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<title>1999: Expedition report (2000-01-05)</title>
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<h2>Expo '99<br>
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Cambridge University Club<br>
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July - August 1999</h2>
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<p>In the summer of 1999, Cambridge University Caving Club ("CUCC") held its
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23<sup>rd</sup> annual expedition to the Loser Plateau in Austria.
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<p>There were twenty-five expedition
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<a href="../../folk/index.htm">members,</a> making it one of the larger
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Expos in recent years. The expedition lasted for five weeks.
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<h3>Background</h3>
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<p>For the last eleven years CUCC has been exploring the cave system known
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as <a href="../../smkridge/161/top.htm"><span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle.</span></a>
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<p>To the south of <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> lies the major
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<span lang="de">Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem,</span> consisting of
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<span lang="de"><a href="../../noinfo/smkridge/40.htm">Eishöhle,</a>
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<a href="../../smkridge/41/41.htm">Stellerweghöhle,</a>
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<a href="../../smkridge/41/115.htm">Schnellzughöhle,</a>
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<a href="../../noinfo/smkridge/88.htm">Lärchenschacht,</a></span> and
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<a href="../../smkridge/78.htm"><span lang="de">Schwabenschacht</span></a>
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as well as a few other entrances. Parts of this were explored as long ago as
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1938, but the major central part of the cave,
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<span lang="de">Stellerweghöhle,</span> was explored by CUCC in 1980-85,
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to a depth of 973m and a length of some 7km. Other parts of the cave have
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been explored by both French and German groups, and the total length of this
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cave system is around 20km. After the CUCC 1998 expedition, the gap between
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these two systems was about 130m, in passages at much the same level.
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<p>Linking the two systems would involve not only exciting new exploration,
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but also a great deal of tie-up surveying to establish definitive figures for
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the length and depth of the combined system. Current survey information
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suggests that the complete system would be over 42km long and over 1050m
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deep, ranking the system as one of the world's major cave systems -
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approximately 50<sup>th</sup> in both the world's longest <b>and</b> deepest
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caves lists.
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<h3>Aims of the Expedition</h3>
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<p>The closest point between <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> and
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the <span lang="de">Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem</span> was determined
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to be at the bottom of the deep <span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht</span>
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entrance to the <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> system. This was
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explored previously in the 80s by CUCC and again in 1997, when it was
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connected to the rest of <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle.</span>
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<p>A major aim of the 1999 expedition was thus to attempt to link
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<span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht</span> to the
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<span lang="de">Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem.</span>
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The aim was to connect with the part of the
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<span lang="de">Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem</span> known as
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<span lang="de">Eishöhle,</span> which, being the northernmost part of
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the <span lang="de">Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem,</span> is the closest
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point to <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle.</span>
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<p>Additionally there were well over 200
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<a href="../../smkridge/161/qmtodo.htm">ways on</a> in the rest of the
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<span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> system, and expedition members
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were keen to investigate certain of them with the aim of further extending
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the system.
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<p>In keeping with CUCC's high standards of documentation and surveying, it
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was as usual an object of the expedition to document and survey every new
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cave passage found.
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<p>Surface work forms an important part of every CUCC expedition - more so
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than in the early years - and an aim of each Expo is to prospect for and
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document new caves on the plateau, in addition to tidying up any work left
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over from previous expeditions. This includes surveying to and fixing the
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locations of cave entrances.
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<h3>The Expedition</h3>
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<p>As has been usual for previous years,
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<a href="../../bcamps.htm">Base Camp</a> was situated at the campsite at
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<span lang="de-at">Gasthof Staud'n'wirt, Bad Aussee,</span> where the members
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were made very welcome by <span lang="de-at">Karin Wilpernig</span> and
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family.
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<p>The caving area is situated on the Loser plateau at an altitude of 1600m,
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some 800m higher than Base Camp. A <a href="../../tollrd.htm">toll road</a>
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ascends the mountainside to a restaurant and car park at the top. From here
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it is approximately a 45-minute walk to
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<a href="../../tcamps.htm#topcamp">Top Camp</a> on the plateau, more if one
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has hundreds of metres of rope and other caving gear on one's back!
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<p>The first expedition members arrived on or shortly after the
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10<sup>th</sup> July 1999. The logbook recalls "... we did manage to get
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lost in Brussels and inadvertantly explore their tunnel network (time
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underground 20 minutes) ..."! Things looked up for this group when Base
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Camp was finally reached, arriving at 3pm (having set off from Cambridge at
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5pm the previous afternoon) and promptly "imbibing too much
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<span lang="de-at">Gösser</span> [A lager beer found in Austria and much
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enjoyed by Expo cavers!] ..."
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<p>Several carries of equipment and supplies were made up to Top Camp and the
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first caving was done shortly afterwards, with an introductory tour around a
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section of <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> known as Triassic Park
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for some of the cavers new to Expo.
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<p>On the 18<sup>th</sup> July a two-man team set off with 330m of rope to
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rig down <span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht.</span> This prepared for
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exploratory trips to the bottom to probe for ways on towards
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<span lang="de">Eishöhle.</span>
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<h3>Discoveries in <span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht</span></h3>
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<p>One of the expedition members had been waxing lyrical in Cambridge about
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an aven [a vertical shaft come across from the bottom] at the bottom of
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<span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht,</span> which was suspected to be a way on
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towards <span lang="de">Eishöhle.</span>
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<p>However, it turned out in Austria that the aven was not quite as
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remembered in Cambridge! The team of two cavers decided to attempt to view
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the aven from above and whilst partway down
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<span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht</span> spotted a
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small passage disappearing off into the wall, not noted previously!
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<p>The hole in the wall was inspected more closely and turned out to lead to
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a short pitch and a chamber. This led to a continuing rift and another pair
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of pitches. There was insufficient gear available to descend the second,
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described as a hole "into a <b>very</b> rainy chamber with a <b>big</b> echo
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. . ."
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<p>The new passage was surveyed and the group returned to Top Camp, not
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knowing that the find was to prove one of the most significant of Expo '99
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...
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<h4>Further exploration</h4>
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<p>The <a href="../../smkridge/161/chile.htm#oatso">new passage</a> was named
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<b>Oatso Simple,</b> after the oats eaten at Top Camp and a play on words "Oh
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so simple!" (The area of cave concerned had been looked at before and deemed
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to have no way on!).
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<p>Two days after the initial discovery was made a larger team returned to
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continue the exploration. A huge passage was discovered - "Overshoot" -
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heading directly SW for 250m, thus surprising everyone by going straight past
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<span lang="de">Eishöhle.</span> On examining the survey data it became clear that this
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section was almost directly in line with the
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<a href="../../smkridge/41/deepwy.htm#confluence">main streamway</a> in
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<span lang="de">Stellerweghöhle</span> several hundred metres away!
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<p>Some idea of the size of the passage might be gleaned from the logbook
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entry from this day:
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<blockquote>
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... It is <b>huge</b>! with 3 big holes in floor and 4 other pitches.
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Far end is enormous jumble of boulders where lots of cavers wandered
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about in the interstices peering out over big holes at each other and
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shouting "Where am I?!" a lot ...
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</blockquote>
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<p>Much further exploration continued over the next weeks. "Windy Bottom",
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<a href="../../smkridge/161/chile.htm#lost3">"Steady Aim",</a>
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<a href="../../smkridge/161/chile.htm#carpet">"CarpetWorld"</a> and many other passages were discovered, in
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addition to the discovery of a sump [a flooded passage blocking the way on]
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named <a href="../../smkridge/161/chile.htm#natborns">"Totality"</a> (Expo
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was directly in the path of the solar eclipse in August 1999).
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<p>After the initial horizontal section the passage trended steeply downwards
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to -450m depth and also swung towards the NE, making a direct connection to
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the <span lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span> streamway less likely from the <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span>
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end.
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<p>This general part of the cave was named
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<a href="../../smkridge/161/chile.htm">"Chile".</a> In total about 4km of new
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passage was discovered, leaving <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span>
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about 500m distant from the <span lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span>
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streamway. A major achievement.
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<p>However, the connection with <span lang="de">Eishöhle</span> was to
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remain elusive. Just 75m away!
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<h3 lang="de">Steinbrückenhöhle</h3>
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<p>A "surface stroll" by three cavers on the 25<sup>th</sup> July discovered
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"a very large horizontal entrance by a prominent rock bridge". There were
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actually two entrances discovered and the cave was named
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<a href="../../smkridge/204/204.shtml"><span lang="de">Steinbrückenhöhle</span></a> after the rock bridge.
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<p>The next day saw two of the discoverers return to start descending the
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new cave. A significant amount new passage was discovered - spirits were
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high when the cavers returned! The <a href="log.htm">log book</a> records:
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<blockquote>
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<font size=+2><span lang="de">STEINBRÜCKENHÖHLE</span> GOES!<br>
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NEW CAVE!!</font><br>
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70m deep<br>
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260m surveyed<br>
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12 QMs [Question marks (open ways on)]<br>
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still going . . . <br>
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Proper write up soon. x x x dunks
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</blockquote>
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<p>In successive trips the cave was explored to a depth of 226m and a length
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of 1350m, making it a very significant find. Additionally there are now many
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open ways on needing further exploration.
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<p>The cave occupies an important position as it is not inconceivable that it
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might connect into the north-western extremities of the <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span>
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system.
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<p>This connection, even though it is not known to be achievable for sure, is
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worth striving for on future expeditions, as such a connection would render
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the <a href="../../smkridge/161/farnth.htm">Far North</a> regions of
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<span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> far more accessible than at the
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present time. No doubt future expeditions will shed more light on the
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subject.
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<h3 lang="de">Eishöhle</h3>
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<p>Following the lack of any connection to
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<span lang="de">Eishöhle</span> discovered from
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<span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht,</span> it was decided to try to attack
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the problem from the other direction.
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<p>The entrances of <span lang="de">Eishöhle</span> are more difficult
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to reach than the main <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> entrances,
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being a considerable distance from Top Camp along a non-obvious route.
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Thankfully knowledge from previous years helped with route-finding.
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<p>The large amounts of ice and snow in the cave also require unusual (to
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British cavers) equipment and techniques - such as caving in crampons!
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<p>The entrance having been found, a team descended into the cave, down the
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huge snow and ice slope into <span lang="de">Schneevulkanhalle,</span> the
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largest ice-bearing chamber in Western Europe. Photographs were taken and
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several leads explored.
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<p>Finding a possible way on in the right general direction proved easy but
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each pitch was choked and the explorers ended up
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<a href="../../smkridge/40/cucc.htm#pov">climbing up 60m</a> before
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descending 60m again - a lot of difficult caving to get only somewhat closer
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to the goal. It is still going though... Another team resurveyed the
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route into the original (1938) part of <span lang="de">Eishöhle,</span> connecting the last major missing section of survey data and finding some
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more possible leads.
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<p>The trips into the cave were successful, especially in increasing CUCC's
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knowledge of the cave. A priority next year will be to resurvey the areas we
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know of where data is lost or innaccurate.
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<p>Further research, since the expedition returned to England, by <span
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lang="de">Thilo Müller</span> to track down old survey data and surveys
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from the 1980s has also been very valuable.
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<p><span lang="de">Eishöhle</span> certainly deserves further
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investigation and this is an important aim of the 2000 expedition.
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<h3>More in <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span></h3>
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<p>Additional discoveries were made this year in the "main" part of
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<span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> reached from the horizontal
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entrances known as 161d and 161e.
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<p>Teams visited the <a href="../../smkridge/161/icelnd.htm">Iceland area</a>
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of <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> via the remote 161e entrance,
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1½ hours' walk from Top Camp. Some known pitches were descended and
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other passages explored, but unfortunately there were no major finds.
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<p>A couple of trips were made into an area known as
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<a href="../../smkridge/161/offffr.htm#regurgitn">Regurgitation,</a> an
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interesting corner of <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle,</span> where a
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known rift was extended down to a continuing stream passage and an
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undescended pitch. A lack of time prevented any further investigation this
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year.
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<p>Finally a large rift pitch was discovered near a chamber known as the
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<a href="../../smkridge/161/fbl136.htm#hotmc">Hall of the Mounting Choss,</a>
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but this was not descended on the expedition.
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<h3>Surface Work and Other Caves</h3>
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<p>A significant amount of surface work was carried out over the duration of
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the expedition. Several surface surveys were conducted and follow-up work
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was needed on a few previous surveys. Some time was spent searching for
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alternative entrances to the <span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht</span> shaft
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series above the present one (to try to increase the depth of the cave). This
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had mixed success in that three more entrances were discovered, but the total
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depth has only been increased by about five metres!
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<p>Several old caves were tagged, surveyed to, surveyed inside and described.
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<p>Some experimental work was carried out using a combination of GPS and
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portable computer to locate caves on the plateau, but it was discovered that
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this needs further development before it will be useable.
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<p>A new cave
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<a href="../../smkridge/205.htm"><span lang="de">"Nordalpenhöhle"</span></a>
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was discovered and explored not far from the <span
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lang="de">Steinschlagschacht</span> entrance, but unfortunately this proved
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to end in a pitch with no way on at the bottom. Another cave nearby,
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<a href="../../smkridge/147.htm">"147",</a> was re-surveyed and
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re-documented, and a couple of other known shafts on the plateau noted in
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previous years were descended and documented.
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<p>Finally, in a new development, mobile phones replaced radios to provide
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more reliable communication between Top Camp and Base Camp.
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<h3>Follow-Up Work</h3>
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<p>The usual follow-up work in Cambridge and elsewhere is continuing even as
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you read this report. Survey data is processed on computer using the
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<b>Survex</b> software written by CUCC members. Surveys have to be drawn up
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and passage descriptions written.
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<p>The CUCC Expo documentation archive, maintained as a Web site, is
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currently being updated with the finds from Expo '99. This comprehensive
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cross-referenced resource provides an excellent knowledge base of information
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for future expeditions.
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<p>The archive can be viewed on the Web at the following address:<br>
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<center><a href="../../index.htm">http://cucc.survex.com/expo/index.htm</a></center>
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<h3>Concluding Remarks</h3>
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<p>Expo '99 was a great success, with over 4km of extensions to
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<span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> and the discovery of a new and significant cave,
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<span lang="de">Steinbrückenhöhle.</span> The extensions below <span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht</span> are of
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special importance and have significantly increased the chances of connecting
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the two caves in a future expedition - quite possibly in 2000.
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<h3>Expo 2000</h3>
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<p>Planning for the expedition in 2000 to the same area is already underway.
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It is hoped that the newly-gained proximity to <span lang="de">Eishöhle</span> will be able to
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be exploited to find the elusive connection! In addition, <span lang="de">Eishöhle</span> will
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be probed further in an attempt to connect the caves from the other
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direction.
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<p>In addition it is intended to continue exploring the Chile area of
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<span lang="de">Steinschlagschacht</span> and hopefully extend it towards <span lang="de">Stellerweghöhle.</span>
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<p>The new cave <span lang="de">Steinbrückenhöhle</span> will be further explored with a
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specific aim of pushing towards the north-western extremeties of
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<span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle.</span> It looks likely that this will play a large part in the
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2000 expedition.
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<p>Finally, the usual surface work will be undertaken to further increase the
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Club's knowledge of the plateau.
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<p>Any enquiries about Expo 2000 should be directed to the Expedition Leader,
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Mark Shinwell (contact details at end of this report).
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<h3>Thanks</h3>
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<p>Many thanks must go to the following for their gracious sponsorship of
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Expo '99:
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<dl>
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<dt>GP Batteries (UK) Ltd.
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<dd>for twenty Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, used for powering drills for
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placing rigging bolts underground.
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<dt>Thomas Tunnock Ltd.
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<dd>for Tunnock Bars;
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<dt>Quaker
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<dd>for Oatso;
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<dt>Batchelors
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<dd>for Cup-a-Soups, Bean Feasts and Super Noodles;
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<dt>Tadpole Technologies
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<dd>for the loan of a <b>J-Slate</b> portable computer designed for running
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programs written in the Java programming language;
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<dt>The Ghar Parau Foundation
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<dd>for their support;
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<dt>Atritor Ltd
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<dd>for a drum of carbide.
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</dl>
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<p>Finally the expedition members must be thanked for their individual parts
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in making Expo '99 a highly successful expedition.
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<p><b>Mark Shinwell</b> - President, Cambridge University Caving Club 1999-2000<br>
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Queens' College, Cambridge, CB3 9ET, England.<br>
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email mrs30 at cam.ac.uk
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<hr>
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<!-- LINKS -->
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<p><img alt=">" src="../../../icons/lists/0.png">
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1999 Expedition info:<br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.png">
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<a href="index.htm">1999 index</a> (more detail than in this list)<br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.png">
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Expedition <a href="log.htm">Logbook</a> 1999<br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.png">
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Pre-expo <a href="goals.htm">mission statement</a><br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../../../icons/lists/1.png">
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