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<!-- from Cambridge Underground 1990 pp 5-9 -->
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<title>1989: Cambridge Underground: Diary</title>
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<center><font size=-1>Cambridge Underground 1990 pp 5-9</font>
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<h1>Expedition Diary</h1>
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<h3>by Daniel Mace.</h3></center>
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<p>Cambridge University Caving Club (C.U.C.C.) have been exploring caves in
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the Totes Gebirge, Austria for fourteen years. The 1988 expedition was the
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largest of any C.U.C.C. expedition. The major achievement of the 1988
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expedition was the discovery of 161 Kaninchenhöhle. Three major routes
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were discovered. One, Adrian's Route, choked at -200m. The other two routes
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separated after an awkward squeeze that lay directly above a 10m pitch. The
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left hand route ended at an undescended pitch estimated to be 100m deep. The
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right hand route followed large passages to two enormous chambers at -300m.
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There were several unexplored routes from the chambers to return to in 1989.
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<p>The 1989 expedition aimed to continue the exploration of 161 and resurvey
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the whole cave. One of the primary aims was to find a by-pass to the Squeeze
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Pitch to enable faster descent of the system.
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<p>The expedition began officially on 5th August, 1989. Most of the
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expedition members arrived by car, bringing with them food and tackle. The
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remainder came by train or flew to Austria. Base camp was established at the
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camp-site at Bad Aussee outside the Gasthof Staudenwirt. A top camp was wet
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up on the Plateau itself close to the Bräuning Nase where a spring
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provided an almost continuous supply of water.
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<p>The first week was spent rigging the cave down to the limits of
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exploration and attempting to find a by-pass to the squeeze in the maze of
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small tunnels at the top of the third and fourth pitches. Several of these
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choked in impenetrably tight holes but one, found by Jeremy and Mark Fearon
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seemed promising. A 20m pitch descended to a loose boulder floor. A ladder
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rigged from a precarious looking boulder led to a tube from which another 20m
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pitch descended. From here a small hole led to a clean and rubble free ledge,
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completely out of character with the rest of the cave. A longer and larger
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pitch, 30m, left the ledge. At this point the route was below the level of
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the squeeze and yet was only a small distance horizontally from it. There was
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a strong chance that this route would by-pass the squeeze. The route was not
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named after its discoverers; Drunk and Stupid.
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<p>Also in the first week, much of the upper parts of the cave and a good
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deal of the Left Hand Route were surveyed. The survey was to B.C.R.A. grade
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5c standard. That is, all distances were measured to the nearest ten
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centimetres and all angles were measured to the nearest degree. Tape, compass
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and clinometer readings were taken of a centre line down the cave. Cross
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sections drawn at each places where there was a change in the passage shape.
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Approximate passage height and widths were measured or estimated where
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appropriate. All data was recorded on permatrace paper that was kept in
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aluminium binders.
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<p>The beginning of the second week saw the bottoming of Niflheim; the long
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pitch on the Left Hand Route. The pitch was spray lashed and cold and the
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rigging trips down here were the most uncomfortable in the cave. A brief
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reconnaissance at the bottom of the pitch showed there to be a way on
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through a two foot diameter hole (small for Kaninchenhöhle). However
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further exploration on this trip was not possible due to a shortage of
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carbide underground.
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<p>The pushing and surveying continued down Drunk and Stupid although a link
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with either of the routes below the squeeze still proved elusive. Below the
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thirty metre pitch the route continued down in a series of short pitches
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separated by small ledges. There was one small section of horizontal
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development in a vadose trench before another series of pitches that dropped
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into a small chamber; Wet Nappy Chamber. Here a large joint between two
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types of limestone was met which formed a long thin Hading Rift. The rift
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was approximately 30m long and 20m deep although the easiest way through
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took three pushing trips to find.
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<p>Several long surveying trips were required to survey the large chambers at
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the bottom of the Right Hand Route, Knossus and Tower Blocks. Several routes
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led from these chambers and the most promising was pushed down a 50m series
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of short pitches; the Flapjack series. The last of these landed in a small
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streamway where the water sank into small boulders into a canyon that was
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reached further down the passage. A traverse along the canyon led over an
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enormous drop estimated to be seventy to eighty metres.
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<p>By the 16th August good progress had been made down the Right Hand Route
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and Drunk and Stupid, and passages had been surveyed almost up to the pushing
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front. However the momentum of the expedition was upset by a serious
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accident. Rebecca descended the squeeze with her descender C-rigged and lost
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control as she emerged into the wider section of the pitch. She fell 8m onto
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a ledge and fractured her femur. Fortunately two teams were descending the
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cave in quick succession and shortly after the accident there were five
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people who were able to start evacuating her. Help was summoned from Top Camp
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and the Austrian Cave Rescue were called. Mark splinted her leg and then she
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was hauled up through the squeeze. She was then manhandled through the rift
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section and up the third and fourth pitches with Chris prussicking beside her
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supporting her leg and protecting it from the walls of the cave. The
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Austrian rescue arrived by helicopter and had soon ferried several people
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including a doctor to the cave entrance. They met up with the cavers at the
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top of the third pitch and rigged an aerial ropeway to take her across the
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boulder strewn floor between the third and second pitches. She was then
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winched up the entrance pitch and rushed to hospital by helicopter. It took
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eight hours to evacuate her from the cave but in spite of this she arrived at
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the hospital with normal pulse, blood pressure and temperature. This
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reinforces the view that practicing rescue techniques regularly is essential
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and reflects very well on the excellent Austrian Cave Rescue.
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<p>Not surprisingly the accident somewhat dampened the enthusiasm that had
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been prevalent at the start of the expedition. Morale was further depressed
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when the first pushing trip after the rescue found a sump down the Right Hand
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Route. The cave plummeted down a canyon and the sump was discovered at the
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bottom of a circular shaft.
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<p>A team of four divers arrived in Austria at the time of the accident to
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investigate resurgences in the area. Their major aim was to discover whether
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a resurgence in Altausseer See was accessible. After several days of
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searching in freezing water of up to 42m depth the resurgence was found.
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Unfortunately it consisted of hundreds of tiny blow-holes covering an area
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of thirty square metres and so was totally impenetrable. However the search
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had yielded another interesting find. On the second dive the right humerus
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of a human skeleton was retrieved from the bottom of the lake. After further
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searching with the Austrian Authorities the following day a boot and sock
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were found. The body proved to be that of a villager from Altaussee who had
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drowned in the lake thirty years previously.
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<p>The diving team stayed in Austria for almost two weeks and spent most of
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their time investigating promising resurgences in the area. They found
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several leads that are worth pursuing including resurgences in Wolfgangsee
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and Kessel. One resurgence in Goldloch was pushed to -65m. They hope to
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return again next year.
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<p>Work was continued down the routes in Kaninchenhöhle by the dry
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cavers. A camping trip down the Right Hand Route saw the completion of the
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survey to the sump which lies 499m below the surface. Several routes from
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Tower Blocks were explored including the Olympus series. This consisted of a
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long series of muddy passages that finally looped around to the other side
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of the head of the Flapjack pitches. Another route, also leading off Tower
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Blocks, ascended a large boulder ramp before dropping down 25m into an
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impenetrably tight slot. A pitch at the end of the inlet near the camp was
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also rigged but remains undescended. Several other smaller routes from Tower
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Blocks were also explored and surveyed.
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<p>On the 23rd August, a week after Rebecca's accident, Niflheim was finally
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redescended. Several routes were found from the bottom; the most obvious
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ending in a small slot at the bottom of a 6m pitch. However a side passage
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led across a boulder floor to The Black Lagoon, a chamber with what appeared
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to be a silted sump. From here there were at least two ways on; one leading
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down into a canyon and the second entering a maze-like area of passages.
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<p>Exploration continued down Drunk & Stupid. At the base of the Hading
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Rift was a small section of horizontal development ending in an 18m pitch
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with awkward take-off. This led to a series of climbs that became ever more
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spectacular in the widening rift. These finally dropped into a chamber with a
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side passage leading off to a short pitch and a waterfall dropping into the
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far end of the chamber. The chamber had a sandy floor with 1m high sand
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ledges around the edge.
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<p>The surveying continued down Kaninchenhöhle until all the routes
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except sections of the Left Hand Route had been surveyed. Elevations and
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projections were drawn at Base Camp. Drunk and Stupid appeared to pass within
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10m of the Right Hand Route below the squeeze. Several attempts were made to
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link the two routes although no connection was forthcoming.
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<p>A second camping trip was mounted to push the routes at the bottom of
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Niflheim. Before this could be done, rope had to be retrieved from the
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bottom of the Right Hand Route. However after retrieving the rope and whilst
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en route for Niflheim, the camping team discovered a route down at Over The
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Rainbow at -200m on the Right Hand Route. This was named the Pot of Gold and
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was a 'Swiss cheese labyrinth' of phreatic passages that were half clogged
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with soil. The way on looked very promising and so the exploration at the
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bottom of Niflheim was abandoned in preference to this. A day of exploration
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yielded several rift pitches that led to a few small chambers. Finally the
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rifts became too tight. The area was surveyed and the campers emerged after
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48 hours underground.
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<p>Up until this point, the weather in Austria had been reasonable. There had
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been a few impressive thunder storms but we had had more than our share of
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sunshine. At the end of August the weather turned for the worse. Top Camp
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was miserably cold and base camp became soaked in mud; the entrances to the
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tents becoming muddy pools. After a night of storms we awoke to find snow on
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the tops of the mountains. We walked up to the plateau to investigate the
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damage to Top Camp and found it almost completely destroyed. Of the six
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tents that were there, only two had survived unscathed and three were
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unusable. Almost all the caving trips from this point were conducted from
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Base Camp making for very long days.
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<p>A further pushing trip down Drunk and Stupid saw the termination of the
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route that left the bottom chamber in a tight squeeze. However another way on
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was found beside the waterfall. This followed a series of small tubes that
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led upwards and finally emerged at the head of a ten metre pitch with a large
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phreatic passage doubling back from the pitchhead. This linked up with the
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pitch that left the chamber. However descent of the pitch led to the
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discovery of a rope descending from the other side. Unfortunately the next
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pitch choked and so the bottom of Drunk & Stupid had been found. The
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unknown rope was very clean washed and was assumed to be that of a group of
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French Cavers who were exploring a cave close to Kaninchenhöhle. A note
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was attached to the bottom of the rope explaining that C.U.C.C. had found a
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connection and the cave surveyed to the bottom.
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<p>On drawing up the survey however, it was found that the bottom of Drunk
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& Stupid was exceedingly close to the bottom of Niflheim. The connection
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between the two was 'proved' when a group who were pushing down Niflheim
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found the note only hours after it had been placed there. The pushing team
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down Niflheim explored the maze-like passages that led off from the Black
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Lagoon. After rigging down two short pitches a small chamber was found with
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a gurgling sump, 'Thumper' in the bottom of it. A rift that was too tight
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led up out of the chamber; no other routes left the chamber. At this stage
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it was almost time to detackle the cave. A short exploratory trip across the
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very loose and dangerous section above the third pitch yielded a large
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section of phreatic passage. This ends in an undescended pitch that might
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drop into the Right Hand Route, thus by-passing the squeeze.
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<p>Detackling eventually arrived with a vengeance on the 3rd September. Three
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teams of three descended each of the three major routes. Unfortunately
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disaster struck again at the squeeze. This time it was Chris, (Rebecca's
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boyfriend) who was the victim. He descended the pitch with four bars rigged
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on his rack when it caught in the ladder in the squeeze. After struggling to
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release it the fourth bar came off the rope and he found himself descending
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the pitch at high speed with three widely spaced and ineffectual bars. He
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landed on the same ledge and in the same position as Rebecca. However he was
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much less badly hurt and thought he was just severely bruised. Unfortunately
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all other expedition members were either much further down the cave or at
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base camp. Dan and Juliette hauled him up through the squeeze and rifts and
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then used a counter balance technique to haul him to the top of the third
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pitch. At this point the other detackling teams caught up and it was decided
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that there was little point in calling out the rescue. It was midnight and
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the weather outside was appalling; the rescue would take many hours to
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arrive and we had enough man power to carry him out of the cave and off the
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mountain. We reached the surface seven hours after the accident and bundled
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Chris into an Alpine rope stretcher. Carrying him across the plateau in the
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dark and sleet was extremely exhausting and very slow progress was made
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until dawn. As it grew light, spirits rose and our progress speeded up.
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After a rest at what was left of Top Camp we carried him to the car park. We
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were met by the others from Base Camp near Top Camp and we carried him down
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to Top Camp on two poles. Chris arrived in hospital two minutes before
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Rebecca was discharged. After a romantic reunion Chris was wheeled away to
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the x-ray room where it was found that he had fractured his pelvis.
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<p>After this accident there was no time for recuperation. The cave had to be
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detackled and so people had to cave the day after the accident. After much
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effort all the rope was brought out from the cave. A further two days of
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carrying saw all the gear down at Base Camp. There was just time to wash and
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dry everything before we had to leave.
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<p>Although two sumps were found, there are still several ways on in
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Kaninchenhöhle. Down the Right Hand Route there is an unexplored lead
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from Knossus and two leads just above Over The Rainbow. At the bottom of
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Niflheim there is an unexplored canyon. There is also a pitch to be descended
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at the end of the phreatic passage that leads off from over the third pitch.
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There are certainly bound to be many other routes that have not been noticed
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yet. Kaninchenhöhle is an extremely complicated system and there is
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much to investigate next year. There are also many possibilities of
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exploration in other caves on the Loser Plateau.
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<hr />
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<!-- LINKS -->
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<p><ul>
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<li>Cambridge Underground 1990,
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<a href="../../../jnl/1990/index.htm">Table of Contents</a></li>
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<li>1989 Expedition info:
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<ul>
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<li><a href="index.htm">Index</a> (more detail than in this list)</li>
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<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
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<li>Cambridge Underground Expo Report:
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<ul>
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<li><a href="rescue.htm">The Rescues</a></li>
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<li><a href="cavegd.htm">161 Description</a> to date (ie. 1989)</li>
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<li><a href="survey.htm">The 1989 survey</a> of Kaninchenhöhle</li>
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<li><a href="camp.htm">Underground Camping</a> experience in 1989</li>
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</ul></li>
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<li><a href="sumup.htm">1976-89 summary</a> of caves found</li>
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<li><a href="bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves & Caving Report</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#pubs1989">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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