mirror of
https://expo.survex.com/repositories/expoweb/.git/
synced 2024-11-22 15:21:55 +00:00
243 lines
13 KiB
HTML
243 lines
13 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
|
|
<title>CUCC Expo 2003: Report</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../css/main2.css" />
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<h1>Expedition Report: CUCC Totes Gebirge 2003</h1>
|
|
|
|
<p><i>This is the text that was submitted for publication in the January 2004
|
|
issue of <a href="http://www.bcra.org.uk/pub/speleology/catalogue.html">
|
|
Speleology</a> magazine. It has been slightly edited for
|
|
the web (some links have been added) but is otherwise verbatim.</i></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The 2003 Cambridge University Caving Club expedition to the Loser Plateau in
|
|
Austria's Totes Gebirgewas a resounding success, with two major new horizontal
|
|
levels discovered in Steinbrückenhöhle and nearly 2km of new passage
|
|
discovered in total.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h2>The story so far</h2>
|
|
|
|
<p>This summer was CUCC's 27th annual expedition to the Loser plateau. All that
|
|
effort has not exhausted the potential of an area less than 5km square, which
|
|
now contains over 75km of surveyed passage.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The majority of the passage found in the 1970's and 80's was towards the
|
|
southern end of the plateau. The major caves are <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogel Eishöhle</span>, which boasts the largest
|
|
chamber in the area - <span lang="de-at">Schneevulkanhalle</span>, 115m across
|
|
and stunningly decorated with ice formations - and <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span>, the deepest cave in the area,
|
|
descending to a sump at -898m. These were connected together by a French group
|
|
(<span lang="fr"><a href="../../others/gscb/index.htm">Groupe
|
|
Spéléologique de Clerval - Baume les Dames</a></span>) in 1987,
|
|
forming a composite system exceeding 20km.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In 1988, a new entrance further to the north, <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>, was discovered. This rapidly became
|
|
the main focus of CUCC exploration, with 4km of passage discovered in the first
|
|
two years alone; by 1999 it stood at 24km long and 534m deep. This included the
|
|
huge passage of Chile, heading southwards towards <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Eishöhle</span>; much effort was spent in the next few years
|
|
seeking a connection, with the gap eventually narrowed to around 30m, but there
|
|
was no breakthrough; a fault in the rock appeared to have stopped all
|
|
development.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, further to the south a German group, <span lang="de"><a
|
|
href="http://www.arge-grabenstetten.de/">Arbeitsgemeinschaft Höhle und
|
|
Karst Grabenstetten e.V.</a></span> (ARGE), were exploring in the Stellerweg
|
|
area; finally, in summer 2002 a group of muddy but elated Germans arrived at
|
|
our camp with the news that their cave (still known by the name originally
|
|
given to it by CUCC, Tony's Second <span lang="de-at">Höhle</span>) had
|
|
dropped into an aven near the southern end of Chile, tying together <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span> and the southern caves to form the
|
|
54km long <span lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogelhöhlensystem</span>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Since 1999 most of CUCC's exploration effort has focussed on the area around
|
|
the <span lang="de-at">Hinterer Schwarzmooskogel</span>, the peak which lies
|
|
above the northernmost reaches of <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>; this was begun as an attempt to find
|
|
an easier entrance to the remote northern reaches of <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>, but gained a momentum of its own with
|
|
the discovery of <span lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Exploration this year primarily focussed on <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>, 1623/204 in the Austrian
|
|
'<span lang="de-at">Hoehlenkataster</span>' (cave index), a cave towards the
|
|
northern end of the plateau discovered by CUCC in 1999. Four years of
|
|
exploration had already revealed 5.3km of passage, with a vertical range of
|
|
454m.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This year's most major discoveries were in the horizontal levels of the
|
|
system, in the 'Swings and Roundabouts' area. On one of the first caving trips
|
|
of the expedition, Julian Haines spotted a passage leading off from the far
|
|
side of 'Gaffer Tape' pitch (an imposing 80m deep and 20m wide shaft), and
|
|
Julian and Earl Merson set out the next day to bolt across the yawning gulf.
|
|
After some very airy traversing, they reached the entrance to this side passage
|
|
only to find that although it drafted inwards strongly, it was choked with
|
|
precarious boulders. Attempts to dislodge these proved rather hair-raising, as
|
|
there was nowhere at all to stand, and were abandoned; the bolt traverse was
|
|
removed, to allow another party to rig down the pitch into the Gaffered to the
|
|
Walls series without being deluged with falling rocks. </p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At this point, Earl and Julian headed off to investigate 'Dutch Beauty', a
|
|
tight crawl leading off from the main Swings and Roundabouts passage slightly
|
|
further north. Earl squeezed through, returning slightly later with tales of a
|
|
spacious passage ('Rhino Rift') connecting to the far side of Julian's Gaffered
|
|
boulder choke! The next day, Julian and Becka Lawson surveyed this, discovering
|
|
in the process a short pitch ('Deviated Pitch') which led to yet more
|
|
horizontal passage, stretching off several hundred metres to the north-west and
|
|
carrying a substantial draught, with more leads branching off in all
|
|
directions. Within five days 900m of passage had been surveyed in the new
|
|
series, and there are still many leads awaiting exploration.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The location of the new series is particularly interesting, as the area of
|
|
plateau to the west of <span lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>
|
|
has not been thoroughly explored, and beyond it lies the vast 78km system of
|
|
<span lang="de-at">Raucherkarhöhle</span>. The ultimate dream of CUCC's
|
|
work in the plateau is to connect <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Raucherkarhöhle</span> to the <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogel</span> system, which would result in a composite
|
|
system in excess of 130km long. This is a remote prospect as yet, but the
|
|
westward trend of the new series is encouraging. Although the present end is in
|
|
a boulder choke close to the surface, there are several undescended pitches
|
|
which might lead to deeper levels of westward-trending passage, possibly
|
|
intersecting caves in the unexplored region further west.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>There were also many discoveries elsewhere. The 'Gaffered to the Walls' pitch
|
|
series, of which Gaffer Tape is the first pitch, had been explored last year
|
|
to a depth of 207m. Only 26m further on, a new series of horizontal passages
|
|
(known as the Underworld) was found, which is the deepest known phreatic
|
|
development in <span lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>. According
|
|
to Martin Green,</p>
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><p>"A complex series of horizontal passages were discovered
|
|
intermingled with large shafts, with clean washed walls and floors, where pools
|
|
of crystal clear water could be found. A number of the chambers were covered in
|
|
a thin black layer of mud, which was broken though upon being trodden on into
|
|
richer light brown sediment. Within some of the sediment were piles of bat
|
|
bones, presumably washed down from higher levels, where bats are occasionally
|
|
seen. To our great surprise we encountered several fine grottos of stalagmites,
|
|
which are uncommon in our area. A grotto named the Sirens has bright white
|
|
foot long stalagmites which were actively dripping water, suggesting that
|
|
stalagmite formation is still active. Horizontal development is still going in
|
|
the area and there are a number of shafts to explore, as well as avens to bolt
|
|
up."</p></blockquote>
|
|
|
|
<p>There was also exploration at the deepest point of <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>., the streamway of
|
|
'Razordance', which is entered at around -350m and proceeds downwards at an
|
|
average gradient of about 1:2, interrupted by occasional small pitches.
|
|
Anthony Day, Mark Shinwell and myself explored a further 150m to reach a new
|
|
deep point to the system 487m below the main entrace, putting the total
|
|
vertical range at 510m. Much of the new passage is similar to the existing
|
|
sections, an awkward, narrow, high rift; but this is interrupted by a sizeable
|
|
boulder-filled chamber, 'God Loves a Drunk', formed by breakdown at a point
|
|
where a small inlet streamway enters. This offers the first viable site for an
|
|
underground camp, which may well be used in the planned further exploration of
|
|
Razordance next year.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Razordance has clearly carried an active stream for an extremely long time,
|
|
which is unusual in the area (most of the known caves consist of fossil
|
|
phreatic passages). This has given rise to hopes that it may lead to a
|
|
significant deep system: over CUCC's 26 years of exploration in the Loser
|
|
plateau, all but one of the deep pitch series that have been found terminate
|
|
at a common level approximately 550m below the surface. The exception is <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span> (1623/41), where a similar rift
|
|
streamway apparently breaks through this layer and plunges down to -1030m. It
|
|
is hoped that Razordance may do the same; since its entrance is significantly
|
|
higher up than that of <span lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span>, this
|
|
would be a major discovery, and motivates plans to continue the exploration of
|
|
Razordance next year (hopefully with a larger team).</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>There were also discoveries outside <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>. Ten new entrances were
|
|
explored; the majority of these lie on the eastern slopes of the
|
|
Schwarzmooskogel ridge, where the plateau drops away sharply into a glaciated
|
|
valley; it was hoped that this downcutting would have opened up entrances where
|
|
it intersected levels of horizontal development. A number of such entrances
|
|
have already been found further south, particularly the <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Eishöhle</span> 'portal row' which is a cluster of over a
|
|
dozen entrances within a 100m radius.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Our hopes of finding a new entrance to <span
|
|
lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span> were fulfilled by 2003-06, which
|
|
rapidly led into the Iceland area; but this will not make too much difference
|
|
to the ease of exploration of <span lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>, as
|
|
it is close to the existing 161e and f entrances. 2003-05, being further west,
|
|
offered a chance to connect to the much deeper and more remote northwestern
|
|
reaches of <span lang="de-at">Kaninchenhöhle</span>, but proved to be
|
|
choked at only -50m.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Further north lies 2003-02, where an awkward entrance rift gives access to a
|
|
shaft. Rocks dropped down the shaft fall for two seconds, bounce off a ledge,
|
|
then fall for a further four seconds, suggesting a pitch of impressive
|
|
dimensions; this will be investigated next summer.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Further west near the 204d entrance is 2003-09 (<span
|
|
lang="de-at">Weizeneishöhle</span>); although quite short, this is well
|
|
decorated with ice formations and has a strong inward draught. This draught can
|
|
be followed to an unstable descending boulder slope, which was not followed
|
|
downwards for safety reasons, but the original explorers have vowed to return
|
|
next year with a crowbar! As this point is only 30m from the terminal choke of
|
|
'On a Mission', the northwestern extremity of the new Rhino Rift series in
|
|
<span lang="de-at">Steinbrückenhöhle</span>; this choke draughts
|
|
strongly outwards, so it is natural to suspect that they connect.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>All in all it was a most successful expedition, with the final tally at 1.9km
|
|
of passage surveyed; and a great time was had by all the expedition's 14
|
|
participants (including two expedition newbies). Planning has already begun in
|
|
earnest for next summer's return visit; we can only hope for similar luck next
|
|
year! Further information is available on CUCC's website at
|
|
http://cucc.survex.com/, including a complete archive of expedition findings
|
|
from 1976 to the present.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Expedition members</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>Julia Bradshaw, Anthony Day, Martin Green, Julian Haines, Becka Lawson,
|
|
David Loeffler (leader), Brian Outram, Olly Madge, Earl Merson, Tony
|
|
Rooke, Mark Shinwell, Julian Todd, Frank Tully, Lucia Vittorini.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Acknowledgements</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>We would like to thank the following for their sponsorship of the
|
|
expedition:</p>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>Thomas Tunnock Ltd, for their generous donation of Tunnock Bars;</li>
|
|
<li>G. Costa + Co, UK distributors of Blue Dragon instant noodles, for
|
|
supplying us with nearly a thousand packets of the latter;</li>
|
|
<li>The Ghar Parau Foundation, for their generous financial support.</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>We would also like to thank the management of the Loser Panoramastrasse toll
|
|
road; the local caving authority, the <a href="http://www.hoehle.at"><span
|
|
lang="de-at">Verein für Höhlenkunde in Obersteier</span></a>; and,
|
|
last but not least, Hilde, Karin and everyone else at the Gasthof Staud'nwirt
|
|
in Bad Aussee (location of our base camp) for their hospitality.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p style="font-style: italic; text-align: right">David Loeffler (dl267 - at - cam.ac.uk)<br />
|
|
Expedition Leader 2003<br />
|
|
Trinity College, Cambridge, CB2 1TQ, UK<br />
|
|
11th January 2004</p>
|
|
|
|
<hr />
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>2003 Expedition info:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href="index.htm">2003 index</a></li>
|
|
<li>Pre-expo <a href="goals.htm">mission statement</a></li>
|
|
<li>Expedition Report</li>
|
|
<li>Expedition <a href="logbook.html">logbook</a></li>
|
|
<li>2003 <a href="sponsors.html">Sponsors</a></li>
|
|
</ul></li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../pubs.htm">Index</a> to all publications</li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../infodx.htm">Expeditions Index</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../infodx.htm">Expo</a></li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|