The
Exploration Club, The Belfry,
Road
The views expressed by contributors to the Belfry Bulletin,
including those of club officers, are not necessarily the views of the
committee of the Bristol Exploration Club or the Editor, unless so stated. The Editor cannot guarantee that the accuracy
of information contained in the contributed matter, as it cannot normally be
checked in the time at his disposal.
Editor: D.J. Irwin, Townsend Cottage, Priddy, Nr. Wells,
Contents
Paul Esser Memorial Lecture, 1980
Oliver Lloyd has sent the following notice:
MARTYN FARR on CAVE
DIVING
The lecture is on Wednesday, 13th February, 1980, at 8.15
pm. in the Tyndall Memorial Theatre, Department of Physics,
8.
Martyn Farr, aged 28, is one of our Ace Cave Divers. He started cave diving in 1970 and has done
notable dives, extending to their utmost limits such caves as Wookey Hole, P8
in Derbyshire, Dan yr Ogof, Porth yr Ogof, Ogof Afon Hepste and all principal
caves in Co. Fermanagh.
He has written a book about cave diving called ‘The Darkness
Beckons’ which will be published in February 1980.
He is an experienced lecturer with a nice easy style and
lots of beautiful photographs, including underwater shots, which he takes
himself.
As usual admission will be free. Those coming from a distance may have seats
reserved for them, if they will write and give me the numbers in their party.
Oliver C. Lloyd, M.D., Trustee
Withey House,
Withey Close West,
Notices
Next month in the B.B. Solutions to the X Word in August BB;
articles by Derek Sanderson; Martin Grass, Trev Hughes and Stu Linsey among
others
..this Xmas issue promises to be a good read
.
*****************************************
BELFRY FEES change of rates
Hut
Fees: Members
50p Guests
£1.00
Camping: Members
50p Guests
£1.00
Day
Fees: Members
25p Guests
£.0.50
CLUB OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1979/80 as elected at the Annual
General meeting.
|
Hon. Secretary: |
Tim Large |
Wells 73960 (work) |
|
Hon. Treasurer: |
Sue Tucker |
Radstock 35165 (home) |
|
Hut Warden: |
Garth Dell |
|
|
|
|
(work ask for Garth) |
|
Hut Engineer: |
Nigel Taylor |
Wells 72338 |
|
Tacklemaster: |
John Dukes |
Wells 75686 (work) |
|
Caving Secretary: |
Martin Grass |
|
|
B.B. Editor: |
Dave Irwin |
Priddy 369 |
|
Committee Members |
Graham Wilton-Jones |
Aylesbury 28270 |
|
|
(Committee Chairman) |
|
|
|
Stuart Lindsey |
(ex-directory) |
Non-Committee Posts:
|
Librarian:
Sales
Publications |
Tony Jarrett NB. All
Surveys: Carbide: Hut Boots: Hut
To be |
More club notes:
Key holders for the tackle store and Library will be listed
in the December B.B.
To ensure that accurate accounts of sales of carbide can be
kept will members please let Garth Dell have as many Marvel tins or similar, as
you can muster. Members will remember
that this is the way in which we sold carbide in the past. Each type of container can be weighed and the
amount of your sale recorded in the paying-in book. Throw away your old bags but keep your tins!
A basic supply of tackle will be kept in the Belfry and the
tackle store which will suffice for general needs. Members requiring large quantities for away
trips should apply to John Dukes in the first instance. John is on the telephone or if that is not
convenient then drop him a letter giving him plenty of warning so that
arrangements for the pick-up can be made. When returning the tackle make sure that it is clean and dry and make
sure that it is returned to John in person. DO NOT LEAVE RETURNED TACKLE IN THE BELFRY OR ELSEWHERE ON SITE.
Lifeline
..a regular column by
our Hon. Secretary Tim Large
.
The new Club year begins with 224 members in the Club. Of those 76 voted in the committee
elections. The A.G.M. was poorly
attended with only some 40 members being present.
A REMINDER
..SUBS ARE NOW DUE and should be paid by the 31st
December 1978. To enable the club to
function various projects it would be appreciated if you could all pay your sub
as soon as possible. The new
subscription rates below:
Full member £8.00
Joint member £12.00
Junior member £6.00
The Committee has three main items to action from the
A.G.M.:
1. Fund raising scheme for Belfry Improvements.
2. Insurance to cover all members and Cuthberts
Leaders when caving.
3. Mike Wheadon submitted some criticisms of the
Club Constitution. A Sub-Committee is to
be formed to consider it.
At the October Committee Meeting the Hut Fees were increased
(the new rates are given on page 1). Over several years much has been said about arrears of Hut Fees by some
people. I can see no reason why anyone
should be in this position. You know
what they are, so make sure you have got the money. Everyone always seems to have enough for
beer, but never for Hut Fees!
The Digging Competition between ourselves and the
is being fiercely contested. In recent
weeks new passage has been found by one or both every weekend. Pete and Alison Moody are working in
Swildons Shatter Series with good results. We are relying on Manor Farm which has recently yielded 70ft of new
passage at the lower end of NHASA Gallery. Also some new passage has been found in Long Chamber Extension,
Cuthberts.
The Committee has been approached by the M.R.O. regarding
installation of a radio transmitter/receiver at their depot in the Stone
Belfry. It is proposed to have a base
station there with remote unit wire to a position by the telephone in the
Belfry. This was approved by the
Committee. Included with the equipment
is a mobile radio for car installation and a portable personal unit. This will greatly improve communication
during rescue work and enable cavers and equipment to be summoned quicker.
ADDRESS CHANGE: Jim Smart, 73 Queen’s Road,
*****************************************
BCA WINTER MEET in Teacher Training Centre, Wells. DECEMBER 8th.
Lectures commence at 2.00 with William Stanton on new
information gathered from new bore holes; Chris Hawkes talking on Westbury Quarry; Fred Davies on the epic Cowsh
Aven dig ending with a discussion on recent radio locations at Wookey. ‘Prew’ will be giving a talk on the equipment
used in Wookey.
Bristol
Exploration Club – Membership List October 1979
828 Nicolette Abell Michaelmas
Cottage, Faulkland,
20 L Bob Bagshaw
Knowle,
392 L Mike Baker 10
Riverside Walk, Midsomer Norton,
901 Richard Barker 40b
295 Arthur Ball
892 Marlon Barlow 93
Norton drive, Norton tower, Halifax,
818 Chris Batstone
Bathford,
390 L Joan Bennett
Wesbury-on-Trym,
214 L Roy Bennett
Wesbury-on-Trym,
860 Glenys Beszant
Warmley, Broxbourne, Herts.
Way
720 Martin Bishop Bishops
Cottage, Priddy
364 L Pete Blogg
Cheviot Close, Avenue Rd., Banstead,
336 L A. Bonner Crags
Farm Close, Little Broughton, Cokermouth,
145 L Sybil Bowden-Lyle
883 B. Bowers 44
Manor way, Bagshot,
959 Chris Bradshaw
Wells,
868 Dany Bradshaw 7
Creswicke,
751 L T.A. Brookes
891 Neil Raynor Brown 25
Lingfield Park, Evesham, Worcs.
687 V. Brown
Kingswood,
756 Tessa Burt
Harpendon, Herts
777 Ian Calder 22
Greenways, Lydney, Gloucestershire
778 Penelope Calder 22
Greenways, Lydney, Gloucestershire
956 Ian Caldwell 44
Strode Road, Clevedon,
955 Jack Calvert 4
The Hollow, Dilton Marsh, Westbury, Wiltshire.
929 Jane Carson Basement
Flat, 8
902 Martin Cavendar The
Old Rectory, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Wells,
903 Francisca Cavendar The
Old Rectory, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Wells,
785 Paul Christie 7
The Glen,
Sunninghill,
782 Patricia Christie 7
The Glen,
Sunninghill,
655 Colin Clark
211 L Clare Coase The
Belfry, 10 Shannon Parade,
89 L Alfie Collins Lavendar
Cottage, Bishop Sutton, Nr Bristol,
377 L D. Cooke-Yarborough No known
address
862 Bob Cork 25
The Mead, Stoke St. Michael,
585 Tony Corrigan
Stockwood,
827 Mike Cowlishaw 14
Plovers Down, Olivers Battery,
890 Jerry Crick Whitestones
farm, Cheddar Cross Roads, Compton Martin, Nr. Bristol
680 Bob Cross
Knowle,
870 Gary Cullen
405 L Frank Darbon
423 L Len Dawes The
Lodge,
Minster Matlock, Derbyshire
449 Garth Dell AI
5 Printing, HQNI, BFPO 825.
710 Colin Dooley
Harbourne,
7
829 Angela Dooley
Harbourne,
7
164 L Ken Dobbs
Heath,
830 John Dukes Bridge
Farm, Dulcote, Wells,
847 Michael Durham
925 Gillian Durrant 14
St. Andrews road, Broadstone,
779 Jim Durston Hill
View, Old Beat, Maidentown, Nr. Burlescombe, Tiverton,
322 L Bryan Ellis
Westonzoyland, Bridgwater,
232 Chris Falshaw
909 Helen Fielding 175
Bramley lane, Hipperholme,
269 L Tom Fletcher
Bramcote,
894 Phil Ford
404 L Albert Francis
Wells,
569 Joyce Franklin
Stoke Bishop,
469 Pete Franklin
Stoke Bishop,
835 Leonard Gee 15
warren Close,
265 Stan Gee
Heaton Norris,
752 M. Glanville Jocelyn
House Mews, 18a High street, Chard
894 Bruce Glocking 213
St. Leonards,
647 Dave Glover c/o
Leisure,
Pamber Green,
927 Richard Gough
928 Jenny Gough
790 Martin Grass
Wormley, Broxbourne, Herts
432 L Nigel Hallet
910 Sandra Halliday
Hanham,
104 L Mervyn Hannam
Annes,
4 L Dan Hassell Hill
House, Moorlynch, Bridgwater,
893 Dave Hatherley
Cannington,
942 Robin Hayler 39
Ditching Hill,
935 Lynne Hendy
Wells,
691 Dudley Herbert
Brislington,
917 Robin Hervin 12
863 John Hildrick Tarngulla,
Priddy
952 Robert Hill 32
Ridings Mead, Chippenham, Wiltshire
773 Rodney
373 Sid Hobbs Hokestone
Cottage, Townsend, Priddy
736 Sylvia Hobbs Hokestone
Cottage, Townsend, Priddy
905 Paul Hodgson 15
Cromwell Terrace,
960 Alicia Hodgson 15
Cromwell Terrace,
793 Mike Hogg 32
Birchley Heath,
898 Liz Hollis 1
Bugle Cottage, Milborne Wick, Nr Sherborne,
899 Tony Hollis 1
Bugle Cottage, Milborne Wick, Nr Sherborne,
920 Nick Holstead Little
Maplecroft,
387 L George Honey Droppsta,
19044,
808 John Hunt
Filton,
923 Trevor Hughes Wardroom,
HMS Bulwark, BFPO Ships,
855 Ted Humphreys Frekes
Cottage, Moorsite, Marnhull, Sturminster Newton, Dorset
363 Maurise Isles 50
Warman, Stockwood,
954 Elaine Isles 50
Warman, Stockwood,
906 Annette Ingleton
St. Mary, Sturminster Newton, Dorset
73 Angus Innes 18
Davids Close, Alveston,
Aven
168 Margaret Innes 18
Davids Close, Alveston,
Aven
540 L Dave Irwin Townsend
Cottage, Townsend, Priddy,
922 Tony Jarratt Alwyn
Cottage,
Congressbury,
340 Russ Jenkins 10,
Amberley Close, Downend,
51 L A Johnson
Rd.
560 L Frank Jones
Wells,
285 U. Jones Woking
Grange,
Woking,
907 Karen Jones Room
63, New End Nurses Home, New End Hospital, Hampstead, London NW3
567 L Alan Kennett 9
Hillburn, Henleaze,
884 John King
316 L Kangy King 22
Parkfield Rank, Pucklechurch,
542 L Phil Kingston
413 L R. Kitchen Overcombe,
Horrabridge, Yelverton,
904 Calvin Knight Crossways.
Hillesley, Wootton under Edge, Gloucestershire
John Knops IDA Cottage,
946 Alex Ragar Knutson
874 Dave Lampard Woodpeckers,
667 L Tim Large 53
Portway, Wells,
795 Peter Leigh 5
Armoured Workshops, BFPO 126, Enkessen
958 Fiona Lewis 53
Portway, Wells,
930 Stuart Lindsay 5
Laburnum Walk, Keynsham, Bristil
574 L Oliver Lloyd Withey
House, Withey Close West, Westbury-on-Trym,
58 George Lucy Pike
Croft, Long Lane, Tilehurst,
Berks
495 L Val Luckwill
Sedgeley hill, Dudley, Worcs.
550 L R A MacGregor 12
Douro Close, Baughurst,
725 Stuart McManus 33
Welford Avenue, Wells,
106 L E.J. Mason 33
Bradleys Avenue, Henleaze,
957 Dave Morrison 27
Maurice Walk,
NW1
558 L Tony Meaden Highcroft,
Westbury, Bradford Abbas, Sherborne, Dorset
963 Clare Merritt
Chippenham, Wiltshire
704 Dave Metcalfe
931
Somerset Crescent
308
936 Dave Nicholls
852 John Noble 18
Hope Place,
Road, Paulton
880 Graham Nye
Horsham,
938 Kevin ONeil 99
624 J. Orr 8
396 L Mike Palmer
22 L Les Peters
499 L A. Philpott
Bishopston,
961 Mick Phinister
724 Graham Phippen Rock
Cottage,
Wick,
944 Steve Plumley 4
Rickford, Lane, Burrington, Nr. Bristol
337 Brian Prewer East
View, West Horrington, Wells,
622 Colin Priddle PO
Box 14048, Wadeville 1422,
Africa
481 L John Ransom
Patchway,
452 L Pam Rees No
Known Address
343 L A Rich
940 Chris Richards 11
672 L R Richards
Africa
945 Steve Robins 16
Hillcrest, Knowle,
921 Pete Rose 2
The Beacon, Ilminster
918 Richard Round
Banbury, Oxfordshire
932 Theresa Rumble 29
Cotham Road, Cotham,
832 Roger Sabido 15
Concorde drive, Westbury-on-Trym,
941 John Sampson 8
Hillcrest, Knowle,
240 L Alan Sandall 43
Meadway Ave., Nailsea,
359 L Carol Sandall 43
Meadway Ave., Nailsea,
760 Jenny Sandercroft 5
Eastcroft, Henleaze,
747 D.R. Sanderson 2
Drake Close, Poulder, Ringwood, Hants.
237 L B. Scott Merrymead,
78 L R.A. Setterington
213 L R. Setterington
Chiswick,
W4
872 Mark Sherman Wood
View, Grey Field, High Litton
926 Steve Short Flat
6, 68
road, Weston-super-Mare,
915 Chris Smart 15
Timor Close,
Hants
911 James Smart c/o
Brislington,
950 Steve Smith 39
Tintagel Road, Keynsham,
951 Roger Smith 39
Tintagel Road, Keynsham,
851 Maurice Stafford 28
Rowan Close, Sonning Common,
Berks.
1 L Harry Stanbury 31
Belvoir Road, St. Andrews,
38L Mrs I Stanbury 74
Redcatch, Knowle,
840 G. Standring 71
575 L D. Statham The
Bungallow, North Barrow, Yeovil,
365 L Roger Stenner 18
Stafford Place, Weston super Mare,
837 Richard Stevenson Greystones,
Priddy
962 Christine Stewart 15
Hants.
865 Paul Stokes
Bagshot,
583 Derek Targett North
Hall Cottage, Chilcompton
772 Nigel Taylor Whidden
Farm, Chilcote, Nr Wells,
284 L Allan Thomas Allens
House, Nine Barrows Lane, Priddy,
348 L D Thomas Pendant,
Little Birch, Bartlestree,
571 L N Thomas Holly
Lodge,
Salhouse,
876 Nick Thorne 20
Hawkers Lane, Wells,
699 Buckett Tilbury 15
Fernie Fields,
700 Anne Tilbury 15
Fernie Fields,
692 Roger Toms 18
Hoton Road, Wysemold, Leicester
803 R.S. Toms 18
Hoton Road, Wysemold, Leicester
80 J.M. Postle Tompsett 11
Lodge Avenue, Great Baddow,
74 L M.J. Dizzie Tompsett
Great Baddow,
381 L Daphne Towler 7
Ross Close, Nyetimber,
157 L J. Tuck 3
Crown Rise, Llanfrechfa, Cwmbran, Gwent,
382 Steve Tuck Colles
Close, Wells,
768 Tony Tucker 75
Lower Whitelands, Tynings, Radstock,
769 Sue Tucker 75
Lower Whitelands, Tynings, Radstock,
678 Dave Turner Moonrakers,
Holcombe,
912 John Turner Orchard
Cottage, 92 Church lane, Backwell,
635 L S. Tuttlebury 28
Beacon Close, Boundstone, Farnham,
887 Greg Villis The
Oaks,
Cheddar,
175 L D. Waddon 32
Laxton Close,
933 Dianne Walker 8
New Buildings, frome
949 John Watson
Westbury-on-Trym,
953 Jim Watson c/o
15 Farm Grove, Southfields,
592 Eddie Welch
Filton,
397 Mike Wheadon 91
The Oval,
861 Maureen Wheadon 91 The
Oval,
553 Bob White Cedar
Hall,
Wookey, Wells,
878 Ross White PO38389Y,
5 Troop, B. Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines,
939 Wally Wilkinson
Melksham, Wiltshire
940 Val Wilkinson
Melksham, Wiltshire
934 Colin Williams Whitestones
Farm, Cheddar Cross Roads,
885 Claire Williams Whitestones
Farm, Cheddar Cross Roads,
916 Jane Wilson University
lab of Psychology,
559 Barry Wilton Valley
View,
Clutton,
568 Brenda Wilton Valley
View,
Clutton,
721 Graham
Redland Way
850 Annie
813 Ian
943 Simon Woodman Link
Batch, Burrington, Nr Bristol,
877 Steve Woolven 21
Three Acres,
914 Brian Workman 11
Moreland, 11 New
937 Sue Yea Bridge
Farm, Dulcote, Nr. Wells,
Please inform the Secretary of any changes of address anbs
soon as possible so this list can be amended and to make sure of receiving your
B.B.
Many thanks to Fiona for typing the members list.
Remember: send any
address changes or corrections to Tim Large, the Hon. Secretary.
Dachstein 1979
by Graham Wilton-Jones.
The results of last year’s expedition were published in the
BB, vol.32, no.10, Oct. ’78, no.366, and vol.33, no.2, Feb ’79, no.370.
This year there were'” fourteen of us on the plateau,
including eleven cavers – Throstle, Mervyn and Dave of Valley Caving Club,
Buckett, Ann and Tina, Stu Lindsay, Chris Smart, Big Jim Watson, Andy Sparrow
and friend Dave, Trev Hughes, J-Rat and G. W-J. The main batch of us left
bike and five of us in Stu’s car, loaded with roof rack and trailer. In the Autobahn traffic jams we amused
ourselves cadging beer from passing American servicemen, Stu taking a thousand
photographs through the windscreen, and J-Rat, now on the bike, showing off by
simultaneously smoking beer swilling and running over a beautiful pair of
sunglasses. On the open road I amused
myself by trying to burn out Stus gear box – I got it to the clouds of white
smoke stage. Three days later we were
firmly installed in Der Glocken, field H.Q. of the B.E.C in
small, comfortable hut next to the Wiesberghaus. The three V.C.C members were already there,
along with an edible dormouse who raided the larder frequently. Rat and I sensibly ate in the Wiesberghaus.
During the previous five weeks the region had suffered rain
almost every day and the plateau was very wet, but it did mean that there was
much less snow than last year. Our first
task was to continue the exploration of C19, Maulwurfhohle, below the 10m shaft
discovered last year. Early on Monday
Thros, Dave and Merv set off to rig down to and re-bolt Dorisschacht, using the
Hilti gear we had acquired from the Himalayan expedition. To their dismay they found that the threaded
portion of the eyebolts was too long. J-Rat and Big Jim entered the cave a little later but Jim found the
squeeze in Gargantuagang a little difficult to negotiate and backed out, minus
parts of his Enduro suit. J-Rat went on
to the head of Dorisschacht and. dropped 100′ of ladder – to the bottom. Things were not starting out too well, it
seemed.
Chris and I rigged a telephone line across 1500m of lapiaz
to C19 entrance, and returned to the hut for some more wire (where did Buzby’s
profits go?) where we met Siegfried Gamsjager. Siegfried is the manager of the Dachstein show cave, an excellent friend
and a useful contact. He came back with
us into C19 as we rigged more line through the narrow, twisting Gargantuagang
to the head of the first pitch, Platzlschacht.
Stu and Trev spent the beginning of this first full day on
the plateau in finding and levelling a place to pitch their tent. Throughout the expedition, come rain, wind,
storm and tempest, their tent stood firm, and empty! During their search for a suitable, site they
had been diverted somewhat upon finding three holes – C33, C34 and C35. The last two were short shafts but the first
went in 63m to a shaft about 10m deep, for which they decided a ladder was
required. Much was their disappointment
the following day when they descended the shaft to find a chamber with a cairn. Underneath was a note indicating that one
Siegfried Mittendorfer had explored the cave in 1961. To cap it all S.M. turned up at the
Weisberghous later in the week with his nine year old daughter, and together
they descended the cave and both free-climbed down the shaft!
Tuesday was met with low cloud initially but this cleared a
little towards the end of the day. Merv,
J-rat and Jim descended C19 and dropped TTFN shaft, left from last year. The passage continued, high but not wide, to
a very narrow and damp 6m pitch almost immediately followed by a bigger pitch. They returned after a nine hour trip to make
their way back across the lapiaz in the dark. This latter became a commonplace occurrence, poor weather keeping us in
the hut until late, and lone trips meaning we came out at midnight or after as
often as not.
We had been lucky to find a good file among the tools at the
Wiesberghaus and were able to cut the bolts shorter, but we then found trouble
removing the spent cones from the bolting tool. Clearly we were going to be beset with troubles. Chris and I descended Platzlschacht with the
telephone line but I dropped a bag of gear, including precious and fragile
jumars, all the way to the bottom. Thereafter began an inventory of dropped equipment, and it grew
impressively long.
Chris and I came out and joined Stu and Trev in a search
along the base of Niederer Grunberg near the region of an avalanche of huge,
fallen blocks, which we nicknamed the ‘Titans’. Stu climbed about on the cliff face and discovered C36, an enlarging
bedding plane high up in the cliffs, and C37, a 7m snow plugged shaft,
concealed from below by debris. Down
below we found C38, a deep, angled shaft; C39, a horizontal tunnel in the west
side of the valley and close to C38; C48, a m. shaft next to a 3m
horizontal hole south of the Titans; and C49, a slope on snow, following the
bedding, 100m north west of the Titans. Towards the end of the expedition Stu returned to C38 for a more
detailed look and found the shaft to be at least 2 m deep and possibly wet.
Last year we had noticed a large hole in though south east
face of the Niederer Grunberg about 100m from the summit and some 250m above
the Schladmingerloch. We considered the
possibility of abseiling to the hole from the top of the cliff. We felt that there was every likelihood that
the hole would lead to the top of C19, perhaps into the big aven, Aufartz,
above Platzlschacht. Early on the
Wednesday, in beautiful weather, we climbed up through Schladmingerloch and on
to the summit of Niederer Grunberg. After admiring and photographing the impressive views, we climbed down
an obvious chute between the two summits and, directed by Thros and Chris we
were on the scree slopes of Ochsen Kogel opposite, we attempted to reach the
hole. We had tried this communication
using walkie-talkies but found that shouting was clearer – we were 600m apart
and the acoustics would have blown Wigs mind. Finding a distinct lack of belays, a lot of very sharp rock ideal for
destroying SRT rope and those hanging thereon, and many loose boulders, Stu tried
to sweep us all from the face with one the size of the Belfry stove, causing
incredible echoes around the Schladmingerloch, I chickened out of the
abseil. Everyone gave sighs of relief
and we headed back to the top.
Stu had found an 8m shaft a little below the summit, C40,
just too narrow to enter because of boulders at the head. We descended the hill via the north-west
slopes, having to search among the cliffs for a safe route down. Here we came upon C41, a shaft over 10 m.
deep, and a little bellow this was C42, a series of deep rifts curving in under
the hill Halfway between here and the
Titans, in the same valley we had been in the previous day, J-Rat found a shaft
blocked with boulders at the top. Using
another boulder he demolished this obstruction to reveal a deep, widish rift,
C43. Five other sites had been found or
looked at today; C44 is a 10m long 30O slope under a dead tree (there are not
many of these) in the valley near the Titans. Its small entrance will probably be difficult to locate in the future;
C45, found by Throstle, is a bell shaped 20 m shaft close to the edge of
Herrengasse; half way along the north-west face of Ochsem Kogl a 2m by 1.5m
entrance leads to 15m of passage heading 45O to the cliff face. This is C46; C47 close is by. A 5m high by 3m wide entrance leads past a
waterfall to 12m of passage; Trev and Merv had a look at the obvious, large
square alcove in the cliffs of Hoher Grunberg, behind Schladmingerloch, but it
was snow blocked after only 6m. It was
designated C50.
On Thursday we were
to meet Siegfried for a trip into the further reaches of the
Dachsteinmammuthohle. Once again it was
a beautiful day and we set off for the Gjaidalm (ski school and alpine hut)
where we sipped beer or tee-mit-citron while we waited for Merv, who had
mistakenly headed towards the Simonyhutte. There are two cable cars form near the Gjaidalm the military seilbahn
goes down direct to Obertraun (near Hallsatt lake) while the Dachstein seilbahn
goes via Krippenstein and the Dachstaein show caves (our destination). Taking time over his tea and not knowing the
geography of the area, Big Jim got split up from us and went to the military
seilbahn. We would have not worried
unduly only he had the 100 m rope required for a big shaft in the Mammuthohle
(no-one else wanted to carry it). He
finally arrived in the correct place about an hour late and we set off into the
cave. Most of the section of the
Mammuthohle that we traversed consisted of large phreatic tunnels (up to 10 m
in diameter) floored with extensive mud fill. Passing through the show cave we followed the draught to the head of
Theseusschacht, for which we used the 100m rope. We climbed out of the shaft just above the
bottom, into a tube that is more than half filled with a dry and dusty
clay. Here, on carbide blackened tablets
of clay we found signatures, and occasional artistry, of the famous, the not so
famous and the infamous. We added our
own and Seigfried wrote his for the nth time – he leaves his mark every time he
passes that way. We now followed the
Minotaurusgang, the floor of which is completely covered in mud cracks. At one point the clay rises nearly to the
roof and the wind whips up disturbed dust into one’s face. Beyond the site of a small bivouac a few, ancient,
dry stalactites and curtains wriggle down the sloping roof of a phreatic loop
and some lumpy stal clings to the walls. Siegfried is of the opinion that many stals may be hidden beneath the
mud. Finally we reached the ‘Bock
Stalagmit’. In 1913 Hermann Bock did a
solo trip along Minotaurusgang and discovered a solitary stalagmite in a small
chamber at one extremity. Choosing this
sole stal, bless his soul, he put his signature and the date at the top – the
vandal! Back at the base of
Theseusschacht we made our way up an alternative route Edelweissgang. This is
more homely, English passage with easily traversable and climbable rifts,
followed by a long, steeply ascending bedding plane, coated with wet mud and
peppered with 30 m deep holes to trap the unwary. Retrieving the rope from the top of the shaft
we made our way to the west entrance, just for a look as Sigfried had no key
for the gate there. At the junction
between the main cave and the west entrance passage there is an ice lake,
overhung by ice drapery. At the west
entrance itself is an icy draught. Returning and passing underneath a roof of loosely packed pebble fill,
no doubt thinking about becoming a conglomerate, we quickly made our way out to
the East entrance. Unfortunately the
restaurant had closed two hours previously, but when you are guests of the
manager
. After a good meal, many beers and a slide show we left six hours
after closing time to stay in a hut nearby.
In the morning most people wanted to visit the ice
cave. This done we made our way back up
to the plateau, taking care not to lose Jim near the military seilbahn
again. In Barengass (Bear Alloy) Stu and
I had a look at some of the more obvious holes. Emerging from one I noticed some others that could not be seen from the
valley pathway below. Climbing up an
obvious gully I found one entrance, but it seemed a little narrow. Traversing round a ledge in the cliff, some
25m above the valley floor, I found two more entrances, and asked Stu to bring
up a torch for them. One, running
parallel with the cliff, became rather narrow after a short distance, but the
other, Stu observed, had a draught strong enough to blow dust out of the
entrance. It was designated C51 and the
name is Barengassewindschacht. Collecting some gear from the Weisberghaus, only half an hour away, we
returned with Trev and Jim. The entrance
was rather low but the floor was only loose rocks and boulders. I kicked down some of the smaller ones into
the shaft below and then the other three descended the first 6m shaft. Two ways down followed, joining via a
chamber. Trev descended a further 8m to
find a short climb down to the head of another 8m shaft. On the way out, knowing what a passion Trev
has for breaking things, I persuaded him to push the remaining huge boulders
down the first shaft. He was reluctant
to do this as they formed the floor on which he lay. I told him to come out and I would do it. Actually I had no intention of doing it Im
not that stupid but it did the trick. A few Hughesian blows and down plunged half a ton of floor, accompanied
by screams.
Silence.
“Are you all right,
Trev?”
Silence.
“Trev?”
“Yeeeusss”, replied
with a mixture of tremble, whisper and wail.
“Well push the others down
then.
Two more tons and one hell of a din were accompanied by
banshee howling. Trevor does not like
boulders. He received no sympathy or
concern over this time. We all retreated
to the Weisberghaus for well deserved refreshment.
Saturday dawned wet, with more rain after a night of rain
and storms. Added to yesterdays showers
the plateau was very wet once again. Occasional rumbles of thunder could have easily put us all off caving
for the day and sent us scuttling inside for numerous beers and peach cakes but
we foolishly steeled ourselves against the elements. The first group set off into C19 to push the
next pitch. They were followed around
midday by another group, whose intention was to re-bolt Dorisschacht, again,
but once more they were dogged by bolting tool trouble – the cones could not be
removed once used. Several rungs slipped
on the 100 foot ladder being used on part of Dorisschacht just to add to our
difficulties. Chris and I rigged the telephone
and line down to the head of the as yet un-named pitch in Many Meetings. Meanwhile the pushers had found the next
pitch, Valley Schacht, to be 1 m to a ledge followed by an 18m drop into a,
big, winding rift. They began to make
their way out. Stu was the first of the
expedition to reach the surface, just as a big thunderstorm was brewing. J-Rat ‘phoned Chris at the entrance at the
same moment as the lightning struck. Stu
thought there was an avalanche off the big overhang of Grunberg and flattened
himself against the cliff. There was a
flash and an instantaneous explosion. Chris and J-Rat, the latter deep underground, were both knocked
unconscious. Thros and I, fettling my
carbide at the top of Platzlschacht, saw and heard an explosion beneath our
feet (the wire was above our heads) and assumed it to have been a carbide
explosion. We were somewhat surprised at
the echoing rumbles from the passages below. Throstle’s hand was scorched. Dave, halfway up the rope on Dorisschacht, saw an enormous flash below
him but heard no explosion. Merv at the
bottom saw and heard nothing. Trev, on
the ladder below J-Rat and Jim, a little further into the cave, saw and heard
nothing but reached the top to find J-Rat in a heap asking what happened and
saying, I know you but I don’t know your names. Chris and J-Rat’s telephone hands were numb
for several days afterwards and their ears stung for a long time. Exit was made successfully, the un-named
pitch was christened Blitzschaeht, and Chris was thereafter known as Herr Blitz
at the Weisbergerhaus. Although we had
telephone communication from Blitzschacht to the entrance immediately after the
incident we never again managed from the Weisbergerhaus to the cave. When the wire was being cleared from the
plateau later Merv discovered a melted and broken section only 300m from the
Weisbergerhaus. Well, Buzby. How do you avoid that?
The next day was really beautiful, the way it should be
after a storm, and we lazed the morning away, sorting and mending gear,
refreshing ourselves in the way the B.E C. knows best, and even having a midday
meal in the Wissbergerhaus. In the
afternoon Throstle wandered aimlessly and chased Gemsen (chamois) J-Rat
continued to read his book, and Merv and Dave ascended both Niederer and
Mittlerer Ochsen Kogel, finding a cave near the summit of one of them. They returned via the Simonyhutte. The rest of us went over to
Barengassewindschscht where we found the first pitch to be an easy free climb
now. We laddered down the second pitch,
neither entrance of which had been obstructed by all the boulders thrown down,
and I rigged and descended the third pitch. 10m along a narrow rift I came to a small hole at the top of a wide, 27m
pitch. The rift continued, narrow and
low, for a further 5m to curve round to the right to the head of a pitch,
possibly part of the 27m. Jim and Trev
prepared for the rigging of the 27m shaft while I made my way out. Part way down the valley side from the
entrance of C51, I had a closer look at an entrance noted previously. A large boulder blocked the entrance but by
removing the scree from around and underneath it I was able to push it to the
bottom. The cave, C52, sloped downwards
at 45O but unfortunately it was filled with boulders after only 4m. Hopes of another entrance to C51 were dashed
though no doubt it could be dug at the point where the draught comes up through
the boulders. We searched further along the cliffs of Barengasse, but found
nothing else of note.
BARRENGASSENWINDSCHACHT (C51) 1543/6
Extended elevation. Sketch Survey BEC 1979 Scale
1:1000
The Valley lads went down to Hallstatt on Monday morning,
partly to replenish essential supplies – the dormouse had consumed more than
its fair share, even having tried human being, until human being tried it! Their other job was to meet and direct
Buckett and family. Meanwhile, on the
hill the rest of us were off into C19 again. Jim and J-Rat went to the big rift at the bottom, Bang Gang. The climbed up to reach a phreatic bore tube
some 30m above the floor. After 100m,
this ended at a pitch, Eric Schacht, which was free climbable to within 6m of
the floor. There was no sign of the
stream which had started at TTFN Schacht. At stream level the passage soon became rather narrow so they traversing
along the middle level. The sound of the
stream seemed to disappear after about 30m suggesting either that the rift was
closed or blocked below, or that the stream had turned into another course,
away from Gang Bang. Up above, Trev and
I put in a bolt at the head of the Valley Schacht, solving the problem of
removing spent cones by heating the end over a carbide flame. We returned to Gang bang with Jim later,
following the middle level, finding several wider spots in the traverse below
us, but decided that tackle was required to descend these. This would hopefully bypass the narrow
section in the streamway. On the way out
we measured, by constant estimation, both the length and the amount of descent
of
total drop from the bottom of Blitzschacht to the top of the little chock stone
ladder above TTFN was 50m.
Buckett and Merv were the only two prepared to go down C19
on the Tuesday, the last day of July. Maulwurfhohle was becoming a very wearing trip, much harder than the
Berger, for example, according to J-Rat, in spite of its comparative
shallowness. Buckett pushed on at
streamway level in Gang Bang and it was still going after 45 to 50m, much in
the style of the entrance passage, Gargantuagang. Buckett objected to being told that he looked
like a caver of the 1930s, with his black fibre helmet and his jumper
stretched to around his knees But I am a caver of the 30s he replied. (Actually he started caving before Merv was
thought of).
Trev and Stu headed for the top of the Dachstein. Unlike us last year; they had a rope and were
able to lifeline up the non-existent via ferrata and abseil back down. The top of the mountains were clear early on
but rain showers and mist came along in the late morning, and clouds filled up
the valleys. This did not clear until
the evening. Chris and I set off up the
Niederer Ochsen Kogel, finding several holes near the eastern corner. Just as I reached the summit, getting a brief
glimpse of the Weisbergerhaus far below, the mist shrouded us. We gave up the idea of going to the schacht,
or schlund, that is marked on the map, and instead turned our attention to some
of the holes nearer at hand. Close to
the summit of Niederer Ochsen Kogel there is a large depression at the centre
of which there is a snow patch on scree and a couple of deep rifts. We found another deep, snowy rift on the
traverse route that we made down the south west face. Crossing the cliffs towards Wildkar Kogel the
obvious, large, dark hole proved to be only a fairly shallow collapse. Below Wildkar Kogel there were several
holes. One was a cave at the end of a
large snow field, which I followed down as far as I could without a light. Nearby were deep shafts with snow at the
bottom, and above those a phreatic tube, almost filled to the roof with
cobbles, C57. To the east and south of
Wildkar Kogel were many other tunnels, shafts and rifts worthy of further
investigation.
On Wednesday August 1st we left Buckett and family in peace
and headed down to the valley via Herrengasse and the Tiergartenhutte. Some went to have a quick look at the
Waldbach Ursprung, the big resurgence for the area, and then we crossed over
the bridge over the Wildbach and walked through the forest to the old salt
mines at Salzberg. The oldest know
Celtic community originated here, 4500 years ago, salt being immensely valuable
in those far off days. A very rich,
bronze age burial ground has been excavated here. Hallsatatt is also reckoned to have its
origins in the third millennium B.C. The
salt mines themselves, which are still worked today, consist of a complex of
adits leading to, via short slopes off to the sides, to large wash out
chambers. The chambers are filled with
water and the salt gradually dissolves out of the rock. The brine is then drawn off, the chamber
re-filled with water, and the process starts again. Highlights of the trip are a slide, as on a
banister, down a special wooden slope which the miners seem to use as a quick
way down, and a ride on an open train, heads brushing the adit shuttering if you
lean too far to one side. It was too
late to look for the Koppenbrullerhohle show cave afterwards, so we spent the
late afternoon viewing the
evening we met Hermann and his friend Norbert, who later proved that Austrian
cavers get just as legless and stupid as their British counterparts. If you hear any rumours of that evenings
activities, they are probably true. Trevor in particular, excelled himself.
Early on the morning, after the never to be forgotten night
before, we were up, having stayed in an Alpine Club hostel. The previous afternoon Thros and Trev had
dived off the balcony into the lake for a swim, and they chose to do this again
to waken themselves. Ere long we were
climbing up the steep slopes of the Achern-Tal, above the Waldbach, to the
entrance of the Hirlatzhohle. This is
situated at the base of the 1200m high Hirlatz-Wand and has some 9km of
passages. There are many fixed aids
throughout the cave, including wood and wire ladders in various states of
decrepitude, and wires for traverses. A
very strong wind howls through the blasted entrance, and makes it very easy to
find ones way through the entrance series, especially in the labyrinth. Immediately after the entrance the passage
spirals up a canyon with potholes in the floor, some of then filled with clear
bluish water. Since one ladder was
damaged we took a lower route through the labyrinth which included a damp
grovel through a bedding plane, one of the few places where we were not able to
stand up. Eventually we ascended a
widened tectonic joint using a ladder, then down the beautifully shaped,
phreatic, Gothic Passage and further ladders to enter the main system. At this point it is a huge, boulder floored,
dry streamway. In one direction we were
shown some superb limestone fluting the Organ Pipes, but were unable to go
further as a ladder was required for a 60m pitch. In the other direction we dropped fairly
rapidly down the boulder floor top reach a dark, winding lake with a waterfall
entering one end. Traversing above the
lake we soon entered wide, sandy chambers and the site of a bivouac, complete
with ancient, rotting bell tent. From
here we began a long but gentle climb, passing at one stage through the Black
Chamber, where all the yellow-grey sand is covered under a layer of fine
soot. This is believed to have been
caused by a forest fire on the hill above. Further on the passage was nearly filled to the roof with clay, which
stopped abruptly forming a wall. A
narrow, vadose rift had been cut through the clay but the sides were too
fragile to allow a safe traverse of the rift. Instead we had to climb up the wall using a fixed ladder. Finally the clay infilling met the roof, and
a narrow, vadose canyon brought in an inlet from one side. We had taken four hours to reach this
extremity of the cave, a very good time apparently. To make the exit we took a mere two hours, but
we left Erica behind. She is a life
size, and life like, image of Erics sister, or mistress, created in the sand
beside the bivouac tent, much to the amazement and amusement of the
Austrians. We did not see much of Eric
after that. Dashing down the hill and
round to the Dachstein seilbahn we managed to catch the last cable car back to
the Gjaidalm. After a meal in the hut
there we made the Weisbergerhaus in about an hour.
Andy and Dave had arrived on the plateau and spent some time
with Buckett looking around Schladmingerloch. Hidden behind a shoulder of rock on the northern slopes of Ochsen Kogel
they found a small rift from which issued a cold draught, strong enough to
chill the air several metres from the entrance. The entrance passage of Andys Roaring gale Hole, C55, led, after a short
distance, to a pitch, which was not descended. They also managed to reach the hole in the south east face of Niederer
Grunbereg by traversing around ledges and then doing a short abseil, C60
quickly led to a pitch with a draught. Above it and to the right a small, C19 type rift, designated C61, was
followed for a few metres but was thought to lead into C60.
Siegfried arrived on the plateau again in the morning and
six of us made our way up into the Schladmingerloch, where we spent some time
watching a herd of chamois. These
animals seem to feed out on the open screes when there is no-one about, and
also play on the snow, making slides. They are very wary, however, and quickly disappear onto the grassy
ledges of the cliffs with amazing agility. We could do with a few chamois to reach some of the caves. I put in a bolt at the head of the pitch in
C55, the Gale hole, and Siegfried and I descended it to a depth of about 30m,
passing some massive jammed boulders on the way. The shaft appears to be a widened section of
a deep, winding rift. Over the floor of
boulders I squeezed and traversed down a narrow gap to a final choke of gravel
and peat with no sign of the draught. A
little way up, though, the rift continued, too narrow, running parallel with
the face of Ochsen Kogel. I climbed straight
upwards for about 10m and came upon a widening of the rift through which most
of the wind came and beyond which I could see an inviting, black space. Unfortunately the route is very narrow and I
did not like the look of it. About 8m
below the head of the pitch a passage seems to lead over the top of the black
space, but an unprotected traverse is required to reach it, perhaps requiring a
couple of bolts to negotiate. Opposite
where the entrance passage opens onto the head of the pitch is yet another
passage, T-shaped and similar in size to the entrance passage that is about 2m
high and varying in width from 30cm to over 1m. In the entrance passage there were some very largo calcite crystals
which had grown in layers that had subsequently broken. The individual crystals were up to 10cm long
and several had a hole down the centre. Siegfried said that these were very rare, being known at only three
other sites in
J-Rat, meanwhile, had climbed the cliff ledges across to
C60. A few metres inside he climbed down
the pitch and followed about 50m of narrow passage, gradually descending, and
suddenly emerged on the cliff face again, some 30m lower down and to the
left. A great disappointment, dashing
our hopes of a higher entrance to C19. In the grassy slope above C60, near the abseil point, a tight bedding
plane entrance, C54, led to a roomy chamber with two ways on but both were
boulder blocked, making the total length about 15m. Buckett and Andy looked at various holes
below Ochsen Kogel. One of these, C53,
has a large entrance but the two ways on inside both lead to crawls, one of
them flat out. There are at least 50m of
passage but no draught in either branch.
On our way back from the Schladmingerloch Andy and I had a
look at C20, a left over from last year. This year the snow was well clear of the entrance, Andy found that it
was possible to squeeze and free climb down, especially with the help of a
rope, while I climbed down the 5m pitch where it was wide enough to require a
desperate straddle. Another drop led to
the choked bottom of an inclined rift but straight ahead was a fine,
cylindrical, phreatic tube, about 70m in diameter. After about 10m a large chamber with an aven
was reached, a rift with breakdown leading straight onwards, while below was a
climb down to a short pitch. Things
looked promising, and it was particularly disappointing to find, later on, that
all ways soon stopped.
Merv and Dave had gone to the top of the Dachstein for the
day, and the remainder of the expedition went to push
Darengassewindschacht. They descended
the 27m pitch to find what they described as a ‘Swildon’s type streamway
dropping in steps for 16 or 17m to the head of a very large pitch. The exaggerated claims of stones dropping
free for six seconds (170m) were gradually whittled down to a more reasonable
two seconds free followed by several seconds of clattering’, which later
proved to be correct.
We prepared to do C19 the next day but, after a clear early
morning, cloud and mist came up, followed by rain accompanied by occasional
thunder. The rain continued until three
in the afternoon so we occupied ourselves in the Weisbergerhaus, gradually
become more and more crushed by ill equipped hordes from a church youth club,
who arrived through the chill drizzle in various states of exposure and
exhaustion. By 1630 the skies had
cleared but C19 was out of the question so Stu, Trev, Thros, Buckett and I went
over to Barengasse and C51. I put in a
bolt at the head of the next pitch, after many problems and descended, feeding
the 100m rope from the bag as I did so. Having passed several ledges, two of them substantial, without using
rope protectors (very bad practice, but then so is abseiling of one bolt) I asked
Buckett to join me, and I continued down a slope and a further pitch, using 63m
of rope from the bolt. The rope now hung
over some particularly vicious flakes, some of which had been broken by the
rope. I felt the rope bag and there
seemed to be little rope left (in fact there was still 37m) and I could not be
sure if the last person to use it had put a knot in the end (as it turned out
they had not). I was becoming wet and
cold from the constant drip in this pot, and quickly decided to forego the pleasures
of the next, inviting looking pitch and make for the surface. In short, I chickened out. We de-tackled the whole system and made exit
in about five and a half hours.
Our final push into C19 began early on Sunday. As the youth club gathered together for an
outside mass, Merv, J-Rat, Jim and Andy set off to the cave to push beyond the
bottom of Eric Schacht, survey out and begin de-tackling’. Merv turned back after a short while as he
did not feel up to the trip, so he busied himself clearing telephone line from
the plateau. The other three reached the
bottom without difficulty and descended Eric Schacht to find a boulder floor
with no sign or sound of the stream. High up on the far side of the phreatic tube could be seen continuing,
but a hairy, exposed and difficult climb or a bolt traverse are the only means
of reaching it. The rift continues,
tight and awkward. They decided to
finish exploration at that point and began to survey out along Bang Gang. Buckett and I set off down the cave in the
afternoon, having said our fond farewells to Trevor, and we all met up at the
top of TTFN Schacht. We chain ganged the
tackle, enormous amounts of it, along
Avenue
ledges available for stacking the gear. Also, surprisingly, we lost none of it down deep rifts, from which
retrieval would have proved impossible. At Many Meetings the three pushers, very tired, rather dispirited at not
finding an easier route to deep cave, but very relieved about not having to
negotiate the avenue again, made their way out after thirteen hours or so of
particularly gruelling caving. Buckett
and I stayed to raise the tackle up Dorisschacht and to de-tackle this. We finally emerged around 2am and made our
way back to the hut across the now very familiar terrain. Thanks to Stu for cooking us a spag. bol., to
Jim for staying up to keep it hot, and to J-Rat, whose Irish Cream we
half-inched. Needless to say we did
absolutely nothing on Monday.
Sparrow and Co and the Valley lads had returned home leaving
six of us to remove the remainder of the gear from C19, which we did early on
Tuesday. The expedition was over. As I write this, early September, the
temperature at the Weisbergerhaus has dropped to -3OC and the snow is already
down to 300m below the hut. We have not
achieved what we had expected or hoped for this year, although we still have
good cause to return in 1980. Barengassewindschacht (C51) has better potential for striking an old,
horizontal system of large phreatic tunnels than anything else discovered, and
is the most likely possibility so far of reaching the main drain. Maulwurfhohle (C19) is most certainly not
played out and a hard, super enthusiastic team including a good climber could
do something with it yet. Most of the
new sites found were not explored this year due to lack of time, and there are
still some holes left unexplored from last year. C29, an ice cave, is one of these. It lies in an ideal position to enter C19
beyond Eric Schacht.
Insofar as we enjoyed ourselves this year the expedition was
a success – we do after all do it for fun, or so I am led to believe. Much greater success in terns of length or
depth could well be in the offing for next year.