mirror of
https://expo.survex.com/repositories/expoweb/.git/
synced 2024-11-24 16:21:56 +00:00
119 lines
5.9 KiB
HTML
119 lines
5.9 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN">
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf8" />
|
|
<title>1981: BCRA Caves & Caving report</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../css/main2.css" />
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<font size=-1>CTS 82.1194: BCRA Caves & Caving 15 (Feb 1982) pp 14-15,41 [ISSN 0142-1832]</font>
|
|
|
|
<h1>CUCC/UBSS in Austria</h1>
|
|
|
|
<p><font size=+1><i>A joint Cambridge University / University of Bristol
|
|
expedition continued exploration of the Stellerweghöhle system to -680m,
|
|
with a through trip at -400m. The system is still wide open for
|
|
pushing.</i></font>
|
|
|
|
<p><i>For the sixth year running, Cambridge University Caving Club visited
|
|
the Totes Gebirge, Austria. This year there were an equal number of cavers
|
|
from the University of Bristol Spelæological Society, making up a
|
|
strong team of 20. We spent the first three weeks of August 1981 camping at
|
|
Altaussee, a small village below the Loser Plateau, and 55km SE of Salzburg.
|
|
As in 1980, we were looking at the Stoger Weg area, which is reached by a
|
|
drive up a toll road and an hour's walk-in.</i>
|
|
|
|
<p><i>The 1980 expedition (1,2) left two pots unfinished.
|
|
Schnellzughöhle (AKA Gemsescheissenhöhle) - 1623/115 in the
|
|
Austrian Catalogue - had a railway tunnel-like entrance leading via the 20m
|
|
Bell Pitch to a narrow rift which broke out into a large phreatic tube; the
|
|
descent which followed led to an undescended pitch down the 'Ramp'.
|
|
Stellerweghöhle (1423/41) had originally been entered by some Germans,
|
|
but their way petered out at -160m. The 1980 route led via phreatic passages
|
|
developed along inclined bedding planes to a superb 100m pitch, followed by a
|
|
series of smaller wet pitches (at first tight) then breaking out into a large
|
|
rift. Exploration had ceased at -350m due to lack of time.</i>
|
|
|
|
<p>The 1981 expedition soon rigged Schnellzughöhle and carried on down
|
|
The Ramp, a series of pitches following the bedding down at 45°, making
|
|
for awkward prussiking. From here, there follows a sequence of more vertical
|
|
pitches in a large rift - these normally only carry a small stream, but this
|
|
rises rapidly in flood. The last pitch drops into a spacious chamber and a
|
|
stream heads down a narrow vadose canyon - Pete's Purgatory. This resembles a
|
|
slim version of the Crabwalk in Giants and is hard work with much tackle.
|
|
After about 850m, the passage widens at an inlet and a short pitch brings one
|
|
to a sump. Our hopes of the cave coming to an end were dashed by a short
|
|
climb to the left which led to an easy bypass - this shows that the sump
|
|
cannot be more than 10m long. Downstream, the passage enlarges and drops in a
|
|
series of cascades and short, wet pitches. The final limit of exploration is
|
|
an undescended 10m pitch.
|
|
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, Stellerweghöhle took about a week to rig to the previous
|
|
year's limit because of the arduous nature of the cave. It was on the next
|
|
pushing trip that the connection to 115 was made. This came as a complete
|
|
surprise - not least to the party down 115 at the time. The final pitch drops
|
|
15m into Junction Chamber. Following the stream becomes too narrow and
|
|
traversing above leads to a series of large phreatic tubes. One of these may
|
|
be followed until traversing over a narrow vadose canyon below becomes a mite
|
|
tricky. The route to 115 lies through a phreatic maze where route finding
|
|
consists of following the draught (and now the footprints). From Connection
|
|
Cairn, the way lies uphill until the passage pops out at roof level in Pete's
|
|
Purgatory, about 50m downstream from the last pitch in 115.
|
|
|
|
<p>The linking up of the two caves has produced a magificent through trip of
|
|
400m depth and a system with a total depth of 680m (±40m) which is
|
|
still wide open. The quoted depth is not very accurate because the lack of
|
|
time (and volunteers) to survey through Purgatory, and it is here that much
|
|
easy depth is gained.
|
|
|
|
<p>It is generally assumed that the water resurges in the Altausseer See,
|
|
giving a potential depth of 900m from the 41 entrance. Some draughting
|
|
entrances were noted above, giving the possibility of adding another 50m to
|
|
the depth. As shown on the survey, 32 is a hole on the Stoger Weg with a
|
|
powerful draught which presumably connects, but which is too tight and is
|
|
probably not worth pushing.
|
|
|
|
<p>Other caves in this area are basically vertical shaft systems which close
|
|
down before they reach active streamway of any size; the Stellerweghöhle
|
|
System is quite unlike this. Exploration of the streamway beyond the sump
|
|
demands rather more thought as it is difficult to predict when the next
|
|
thunderstorm will unleash itself. The phreatic levels at -400m are seen at
|
|
similar altitudes in the other caves of the area, and may be connected with a
|
|
late Tertiary S-N drainage system - a close look at these will be high on our
|
|
list of priorities for next year. It is hoped to find a bypass to Purgatory,
|
|
giving easier caving and a more accurate survey. The 1982 expedition should
|
|
see Stellerweg take its place as one of the most important systems in the
|
|
area.
|
|
|
|
<p><b>Thanks</b>
|
|
|
|
<p>. . . . to local cavers Karl Gaisberger and Gunter Graf, campsite
|
|
owner Fritz Madlmaier and also to the University of Bristol and the Tratman
|
|
Fund.
|
|
|
|
<p><i>Pete Lancaster</i>
|
|
|
|
<p><b>References</b>
|
|
|
|
<p><a href="../1980/descnt.htm">1.</a> Thorne, N. Descent No. 49 p 46
|
|
<br><a href="../1980/report.htm">2.</a> Cambridge Underground 1981
|
|
<p>The volumes of Cambridge Underground from 1977 onward provide details of
|
|
all our explorations on the Loser.
|
|
|
|
<hr />
|
|
<!-- LINKS -->
|
|
<ul id="links">
|
|
<li>1981 Expedition info:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="report.htm">Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1982</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="cavdev.htm">Cave Development in the Totes Gebirge</a>
|
|
(from CU Report)</li>
|
|
</ul></li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../pubs.htm#pubs1981">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>
|