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Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Ice Caves in Austria

Eisriesenwelt Werfen - The world's largest ice cave.
In 1879,Anton Posselt, a natural scientist from Salzburg, pushed 200 metres into the darkness of the caves and officially "discoverd" the Eisriesenwelt. The cross inside the cave almost at the beginning is the mark he made exactly where he discovered the cave.


From 1924, for about 25 years, the only way to reach the caves was on foot. It is a steep uphill climb.Our guide, Sandra, showed us the path which people used to climb on. Thank god for the developments, i definetly wouldn't have made it to the caves. From 1953 it was possible to drive up the Eisriesenweltstraße in a single lane.In 1955 the cable-car provided an alternative to the steepest part of the climb, reducing the time taken from one and a half hours to a matter of minutes.



From the parking area, everbody has to walk for about 20minutes to reach the cable car. After descending the cable car, another 20 minutes of walk brings you to the foot of the cave.



As soon as you step into the cave, a blast of cold air hits you. For a second i thought i would freeze right there. But its only for a second. We are handed with small lamps to light the way through the cave and while climbing the steps.
It is zero to minus one inside the cave and the warm clothes saved us from being frozen inside the cave.


The caves are formed naturally. The snow from the alps melts throuh the creeks and starts collecting inside the caves and the wind blowing shapes them. I also witnessed what i read in school - Stalactites and Stagmatites.
Walking through the caves, climbing the steps was a nerving experience.


Mother Nature is indeed spectacular. The ice caves are a must-see in everyone's list.Walking down the caves, it was difficult to quieten the rush of excitement.
The sights, the caves and the ice are still slide showing in my mind. :)

7 comments:

Ms.N said...

hey! one country every weekend? too cool - wats next on list?

Ms.N said...

what happened to football plans?

Arjun.C.N said...

pics r not loading up ME!!! do something!!!

Dammy said...

Sandra..........!!!!!!!!

Meera said...

@ms.n: ITALY :)
@ms.n: we watch in our hotel rooms or in the market plaza. when germany playa we watch it in ofice big screen.
@arjun: Not uploading.. dunno y. how is the US?
@dammy:Who?

Anonymous said...

The Caves look Breathtaking...
Was searchin ard for Sandra.. maybe have to wait for the Ice to Melt...
Glad u havin a 'jetsking' time.. where next.....???

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