CUCC Expeditions to Austria: 1976 - 2023

After a record length change we finally got underground, with the plan for Olly to rig on down Plugged Shaft, with me following with the drill in case we wanted to add anything. Got as far as the rock-bridge-rebelay, and Olly remembered the leads below this; firstly QM 04-09C (on the snow slope, which was incidentally lots snowier this year, and Olly spent a while kicking snow+rocks down). Anyway, QM04-09C trivially doesn't go, and QM04-08C doesn't actually exist. Next, rather than swinging across to the deviation and The ledge, Olly went down to the rock bridge below. We briefly visited here in 2004, and as it is easier to visit on the rigging or derigging trips, we hadn't yet returned. Olly descended the side pitch while I drilled a spit for a new deviation higher up. Olly's pitch led to QM04-06C and QM 04-07C which turned out to connect at a short pitch down to a snow slope which I rigged + descended. "Upstream" at the bottom leads after a few meters to vertical oxbows leading back to the canyon above. "Downstream" led to a junction, right oxbowed back to the pitch, left quickly led out to a pop out in a big pitch, which pretty much has to be Plugged Shaft. This is probably QM04-15B. We must have been looking down at Yesterday's Terminus, which has way less snow this year. Didn't have survey kit, so came out (leaving it rigged for future survey trip) and went down the hill.

P.S. The new section of cave is called Strange Ways cos the way everything connected back was confusing. On the survey trip we will consider its merits as the main route in (asaposed to Plugged Shaft).