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