Secure hold at the edge: When everything depends on a single anchor

Cave explorers trust fischer

  • Products
  • Service
  • Expertise
  • Learning Center
  • fischer group
  • Press Releases
  • References
Secure hold at the edge: When everything depends on a single anchor
  • Home
  • References
  • Secure hold at the edge: When everything depends on a single anchor
References
„Twelve people have already been on the moon,“ says cave researcher Axel Hack. „But on our planet, there are still places that no one has ever set foot on.“ What lies beneath the earth’s surface in caves cannot be measured or observed by satellites. Axel Hack and his colleagues repeatedly venture into this unknown terrain and bring to light what lies hidden here. A field of research also known as speleology. „We explore caves to learn more about our Earth so that we can protect it better,“ Axel Hack explains the endeavour.
Image: Axel Hack

Project Profile

Object type
Cave
Total length
113 km
Depth
With a height difference of 1,560 m, ranked 9th worldwide
Since 2012, he has been a member of the Dachstein Caving Expedition, which has been exploring and mapping the caves on the Dachstein Plateau in Upper Austria for over 40 years. "Over 850 metres underground, far from help, we make our way through the narrowest passages and deep shafts," Axel Hack describes the Dachstein expeditions. "We struggle with cold, hard rock, flash floods, and liquid clay." Numerous vertical shafts are interspersed with former river meanders that have deeply carved into the rock, Axel Hack continues. Crossing these so-called meanders requires a lot of energy. Not to mention the many steep walls that the cave explorers have to climb again and again.
Image: Axel Hack

“Especially here, where it goes so vertically and slippery downwards or upwards, the cave ropes must be securely anchored,” says Axel Hack. “We rely on fischer steel anchors for this. I feel safer when I am hanging on the fastenings of a German quality manufacturer.” Therefore, thousands of fischer bolt anchors, such as the FBN II and the FAZ with an eight-millimeter diameter, have already been installed in the caves for rope attachments during the expeditions. The majority of these were used in the Wot U Got Pot (WUG) shaft system.

At the beginning of September 2018, the breakthrough occurred: after more than ten years of research in the WUG, the researchers discovered a new connecting passage from the WUG to the Hirlatzhöhle. This increased the explored total length of the underground labyrinth by 7.2 kilometers to over 113 kilometers. This makes the Hirlatzhöhle the 20th longest cave in the world. In terms of depth, it ranks 9th with a height difference of 1,560 meters.

 

Image: Axel Hack
Since then, the research team has been hoping for the connection of additional higher-altitude caves. It is anticipated that the system could grow vertically by up to 90 meters. This propelled the Hirlatzhöhle to 6th place in the world ranking in terms of depth and 2nd place in Europe. Furthermore, more shaft caves are to be explored. From August 17 to September 5, the high-altitude researchers from all over Europe once again ventured into the abyss of the alpine large cave. The meeting point was the Dachstein plateau on the Hallstätter side. "Safe equipment is the top priority on such expeditions," says Axel Hack. "This time again, we were able to assess what awaited us: temperatures around two degrees, high humidity, frequent water inflows in the vertical sections, and heavy clay deposits in the passages." In some cases, walls where anchors are to be installed are coated with centimetre-thick layers of clay, Axel Hack adds. "And the Dachstein limestone is hard and thick-banded. In some cases, it is also cracked or corroded."
Image: Axel Hack
The cave explorers took plenty of ropes, expansion bolts, cordless rotary hammers, as well as freeze-dried meals and equipment for the camp into the underground world, transported in grinding bags made from truck tarpaulins. Also in their luggage: 300 fischer bolt anchors FBZ 8/10 made of stainless steel (A4) as well as electro-galvanized steel. The fasteners provide secure hold in the stubborn limestone rock. Bent M8 tabs, made of aluminum or stainless steel Inox 304/316, are anchored to the rock. Ropes can be hung on these using screw links.
Image: Axel Hack
Initially, the weather prevented any progress: “WUG, our gateway to the Hirlatzhöhle, was buried under seven meters of snow. But where there’s a will, there’s a way – and we successfully dug our way through,” reports Axel Hack. “Then it rained for days, and the caves were heavily flooded.” Eventually, the underground gorges and passages could be explored further. This allowed the team to continue researching the Thundergasm Cave, which they had discovered in 2017. Last year, the researchers surveyed it at a depth of about 200 meters but were stopped by an unknown meander. Now the team has learned more. “We never know what to expect: in this case, it went from a deep and slippery canyon into a wide passage and then into an area with cascading water as well as rusty red, crumbly, and sharp rock. On the floor, a deep and rushing meander wound its way,” Axel Hack describes the unknown mountain world.
Image: Axel Hack
The cave explorers also learned a lot of new things about the WUG. "Coming from vertical shafts and canyons, we entered huge fossil tubes." Sticky mud constantly spread over the equipment, making the boots twice as heavy as usual. From the Chutney Mine, they moved into another passage, which was explored and surveyed: a very muddy dead end with a collapse at the end. The section Left Fork and the so-called Time Bandit were also further explored.
We explore caves to learn more about our Earth so that we can protect it better.
Axel Hack, member of the Dachstein Caving Expedition

In addition, further research was conducted at the end of the Uphill Gardens. Here, Axel Hack and his team drilled 25 meters up a steep clay ramp. In some places, the rock had to be cleared of ten centimeters of deep, moist clay in order to set the rock anchors. The team worked for four hours under these adverse conditions. After about 30 rock anchors had been set, they succeeded: the researchers stood in the spacious, still unexplored Passage No. 33. “I have never seen a more beautiful passage in the WUG. It is richly adorned with stalagmites and other formations,” enthuses Axel Hack. “After a good 100 meters, we unfortunately had to turn back. Although the passage extends much further into the mountain, time was running out. We also had to return to the ropes to then climb 650 meters up.” After a total of 18 hours, the team reached the surface again, tired but safe.

Image: Axel Hack
Although no further connection between higher caves could be discovered, the researchers bring plenty of new knowledge about the mountain world and its winding paths back to the surface, which brings them significantly closer to their goal. "The fischer bolt anchors we used remained stable throughout the entire expedition, even in surprisingly poor rock," Axel Hack says with relief.

Our used fischer products

cd-green-55965cdb4b-d4shb