Looking for BS17 (Organhöhle)
Fri 10 Aug 2012
Anthony
Went for a stroll over the back of the Hohes AugstEck ridge in search of Organhöhle, the cave found by UBSS in 1989/90. We didn't find it, though it looks as though Wookey & Olaf found something that closely matches the description on the following day. We spent a while looking around where the GPS says BS17 should be, until Duncan noticed that the UBSS map placed BS17 almost due east of the summit of the Hohes AugstEck, which was significantly further south - so we tried our luck in that area. The cave that Wookey and Olaf found is actually much closer to the GPS point.
Although we didn't find BS17, we did find several entrances, all of which have been documented on the expo computer. The most interesting of these are:
All these caves are at a similar altitude to each other and (most likely) Organhöhle, so there appears to be something interesting going on here - well worth a return.
Anthony
T/U: negligible
Went for a stroll over the back of the Hohes AugstEck ridge in search of Organhöhle, the cave found by UBSS in 1989/90. We didn't find it, though it looks as though Wookey & Olaf found something that closely matches the description on the following day. We spent a while looking around where the GPS says BS17 should be, until Duncan noticed that the UBSS map placed BS17 almost due east of the summit of the Hohes AugstEck, which was significantly further south - so we tried our luck in that area. The cave that Wookey and Olaf found is actually much closer to the GPS point.
Although we didn't find BS17, we did find several entrances, all of which have been documented on the expo computer. The most interesting of these are:
- 2012-dd-05:
- Horizontal entrance that quickly leads to a short pitch. Carries a draught, and well worth a return visit. This is close to the GPS point for BS16 but does not match the description in the UBSS report.
- 2012-dd-06:
- Another horizontal entrance leading to short pitch. This cave contains evidence of previous exploration: we found an old zoom flatpack and an empty packet of "Big D" brand peanuts with a 1988 sell-by date, which is after the LUSS expeditions but before the UBSS expeditions. However, since the cave is much closer to the UBSS area, we suspect that UBSS are more likely to have explored it, using out-of-date peanuts for sustenance. There is no sign of any painted number and the cave does not seem to match any of the descriptions of UBSS or LUSS finds.
- 2013-dd-07:
- A well hidden hole that looks like a rock shelter until you are standing right next to it. A low, wide phreatic passage leads downhill along the bedding to a choke. The modest draught appears to go up a climbable aven a short way back. Close to 2012-dd-06.
- 2012-dd-08:
- Large entrance a little higher up and south of the other entrance, all ways on are choked but there is a hole that looks diggable that carries a draught.
All these caves are at a similar altitude to each other and (most likely) Organhöhle, so there appears to be something interesting going on here - well worth a return.