Hidden Earth 2017

CUCC Austria Expedition 2017

45 minute Lecture|Ms Elaine Oliver

Abstract

For over 40 years, members of the Cambridge University Caving Club Austria Expedition have been exploring and mapping the caves of the Loser-Augst Eck plateau in central Austria. Several large caves have been found in the area, and over the years, many have been connected together to form the huge Schwarzmooskogel cave system, which at present stands at over 120 km in length and is the second-longest cave system in Austria and among the top 20 in the world. This year’s expedition ran from 8 July–20 August, and its aims included camping at –600 m in Tunnocksschacht to push some of our deep leads, extending a recent nearby discovery (Balkonhöhle), and reexamining known caves and searching for new caves at the northern end of the known system in an attempt to extend it in this direction. This session aims to report and discuss our findings from 2017.