mirror of
https://expo.survex.com/repositories/expoweb/.git/
synced 2024-11-23 07:41:56 +00:00
222 lines
12 KiB
HTML
222 lines
12 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN">
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
|
|
<title>1977 & 78: Andy & Simon report for NPC journal</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../css/main2.css" />
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<font size=-1>CTS 79.1866: Northern Pennine Club Journal vol 3 no. 2, 1979 pp 46-50</font>
|
|
|
|
<center><h2>Austria 1977/1978</h2></center>
|
|
|
|
<p>The summer saw three NPC members out in Austria on the Cambridge
|
|
University expedition: Nick Thorne, Andy Waddington and Simon Farrow. We were
|
|
located at <span lang="de-at">Altaussee,</span> a quiet Spa town full of the
|
|
Austrian equivalent of old-age pensioners. It is about 50 miles ESE of <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Salzburg</span> in the <span lang="de-at">Dachstein</span> Alps.
|
|
We were mainly interested in an area of the <span lang="de-at">Totes
|
|
Gebirge</span> known as the <span lang="de-at">Loser</span> Plateau, which
|
|
has recently had a new toll road built up to it. This meant that our area of
|
|
interest was only an hour's walk away on level ground (hostile cattle
|
|
permitting).
|
|
|
|
<p>The CUCC had been out the previous year and had only scratched the surface
|
|
by the time they had to depart.
|
|
|
|
<p>The three of us travelled out by train; a fairly arduous 30-hour journey
|
|
without any real sleep. Eventually we met up with the other members of the
|
|
expedition and I was able to swop my two-day old copy of the 'Times' for a
|
|
good English cup of tea; it's remarkable how British one becomes when on the
|
|
continent!
|
|
|
|
<p>Our first night under canvas was greeted by a classic alpine storm with
|
|
thunderbolts and lightning (pyrotechnics worthy of even Hryndyj). Later we
|
|
made acquaintance with the Austrian lager, not a patch on Tetleys but very
|
|
potent.
|
|
|
|
<p>Next day we began prospecting and spent the following few days inspecting
|
|
small shafts (100'). These all choked so we concluded that we were looking
|
|
for the wrong sort of entrance. What was needed was an entrance with
|
|
horizontal passage so that any glacial debris could not enter and block the
|
|
pitch below.
|
|
|
|
<p>We eventually came across a small hole which was draughting violently.
|
|
Andy descended and found a snow slope on which he rigged a ladder as a
|
|
handline; on the way out he discovered two alternative exits. Continuing down
|
|
the hole he found another snow slope which led to the head of a pitch with a
|
|
large gale, sufficient to put out a carbide lamp, blowing up it. Returning
|
|
the following day, with a bolting kit, since there were no natural belays, we
|
|
rigged the pitch and descended to discover a vertical snow plug. Deeper still
|
|
a pitch belled out to Bar Pot dimensions.
|
|
|
|
<p>We later had grave doubts about the stability of this snow bridge which
|
|
was definitely melting and only seemed to stay suspended above the void by
|
|
will-power. Pressing on down the shaft we had great problems rigging it; in
|
|
fact we spent a good two days bolting/rigging and rerigging before the thing
|
|
was satisfactory. The total depth of the pitch was 70 metres.
|
|
|
|
<p>At the base of the shaft we passed into a hole with fluted walls soaring
|
|
up into the distance further than our lights could penetrate; it was
|
|
intensely satisfying to think that we had found this superb piece of
|
|
subterranean architecture. The floor was covered with large rocks giving us a
|
|
natural belay (our first) for the next pitch of 13 metres. When the pitch was
|
|
rigged and I descended we had finally escaped from the snow and, by
|
|
inference, any debris from the surface. I turned the corner and to my horror
|
|
came to a boulder choke! This was a surprise; we had not considered this
|
|
possibility because of the large draught. First appearances suggested a total
|
|
choke. However, a man-size hole was found at the base of the choke and the
|
|
boulders seemed safely stuck. We pushed Andy through the hole and he found a
|
|
pitch, so we retreated until the next day.
|
|
|
|
<p>The shaft was descended for 30 metres to another pitch but the draught had
|
|
disappeared, so we named it 'Keg Series'. We traversed over this pitch into
|
|
an open vadose passage; homely, dry, and reminiscent of Yorkshire. This was
|
|
taking the draught so we were back on the trail again. We found two more
|
|
pitches; the first was a good hang of 16 metres, the second (down the side of
|
|
a large vadose passage) was 11 metres. Then came the first bit of horizontal
|
|
development we had encountered - it led to a large chamber and a hefty inlet
|
|
making the place a maelstrom of spray.
|
|
|
|
<p>Unfortunately at this point we ran out of both ladder and time so we had
|
|
to derig with the sight of more pitches ahead (a sort of Ghar Parau in
|
|
miniature). The pot is definitely still going and we shall be back next year
|
|
to continue on into the unknown....
|
|
|
|
<p>I think we were all impressed by the area, which is virtually virgin
|
|
territory. The <span lang="de-at">Loser</span> Plateau must be one of the
|
|
least explored areas of Europe; it has 800 metres potential and large areas
|
|
of cavernous limestone which are totally unexplored.
|
|
|
|
<p align=right>S.Farrow
|
|
|
|
<h3><a id="id1978">Austria 1978</a></h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>August 1978 saw a return of University cavers to the <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Totes Gebirge</span> of Austria. Since five members of the
|
|
expedition were also Pennine members, this report is included to show that we
|
|
don't spend all year digging on Fountains Fell.
|
|
|
|
<p>Following a successful trip in 1977, a much more organised group set off
|
|
in July with a ton of gear (mainly food and rope) for the two-and-a-half day
|
|
drive out, arriving after only one van breakdown (in the U.K.). We set up
|
|
camp at <span lang="de-at">Altaussee</span> (about 80 km east of <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Salzburg)</span> and started to rig into <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Eislufthöhle,</span> our all-NPC, 150-metre hole from last
|
|
year, while a second group continued prospecting on the surface. Shortly
|
|
inside the entrance is a broken 80 metre shaft blocked with various snow
|
|
plugs. The snow had increased since 1977 so Simon, Doug and Andy spent three
|
|
days of icy digging and bolting to rig 'Plugged Shaft'. At the bottom was a
|
|
15-metre free drop overhung by a large ice boulder in the process of melting
|
|
- indeed, below this point, we were the target for any ice falling in the
|
|
shaft. The pitch lands in a large round chamber, on a pile of shattered ice
|
|
blocks.
|
|
|
|
<p>From the chamber a further 13-metre pitch (Saved Shaft), drops over the
|
|
last of the ice into 'Boulder Chamber'. A small hole in the wall of huge
|
|
blocks ending the chamber leads to a traverse above the 32 metre pitch of the
|
|
'Keg Series', which was looked at last year but ignored this year because it
|
|
has no draught. The icy wind blows from the continuing rift where a climb
|
|
down leads to the head of 'Follow-through shaft', a 30-metre pitch broken by
|
|
a large ledge half-way down. An abandoned stream passage leads out into a
|
|
high rift chamber - 'The Taproom' - last year's terminus. On our first trip,
|
|
the heavy drip in the chamber was absent, but later it returned with a
|
|
vengeance.
|
|
|
|
<p>A climb down leas to the continuing rift - too narrow at stream level -
|
|
but a travese to sections of false floor leads to an alternative way down.
|
|
Boulders dropped here told us of a deep pitch ahead but much bolting was
|
|
needed to rig it - one for a handline down the first short but exposed climb
|
|
down and two for the pitch itself; none of which was helped by the rather
|
|
loose take off. Indeed, we almost psyched out on our first realisation that
|
|
one wall was just a big boulder. The pitch was finally descended on a long
|
|
overnight trip by Nick Thorne with Julian Griffiths. It drops in stages of 20
|
|
metres and 35 metres to a large ledge lashed by spray in wet weather (run-off
|
|
is very rapid, reaching here in a couple of hours after rain starts). The
|
|
final 15-metre section can be quite damp - and our 80-metre rope was a metre
|
|
or so short! Another traverse leads above the quickly descending stream to a
|
|
rocking boulder where the black spaces start to appear. Upwards, above jammed
|
|
boulders, a large black hole suggests a chamber going up a vast distance, but
|
|
downwards is more directly interesting and accessible. The explorers rigged a
|
|
short drop to a narrow slit which rapidly opened into a magnificent 55-metre
|
|
free drop from which it was seen that the upward black space is the top of an
|
|
80-metre high chamber - the Hall of the Greene King.
|
|
|
|
<p>Doug and Andy reached the chaotic boulder floor of the chamber after
|
|
descending a short 'Balcony' pitch. The Hall is about 20 metres in diameter
|
|
and at first seemed to be a colossal choke at 280 metres. A way on leads,
|
|
however, over the boulders and under some highly unnerving boulder bridges.
|
|
Descending a less than stable slope, the explorers found a nasty overhang and
|
|
had to put in a bolt to rig a short pitch to another chamber which felt a
|
|
little safer. Two small streams merged and flowed off in a rift passage which
|
|
we ignored in favour of a dry OFD-type cave. This soon intersected a deep
|
|
muddy rift at right angles. An enticing step across the rift led to the
|
|
continuation, but neither caver would try it, instead starting to rig a pitch
|
|
down to the rift. A large boulder which Doug was standing on fell over and
|
|
split in half, causing the floor below Andy to drop 6 inches! Shortly after,
|
|
a series of mysterious sump-like gurgling noises from below suggested that
|
|
surface rain was coming through - the explorers retreated from the
|
|
increasingly intimidating hole - twelve hours plus, this time, having been
|
|
spent underground.
|
|
|
|
<p>The third and final overnight visit was the last pushing trip. Nick, Simon
|
|
and Julian descended the rift to find a muddy stream passage - again too
|
|
narrow at stream level - so a long, muddy traverse was necessary. An inlet in
|
|
the left made little difference and the traversing continued to a muddy climb
|
|
down. More traversing led to an oxbow containing an incredible volume of
|
|
sticky mud. A 13-metre pitch descends down a filthy wall - prussiking here
|
|
was a losing battle except with Gibbs. We called the pitch the 'Fiesta Run'
|
|
for reasons soon to be apparent. More traversing leads to an unbottomed black
|
|
space where the stream could be heard below.
|
|
|
|
<p>We got 5 metres down what seemed to be a 50-ish metre pitch. From a depth
|
|
of about 330 metres the party slogged out to the surface after 12 hours
|
|
underground and set off to drive back. The mountain road was descended safely
|
|
but a couple of miles out of the village a 10-metre pitch was descended in a
|
|
spectacular leap (double somersault with twist). Nick, Simon and Julian woke
|
|
up to find themselves in the river - eliminating two of our group of five on
|
|
the spot. There were three more trips involving members of the other groups.
|
|
Two derigging and one surveying trip cleared the pot and took the survey to
|
|
-140 metres.
|
|
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, the other group had found a powerfully draughting entrance
|
|
which took three days of Yorkshire digging to enter. This soon proved to be a
|
|
going concern and was threatening to overtake <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Eislufthöhle</span> at one stage. Pitches of 20, 25 and 20
|
|
metres led to a complex horizontal area and a large black rift. This was
|
|
studiously ignored by the team (exploring on ladders) who descended instead a
|
|
smaller rift by pitches of 5, 40 and 30 metres (by-passing a parallel
|
|
75-metre free drop) to more rift streamway and further pitches. ExCS
|
|
descended the big rift in a 95-metre pitch to reach the same point and
|
|
eventually reached a very nasty choke at -280 metres, thus making <span
|
|
lang="de-at">'Gemsehöhle'</span> the second deepest on the plateau.
|
|
|
|
<p>At least two NPC will be out again in 1979 to push <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Eislufthöhle,</span> and to look at other leads in <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Gemsehöhle</span> - finding deep pots is amazingly easy out
|
|
there, pushing them just a little more trouble.
|
|
|
|
<p align=right>A.Waddington</p>
|
|
|
|
<hr />
|
|
<!-- LINKS -->
|
|
<p><ul>
|
|
<li><a href="http://www.pennine.demon.co.uk/NPC/">Northern Pennine Club</a>
|
|
<a href="http://www.pennine.demon.co.uk/NPC/1979/MENU.HTM">1979 Journal</a>
|
|
(from which the above is taken)</li>
|
|
<li>1978 Expedition info:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="report.htm">Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1979</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves & Caving Report</a></li>
|
|
<li>Eislufthöhle - <a href="descnt.htm">from Descent 40</a></li>
|
|
<li>Nick Thorne's write-up in <a href="782034.htm">Belfry Bulletin 366</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="sponsr.htm">Sponsors</a></li>
|
|
</ul></li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../pubs.htm#pubs1978">Index</a> to all publications</li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../index.htm">Back to Expeditions intro page</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../../index.htm">CUCC Home Page</a></li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|