Hi folks.
We need more people for this summer's Austrian Dachstein expedition.  We'll be there for all of August but people come for as long or short a time as they can manage.  The big cave we're pushing is 600m depth on the ropes until we reach a huge phreatic zone that drops us to the current depth of 760m.  The cave is currently more than 5km long & we have some major leads heading off.

The campsite (at 700m depth) is permanently set up for 4 people but we'd like to give the place a damned good thrashing so would like to up the numbers to 6 people/camp for up to 5 days.  For those who don't think they could cope with this we have decades-worth of other stuff to push, a glacier just up the mountain, via ferratas, climbing, stunning scenery, great company, and horrendous scope for ridiculous pub crawls to the various mountain huts on the range!  And it's cheap: ?60 contribution to the project + your travel (sharing lifts in cars/vans or flying) & a few other bits & bobs.  Reckon you could do a fortnight or a month for something around ?250, unless you're an alcoholic.... 

We normally expect about 25 -30 people of all levels of ability/motivation/experience/fitness but this year we're down to about 20 so please get in touch asap if you're interested.  N.B, you need a sense of humour to put up with some of the twisted characters involved! 

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Subject to work/finance/personnel issues we're hoping to get back to the Hirlatz Hole in the Dachstein, Austria, in February.  This is not guaranteed to happen but if we don't do some preliminary organisation then it definitely won't.

The basic plan is to drive from the UK on Friday evening, 10th Feb, returning by Sunday evening 19th Feb.  We will be underground for up to 6 days. 

Nature of the Trip:
With a light bag the journey to the terminal campsite would be pleasant & enjoyable, I imagine, but we won't have such luxury.  In the past - with heavy bags - it's taken us up to 15 hours (the walk to the entrance can be a beast if the snow is deep).  The caving is varied but generally in huge tunnels with a lot of daft aluminium ladders littering the way.  If you're comfortable scrambling about in the mountains then you should be fine in this cave as it's more akin to mountaineering than domestic caving.  Those who are big & strong will be given huge loads to carry (up to 25kg or more) but wimps might get off slightly easier.   

Aims of the Trip:
There are two long-term projects that we will run side by side (as long as certain people commit). 

1), The diving project aims to see Martin Groves & me back beyond the sumps where we're trying to make a connection to the legend that is Wot-Have-U-Got Pot (800m deep monster that we're pushing during the summer Dachstein expeditions). 
2), The non-diving team have discovered hundreds of metres of large tunnel in a key area not far from camp (as the crow flies, anyway).  It's quite possible that this is associated with the cave discovered beyond the sumps anyway.

The divers need to replace cylinders in the cave; we've got more kit than usual to take in & out so we will try to have a dedicated crew in support.  This will be ideal for newcomers to the Hirlatz as you won't need SRT kits.  The other exploration crew will be under the wing of Ian Holmes & they'll need to carry in drills, ropes etc.

The cave has recently been extended to take it over 100km length & it's currently 1.1km deep.  If we make the connection to our pothole then we're probably looking at something along the lines of 110km long & 1.6km deep which makes it one of the most exciting exploration projects out there.  Realistic maximum depth in the Dachstein is well over 2.2km. 

There's a limit to numbers we can take (vehicles, logistics, faff) & there's a pecking order so no guarantees.  The exploration down there is character-building stuff & you will require competence on the ropes & a warped sense of humour to survive.  To come along in a support role just requires you to be able to grin & bear it for a while. 

Find us on Facebook:

Hirlatz Caving Expedition to the West https://www.facebook.com/events/142844775830767/

If you're not on facebook then that means you're probably old enough to be invited to Matienzo....

If you're not on facebook then that means you're probably old enough to be invited to Matienzo....

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Most cavers are welcome in Matienzo - Facebook-active or not, older than Joel or not and even people without beards. 

Juan said:

If you're not on facebook then that means you're probably old enough to be invited to Matienzo....

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Most cavers are welcome in Matienzo - Facebook-active or not, older than Joel or not and even people without beards. 

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Or even Covontosa abandoning, man flu suffering, vegetarians. 

Joel, I seem to recall seing you in Matienzo a couple of years ago...  :spank:

I must admit that I've done some underground rambling in the area on a few occasions over the years but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to source the region's obligatory hemp rope, iron pitons & hessian tacklebags these days ;-)

The Multinational Extravaganza Dachstein Expedition is now recruiting & the Facebook page is up & running.  The link can be found at

https://www.facebook.com/events/129703577158968/ or do a search for "Dachstein 2012 Confirmed Attendees Only". 

For those of you who are too mature to use Facebook the gist of it is as follows:

When: 4th August til 1st September (people come for a week/month etc).
Where: Dachstein Massif, Austria.
What: Exploration of deep Alpine potholes with absurd potential.
Who: Basically anybody remotely keen as there's useful things for everyone to do, regardless of ability or experience. 
Whow Much: Exped charges ?60/head + a weekly fee of ?10 to cover fresh food etc.  If you're not an alcoholic you could realistically spend a month on exped for less than ?250 inclusive of transport, accommodation, food, exped fee, national park tax etc...  Beer isn't cheap in the mountains as the brewery is 2km lower down!
How Many: I'm expecting about 40 people this year (we've had those numbers in the past) & so far we've got Brits, Austrians, Germans, Irish, Quebecois.
STOP PRESS: It's likely that we may have a BIG NAME PHOTOGRAPHER joining us who wishes to do a piece on the project (including the winter explorations in the Hirlatz) so it looks like there'll be a chance to get your picture in a glossy publication like "Razzle" or "Men Only" ;-)

Specifics (copied from our Facebook page):

THE LAST CRUSADE ;-)

This is my 14th year of continuous (summer & winter) misery in Austria, and Ian Holmes's 10th (makes us sound like a gay couple!).  We've decided that enough is enough & want to go on a Gary Glitter-style beach holiday in the Philippines next year so intend to make this expedition count amongst the greats of all time.

To that end we're inviting a selection of the finest retards in the caving world to participate in what might be the expedition to end all expeditions (although it could be a total failure if we can't be arsed). Most of you are not interested that we're appallingly close to forging a connection to the Hirlatz Hole, which would make Wot-Have-U-Got Pot one of the deepest & longest caves in the world (1.5km deep, c.110km long), but you're all interested enough in spending time living next to a mountain pub in the most stunning part of the Alps.

For the fit & keen there will be the opportunity to take part in the exploration of the mighty Wot-U-Got Pot (-800m, 6km long) which requires camping underground for 4 days at a time. This is a dangerous, cold, flood-prone pothole that demands skill, ability, bloody-mindedness & a twisted sense of humour. Operating down here will make it clear why some of us are filthy pervs!

For the experienced & inexperienced alike we're considering the re-investigation of PL2, a 600m deep cave that was explored by the Poles many years ago that ends very close to upstream limit of WUG Pot &, if connected, would add significant depth to our own cave (potentially making the system 1.6km deep). We don't know much about this but it terminates in the largest chamber ever discovered under the mountains. This would initially be suitable for all levels of ability until the deeper parts are reached & would potentially be an ideal training ground for aspiring riggers & explorers.

For everyone we've got vast areas of mountainside to prospect & explore that is riddled with undiscovered caves. All these entrances need investigating which is THE way to learn the basic trade of exploration. There can be few more satisfying feelings than finding an insignificant hole in the ground that turns out to be one of the deepest caves in the world!

Oh, and obviously we've got awesome climbing (sport, trad, & aid), via ferratas (one of 800m height), glaciers, walks, sunbathing, the Golden Shower, the mother of all pub-crawls (that none of us have ever completed), the most amazing scenery imaginable, and the finest company of reprobates it's possible to assemble.

So regardless of experience, ability, or fitness you're invited to join us for as long or short a time as you can manage. It's dirt cheap (a month will probably cost you no more than ?250 total) & will be a fantastic adventure.


 

You are really selling it this year, almost makes me wish I had not already arranged to go to Felix Tromb this year instead this year.

So this is the last year of the Dachstien exped... a legacy coming to an end?

Why should it be the last year? 

Joel and Ian didn't start it, they joined in and continued, in a sterling way, the previous efforts of other explorers. They are simply leaving it open for others to take on.

After all Joel is getting very old now (almost 60!), and those Chamois aren't getting any easier to catch. :tease:

For anyone who's bored this Thursday evening I'll be showing a presentation about our exploits deep under the mountains of the Austrian Alps in our long-term search for the deepest cave in the world!  Very informal, lacking in political-correctness & a blatant recruitment drive for this summer's expedition so all are welcome.  Venue to be decided but probably the Cardiff Uni Athletics Union at about 7 ish.  More details will be on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/events/416338425051896/permalink/416338428385229/?notif_t=like

And Chamois are relatively easy to catch if you've got a background of sprinkling jelly sweets outside playgrounds as the principles are much the same!!! 

You might get more women interested if you didn't refer to yourselves as filthy pervs, but I had a laugh reading it =D

Hey, if I had a few thousand dollars and more whatthefuckwhydoyourigthisway!? srt experience =P I would be more keen on joining!

Amy, I think you'd be surprised at how many women do go out to Austria on this expedition. They are very well represented in an otherwise male dominated pursuit.

Bob Smith said:

Amy, I think you'd be surprised at how many women do go out to Austria on this expedition. They are very well represented in an otherwise male dominated pursuit.

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Pursuit? You mean of the Chamois?

aaah, the poor Chamois. But of course they are less feisty than the Marmots. furry little buggers.

Bob Smith said:

Amy, I think you'd be surprised at how many women do go out to Austria on this expedition. They are very well represented in an otherwise male dominated pursuit.

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Awesome =D Balance out all that damn testosterone! Now that i'm in US cave country there are a least a few other ladies around. But still on grotto vertical trips I'm the only female 95% of the time. Horizontal sporty trips usually boasts one other female, maybe two. It's really only the no0b trips that have a decent number of women.

Although to be fair, my cavegirl friends and I have long since realized we have way dirtier minds than the guys realize...  :ang:

It's only so long until formations start looking all phallic in shape and the jokes start...

'Minds' is one thing Amy, I believe 'habbits', and other 'practices' are more tangiable :-[
O. G.

Have previous from dachstien in  days long ago [south wales expo] might still be of some use. Is their anybody with car space especially return journey late august?  BOB R.

Bob, if you were there with the Wales mob then you must be older than me?  That makes you twice as welcome as I'm fed up of being the oldest fart on the hill!  Sure spaces will be forthcoming as there's a fair contingent going from Cardiff.  I'll message you off-line.