mirror of
https://expo.survex.com/repositories/expoweb/.git/
synced 2024-11-22 23:31:56 +00:00
82 lines
4.1 KiB
HTML
82 lines
4.1 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
|
||
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
|
||
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
|
||
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
|
||
<head>
|
||
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf8" />
|
||
<title>1977: Mike Perryman's report in Descent 38</title>
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href=
|
||
"../../../css/main2.css" />
|
||
</head>
|
||
<body>
|
||
<p style="font-size: 80%">
|
||
CTS 78.2027: Descent 38 (March/April 1978) p 34</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>This article first appeared in <i>Descent</i>(38) for Mar/Apr
|
||
1978, p34 and is reproduced here with the permission of the author
|
||
and Wild Places Publishing.</p>
|
||
|
||
<h1>Cambridge push the hard pots of Altaussee</h1>
|
||
<p style="text-align: right"><b>Mike Perryman, CUCC</b></p>
|
||
<p>FOR THE SECOND YEAR running, Cambridge Cavers, somewhat
|
||
disillusioned after several summers prospecting in the Pyrenees,
|
||
made a visit to the karst regions of western Austria in 1977. The
|
||
1976 expedition (full details in the current <a href=
|
||
"../../../years/1976/report.htm"><i>Cambridge Underground</i></a>)
|
||
did important foundation work in the area, and even though little
|
||
of note was found, sufficient knowledge was gained to make our
|
||
prospecting last summer easier and more rewarding. It also found
|
||
the Dachstein/Totesgebirge area excellent for tourist trips into
|
||
the huge phreatic systems that abound, but attention was focussed
|
||
on the extensive lapiaz plateau above Altaussee, where the caves
|
||
have turned out to be of a very different nature.</p>
|
||
<p>Until recently access to it had been difficult and the area
|
||
consequently remained unexplored, but a toll road now serves this
|
||
limestone mass nearly 3300ft above the nearest valley floor.
|
||
Although prospecting now involves a mere one and a half hours walk,
|
||
one arrives much poorer!</p>
|
||
<p>The depth potential of this region is of the order of 3300ft,
|
||
but serious dye-testing has yet to be carried out. Rumours this
|
||
summer of a 2300ft+ pot discovered further east on the Tauplitz
|
||
plateau by a French team lifted morale even further. If confirmed
|
||
this find would displace Gruberhornh<6E>hle as the deepest in Austria.
|
||
Then bear in mind that serious prospecting in the mountains has
|
||
only just begun!</p>
|
||
<p>Our finds have been more modest - amongst numerous small pots
|
||
they include those now catalogued as holes 82, 97 and 106. The
|
||
first of these would not be out of place in Yorkshire, with a
|
||
stream cascading in at -130ft. After an awkward 65ft crawl, a
|
||
series of wet pitches in progressively larger rifts reaches a sump
|
||
at -754ft.</p>
|
||
<p>97 is equally sporting with a tight entrance series leading to a
|
||
succession of smallish pitches again in large rift passage. At
|
||
886ft it suddenly closes down and becomes too constricted.</p>
|
||
<p>106 was not pushed to definite conclusion due to lack of time,
|
||
but a team reached 460ft in a series of enormous shafts.</p>
|
||
<p>Exploration of these and other smaller shafts went rather slowly
|
||
- partly because of their location in relation to our camp, and
|
||
partly due to their nature. We were rather surprised to find the
|
||
systems wet and responding rapidly to rain, and cold even by
|
||
English standards. And almost without exception the pitches had to
|
||
be bolted due to the scarcity of good natural belays.</p>
|
||
<p>But we have returned with valuable knowledge of the region, and
|
||
more than enough enthusiasm to organise another visit.</p>
|
||
<hr />
|
||
|
||
<ul id="links">
|
||
<li>
|
||
1977 Expedition info:
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><a href= "../../../years/1977/log.htm">Logbook</a> (currently missing)</li>
|
||
<li>Andy Waddington's <a href= "../../../years/1977/andylg.htm">Logbook</a></li>
|
||
<li><a href= "../../../years/1977/report.htm">Expo report, Cambridge Underground 1978</a></li>
|
||
<!-- <img src="../../../../icons/lists/1.png"> <a href="bcracc.htm">BCRA Caves & Caving Report (NOT ON SITE)<br>-->
|
||
<li>Nick Thorne's write-up in <a href= "../../../years/1977/771649.htm">Belfry Bulletin 354</a></li>
|
||
</ul></li>
|
||
<li><a href= "../../../pubs.htm#pubs1977">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>
|