mirror of
https://expo.survex.com/repositories/expoweb/.git/
synced 2024-11-22 15:21:55 +00:00
187 lines
9.6 KiB
HTML
187 lines
9.6 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN">
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf8" />
|
|
<title>1985: Cambridge Underground report</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../css/main2.css" />
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<center><font size=-1>Cambridge Underground 1986-7 pp 4-6</font>
|
|
|
|
<h2>CUCC Austria 1985</h2></center>
|
|
|
|
<p align=right>by Mike Martin
|
|
|
|
<p>Preparation started several weeks before. This was always destined to
|
|
be a small scale expedition and despite the inexperience of those who
|
|
participated, our goals were met.
|
|
|
|
<p>In Cambridge, training started by stringing Tina up over the side of Fen
|
|
Ditton Railway Bridge. Stef borrowed a rope and tried tying himself in knots
|
|
in a tree. Vast quantities of food were bought (Mark had a strange idea as to
|
|
what we needed), and scattered around 46 Catherine Street. Tacklebags were
|
|
crammed full of gear and the Rover packed. A last minute shuffling of gear
|
|
and people, and everyone was crammed in their respective vehicles and we
|
|
departed - almost without incident.
|
|
|
|
<p>The plan was to drive to Dover, meet up and ensure everyone knew where we
|
|
were going. Thus team Rover and Blue Fiat caught a ferry three hours before
|
|
Team Banana (after the colour of their car). Not to be outdone, the Banana
|
|
zipped along the motorway, overtaking Rover before leaving Belgium, to arrive
|
|
at the campsite approximately ten minutes after Stef and Chris. The only
|
|
problem we experienced was the inability of the Alpine's cooling system to
|
|
cool. In fact it ejaculated over the attendants every time we stopped for
|
|
petrol!
|
|
|
|
<p>Day one set the tone of the expedition. Everyone got up early-ish and went
|
|
to explore the plateau. A new area was chosen, and a draughty hole located.
|
|
On returning to the campsite, Mike R and Tina were greeted, tents erected and
|
|
food cooked. It was decided, to pevent wasting valuable days, that Mike M
|
|
would take Stef, Gavin, Tina and Mark down 142 so some of them could try
|
|
their SRT rigs underground for the first time. The cave was found without too
|
|
much difficulty (despite the total darkness) at about 11.15pm. We surfaced
|
|
six and a half hours later to a glorious morning.
|
|
|
|
<p>Thus the expedition started with an overnight trip, the first of many.
|
|
It seems strange that the justification of this trait was to avoid the
|
|
necessity of emerging after dark, and getting lost on the way back down
|
|
(as had happened on previous expeditions). However no one questioned trying
|
|
to find the entrances in the dark!
|
|
|
|
<p>The next few days' activities were split between descending 144, gardening
|
|
as they progressed, and looking for new cave. The aforementioned cave was dug
|
|
into after two days' effort only to stop eight feet in at a two inch slot.
|
|
However, a little lateral exploration revealed the entrance of 152 at the
|
|
bottom of a little gully. On the first descent, the team was a wee bit under
|
|
equipped comprising Gavin and Tina sharing a set of SRT gear and a little
|
|
stinky. The entrance pitch landed on a snow plug and steps were kicked down
|
|
past an ice column to a scree slope. Wriggling behind a boulder at the bottom
|
|
led to the second pitch. Gavin then surfaced and I went down wearing shorts,
|
|
tee shirt and oversuit (bit chilly) to join Tina. Progressing down a series
|
|
of short pitches and precariously perched boulder bridges, the proportions
|
|
increased and our confidence rose.
|
|
|
|
<p>The third trip saw the descent of the finest and airiest pitch, "The
|
|
Good Pitch Venus". This was so named as Chris's original descent
|
|
(accompanied by Tina) was the result of a considerable piece of levitation
|
|
on Chris's part and what some described as "Frigging in the Rigging".
|
|
Unfortunately, not much seemed to follow, the cave becoming an awkward
|
|
tight rift. The way on was missed and found by a subsequent trip.
|
|
|
|
<p>On this later trip, a further tight pitch was found, and the placing of
|
|
bolts could have benefitted from the attentions of a contortionist. The pitch
|
|
was named "Suicide Pot" in view of my skill with the driver! I descended
|
|
(minus lamps which had both packed up) and failed to reach the bottom of the
|
|
short rope used. A hasty retreat was forced by Gavin and myself, sharing his
|
|
back-up lamp, having had three light failures between us. The pitch was
|
|
finally conquered at the beginning of week three, after my return to the UK,
|
|
by Stef and Chris who discovered bolts at the head of the next pitch less
|
|
than five feet from my point of furthest exploration.
|
|
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, other early activities had included a search of the Big Pitch
|
|
area and Chamber in 142, hoping to find a way on towards 144:
|
|
|
|
<p>A climb up out of the big chamber led to a balcony overlooking the pitch
|
|
and via a weathered ramp to the passage between 142 and
|
|
<span lang=de>Stellerweg.</span> The onset of a thunderstorm alarmed Tina and
|
|
Gavin whilst they had a break from surveying. The munching of Mars Bars was
|
|
interrupted by the thuderous roar of water. This turned out to be a three
|
|
inch diameter column of water falling some twenty feet from the roof of the
|
|
passage and echoing through the cave!
|
|
|
|
<p>However, the main objective was to locate the connection between 144 and
|
|
<span lang=de>Stellerweg,</span> the existence of which was suggested by many
|
|
previous trips. Progress was slow at first due to the unstable heap of rocks
|
|
at the top of the second pitch and an inability to find (or trust) the bolts
|
|
placed three years ago.
|
|
|
|
<p>On reaching the "Yellow Brick Road", the party split up. Somehow Mark
|
|
Roddick managed not only to find but fall down an obscure little hole and
|
|
land on a pile of sand. Then he slid down a boulder and stopped
|
|
providentially before the edge of the sixty metre pitch. Amazingly, others
|
|
wanting to follow this route (as it proved to be the main way on) had great
|
|
difficulty with this small hole, and it took one person in excess of thirty
|
|
minutes to get back up the fifteen foot pitch.
|
|
|
|
<p>Beyond "Roddick's Dive" as it is now called, a ramp was crossed (which
|
|
became a shower when it rained on the surface) to reach a continuation of the
|
|
Yellow Brick Road. Progress was made by following a steep narrow tube down a
|
|
ramp to a larger canyon twenty feet wide by thirty feet high. The many ways
|
|
on from here mostly closed down, but one led to the head of a pitch. A food
|
|
dump was established here and a retreat made.
|
|
|
|
<p>The next trip started with a walk to the entrance in a blizzard and a
|
|
descent in the freezing draught to the food dump. The pitch which had limited
|
|
previous exploration was bypassed via a low mud crawl to a wet and draughty
|
|
chamber below. Following the stream, another pitch was reached, this too was
|
|
bypassed by a wet tube on the right and a very wide, ten foot chimney down.
|
|
This ensured that each of us was totally drenched and ensured our discomfort
|
|
in the slow, laborious surveying back to the Yellow Brick Road. The bottom of
|
|
the chimney was found to lie in the rift below the Big Pitch in
|
|
<span lang=de>Stellerweg.</span> This was confirmed by the finding of a
|
|
wrapper from a dried dates packet. These had been a particular favourite of
|
|
Steve Perry who was the last person below the big pitch on the derigging trip
|
|
of 1981. No one on our expedition this year indulged in these.
|
|
|
|
<p>On returning to the surface, a quick plot of the new data confirmed our
|
|
discovery thereby providing a new top entrance to the system, making an
|
|
overall depth of 971m, and a length of over 6.5km.
|
|
|
|
<p>At this point all that remained was to tie up loose ends in 152, and
|
|
derigging. Team children played with some magnesium ribbon in 142 - I'm told
|
|
it made the chamber much lighter!! Needless to say, my employers carefully
|
|
arranged things on my behalf so that I missed the detackling!
|
|
|
|
<p>Finally - what is left for 1986? (or 1987, since 1986 didn't get there!)
|
|
|
|
<p>Several draughting holes were found between 152 and the
|
|
<span lang=de>Vord. Schwarzmooskogel.</span> These will require exploration
|
|
and may join 152/113 the <span lang=de>Sonnenstrahlhöhle</span> system.
|
|
|
|
<p>On ploughing through previous reports it appears that the draught at
|
|
approximately the 1600m contour level in
|
|
<span lang=de>Sonnenstrahlhöhle</span> reverses direction. This height
|
|
also corresponds to the extensive phreatic levels of
|
|
<span lang=de>Stellerweg</span> and 142. If there is an extensive horizontal
|
|
development around the Fox's Glacier level in 113 then perhaps the 1 km
|
|
gap may be bridged making one gigantic system.
|
|
|
|
<p>For those interested in statistics:
|
|
|
|
<table border=0>
|
|
<tr><th>Name</th><th>No. Trips</th><th>Time Underground in hours</th></tr>
|
|
<tr><td>Brian Derby *</td><td>4</td><td>33</td></tr>
|
|
<tr><td>Tina White</td><td>6</td><td>42</td></tr>
|
|
<tr><td>Mike Martin *</td><td>5</td><td>45</td></tr>
|
|
<tr><td>Gavin Andrews</td><td>7</td><td>53</td></tr>
|
|
<tr><td>Stefan Kukula</td><td>7</td><td>54</td></tr>
|
|
<tr><td>Mike Richardson</td><td>8</td><td>60</td></tr>
|
|
<tr><td>Chris Sharman</td><td>8</td><td>67</td></tr>
|
|
<tr><td>Mark Roddick</td><td>7</td><td>67</td></tr>
|
|
</table>
|
|
|
|
<p>* two weeks only
|
|
|
|
<hr />
|
|
<!-- LINKS -->
|
|
<ul id="links">
|
|
<li>Cambridge Underground 1986-7,
|
|
<a href="http://cucc.survex.com/jnl/1986-7/index.htm">Table of Contents</a></li>
|
|
<li>1985 Expedition info:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
|
|
<li>Cambridge Underground Expo Report:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href="bdseye.htm">A Bird's Eye View</a>, Tina White</li>
|
|
<li>Guidebook to the <a href="144-41.htm">144-Stellerweg connection</a></li>
|
|
<li>Summary of caves <a href="loser.htm">explored 1976-85</a><br>
|
|
<!-- </ul></li>
|
|
<li><a href="bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves & Caving Report</a><br> -->
|
|
</ul></li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../pubs.htm#pubs1985">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>
|