For those of you who are too mature to use Facebook the gist of it is as follows:
When: 4th August til 1st September (people come for a week/month etc).
Where: Dachstein Massif, Austria.
What: Exploration of deep Alpine potholes with absurd potential.
Who: Basically anybody remotely keen as there's useful things for everyone to do, regardless of ability or experience.
How Much: Exped charges £60/head + a weekly fee of £10 to cover fresh food etc. If you're not an alcoholic you could realistically spend a month on exped for less than £250 inclusive of transport, accommodation, food, exped fee, national park tax etc... Beer isn't cheap in the mountains as the brewery is 2km lower down!
How Many: I'm expecting about 40 people this year (we've had those numbers in the past) & so far we've got Brits, Austrians, Germans, Irish, Quebecois.
Specifics (copied from the Facebook page):This is my 14th year of continuous (summer & winter) misery in Austria, and Ian's 10th. We've decided that enough is enough & want to go on a Gary Glitter-style beach holiday in the Philippines next year so intend to make this expedition count amongst the greats of all time.
To that end we're inviting a selection of the finest retards in the caving world to participate in what might be the expedition to end all expeditions (although it could be a total failure if we can't be arsed). Most of you are not interested that we're appallingly close to forging a connection to the Hirlatz Hole, which would make Wot-Have-U-Got Pot one of the deepest (& longest) caves in the world, but you're all interested enough in spending time living next to a pub in the most stunning part of the Alps.
For the fit & keen there will be the opportunity to take part in the exploration of the mighty Wot-U-Got Pot (-800m, 6km long) which requires camping underground for 4 days at a time. This is a dangerous, cold, flood-prone pothole that demands skill, ability, bloody-mindedness & a twisted sense of humour. Operating down here will make it clear why some of us are filthy pervs!
For the experienced & inexperienced alike we're considering the re-investigation of PL2, a 600m deep cave that was explored by the Poles many years ago that ends very close to WUG Pot &, if connected, would add significant depth to our own cave. We don't know a much about this but it terminates in the largest chamber under the mountains which is likely to be the upstream end of WUG. This would initially be suitable for all levels of ability until the deeper parts are reached & would potentially be an ideal training ground for aspiring riggers & explorers.
For everyone we've got vast areas of mountainside to prospect & explore for undiscovered caves. All these entrances need investigating which is THE way to learn the basic trade of exploration. There can be few more satisfying feelings than finding an insignificant hole in the ground that turns out to be one of the deepest caves in the world!
Oh, and obviously we've got awesome climbing (sport, trad, & aid), via ferratas, glaciers, walks, sunbathing, the Golden Shower, the mother of all pub-crawls (that none of us have ever completed), the most amazing scenery imaginable, and the finest company of reprobates it's possible to assemble.
So regardless of experience, ability, or fitness you're invited to join us for as long or short a time as you can manage. It's dirt cheap (a month will probably cost you no more than £200 total) & will be a fantastic adventure.