New finds in Dachstein June 2002

DACHSTEIN TIGER was an adventurous training exercise to the Dachstein area, just to the south east of Salzburg, Austria. The expedition aim was to recce an area known as the 'T' area, explore any new finds, and survey any caves worth surveying. Base camp was set up in the valley at Halstatt with a remote expedition camp close to an alpine style lodge called Weisburghaus at 1883m altitude. All of the expedition equipment was transported up the hill to the Weisburghaus on the Seilbahn (cable car). Unfortunately, passengers are not allowed on the Seilbahn so the expedition members had to walk up the 1300m ascent to the Weisburghaus. After setting up camp in the meadow, the first task was to survey 'T1' which had already been discovered and explored to the bottom by the Southampton University Caving Club.

A 1½-hour walk from the Weisburghaus leads one up onto the 'T' area where the T1 entrance shaft lands in a small chamber. A second pitch descends for a further 30-metres but is plugged with snow at the bottom with no visible way on. After two days of surface prospecting in the Austrian sunshine, approximately 20 new leads had been recorded. A notable discovery by members of the 'School of Electrical and Aeronautical Engineering' (SEAE) was T8, a large cave entrance sloping down into an ice filled chamber. A 7-metre deep pitch followed down an ice tube. Cpl Welsh was so convinced that the cave was 'going deep', the next time the group were down in the valley, he purchased an ice screw so he could descend the first pitch. At the bottom of the first pitch a second 15-metre pitch eventually led to the end of the cave at a depth of 55 metres!

Another notable CSCA find was T12, a stooping entrance into an ice-shattered chamber that led to a 15-metre pitch. At the bottom of this, was a second chamber with a mass of large, loose boulders hanging on a 45-degree slope. The way on was down the 45-degree slope in a 3 metre wide tube that was rigged as a pitch down the right-hand wall. Any movement above sent boulders crashing down the slope toward the person below and so a few aerial manoeuvres were required mid rope to avoid them. At the end of the slope a seven metre vertical pitch landed in a chamber floored with the boulders from above. There was a freezing cold draught rising up through the boulder and ice floor but unfortunately at a depth of about 60m, a way on could not be found.

Relatively speaking the glacier above the 'T' area has only recently receded, leaving a lot of exposed holes that still contain ice. The ice-shattered nature of the cave walls makes it difficult to place spits so some careful rigging has to be carried out, including the use of ice screws and pitons.

On one occasion, one of the Expedition members was descending a 15-metre pitch and a piece of the cave wall broke away. Fortunately for the cavers in the chamber below, the descending caver managed to grab the 3-litre sized rock and continue abseiling to the bottom of the pitch with it stuffed down the front of his Oversuit. Even though the 'deep one' that dropped into the master cave deep within the mountain was not found, the expedition was deemed a success with everyone learning something about expedition caving.