Joel Corrigan
New member
This year's summer expedition to the Dachstein Massif is scheduled for approx. 21st August for 3 weeks (subject to slight tweaking of dates). For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area it's the jewel in the crown of the Austrian Alps with permanent snow (glaciers), 3000m high peaks, world-class caves (the Hirlatz Hole is approx. 110km long & 1100m deep), serious rock climbing, loads of via ferratas, great walking, and bars with the best views you can imagine. The caves here are cold (normally 1-3 degrees), and are often hard, flood-prone, sharp, and dangerous. Pushing the deeper parts of these holes requires stamina, skill, and determination; pushing the shallower ones and discovering new caves takes nothing but motivation so inexperienced explorers are perfectly suited. The surface conditions range from blazing sunshine to blizzards. The exped base (Wiesberghaus & associated huts) is outstandingly comfortable & homely with a great manager who treats us like his extended family. In many ways our basecamp more than makes up for the suffering we put up with underground!!
The major exploration objectives are:
Wot-U-Got Pot (or Schmelzwasserhole as the Austrians prefer to call it) which we left at the top of an undescended pitch at -800m. To push the end requires camping underground for 4 days at a time & although it's not a hard cave for the region it is a lot harder than many caves of comparable depth in different parts of the world.
PL2: a 600m deep cave that appears to be very close to connecting with the upstream end of WUG Pot. The original explorers (Poles) dropped the final 100m deep pitch into the largest chamber discovered under the mountain but couldn't find a way on. According to the surveys we've been underneath this point in WUG...
Re-rigging: we intend to replace many of the ropes & bolts in WUG so this is an ideal opportunity to gain familiarity, fitness & skills before the major push.
Prospecting: thousands of caves to discover, hundreds of known cave entrances to push. Ideal for rest days or the inexperienced.
Potential: WUG is 6km long & 800m deep; the Hirlatz Hole is 1,100m deep & approaching 110km long. During the winter diving trips to the West of the Hirlatz we're narrowing the gap & there is probably less than 500m horizontal & 100m vertical separation between the two. The connection would make the Hirlatz (or WUG, depending upon which cave we enter from!!) 1.5km deep & would be the conclusion of a lifetime's obsession for some of us. WUG entrance is at 2000m: there is another 1000m of limestone above us so the very real depth potential of the range is almost 2.5km. Some things are worth fighting for.
Matt St Clair will be the official organiser as I may not be able to commit fully but I'll certainly be assisting in the set-up & will be there if things work out. A training weekend is planned for 27th March in South Wales so anyone interested is encouraged to attend (details on Facebook or message me direct): https://www.facebook.com/events/721278897987108/?fref=ts or Expedition Training Workshop. Other exped groups are welcome to attend if we have space.
The actual expedition can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/1490999744511831/?fref=ts or Dachstein '15 Caving Expedition. This is not going to be an expensive way to spend your summer so please don't be put off if money is an issue....
The major exploration objectives are:
Wot-U-Got Pot (or Schmelzwasserhole as the Austrians prefer to call it) which we left at the top of an undescended pitch at -800m. To push the end requires camping underground for 4 days at a time & although it's not a hard cave for the region it is a lot harder than many caves of comparable depth in different parts of the world.
PL2: a 600m deep cave that appears to be very close to connecting with the upstream end of WUG Pot. The original explorers (Poles) dropped the final 100m deep pitch into the largest chamber discovered under the mountain but couldn't find a way on. According to the surveys we've been underneath this point in WUG...
Re-rigging: we intend to replace many of the ropes & bolts in WUG so this is an ideal opportunity to gain familiarity, fitness & skills before the major push.
Prospecting: thousands of caves to discover, hundreds of known cave entrances to push. Ideal for rest days or the inexperienced.
Potential: WUG is 6km long & 800m deep; the Hirlatz Hole is 1,100m deep & approaching 110km long. During the winter diving trips to the West of the Hirlatz we're narrowing the gap & there is probably less than 500m horizontal & 100m vertical separation between the two. The connection would make the Hirlatz (or WUG, depending upon which cave we enter from!!) 1.5km deep & would be the conclusion of a lifetime's obsession for some of us. WUG entrance is at 2000m: there is another 1000m of limestone above us so the very real depth potential of the range is almost 2.5km. Some things are worth fighting for.
Matt St Clair will be the official organiser as I may not be able to commit fully but I'll certainly be assisting in the set-up & will be there if things work out. A training weekend is planned for 27th March in South Wales so anyone interested is encouraged to attend (details on Facebook or message me direct): https://www.facebook.com/events/721278897987108/?fref=ts or Expedition Training Workshop. Other exped groups are welcome to attend if we have space.
The actual expedition can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/1490999744511831/?fref=ts or Dachstein '15 Caving Expedition. This is not going to be an expensive way to spend your summer so please don't be put off if money is an issue....
