mirror of
https://expo.survex.com/repositories/expoweb/.git/
synced 2024-11-24 00:01:58 +00:00
561 lines
32 KiB
HTML
561 lines
32 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN">
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf8" />
|
|
<title>CUCC 1997 Expedition Report for Sponsors</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../css/main2.css" />
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
|
|
<center><h2>CUCC EXPEDITION TO AUSTRIA, 1997</h2>
|
|
|
|
<p><a href="../../1623/161/l/dh3-06.htm">
|
|
<img alt="Photo - 42k" width=188 height=125 hspace=10
|
|
src="../../1623/161/t/dh3-06.jpg"></a><br>
|
|
<i>Andrew Ketley at Penguin Falls, Puerile Humour Series</i></center>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Summary</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>In July of this year, Cambridge University Caving Club (CUCC) embarked
|
|
upon its 10th annual expedition to the
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/top.htm">Kaninchenhöhle</a> cave system in
|
|
the Totes Gebirge mountains of Austria. The club has been exploring
|
|
previously undiscovered caves in this area since accepting an invitation by
|
|
an Austrian club, (then the Sektion Ausseerland of LVfHO, now VfHO), in 1976.
|
|
During the intervening years several of these caves have grown to be of
|
|
international significance, this includes Kaninchenhöhle, the subject of
|
|
our current and ongoing expeditions.
|
|
|
|
<p>By the end of the 1996 expedition, the explored and surveyed length of
|
|
Kaninchenhöhle was 19.7 km with a total depth of just under 500m from
|
|
the highest entrance. There were many unexplored leads (almost 200) with the
|
|
known southern extremity of the cave reasonably close to the very large
|
|
Schwarzmooskögeleishöhle-
|
|
<a href="../../1623/41/41.htm">Stellerweghöhle</a> system. Many very
|
|
promising leads had also been left at the northern end of the cave. Due, not
|
|
only, to the length of trip required in order to investigate them, but also
|
|
the huge number of exciting finds much nearer to the
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/sftotp.htm#id161d">new entrance</a>, discovered at
|
|
the end of the 1995 expedition.
|
|
|
|
<p>Around 20 cavers took part in this year's trip, most with previous
|
|
experience of caving abroad, but also a number for whom this was their first
|
|
taste of expedition caving. Early discoveries were made in the far east of
|
|
the cave, below the area of huge passage discovered two years ago, known as
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/triasp.htm#triasp">Triassic Park</a>. The large,
|
|
mostly horizontal development, was named
|
|
'<a href="../../1623/161/offtri.htm#lworld">The Lost World</a>', and is
|
|
interesting, in that it is lower than the previously known layers of
|
|
horizontal development in the cave. 'The Lost World' offers potential for
|
|
another entrance to be discovered due to its close proximity with the edge of
|
|
the mountain and its relation to surface features will provide further
|
|
insight as to the geological development of the area.
|
|
|
|
<p>Following a few years of neglect, some members of the expedition found new
|
|
enthusiasm for long trips to the North Western extremity of the cave, aptly
|
|
named
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/sibria.htm#siberia">Siberia</a>. Many extremely
|
|
promising leads remained in this area and one such shaft, Somebody Else's
|
|
Problem, was explored to a depth of 434m below the top entrance level,
|
|
including a virtually free-hanging pitch of 70m!
|
|
|
|
<p>The main developments in the southern end of the cave took the shape of a
|
|
re-exploration of
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/136.htm">Steinschlagschacht</a>, originally
|
|
explored by CUCC in 1983/4. In 1996, discovery of the
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/fbland.htm#forbidden">Forbidden Land</a>, a very
|
|
large development to the south of an awkward and unsafe boulder-choke, had
|
|
revealed its close proximity to Steinschlagschacht. Improvements in equipment
|
|
and technique since the original exploration, in addition to determination in
|
|
the knowledge of a likely connection, eventually led to the two caves being
|
|
joined. Providing a safe route through to the Forbidden Land area and easing
|
|
access for the push towards the large
|
|
Schwarzmooskögel-Eishöhle-Stellerweghöhle system only a couple
|
|
of hundred metres away to the South.
|
|
|
|
<p>By the end of the expedition, a further 2.4 km of cave had been surveyed
|
|
and the overall depth increased to just over 500m, owing to the slightly
|
|
higher entrance of Steinschlagschacht. There are still many promising leads,
|
|
with the exciting prospect of linking two, already world class, cave
|
|
systems. This gives us every reason to return again next year.
|
|
|
|
<h3>Background</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>The first CUCC expedition to the Totes Gebirge area of Austria took place
|
|
in the <a href="../1976/report.htm">summer of 1976</a> and, with the
|
|
exception of 1986, the club has returned every year since. In the early years
|
|
the expedition was based in the village of Altaussee, however since 1984 the
|
|
expedition has stayed at the Gasthof Staud'nwirt near Bad Aussee. There we
|
|
are annually made welcome by Karin Wilpernig and her family.
|
|
|
|
<p>Over the course of twenty-one years, CUCC has been responsible for the
|
|
discovery, exploration and survey of around 150 caves. Whilst many of these
|
|
are quite small, others have proved to be very significant and of these the
|
|
Stellerweghöhle system is perhaps of most note. It was initially
|
|
explored to a depth of 200m by a German group and was subsequently explored
|
|
by CUCC from 1980 to 1982. CUCC found several new entrances to the system,
|
|
and a sump at 970m depth making it the deepest CUCC find to date. Since that
|
|
time other nearby caves (Larchenschacht, Schwabenschacht and Eishöhle)
|
|
have been linked into the system, by various groups. Another German club has
|
|
continued exploration of Stellerweghöhle and the combined system length
|
|
is now believed to be over 25km.
|
|
|
|
<p>Kaninchenhöhle was found by CUCC in 1988, and has been the main focus
|
|
of our expeditions ever since. By 1990 three entrances had been discovered,
|
|
the total surveyed length was 6.5km and the deepest route to date had been
|
|
discovered, with a sump at -498m. Discoveries continued at a high rate and
|
|
the top of the cave quickly became a maze of parallel shafts and
|
|
interconnecting passages. By the early 90's, trips to the furthest reaches of
|
|
the cave were becoming increasingly long, with underground camps necessary on
|
|
occasion, in order to achieve efficient exploration. Although several deep
|
|
shaft series have subsequently been discovered, none have proved deeper than
|
|
the earliest found.
|
|
|
|
<p>By 1995, enthusiasm among club members for further exploration was much
|
|
diminished, mostly due to the long trips and lack of any prospect of
|
|
"completing" the project. However, toward the end of the '95 expedition, the
|
|
surprise discovery of a major new horizontal development, Triassic Park, with
|
|
over fifty new leads and a new entrance in the final week changed all that.
|
|
The 1996 expedition, coincidentally the 20th anniversary expedition of CUCC
|
|
in Austria, was by far the most successful expedition yet with over forty
|
|
people making their way to Austria at one time or another. Five kilometres of
|
|
cave was discovered and surveyed in one expedition, taking the total length
|
|
of the system to over 19km, although the depth remained still at 498m.
|
|
|
|
<h3>1997 Expedition Aims</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>The success of the 1996 expedition had supplied many answers to the
|
|
structure and formation of the complex 3 dimensional maze of
|
|
Kaninchenhöhle, although as is now considered usual, it also provided as
|
|
many questions.
|
|
|
|
<p>A great many potential leads exist in Kaninchenhöhle and expedition
|
|
members are free to pursue any that are of interest to them. Often there is
|
|
common interest in a particular area, leading to the natural formation of
|
|
teams, which are vital to the efficiency and safety of a trip underground.
|
|
This approach allows individual freedom, whilst the unique feeling of
|
|
discovering previously unseen 'caverns measureless to man' ensures that
|
|
effort is not usually duplicated.
|
|
|
|
<p>At the Southern extremity, work in the Forbidden Land, so named because of
|
|
its unpleasant entrance through an unstable boulder choke, had revealed
|
|
significant horizontal developments. The close proximity of Eishöhle and
|
|
large number of leads made this area an extremely promising and exciting
|
|
place for further exploration this year.
|
|
|
|
<p>The North-eastern end of the cave had seen great progress during the
|
|
<a href="../1996/bcracc.htm">1996 expedition</a>, in the shape of the Puerile
|
|
Humour series, with approximately 2½-km of new cave and two new
|
|
entrances being found. This discovery had several key areas of interest
|
|
including <a href="../../1623/161/phnth.htm#wtwb">Where the Wind
|
|
Blows</a> and <a href="../../1623/161/icelnd.htm#iceland">Iceland</a>,
|
|
both of which were leading North into areas which, as yet, have no known cave
|
|
development. The first is a long relatively straight passage, heading
|
|
parallel to and above <a href="../../1623/161/farnth.htm#far2far">The Far
|
|
End</a>, formerly only reachable by very long trips from the main (original)
|
|
entrance. The prospect of connection in this area would significantly improve
|
|
access and undoubtedly renew interest in this inaccessible bit of cave.
|
|
|
|
<p>Other leads for which there was particular interest in revisiting this
|
|
year, were in the areas of
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/offtri.htm#wheelca">Wheelchair Access</a>,
|
|
discovered in 1996 descending from the major trunk route of Triassic Park,
|
|
and also in <a href="../../1623/161/sibria.htm#siberia">Siberia</a>,
|
|
discovered in 1995 at the North-Western corner of Kaninchenhöhle.
|
|
|
|
<h3>Steinschlagschacht and the quest for Eishöhle</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>Whilst some of the most interesting exploration was promised by the
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/fbland.htm#forbidden">Forbidden Land</a>, the
|
|
extremely unpleasant boulder choke entrance to this area made the prospect of
|
|
a significant number of trips here unappealing to the majority, if not all,
|
|
of this year's expedition cavers. For this reason a great deal of interest
|
|
was shown in <a href="../../1623/161/136.htm">Steinschlagschacht</a>
|
|
(1623/136), originally explored by CUCC in 1983/4, which we knew from the
|
|
survey to be extremely close to connection with the Forbidden Land. Thus, the
|
|
possibility of a new, safer route into this area was considered sufficiently
|
|
likely to warrant a re-exploration of this cave. Old log book accounts talked
|
|
of "phreatic ramps" at around -150m, although the exact nature of these was
|
|
unclear, as was the exact depth of them. The original exploration had not
|
|
produced a drawn-up survey and it was by no means certain that such data as
|
|
existed was connected correctly to the Kaninchenhöhle survey.
|
|
|
|
<p>So with considerable anticipation tempered by a little wariness of the
|
|
cave's name, (which translates to Stonefall Shaft) a party of two began the
|
|
re-exploration. The origin of the name quickly became apparent as the
|
|
entrance consists of a steep (45-degree), loose boulder slope opening
|
|
directly onto the first pitch! Extensive use was made of the battery-operated
|
|
drill in re-rigging the pitch in a fashion that avoided the worst of the
|
|
stonefall. The entrance pitch is a fine 35m shaft, at the foot of which, was
|
|
found a small connection to a large boulder strewn chamber. The original
|
|
route was ignored at this point, despite being apparent from the presence of
|
|
an old spit (rock anchor), since a more convincing shaft was also present.
|
|
However, after a little more rigging further spits were found, indicating
|
|
that we'd merely taken the direct descent whereas originally a more
|
|
circuitous route was followed. Owing to the presence of the old spits,
|
|
rigging was swift with only a small number of additional anchors being
|
|
required, until a divergence was reached at around -150m.
|
|
|
|
<p><i>Andrew Atkinson approaching the<br>
|
|
Theatre, Steinschlagschacht</i><br>
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/l/jh9719.htm">
|
|
<img alt="Photo - 39k" width=150 height=200 align=left hspace=10 vspace=10
|
|
src="../../1623/161/t/jh9719.jpg"></a><br>
|
|
Interest grew among others on the expedition, as it soon became apparent
|
|
that there was plenty to explore in Steinschlagschacht and that it was
|
|
actually much safer than the name suggested. Further trips followed. The
|
|
original route had continued straight down from the divergence discovered
|
|
earlier, however that looked a bit wet and uninviting so the tangential
|
|
Eyehole Route was pushed instead. It was unclear as to why this was not
|
|
explored previously; it's possible that the eyehole had not been noticed
|
|
previously (lights were typically poorer in 1983) or simply that depth was
|
|
the main goal. Either way, after another couple of trips and a lot more
|
|
rigging with a further 200m of rope, an enormous chamber was discovered. This
|
|
was later named the Theatre due to the spectacular views afforded from near
|
|
the ceiling on later trips. The Theatre is roughly 10m by 20m at the floor,
|
|
with near vertical walls rising up to the ceiling at an estimated height of
|
|
around 60m!
|
|
|
|
<p>Early delight at having discovered such a magnificent chamber was quickly
|
|
followed by disappointment at the lack of ways on from the bottom. The floor
|
|
was a huge pile of boulders with a low connection through to a much smaller
|
|
chamber in one corner. Here there were a number of small wet avens (shafts
|
|
entering from the ceiling), clear pools of water and some mud, much like
|
|
elsewhere in Kaninchenhöhle. Back in the main chamber was a nasty and
|
|
unrewarding climb down through the boulders in the floor and an obvious black
|
|
space some distance up the walls at either end, but no obvious continuation.
|
|
Much surveying was done and a retreat beaten to base camp to ponder on what
|
|
to do next.
|
|
|
|
<p>After entering the data into the computer, the survey software showed that
|
|
although we'd not connected we were within 25m horizontally and 30m or so
|
|
below a potential connection with the Forbidden Land. The implication of this
|
|
was that the connection, if there was one, lay about halfway up The Theatre
|
|
on the opposite wall from which we'd originally entered the chamber - not at
|
|
all an easy place to reach! However, the temptation to attempt a connection
|
|
was too great to resist, so a party of two left base camp early on the
|
|
morning following the expedition dinner with the intention of doing just
|
|
that. A considerable amount of effort was needed since a near horizontal
|
|
traverse had to be rigged around the wall, a little below the ceiling of the
|
|
Theatre, 40m above the nearest floor. The drill again proved invaluable and
|
|
it is doubtful as to whether such a traverse would have been rigged without
|
|
it. Eventually a suitable place was found to descend first to an eyehole and
|
|
then to a ledge way above the floor of The Theatre. Here was the much hoped
|
|
for connection to the Forbidden Land, although in a different place to that
|
|
anticipated at the beginning of the expedition and certainly by different
|
|
means!
|
|
|
|
<p>So, what of Eishöhle? The main rationale for the re-exploration of
|
|
Steinschlagschacht was to provide an easy and safe route to the Forbidden
|
|
Land, believed to be the nearest point to Eishöhle. The new route is
|
|
certainly much safer although since it involves 230m of ascent to exit it is
|
|
not so much easier as had been hoped. It had been assumed that the Forbidden
|
|
Land, due to the large number of unexplored leads reported previously, would
|
|
be the obvious route to Eishöhle. All of these leads were re-evaluated
|
|
this year but with the exception of the Gravel Pit, which ended in a boulder
|
|
choke, none was pushed seriously due both to lack of time and dubious
|
|
prospect. By this time The Theatre was now the closest point to
|
|
Eishöhle, perhaps 40m closer than the known extremity at the start of
|
|
the expedition.
|
|
|
|
<p>The survey was examined once again and a plan concocted. It was apparent
|
|
that <a href="../../1623/161/fbland.htm#ealgor">Elin Algor</a>, a long
|
|
straight passage in the Forbidden Land, was roughly co-linear with the main
|
|
wall of The Theatre and apparently all one development in the formation of
|
|
the cave. Since there had been a horizontal connection at one end of The
|
|
Theatre, it was surmised that there ought to be another at a similar height
|
|
but at the opposite end of the chamber, continuing in the direction of
|
|
Eishöhle. Some required more than a little persuasion that this was a
|
|
realistic possibility, but eventually a number of trips were made with a view
|
|
to finding said passage. More, hair-raising rigging followed in order to
|
|
traverse in the opposite direction around the wall of The Theatre and
|
|
eventually a hole in the wall was found at about the expected elevation.
|
|
Unfortunately, this rapidly turned into a parallel shaft series, eventually
|
|
connecting at the floor of The Theatre and with no further obvious leads.
|
|
|
|
<p>So, for the time being the connection to Eishöhle remains elusive. At
|
|
the end of this year's expedition it was very unclear as to how to approach
|
|
the problem next year. However new information has recently come to light.
|
|
Our Austrian contacts have since carried out a partial re-survey of the
|
|
Eishöhle system which suggests that we are now within 130m of a
|
|
connection and that the main chamber in Eishöhle is around 20m above
|
|
floor level in The Theatre. Prospects in this area for next year now look
|
|
extremely good, and the best chance of a connection may be to re-explore and
|
|
push northward trending leads in Eishöhle, in the hope of a passage
|
|
dropping in to The Theatre from above.
|
|
|
|
<h3>Triassic Park - the sequel</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p>The massive trunk passage of
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/triasp.htm#triasp">Triassic Park</a> was
|
|
discovered towards the end of the 1995 expedition as a continuation of the
|
|
'<a href="../../1623/161/france.htm#france">France</a>' area of
|
|
Kaninchenhöhle, and soon led to the discovery of the
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/sftotp.htm#id161d">Scarface</a> (161d) entrance.
|
|
The new entrance provided much improved access to this important section of
|
|
cave and in 1996 it received considerable attention. The main passage turns
|
|
from trending North-East to North-West at one point and it was around this
|
|
area that a lead in the floor was pushed a little last year.
|
|
|
|
<p>Named "<a href="../../1623/161/offtri.htm#wheelca">Wheelchair
|
|
Access</a>" (in recognition of a steep ramp that has to be negotiated and the
|
|
relative age of the explorers) this was an immediate target for the beginning
|
|
of the expedition in 1997, due to the ease of access and limited need for
|
|
resources to push the cave further. Initial exploration concentrated on two
|
|
parallel rifts partially explored at the end of the 1996 expedition.
|
|
Investigation of the series to the left was not promising, with difficult
|
|
traversing leading to blind pits, and success in the other right hand rift
|
|
series soon diverted attention. Initially an awkward, constricted, steeply
|
|
descending rift passage with mud concealing sharp calcite formations, the
|
|
passage quickly earned a bit of a reputation amongst the explorers, and
|
|
continuing the Wheelchair theme was named "Kein Zimmer rift" (No Room
|
|
Rift !) Perseverance paid off however, as just past a tight vertical
|
|
section, the ramp broke out into a larger free hanging drop, at the bottom of
|
|
which, some small horizontal tubes led off. Excitement mounted as a last
|
|
short drop of 5m landed the explorers in a large trunk passage, 4m in
|
|
diameter, with a small stream in the floor heading roughly North / South. It
|
|
was inevitable this would become known as the Lost World and was obviously a
|
|
major and important piece of cave. It is the discovery of such passage that
|
|
drives cavers to endure the hardships of an expedition such as ours in the
|
|
remote mountain areas of the world.
|
|
|
|
<p>Exploration continued over several more trips: - Upstream, a couple of big
|
|
phreatic passages met in a large chamber in which were found several bat
|
|
skeletons - this would suggest another route in from the surface, though
|
|
whether this is accessible to cavers is another matter! Beyond the chamber
|
|
several routes unite at a 3m climb up, then down, into a magnificent tall
|
|
canyon passage over 7m wide. This had a dark pristine flat mud floor and led
|
|
to a large, old sump pool, now devoid of water, again with a beautiful,
|
|
cracked mud floor and the old water level clearly defined by the dark mud on
|
|
the white limestone walls. With reluctance, we headed carefully (to minimize
|
|
the damage to the delicate mud formations) over the mud lake, and a 2m drop
|
|
down a mud bank led to a downstream continuation passage. This had obviously
|
|
been completely under water at some stage in its history and probably lies
|
|
just below the level of the current valley beneath the cliff in which the
|
|
Scarface entrance is situated. The passage continues down, with the current
|
|
small stream weaving its way through bizarre mud formations and ending at a
|
|
small chamber with choked outlets and no easily accessible way on.
|
|
|
|
<p><i>Mud lake in the Lost World</i><br>
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/l/dh1-29.htm">
|
|
<img alt="Photo - 42k" width=188 height=125 align=left hspace=10 vspace=10
|
|
src="../../1623/161/t/dh1-29.jpg"></a><br>
|
|
Downstream from the initial pitch in, the exploration was aided partially
|
|
by some German cavers from Stuttgart who were also on expedition in the area
|
|
continuing the exploration of the old CUCC find, Stellerweghöhle. We are
|
|
on good terms with other cavers in the area and exchange trips improve
|
|
relations and increase the knowledge base about caves in the area.
|
|
|
|
<p>The downstream end was less complex with a single passage leading to a
|
|
pitch opening out over a large chamber with a boulder-strewn floor. A route
|
|
down through the boulders gained the true floor of the chamber where the
|
|
water disappeared into an impenetrable passage. Leading up from this is a
|
|
larger passage ending at a mud and cobble choke. This may be associated with
|
|
similar choked passages in the upstream end of the Lost World.
|
|
|
|
<p>The passages were surveyed and photographed and all of the obvious leads
|
|
pushed to a conclusion, so for the time being the Lost World may be left
|
|
whilst more fruitful projects are pursued. However due to its location it is
|
|
almost certain that other sections of cave will connect through and perhaps
|
|
provide ways around the current limits of exploration at either end of what
|
|
is obviously only a small part of the original passage.
|
|
|
|
<h3>Siberia</h3>
|
|
|
|
<p><a href="../../1623/161/sibria.htm#siberia">Siberia</a> is situated at
|
|
roughly the most northerly point of Kaninchenhöhle. It was discovered in
|
|
1994 and was known to have many potentially good leads. Unfortunately by the
|
|
original route it was an extremely long and arduous trip just to get to the
|
|
pushing front, including around 250m of descent, 500m of generally horizontal
|
|
passage and a tyrolean traverse. Since the discovery of the Scarface entrance
|
|
(161d) in 1995 and due mostly to the large number of going leads near to the
|
|
new entrance, Siberia has received little attention up to now. However, this
|
|
year new enthusiasm was found by a small group of expedition members, of whom
|
|
none had ever been to this area of the cave before. This highlights the
|
|
importance of painstakingly surveying and documenting the cave, as often an
|
|
area may be left several years until a good reason is found to revisit it,
|
|
more often than not, by a completely different group of people. Much effort
|
|
could be wasted if previously visited cave has to be re-explored &
|
|
re-surveyed.
|
|
|
|
<p>The Scarface entrance and connection of Triassic Park with Knossos in 1996
|
|
reduced the journey time to Siberia by probably a couple of hours for
|
|
moderately experienced cavers. However, owing to some reluctance to re-rig
|
|
the tyrolean traverse
|
|
(<a href="../../1623/161/farnth.htm#strangea">Strange Acrossfall</a>),
|
|
which would have been a long trip in its own right, all of this year's trips
|
|
took the more awkward and slower route through the Burble Crawl instead. For
|
|
a number of reasons it took three trips before the pushing front, the top of
|
|
a very large shaft called Somebody Else's Problem, was reached. Since all
|
|
members of the party were new to the area, route finding (still difficult
|
|
despite the existing surveys) was certainly an issue and dragging tackle
|
|
through the 100m Burble Crawl, hard work. En route,
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/sibria.htm#vomp">Vom Pitch</a> had not been
|
|
rigged for several years and complications due to the loose rock in this area
|
|
caused a certain amount of re-rigging to be necessary (a flake previously
|
|
used as a rebelay had fallen off in 1995). Unfortunately having eventually
|
|
reached the shaft and placed a number of bolts, it quickly became apparent
|
|
that the shaft was much deeper than had been anticipated and the rope was too
|
|
short!
|
|
|
|
<p>The fourth trip was more successful. Enough rope was carried that it was
|
|
relatively straightforward, although slow, to rig the pitch. A 75m, almost
|
|
free-hanging pitch, was found in a large shaft with a strong breeze blowing
|
|
up it, this suggests an as yet unknown cave system driving such an airflow.
|
|
At the foot of the pitch were a couple of climbs, one leading to a crawl and
|
|
another to a 15m pitch with strong upwards breeze. This 15m pitch was later
|
|
descended and found to connect to a phreatic passage with an undescended
|
|
climb at the end of it, accompanied by the now ever present gale. In the
|
|
interests of maintaining reliable documentation, no further exploration was
|
|
carried out in this area, since there was already plenty of surveying
|
|
required! This was duly completed, including numerous side passages in
|
|
Siberia, which had only received cursory attention previously.
|
|
|
|
<h3 align=center>Other Work</h3>
|
|
|
|
<h4>Puerile Humour Series</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>By the end of the 1996 expedition it was clear that
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/phnth.htm#wtwb">Where the Wind Blows</a>,
|
|
one of the Northward trending passages in the
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/phnear.htm#phumour">Puerile Humour series</a>,
|
|
could potentially provide a significantly easier route to The Far End due to
|
|
it's close proximity at the 1996 exploration limit. Thus, this was an obvious
|
|
question mark to return to at the beginning of this year's expedition. The
|
|
end of the passage was draughting from three separate places, suggesting
|
|
significant cave beyond, through which the air was being driven. The nature
|
|
of the passage suggested that the end was merely a collapse area in an
|
|
ongoing passage.
|
|
|
|
<p><i>Andrew Ketley, Puerile Humour Series</i><br>
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/l/dh3-11.htm">
|
|
<img alt="Photo - 12k" width=223 height=134 hspace=10
|
|
src="../../1623/161/t/dh3-11.jpg"></a><br>
|
|
A small hole in the mud floor was found to lead to a large
|
|
aven above, and an ongoing pitch series below. However progress down was
|
|
stopped by a too tight constriction. Continuing horizontally, the passage
|
|
quickly chokes at a boulder collapse, probably associated with the aven /
|
|
shaft series already mentioned. Some effort was made to dig through the choke
|
|
but concerns over the stability of the excavated passage soon halted
|
|
exploration. This remains an interesting area, but further progress may
|
|
require somebody experienced in the digging and shoring techniques required
|
|
to pass such a boulder choke safely. A few other leads were tidied up in the
|
|
area, none of which led to anything significant
|
|
|
|
<h4>Moomintroll</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>In another series of passages leading off from Triassic Park, just beyond
|
|
an impressive aven, known as Zebedee, is a climb named
|
|
<a href="../../1623/161/offtri.htm#moomin">Moomintroll</a>. It was
|
|
discovered last year and noted because: - it looked to be not too difficult
|
|
and a large black space (often indicative of a higher level continuation) was
|
|
visible at the top. The first party to attempt the climb this year
|
|
considered, after putting in a few bolts by hand, that it would be a much
|
|
easier prospect using the drill. As a justification to commandeer this
|
|
important expedition resource, they claimed that the shaft on the hammer of
|
|
the hand bolting kit had snapped (albeit by accident?!) and thus they were
|
|
unable to do anything but return to the surface to collect the drill. The
|
|
second party had more success, despite being unable to use the drill because
|
|
the battery appeared flat, and after a bold attempt at climbing, the top was
|
|
reached. Another 30' shaft was found and the sound of water ahead.
|
|
Unfortunately it was by now time to derig, so further exploration must once
|
|
again wait for next year.
|
|
|
|
<h4>Alternative Universe</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>Again, <a href="../../1623/161/offtri.htm#altuni">this passage</a> is
|
|
an offshoot from the large Triassic Park trunk route, and being only 10
|
|
minutes from the Scarface entrance was an obvious target for further
|
|
exploration. Work concentrated on a descending shaft series, wet in places,
|
|
making this a potentially serious proposition since the average air
|
|
temperature in the cave is only just above freezing. The series descended
|
|
100m down, over several pitches, but ended in a tight, committing rift and a
|
|
further very tight descent which was abandoned due to the lack of a
|
|
sufficiently thin backup team member!!
|
|
|
|
<h4>Surface Work</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>As a background activity CUCC are always on the look out for other
|
|
possible entrances to either Kaninchenhöhle or as-yet undiscovered
|
|
caves. The limestone plateau is riddled with holes, most of which go to an
|
|
insignificant depth, but also some quite large holes which are still to be
|
|
found and investigated. This surface prospecting work is essential not only
|
|
to further understanding of the cave systems in the area but also in
|
|
sustaining interest in the area for future generations of CUCC members. Over
|
|
the past 20 years we have discovered a great many such entrances and shafts,
|
|
however until recently documentation and labeling of such finds has been
|
|
sporadic. Over the last few years and indeed on this year's expedition this
|
|
problem has been addressed by the use of stamped aluminium tags that are
|
|
fixed to the cave entrances, these bearing numbers assigned by the Austrian
|
|
clubs who maintain records of all known caves in the area. To complement this
|
|
work, all, important entrances are being located and mapped with the aid of
|
|
G.P.S. technology, backed up with more accurate surface surveys. This ensures
|
|
that re-exploration of caves is minimised and has proved an essential tool in
|
|
the investigation of possible connections between existing cave systems.
|
|
|
|
<h4>Documentation</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>All of the cave exploration carried out by CUCC in Kaninchenhöhle is
|
|
a step into the unknown, in that we are the first (and possibly the last)
|
|
people to visit its complex passages. It is therefore important that we
|
|
document what we find, otherwise the information will slowly be lost through
|
|
natural turnover of club members. Since day one we have been surveying
|
|
everything that we find and this year was no exception with over 2.5 km of
|
|
"new" cave surveyed. Results are processed and plotted up on the spot using
|
|
"SURVEX" software developed by CUCC members, originally for our own use, but
|
|
now used by cavers worldwide. The data, along with final, hand drawn, plan
|
|
and elevation surveys are passed to the Austrian club as well as being
|
|
published in the caving press in this country and abroad. The value of
|
|
surveys cannot be overstated. They are important as a map in the event of an
|
|
emergency or route finding for the uninitiated, in assessing the geology of
|
|
the area, and indeed, to assist with the discovery of connections between
|
|
adjacent systems.
|
|
|
|
<p>In addition to surveying new finds we also aim to photograph as much as is
|
|
reasonably practicable of the discoveries. Cave photography can be extremely
|
|
difficult due not only to the extremely hostile environment into which
|
|
delicate camera equipment must be taken, but also because of the difficulty
|
|
of lighting subjects adequately. CUCC has a number of members with a keen
|
|
interest in underground photography and this year over one hundred
|
|
photographs were taken underground on several photographic trips. It is hoped
|
|
that some of these will also be published in the national caving press and
|
|
additionally on our web site, which is maintained as a full library of our
|
|
expedition history, information and data.
|
|
|
|
<h4>Our Thanks</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>The expedition is funded entirely by its members and support and
|
|
sponsorship such as has been provided by yourselves is a considerable help.
|
|
The continued success of the expedition in the training of new members and in
|
|
pushing back the boundaries of human experience and knowledge is with thanks
|
|
to you.
|
|
|
|
<p><center><a href="../../1623/161/l/godst.htm">
|
|
<img alt="Photo - 48k" width=150 height=200 align=left hspace=10 vspace=10
|
|
src="../../1623/161/t/godst.jpg"></a><br>
|
|
<i>Traverse of the Gods, Steinschlagschacht</i></center><br clear=all>
|
|
|
|
<p><a href="../../1623/161/fullsize/lostw.png">
|
|
<img alt="Lost World survey - link to 1830 pixel wide version" width=915
|
|
height=352 hspace=10 vspace=10
|
|
src="../../1623/161/inline/lostw.png"></a>
|
|
|
|
<hr />
|
|
|
|
<!-- LINKS -->
|
|
<ul id="links">
|
|
<li>1997 Expedition info:
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href="index.htm">Index</a> (more detail than in this list)</li>
|
|
<li><a href="log.htm">Logbook</a></li>
|
|
<li>Pre-expo <a href="goals.htm">mission statement</a></li>
|
|
<li>Index to <a href="161.htm">Kaninchenhöhle trips</a> in the log</li>
|
|
</ul></li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../pubs.htm">Index</a> to all publications</li>
|
|
<li><a href="../../sponsr.htm">Current year's</a> sponsors</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>
|