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159 lines
8.0 KiB
HTML
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<title>1623: CUCC's high camps</title>
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<META name="author" content="A.E.R.Waddington">
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<META name="date" content="2000-09-07">
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<META name="description" content="Cambridge University Caving Club's
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Advanced expedition camps on the Loser Plateau">
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>CUCC's high camps on <span lang="de-at">Loser</span></h1>
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<p>Over the couple of decades for which CUCC have been visiting the
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<span lang="de-at">Loser-AugstEck</span> plateau, they have found it
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essential to camp nearer the caves than the base camps in
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<span lang="de-at">Altaussee</span> (1976-82) and
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<span lang="de-at">Grundlsee</span> (1983 to present). The
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<a href="years/1978/log.htm#driveroty">1978 accident</a> demonstrated the
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foolishness of trying to conduct long explorations without a high camp.
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Several people have been benighted on the plateau over the years and the two
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rescues in 1989 show the value of rapid assistance from Top Camp in the event
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of a mishap underground. Numerous people have been assisted quickly by cavers
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based at Top Camp in the years since, thus avoiding any more serious
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incidents.
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<p>The terminology of these camps has sometimes become confused, as better
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campsites were found by people who did not even know of the existence of the
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previous ones. At some time, virtually every camp has been called "Camp
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1" by someone or other ! Note that camping is not allowed without
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permission, and we have recently been informed that since 1993 it has been
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<b>illegal</b> to camp at all, within the Nature Reserve
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<span lang="de">(Naturschutzgebiet)</span> area.
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<h3><a name="1977camp">1977</a> Advance Camp</h3>
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<p>CUCC's first high camp was set up in 1977, on a site identified on the
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first visit in 1976. This was on an area of pasture above a small limestone
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scar from <a href="br-alm/index.htm"><span lang="de-at">Bräuning
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Alm</span></a>. At the time, the springs in the valley here were the only
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reliable water supply we had discovered. There were caves nearby, as well as
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ones on the plateau to explore, so the site proved very pleasant, until
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washed out in one (of many) mega-thunderstorm.
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<p><center><a href="br-alm/l/tc1977.htm">
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<img src="br-alm/t/tc1977.jpg" align=middle width=158 height=108
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alt="Camp 1977"></a> <a href="br-alm/l/tc77a.htm">
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<img src="br-alm/t/tc77a.jpg" align=middle width=138 height=103
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alt="Camp 1977"></a> <a href="br-alm/l/tc77b.htm">
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<img src="br-alm/t/tc77b.jpg" align=middle width=151 height=88
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alt="Camp 1977"></a></center>
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<br><center>1977 Advance camp.</center>
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<h3><a name="1979camp"><span lang="de-at">Schwarzmoossattel</span></a>
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bivouac</h3>
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<p>Once most exploration was centred on the plateau, the camp at
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<span lang="de-at">Bräuning Alm</span> proved of little real value, and
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all exploration was conducted by driving up from the valley. The difficulties
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and dangers of returning across the plateau in the dark led to some cavers
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doing "overnight" trips, in which the cave was descended in daylight, and
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exitted in daylight the next day. The risk associated with this approach was
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that of <a href="years/1978/log.htm#driveroty">falling asleep</a> on the
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drive down, as Julian Griffiths demonstrated. Having stayed awake down all
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the seriously fatal hairpin bends, the car drove itself through a fence and
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down a 10m drop in the valley below. The mangled steering wheel, bent by a
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tree-sized piece of fence coming through the windscreen, became CUCC's
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"Driver of the Year" award at subsequent dinners.
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<p>It was realised that for overnight trips to work, there had to be at least
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a bivouac of some sort near the plateau. A tiny trickle of water was found,
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which could be used to fill a water container buried in the ground, and a
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single tent established just to the south of
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<span lang="de-at">Schwarzmoossattel</span> ("The Col") in 1979. This never
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really deserved the title "camp". It was never used again, as exploration in
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1980 switched to the <span lang="de-at">Stellerweghöhle</span> area, and
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neither of the previous high camps were really of any use.
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<h3><a name="topcamp">Top Camp</a></h3>
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<p><a href="piclinks/tpcamp.htm">
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<img src="tinypix/tpcamp.jpg" align=middle width=166 height=114
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alt="Top Camp"></a> Top Camp on upper site, 1993
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<p><a href="piclinks/tc1996.htm"><img align=middle width=200 height=134
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src="tinypix/tc1996.jpg"></a> 1996 Top Camp on lower site.
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<p>More recently, a really good permanent spring was found in a small
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climbable shaft a short way beyond
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<span lang="de-at">Schwarzmoossattel</span> ("The Col").
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As this was adjacent to one of the very few flat areas of grass, and right
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next to the path as well, this has made an ideal camp site, and has become
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the normal Top Camp since 1988. Logbooks and Journal accounts at the time
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referred to this as "Camp I", despite its not being the first high
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camp. A few references are to "Camp 3", which tried to reflect the
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chronology. More recently it has been known just as "Top Camp". In
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fact, to minimise the impact on grassy areas, the camp has alternated between
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the small site immediately adjacent to the spring and a larger (but boggier)
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area a little lower (used in 1994, 1996, 1998 etc.).
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<center><p><a href="piclinks/tc-161.htm">
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<img src="tinypix/tc-161.jpg" align=bottom width=181 height=123
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alt="Top Camp de 161"></a></center><br>
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<center>Top Camp below the <span lang="de">Bräuning</span> wall, from
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the walk to <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle.</span></center>
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<h3><a name="vd1camp">VD1 Camp</a></h3>
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<p>In 1988, and again in 1989, there was a small advance
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camp much nearer to the <span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> entrance, again to overcome the trials of crossing the very rough plateau in the dark.
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This was on a relatively flat area of low bunde (dwarf pine) just on the east
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side of the flat area of limestone on which the permanent survey station
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"VD1" is located, on the normal walk up to the 161 entrances on the col
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between the <span lang="de-at">Vorderer</span> and
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<span lang="de-at">Hinterer Schwarzmooskogels.</span> This was variously
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known as 'far campsite' or 'Camp 2', in the logbooks. A lack of water,
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sanitation, space and comfort led to this camp being abandoned.
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<h3>Scarface Camp</h3>
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<p>It was hoped that in 1996, a new Top Camp would be established somewhere
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where access to the 161d, 'Scarface' entrance to
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<span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> would be easier, as all trips
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used this new entrance, giving rapid access to the majority of current
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question marks in the cave. Unfortunately, access via the
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<span lang="de-at">Stogerweg</span> proved to be more strenuous
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than from the old plateau top camp, and no usable water supply was
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found, so this campsite never came into existence. If work to link
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<span lang="de">Kaninchenhöhle</span> to the
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<span lang="de-at">Schwarzmooskogel</span> systems means a lot of caving in
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places such as <span lang="de">Schneevulkanhalle,</span> it may yet be
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practical and necessary to establish a bivouac site somewhere near the 201
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<span lang="de-at">Stogerweg</span> path. However, a reasonably good route
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was established from Top Camp to the <span lang="de-at">Eishöhle</span>
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area in 1998 and there seems little need now to establish a new high camp.
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<hr>
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<!-- LINKS -->
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<img alt=">" src="../icons/lists/0.png">
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Back to <a href="../index.htm">CUCC Home page</a><br>
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<img alt=">" src="../icons/lists/0.png">
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Back to <a href="index.htm">Expedition Intro page</a><br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../icons/lists/1.png">
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<a href="bcamps.htm">Base Camps</a><br>
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<img alt=">" src="../icons/lists/0.png">
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<b>Main Indices:</b><br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../icons/lists/1.png">
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<a href="infodx.htm"><b>Index</b> to Expo</a> information pages<br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../icons/lists/1.png">
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<a href="areas.htm">Description of CUCC's area</a> and split to subareas<br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../icons/lists/1.png">
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Full <a href="indxal.htm">Index to cave descriptions</a> in area 1623<br>
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<img alt="--->" src="../icons/lists/1.png">
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List of (links to) <a href="pubs.htm">published reports and logbooks</a>
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</body>
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</html>
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