AlexR
Well-known member
The Dachstein Expedition
A wild mix of cavers from the UK and much further afield have been coming to the Dachstein plateau since the 1960s, drawn in by a seemingly endless sea of limestone and the promise of the mighty Hirlatz under their feet. After decades of pushing all manner of brutal caves, some beyond -600m, 2018 finally saw the connection of WUG to the Hirlatz system. This now spans over 120km at 1560m depth - the 9th deepest in the world.
We have traditionally run as an open expedition which has trained a great number of cavers in the art of alpine caving, expedition logistics and underground camping. This continues to be reflected in our participants, in 2025 36% of participants were under 25 or in full term education, and 14 of the 26 cavers were new to the Dachstein.
You have a connection - what more do you want?
There was a slight lull in activity after 2018, not helped by Covid. But the connection had a slight caveat: There are several hundred meters of sump between the two sections. Consequently, cavers are fervently trying to find a dry bypass.
As pushing fronts became increasingly remote, two new camps have been established since 2024. This turned out to be well worth it, with the 2025 expedition adding 1,267m of passage to the system - the most successful in years.
The r.h. picture shows one of the current limits of exploration, Daylight Robbery, two days into the cave, and represents only one of 4 major open passages that have been discovered and made accessible through deep camps.
In order to pursue another wide open lead, Forbidden Fruit, a further camp will have to be established.
The above are downstream as well as upstream leads, with an excellent potential for significantly extending the Hirlatz.
On the plateau, prospecting continues. The current highest entrance lies at around 2000m, but the limestone reaches 2995m. With this eye watering depth potential in mind, we continue to scour the plateau in search of higher entrances. This is always a fantastic way for cavers new to expedition caving to practice their bolting, rigging, and surveying under the supervision of those more experienced. Oddly those who have sampled the delights of the lower Hirlatz over long time periods tend to seek more time in the sunshine.
As it stands, objectives for 2026 are:
- Find and push higher cave entrances through prospecting
- Infrastructure work (replace old ropes, remove defunct material, widen constrictions, establish a further camp, improve existing camps)
- Pushing deep leads: Daylight Robbery, Forbidden Fruit, Passage 33 and Deep Impact
The expedition
The 2026 expedition will run from 14.08.26-12.09.26, and with many excited cavers and fantastic leads it should be an excellent year!
In order to meet increased demand, we have extended the 2026 expedition from 3 to 4 weeks, with 31 cavers signed up and a total of 541 person days.
Similar to 2024, we will post updates of our exploits - watch this space.
