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<title>Speleo Austria 2012 article. CUCC: Totes Gebirge 2001-2011</title>
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<h1>Cambridge University Caving Club: Totes Gebirge 2001-2011</h1>
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<p><emph>by Anthony Day and Mark Shinwell</emph></p>
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<p>Cambridge University Caving Club have been exploring in the Totes Gebirge since
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1976. An article in the "Speleo Austria 2001" publication gave a history of
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these explorations up until the turn of the millenium. Here we continue the
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story with some of the highlights of the explorations between 2001 and 2011.</p>
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<p>The area explored by CUCC lies around the Schwarzmooskogel ridge, a succession
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of rounded peaks lying to the north-east of the Altaussee, and reached by
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walking from the car park at the top of the Loser Panoramastrasse toll road.
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Explorations both by CUCC (from 1976 onwards) and others have revealed several
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large cave systems in the area including Stellerweghoehle, Kaninchenhoehle and
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the long-known Schwarzmooskogeleishoehle famous for its towering ice
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formations. Further to the north-east lie the systems of Steinbrueckenhoehle
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and the more recently-discovered Tunnockschacht, both of which have been the
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major focus of CUCC expeditions in recent years. Out to the north-west of the
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Schwarzmooskogel ridge is a large "plateau"---only flat when seen on a large
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scale, and pock-marked with grikes and jagged limestone---holding the entrances
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to caves such as Eislufthoehle, one of CUCC's earliest discoveries.</p>
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<p>The deepest known point out of all these systems lies at the bottom of the
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Stellerweghoehle streamway, a remote location which has not now been visited
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for many years, in turn lying above the level of the various resurgences in and
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around Altaussee such as the Liagerhoehle. The ramifications of
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Stellerweghoehle extend north-eastwards under the Schwarzmooskogel, passing
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entrances such as Schnellzughoehle, until they eventually join to the large
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ice-bearing chambers of the Schwarzmooskogeleishoehle. As of 2001 the passages
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of the Eishoehle came close to the lower level of a cave explored by CUCC some
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years earlier, Steinschlagschacht, whose entrance lies high on the flanks of
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the Vorderer Schwarzmooskogel. This cave in turn was connected some years
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previously through a loose, faulted zone to the large system of
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Kaninchenhoehle. KH, as the cave is known informally, was one of CUCC's major
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discoveries and now extends from near the Eishoehle right under the Hinterer
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Schwarzmooskogel to the north-east. However as of 2001 it did not actually
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join to the Eishoehle, despite survey data showing it being possibly as close
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as only twenty metres away, and a real focus of exploration at that time was
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finding a connection between the two systems. The combined system would be
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over 50km long and 1000m deep.</p>
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<p>In this article we tell the story of how this connection was forged and
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describe the work in caves further to the north which has led CUCC to seek
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another as yet undiscovered connection between Kaninchenhoehle and
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Steinbrueckenhoehle. Owing to the discovery of Tunnockschacht, a cave even
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further to the north which was found in 2006 and connected to
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Steinbrueckenhoehle in 2011, there is now the potential of a system which
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stretches from the lowest sump in Stellerweghoehle right up almost to the
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Nieder Augst-Eck. The potential for further discoveries is vast.</p>
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<p>The explorations of CUCC have always been subject to permission from the
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Austrian Landesregierung, for whose past and continued support the club is very
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grateful, and have been greatly assisted by the VFHO. The German group ARGE
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has and continues to be active in the area and CUCC are pleased to be engaged
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in a mutually beneficial relationship. Finally enormous thanks must go to the
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Wilpernig family and their staff at Gasthof Staud'n wirt, which stands on the
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road from Bad Aussee to Grundlsee, where since 1983 the expedition has had its
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base camp. The facilities and hospitality they provide each year are
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invaluable.</p>
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<h2>Steinbrueckenhöhle</h2>
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<p>The entrance to Steinbrueckenhoehle, the cave which has seen the most
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exploration by CUCC over the past ten years, was discovered in 1999 near the
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col between the Hinterer Schwarzmooskogel and the Niederer Augst Eck. The cave
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takes its name from the prominent natural stone bridge that was spotted 30
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seconds before the twin entrances to the cave itself, 1623/204a and b. On
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entering the cave, it rapidly became obvious that we had stumbled upon a major
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find. Descending two pitches leads to an extensive network of phreatic passages
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on two levels separated by about 15m vertically. These passages are generally
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of modest proportions, at least relative to the major trunk routes in
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Kaninchenhoehle and elsewhere, but carry a substantial draught into the cave
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during the Summer months. Almost immediately thoughts turned to a possible
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connection to Kaninchenhoehle, though based on past experience we understood
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that this would be a long-term project. The caves were separated by a few
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hundred metres and, given the broken nature of the limestone in this part of
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Austria, we anticipated that many obstacles to cave development would be
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encountered in the intervening distance.</p>
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<p>By the end of the 1999 expedition, Steinbrueckenhöhle had been explored to a
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length of 1365m with a number of promising unexplored leads. This ensured that
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exploration of Steinbrueckenhoehle would be one of the primary objectives of
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CUCC expeditions from 2000 onwards. Near the end of the 2000 expedition it
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appeared that the major horizontal development had all been discovered and only
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smaller passages remained to be explored. However, some new expedition members
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were undeterred and proceeded to systematically explore all the crawling sized
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leads they could find. This dogged persistence was rewarded late in the
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expedition with the discovery of a major trunk passage, Treeumphant Passage,
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of considerably larger proportions than those near the entrance. Over the
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course of subsequent years this horizontal development was explored and found
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to extend in all directions. The local bedding dips gently to the south, so
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exploration of north-trending passages tended to involve going uphill such that
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the northernmost extremity of the system is at a higher altitude than the
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initial entrance.</p>
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<p>The intense exploration in Steinbreuckenhoehle stimulated interest in the
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surrounding area of the mountain, which had previously been thought remote, and
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it soon became apparent that the area was rich in cave entrances. A number of
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minor caves were explored in this period and it was inevitable that some of
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these entrances would lead to the Steinbrueckenhoehle system. On one occasion,
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a party arrived at a previously-discovered aven to find a rope hanging out of
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it and a caver standing at the bottom. This caver had correctly identified the
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corresponding hole on the surface using a GPS location, and so the 1623/204c
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entrance was found. 1623/204d was discovered by a group following a large
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horizontal passage who suddenly found themselves at the bottom of a bouldery
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climb with daylight streaming down. One of the many horizontal surface holes
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was found to quickly lead to a pitch directly into the main horizontal level.
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This entrance, 1623/204e, has proved to be the most convenient route into most
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parts of the system, since it avoids the crawling passages via which the main
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trunk passages were initially found. Finally, in 2005 a significant extension
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to the northwest was discovered leading to three new entrances. This made
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nine entrances in total, with many other places where it is clear that the
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surface is not far away.</p>
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<p>Whilst all these finds were exciting of themselves and extended the area of
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known cave development into virgin areas, we were still no nearer finding a
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connection to Kaninchenhoehle and the major systems to the south. There
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appeared to be some geological barrier to cave development at the southern
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extremity of the known system at this time. None of the horizontal trunk
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passages went past this apparent barrier and it was unclear which route
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the significant draught in the upper level passages followed.</p>
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<h2>Razor Dance</h2>
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<p>The only possible leads in the vicinity of the geological barrier, given the
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absence of horizontal passages, appeared to be various shafts. Some of these
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were of significant proportions but many lead to no significant finds. A
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notable exception was the earliest to be explored, starting in 1999, was named
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the Ariston Series. This went on and on down five pitches reaching a small
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phreatic level at about 200m depth. All continuations of the phreatic passage
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were found to be choked with sand but another pitch series continuing from this
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level, Kiwi Suit, was descended in 2000 to a depth of 330m. At this point a
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modest streamway was encountered flowing into a tall, narrow rift passage,
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named Razor Dance. Following this streamway became something of a war of
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attrition over the course of the next few years. The draughty rift is
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generally quite awkward necessitating frequent changes of level to find the
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most convenient traverse level, and is interspersed with numerous small
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pitches, so the relatively small exploration teams made only modest progress.
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However, the passage was heading in an interesting direction, having passed
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beyond the apparent barrier to horizontal development, albeit much deeper than
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any of the known horizontal levels in Kaninchenhoehle. Although the rift is
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locally quite sinuous, over almost its entire length it generally follows a
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bearing of 235 degrees. When superimposed on the surface topography, Razor
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Dance follows the line of a prominent surface gully suggesting that it exploits
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the same geological feature hundreds of metres below. Eventually, in 2007 a
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strong team was assembled to try to complete the exploration and a sump was
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found at an altitude of 1220m, some 600m below the 1623/204a entrance. Razor
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Dance is one of the longest active stream passages discovered by CUCC in
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Austria -- perhaps second only to the Stellerweghoehle streamway.</p>
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<p>However, the discovery of the sump did not mark the end of the exploration in
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this area. A bolt traverse was installed over the sump pool to gain access to
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another inlet stream oriented at right angles to Razor Dance, which was
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followed upstream for about 100m. When the trend of this passage is
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extrapolated up-dip it intersects the bottom of Rasputin, the northwestern
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extremity of Kaninchenhoehle and the deepest point in the main part of this
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system.</p>
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<p>At this location a small stream had been discovered draining into a mud choke
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in 1998. The separation between the two systems at this point is only 150m.
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Even more exciting, a series of climbs up dry cascades were conquered to emerge
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in a large chamber some 120m above the level of the sump. From here a number
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of phreatic passages lead off, some of considerable dimensions. Evidence of
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substantial phreatic development at a similar altitude had been observed in
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Kaninchenhoehle in 1998, though it was thought to be completely choked with
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mud.</p>
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<p>These finds at the end of Razor Dance provided the first firm evidence of a
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possible connection between Steinbrueckenhoehle and Kaninchenhoehle. However,
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it was also clear that any connection in this area was likely to entail
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significant excavation---hardly a practical proposition for a five week summer
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expedition. Moreover the location of the points of closest proximity lie at
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the extremities of the two systems meaning that significant equipment and
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manpower would be required to explore these areas efficiently. Nevertheless, a
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connection had never seemed more likely and these discoveries served to
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rekindle interest in exploration of Kaninchenhoehle.</p>
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<h2>Gaffered</h2>
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<p>The other major shaft series descending from the upper levels of
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Steinbrueckenhoehle, along with Razor Dance, was Gaffered to the Walls. This
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fine 70m shaft was first explored in 2002 and leads, via a series of further
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pitches and a band containing 70cm long bivalve shells, to an extensive
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phreatic level named The Underworld. Appreciation of the pitch series and its
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fine principal shaft is somewhat tempered by the tendency of mud from the
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horizontal level below to make its way onto the ropes, despite efforts to keep
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personal caving gear clean, which makes for an often tedious ascent.</p>
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<p>The Underworld is relatively well decorated, with stalactites and walls of
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strange upward protrusions. These white walls contrast to the floor sediment,
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with its thin crust of oxidized mud, which gives way to light brown sand
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beneath. This discovery, some 160m deeper than the phreatic development
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previously discovered in the system, was clearly significant. However,
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exploration of a pitch heading down from here revealed the presence of a deeper
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level of development that proved to be even more extensive. As with the
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more shallow phreatic development, these levels are not strictly horizontal but
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follow the dip of the local bedding such that the northern end tends to lie at
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a higher altitude than the south. The northern part of this deeper level, known
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collectively as The Wares, extends considerably further north than any of the
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other phreatic levels so far discovered. In 2011 this area was explored from an
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underground camp, the first such camp conducted by CUCC for many years. Thanks
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mainly to the choice of a suitable campsite, this proved to be an efficient
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approach to exploration of the northern large chambers, pitches and avens.</p>
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<p>The southern end of this level, which contains fine examples of mud stalagmites
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and dried up mud pools, leads to a pitch series called the Four Horsemen of the
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Apocalypse. This pitch series leads down a wide clean washed rift to yet
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another level of phreatic development, Subway, at a depth of around 420m
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below the entrance. Taking into account the dip of the beds, Subway represents
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the deepest level of phreatic development in stratigraphic terms hitherto
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discovered in Steinbrueckenhoehle.</p>
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<h2>Pussy Prance</h2>
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<p>Meanwhile, exploration continued apace in the shallower parts of
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Steinbrueckenhoehle. A particular area of interest was a horizontal passage
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near the top of the Ariston Series (the route down to Razor Dance), which
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seemed to offer the best hope of finding a passage heading towards
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Kaninchenhoehle at a more convenient altitude. The significant inward draught
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was observed to head down a passage that was initially considered to be too
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tight, but in 2001 someone with more imagination proved this assessment wrong
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and passed through to emerge in a large chamber. The area was then largely
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left alone until 2008 when two further pitches were descended to a steeply
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descending rift (Pussy Prance), leading to a significant phreatic passage that
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encouraged a return with a larger team in 2009.</p>
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<p>The 2009 expedition firmly established that there was a considerable amount of
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cave passage waiting to be found in this area. Most significantly, the new
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finds were firmly located to the south of the apparent barrier to horizontal
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cave development at this altitude, a barrier that had not been breached in the
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previous ten years of exploration. Although no clear single trunk route was
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found, a number of pitches were descended or traversed over to find horizontal
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passages going in all directions. On descending one particular pitch, the
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explorers discovered a hanger at the bottom and worked out that they had landed
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at the bottom a 100m shaft last descended in 2000. This connection will provide
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an alternative access route for further exploration of this area that will
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bypass some of the tighter sections. There are a number of unexplored leads in
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this area, most of them vertical, and given their important strategic position
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a return is certain.</p>
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<h2>Return to Kaninchenhoehle</h2>
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<p>2009 also saw a return to Kaninchenhoehle after a long absence inspired by the
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deep discoveries in Steinbrueckenhoehle. The intention was to explore some of
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the many leads in the Far End region of Kaninchenhoehle that had not been
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visited since 1994. Indeed, one trip had the pleasure of placing anchors in
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holes that had been drilled in 1993 since the original explorers had forgotten
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to bring any anchors.</p>
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<p>Our preferred strategy was to focus on the north east of the system since this
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area boasted the most promising leads, rather than go all-out for a connection
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at the point of closest approach between the two systems where progress was
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likely to be slow. This approach yielded a number of interesting finds and
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promising leads. However, it turned out that the most significant find was made
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at the end of the 2009 expedition during derigging. A previously unseen hole
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was spotted in the roof of Repton chamber. Armed with a drill, the explorers
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climbed up to it and explored about 100m of comfortable sized passage with an
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enticing draught until running out of time.</p>
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<p>This lead was the first target on returning to Kaninchenhoehle in 2011. After
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another 100m or so, the explorers popped out into a 10m round phreatic tube
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heading in both directions. It quickly became obvious that this was a major
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breakthrough, and was named Country for Old Men after its relatively geriatric
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explorers. The passage continues approximately north directly towards
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Steinbrueckenhoehle. It appears to be the northward continuation of the large
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phreatic level (YAPATE and Chicken Flied Nice) that was discovered in the early
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years of exploration of Kaninchenhoehle. The draught is very considerable,
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especially considering the passage dimensions, and becomes uncomfortably cold
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at local narrowings. After 300m a pitch is descended to an even larger
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phreatic passage heading in both directions. To the south, it appears likely
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that further exploration will yield an easier route into the rest of the
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Kaninchenhoehle system. At the northern end, the closest approach to the Pussy
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Prance area of Steinbrueckenhoehle is now 50m. That the gap was 420m at the
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start of the 2011 expedition gives some idea of the scale of the new
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discoveries.</p>
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<h2>Tunnockschacht</h2>
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<p>The first day of exploration on the 2006 expedition saw the discovery of a new
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hole, christened Tunnockschacht after a long-serving sponsor of chocolate wafer
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bars and dome-shaped marshmallow treats to the expedition, some distance to
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the north of the known entrances of Steinbrueckenhoehle. In a small rocky bowl
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an entrance of modest proportions appeared to lead onto a descending slope; an
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adjacent shaft entrance looked likely to be connected. Often, entrances which
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are not entirely horizontal are full of rocks, but such were the proportions of
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the shaft visible inside the entrance that it appeared there was some chance of
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penetrating into the caverns underneath.</p>
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<p>Rigging of the shaft was slow; there were no drills on expedition that year
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and only a small number of cavers. However progress was gradually made down
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and across multiple ledges holding large piles of boulders and loose rock;
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eventually, a large steeply-inclined snow slope appeared out of the gloom.
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The bottom was eventually reached, and to the delight of the explorers, above
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the pool of ice which had formed at the bottom of the shaft a small aperture
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gave onto a rift passage. An orifice to the right led onto a crawl,
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Bauernkrapfen Passage (named after the dessert of the same name often served
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up in Gasthof Staud'n wirt), eventually debouching into a much larger passage.
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This was followed for some distance eventually overlooking a pitch into a
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chamber, which was the end of exploration that year.</p>
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<p>Expeditions subsequent to 2006 have revealed large amounts of cave passage in
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Tunnockschacht, some including calcite decorations (which are rare in the caves
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which CUCC explore). An extensive horizontal level extends northwards, with
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sandy crawls and towering chambers, and provides access to the heads of various
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deep shafts. One of these, the 80-metre-deep String Theory, has been said to
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be the most voluminous shaft ever found by CUCC. Its sheer walls lead down to
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a lower horizontal level, from where an obscure route lead in 2011 to a
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connection with one of the lower levels of Steinbrueckenhoehle.
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Quoting one of the explorers on the trip:</p>
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<p><blockquote>"The others were still bolting so we surveyed a QM
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[question mark grade] B I'd
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spotted at the base of Eh Bah Gum. This was another small, drafty rift which,
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again popped out into The Beast but this time we could get out onto a wide
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ledge so we started surveying along the left wall with various tubes on the
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left. "Holly did you walk down that mud bank", "No, I thought that looked like
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footprints". I peered again - it could be due to rock fall, but it did look
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very like footprints..... and then I saw two more -- we've definitely got to
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somewhere people have been before. I walked over with tape and straight to
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survey station 23 and we finished the survey then went for a run to see where
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we were. We traced the footprints back and into a small muddy tube. Holly and
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I muttered to each other that this looked very like The Wares -- but we didn't
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want to count our chickens so on we ran until "Oooh" said Holly pointing at a
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nondescript mud bank we had to crawl over "I've been here -- for sure -- its
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The Wares -- <b>WE'VE CONNECTED</b> we shrieked at each other" </blockquote></p>
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<p>It had previously been postulated that a fault might prohibit this connection
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being made, but thankfully that was not the case. This discovery makes
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Tunnockschacht the highest entrance to the Steinbrueckenhoehle system.</p>
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<h2>Eislufthoehle</h2>
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<p>In parallel with explorations in the Steinbrueckenhoehle area a small team made
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a return to a cave by the name of Eislufthoehle, an exceedingly draughty place,
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whose entrance lies in a depression out on the main Loser/Augst-Eck plateau
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amongst a group of erratic boulders. This cave was one of the first to be
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explored by CUCC way back in 1976 when single rope techniques were in their
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infancy. At that time it was visited over three expeditions, reaching a sump
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at a crudely-surveyed depth of 506m in 1979. An extended elevation was
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produced, a handful of leads noted, and exploration moved on to other areas
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(initially Stellerweghoehle). The first visit in recent times was in 2004, to
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produce a modern survey and see what had been missed before. For four
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expeditions a small team (often just two cavers) re-explored down to 297m,
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surveying 2.5km of passage on the way. Many leads were noted and explored,
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most notably a small alcove in the wall about 50m down the entrance pitch
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series which lead to the Brave New World area. This was the first significant
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horizontal development to be explored under the plateau; previously such
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passages had only been found under the neighbouring Schwarzmooskogel ridge.
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Several pitch leads still remain to be explored in Brave New World, another
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part way down the original route, and two upstream leads at about -260m.</p>
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<p>Other nearby caves have also been re-explored and surveyed, and several
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connections were made, first between 1623/99 and 1623/76, and later 1623/81 to
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1623/148 (Marilyn Munroe Hoehle) and 1623/85 with 1623/82 (Bräuninghöhle). A
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new pitch series "Deep Space" was found in 1623/148 shortly before the end of
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the 2007 expedition, leaving exploration at -100m, about half way down a 70m
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pitch.</p>
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<p>Many questions remain unanswered. Some of the areas of interest include
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obtaining a more accurate altitude of the sump at the bottom of 1623/76,
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whether the system forms but part of a larger system under the Loser/Augst-Eck
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plateau, and whether there may be a connection with the Schwarzmooskogel
|
|
system.</p>
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<h2>The future</h2>
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<p>At the time of writing CUCC's 2012 expedition is in the planning stages. The
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main aim is likely to be work in the area between Kaninchenhoehle and
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Steinbrueckenhoehle with a view to establishing a connection between these two
|
|
systems. Hopes are high that this may be achieved in 2012. At the present
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|
time, Tunnockschacht would form the new highest entrance to such a combined
|
|
system. The area in which any such connection likely lies is one in which
|
|
relatively little cave passage is known; there is probably much more to be
|
|
found. In particular, there is some indication that there may be development
|
|
trending out from the relevant area of Kaninchenhoehle under the
|
|
Loser/Augst-Eck plateau itself; who knows if this might connect to caves in the
|
|
area of Eislufthoehle, or even to Eislufthoehle itself.</p>
|
|
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<p>Work will also no doubt continue in the coming years in other areas of
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|
Steinbrueckenhole---there are deep leads remaining---together with
|
|
Tunnockschacht, and any further holes which might be found by prospecting
|
|
further to the north. The German group ARGE have already made some discoveries
|
|
in this area and there were sporadic discoveries by other groups some time ago.
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|
It seems likely that many kilometres of passages and pitches are lying silently
|
|
under the barren karst, never having heard the trudging of wellington boots
|
|
nor the clinking of metalwork, and as yet unseen by human eyes. Who knows if,
|
|
one day, these galleries may be found to connect the Schwarzmooskogel systems
|
|
draining to Altaussee with the caves under Schoenberg, perhaps even including
|
|
the great system of Raucherkarhoehle and Feuertalsystem, whose waters reach
|
|
daylight at the Nagelsteghoehle above Blaa-Alm. One can but wait: the long
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|
story of the caves of the Schwarzmooskogel is only beginning.</p>
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