mirror of
https://expo.survex.com/repositories/expoweb/.git/
synced 2024-11-21 14:51:54 +00:00
101 lines
5.9 KiB
HTML
101 lines
5.9 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
|
|
<title>CUCC's Austria expeditions: disclaimer</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/main2.css" />
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<h1>Warning and disclaimer</h1>
|
|
|
|
<p>Many of the caves described in these pages are in a Nature Reserve
|
|
(Naturschutzgebiet), in which permission is legally required (and most often
|
|
denied) for both caving and camping. Austria has a very strict cave
|
|
conservation ethic - permission to cave is unlikely to be granted without the
|
|
support of the local caving organisation, who are currently discouraging new
|
|
exploration by any groups who have not previously worked in the area.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Care should be taken where possible to stick to existing paths. Be aware
|
|
that knowing the coordinates of a cave, and/or bearings to prominent landmarks,
|
|
is no guarantee of being able to find it in the intricate and confusing
|
|
limestone karren fields. Marking of caves or routes by paint is now strongly
|
|
discouraged, more discreet metal tags being used instead. This makes caves even
|
|
harder to spot from any distance away.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Many of the caves were explored up to almost forty years ago, using 8mm
|
|
self-drilling anchors - the hangers were removed. Not all of these were
|
|
well-placed, and some were placed for ladders, not SRT. All will have
|
|
deteriorated, even though, in most cases, they were greased during derigging.
|
|
Some of them are very hard to find (even with a detailed rigging guide) and
|
|
omission of a critical rebelay or deviation can render a pitch much more
|
|
dangerous either through abrasion or through greater exposure to floodwater.
|
|
Many of the caves contain loose rock; many are subject to rapid flooding with
|
|
very cold runoff water. Rocks can move, ice formations can form in different
|
|
places each year and may be in a greater or lesser state of decomposition
|
|
during the summer. What may have been safe rigging during the original
|
|
exploration may not be safe today. Snow plugs on entrance pitches may collapse
|
|
without warning. Other hazards may exist of which the original explorers were
|
|
unaware.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Please take these caves as you find them and treat their descent as if it
|
|
was original exploration. It is up to the individual to satisfy his or herself
|
|
that the descent is safe, that any belays used or reused are sound. CUCC does
|
|
not maintain any of the anchors or fixed ropes in the caves except during their
|
|
own continuing explorations and even then cannot guarantee their safety.
|
|
Neither CUCC nor any member or guest of a CUCC expedition can be held
|
|
responsible for any accident occurring to third parties descending any of the
|
|
caves described here, even if using equipment placed by such persons. If you
|
|
are not prepared to assume responsibility for your own safety, please stay out
|
|
of these caves or take suitable training to ensure that you can assess and deal
|
|
with the risks.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Be aware that it can take considerable time for any rescue effort to be
|
|
organised in this location, so visitors should aim to be self-reliant.
|
|
Although the Austrian rescue organisation may be able to call upon the services
|
|
of a helicopter, these cannot fly at night, and military operations will take
|
|
priority over civilian rescue. You'll need a fluent German speaker (ie. able to
|
|
converse accurately over the phone) to be able to make contact with the rescue
|
|
service at all. It is in your interest to make contact with any other cavers or
|
|
expeditions in the area, as well as the local caving groups, <b>before</b> any
|
|
rescue effort is required. It is also your moral responsibility to offer
|
|
assistance in the event that another group is involved in a rescue situation.
|
|
Unlike rescues in the UK, which tend to use huge numbers of haulers, very few
|
|
Austrian cavers are available for any given rescue. It may be helpful to read
|
|
the <a href="handbook/rescue.htm">Rescue Guide</a> which CUCC uses on its
|
|
expeditions.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Finally, information presented here is gathered together from a wide variety
|
|
of sources, from detailed reports written at the time of exploration to
|
|
word-of-mouth from memory many years later. Although every care has been taken
|
|
to ensure that it is correct (for our own use if nothing else :-), <b>neither
|
|
CUCC nor the editors of this archive make any warranty as to the accuracy or
|
|
currency of anything presented here</b>. In <b>ALL</b> cases, any opinions
|
|
expressed are those of the contributing author, and do not necessarily reflect
|
|
an official position of Cambridge University Caving Club or of any other body
|
|
which they may appear to represent. Any representation of a legal or 'official'
|
|
position reflects our best efforts at understanding, but should not be taken as
|
|
an authoritative source. Errors, omissions and misunderstandings are
|
|
inevitable, especially when there are language barriers and only one visit to
|
|
the area each year. Legal positions, regulations, policies and responsible
|
|
bodies all change, and the latest situation may not yet have come to our
|
|
attention. In no case can CUCC or the authors of information presented here be
|
|
held responsible for any conflict, loss or consequential damage arising from
|
|
the use of or inability to use the information. We would appreciate being
|
|
informed of any errors, omissions or misunderstandings of which you become
|
|
aware.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Please also read our <a href="copyit.htm">copyright notice</a>.</p>
|
|
<hr />
|
|
|
|
<ul id="links">
|
|
<li>Back to <a href="../index.htm">CUCC Home page</a></li>
|
|
<li>Back to <a href="index.htm">Expedition Intro page</a></li>
|
|
<li><b>Main Indices:</b>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href="infodx.htm"><b>Index</b> to Expo</a> information pages</li>
|
|
<li><a href="areas.htm">Description of CUCC's area</a> and split to subareas</li>
|
|
<li>Full <a href="indxal.htm">Index to cave descriptions</a> in area 1623</li>
|
|
<li>List of (links to) <a href="pubs.htm">published reports and logbooks</a></li>
|
|
</ul></li></ul>
|
|
</body> </html>
|