>Information from
<a href="../../others/gscb/index.htm"><span lang="fr">Groupe
Sp&eacute;l&eacute;ologique de Clerval - Baume les Dames</span></a>
<hr>
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