Fieldtrips
Note that fieldtrips have a participant limit and operate on a first-come first-served basis. The organisers also reserve the right to cancel field trips if there is not enough interest. This decision will be made following the close of regular registration (31st May, 2022).
Hintertux - Spannagel Cave & Nature's Ice Palace
Description: Spannagel Cave and Nature's Ice Palace
This pre-conference excursion leads to the Central Alps of Tyrol and includes a 1.5 hour bus ride to the village of Hintertux located at 1,500 m a.s.l.. We then take the cable car to Spannagel Cave, which has its entrance about 1,000 m higher. Spannagel cave is located near a rapidly retreating glacier and has yielded a series of benchmark speleothem records covering the Holocene and Middle to Late Pleistocene. We will visit the touristic part of this alpine marble cave and discuss its origin and mode of speleothem depositon. Another cable car will take us up to about 3,200 m a.s.l., where the entrance to a remarkable glacier cave is located. Known as Natureispalast (Nature's Ice Palace), this system of crevasses offers amazing insights into the interior of an alpine glacier, including an underground lake.
Good hiking shoes and warm clothes are recommended; helmet and head-lamp are optional. Note that the return walk from Spannagel cave to the cable car is up 130 altitude metres and takes approximately 20 minutes. Each participant is responsible for determining whether he or she is capable of this exertion.
Date: Sunday 17th July, 2022 - Full Day
Participant Limit: 45
Fee: € 70 (includes transportation in buses, cable car and entrance fees, exclusive of lunch). We will aim to be back in Innsbruck in time for the icebreaker.
Final Deadline: 31st May, 2022
Eisriesenwelt
Leader: Christoph Spötl and colleagues (Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck)
Description: Eisriesenwelt
Eisriesenwelt, south of Salzburg, is a 40 km-long cave system where the first 500 m hosts perennial congelation ice. Regarded as one of the largest ice caves on this planet, Eisriesenwelt can be conveniently reached using a small cable car followed by a 20 minute walk to the large entrance. We will visit the impressive ice-part of this cave along the tourist path (many stairs!), learn about the seasonal cycle of cave ice, visit cryogenic cave carbonate deposits, and discuss recent work on the age and chronology of the thick ice layers.
Good hiking shoes and warm clothes are recommended; helmet and head-lamp are optional.
The Eisriesenwelt management provide the following information about physical exertion. In summary, 134 altitude metres are covered in the cave. Each participant is responsible for determining whether he or she is capable of this exertion. It is not recommended that people with severe walking impairments or cardiovascular diseases visit the ice cave. Access to the cable car and the path from the cable car to the cave also require about 20 minutes of walking. Unfortunately the Eisriesenwelt is not suitable for persons in wheelchairs.
Date: Thursday 21st July, 2022 - Full Day
Participant Limit: 45
Fee: € 45 (includes transportation in buses, cable car and entrance fees, exclusive of lunch)
Final Deadline: 31st May, 2022
UIS 24th July to 31st July, 2022
The 18th International Congress of Speleology (UIS) will be held in Savoie, France, between 24th to 31st July, 2022. The timing for KR9 has been specifically chosen so that long-distance delegates can take advantage of attending both conferences with a minimal footprint. If you are interested in sharing transport between Innsbruck and Savoie (either one-way or return) then please indicate this at the relevant position on the registration form. If there is enough demand, we will organise shared transport.