Expedition Name (& Club): Votla Gora 2008 (ICCC)

Destination country: Slovenia
Region: Julian Alps

Lat: 46.1959 Long: 13.6198 Elevation: m
MEF funding: none

Leader: Jarvist Frost

Brief Expedition objectives:

List a short summary of the main Expedition objectives.

Connection of Sistem Migovec (11493m - 5th longest in Slovenia) with Vrtnarija (5229m - 11th longest), separation currently 28m on centre line. Pushing of new caves discovered on Tolminski Migovec. Pushing of deep leads in Vrtnarija (-800m) by camping at X-Ray (- 500m). Pushing of unexplored eastern extensions of NCB (Sistem Migovec) where Plopzilla was found in 2007 (105m pitch). Surface exploration in virgin territory: unexplored plateau north of Tolminski Kuk.

How can the GPF support your Expedition?:

Please explain the aspects of the trip which make it eligible for Ghar Parau funding.

Imperial College Caving Club has made significant contributions to the exploration of Slovenian caves. The report of our recent expeditions (1994-2006) has recently been published and copies are available in caving libraries around the world. Our lengthy commitment to the exploration of these caves is possible thanks to the unique pool of expertise provided by the ex- ICCC elder members. As well as making valuable contributions to the exploration of new cave systems, our summer expeditions allow for skills transfer from the old to the new guard, training a generation of cave leaders. Our expedition is well known in Slovenia both within the local general community and the national caving groups. The Migovec explorations are testimony to genuine international exploration. Last year we hosted 7 of the Tolmin caving group in the UK, introducing them to some of Yorkshire's pot holes. Our college, unfortunately, has withdrawn almost all funding and support from the Slovenia project and seems to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of caving exploration. The low cost of our expedition is not due to a lack of ambition in our plans. On the contrary, it reflects the seriousness and high chances of success of our exploration. We do not need to hire outside training, as our older members have trained us during the year in British caves. Much of the equipment needed is already available thanks to our previous expeditions, we already know what gear will work and what will not: funds only have to cover wear and tear. Years of contact with local speleological groups mean that per capita costs can be low, nevertheless without subsidy fewer members will be able to participate, making the chances of significant new discoveries slimmer and reducing the expertise and prestige of the Union in caving. We will be able to afford less equipment, again reducing chances of success and making explorations more hazardous. The first £1000 of any external grants are earmarked for caving consumables (rope, bolts, slings, replacement of bolt kits, survey instruments, tapes), which will directly and proportionally feed back into benefits for the speleological community. I enclose no surveys, but invite the committee to browse the latest PDFs from our website: http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/rcc/caving/slovenia/slov2007/

Detailed description of objectives:

Give a more detailed account of the purpose of the trip, including any particular known caves you intend to visit, specific areas where you will explore for new cave, and scientific experiments you will attempt.

Our main aim is exploration, with survey to BCRA 4b and prompt publication of any notable passage once returned to the UK. 2007 also saw a surveying project combined with prospecting of small caves discovered on the plateau in the 1970s by the Slovene JSPDT, whose snow lines have been steadily dropping over the last few years. Immature caves discovered in 2007 will also occupy our time, as will hopefully a visit to the lower plateau north of Tolminski Kuk where the potential is huge and absolutely zero work has been done in this area (due to inaccessibility - the quickest way there is to walk past our bivi on Migovec).

Previous work in this area:

Give details of any previous work in this area by your own and other teams. Include references to reports and articles published on the area, and the names of any local cavers or academics with whom you have discussed the Expedition.

We have run expeditions to this area in: 94,95,96,97,98,99,00,01,03,04,05,07, and smaller recces in 95,06.

Complete information on these expeditions and discoveries (except for 2007 which we are yet to publish) can be found in "The Hollow Mountain (1974-2006)", published in Dec 2007 and of which we have donated two copies to the GPF.