Expedition Name (& Club): Izgubljeni Raj, Slovenia 2011 (ICCC)

Destination country: Slovenia
Region:

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

Leader: Myles Denton

Brief Expedition objectives:

List a short summary of the main Expedition objectives.

Further exploration of the deep leads in Sistem Vrtnarija (8775/807m), based at the Friendship Gallery -550m underground campsite. This exploration is certain to extend the depth of Vrtnarija (pitch series at +4 m). We also have a considerable quantity of leads at circa. -550 m discovered via extensive horizontal development in 2010. From the surface we will continue the exploration of Kavkna Jama/M2 (part of SysMig – 11586/970m) based on the JSPDT 'breakthrough' extension in October 2010. We will attempt to forge a connection between System Vrtnarija and System Migovec, forming the longest cave in Slovenia. Macro photography, documentation, measurement and analysis of the unusual calcite and aragonite formations found in 2010.

How can the GPF support your Expedition?:

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

The Vodna Sled 2010 expedition proved incredibly successful, resulting in a discovery of over 2km of new cave passage. This was achieved by the re-rigging of the 550m entrance series of Vrtnarija, and the logistical success of our four man, hot bedded underground camp at -550m. The cave systems on Migovec provide many more exploration opportunities of this kind, and grows ever larger and more complex. Making the most of our discoveries will require a considerable quantity of equipment, in order to make the most of the numerous vertical pitch series and other leads, and to enable the simultaneous pushing of multiple fronts to make best use of our days in the field. The Migovec cave explorations have always incorporated a significant aspect of training as part of the cave exploration. The well found underground camps in 2009 and 2010 enabled us to take first year students to explore below 500 m, with clear benefits for the development of their caving and cave exploration skills. We feel that this skill development of young adult cavers is of benefit for the UK caving community as a whole.

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.

From the summer 2010 data, System Migovec (M2,M18,M16) is now 11532 m long, with a depth of 970m. System Vrtnarija (Vrtnarija, Vilinska) is 8775m in length, 807m deep. M2, which was briefly extended by JSPDT during the autumn, has closest approaches of under 50 m from the Vrtnarija system. The JSPDT extensions were via a a too-tight rift and led to pitches of circa. 20 and 60 m. The bottom of the pitches lead to tight but strongly drafting rift. Making the connection between these two systems would have several repercussions. Firstly, we would have a combined system length of 20307 m, making it the second longest system in Slovenia, a few hundred metres short of the top spot (an amount of new passage we would expect to find easily during the summer). Secondly, as the entrance to M2 is 75 m higher than Vrtnarija, the depth of system Vrtnarija would increase. During 2010, a lead in Vrtnarija was pushed to -802m (Republica/Insomnia). This is a particular exciting target as the active streamway appears to pierce the large abandoned phreatic layer that dominates the 700-800m deep level in Vrtnarija. The depth potential in the Migovec mountain is expected to increase from South-West to North-East, due to the dip of the Cretaceous shale underling the limestone. We thus estimate that there may be a further 200 m of depth potential in Vrtnarija. Combined, this means that we have the potential this summer to form the longet cave system in Slovenia, which is simultaneously a deep alpine system, and may be pushed to thousand metres deep. The sustained depth of our pushing fronts in Vrtnarija during 2010 required a four man camp based at -550 m, and the rerigging of the 550m entrance series. There are currently a couple hundred metres of new rope (derigged from leads at the end of 2010), a tent and rollmats at underground camp, enabling almost immediate productive use of the camp for the 2011 expedition. We are considering extending the camp to a six man camp, or possibly establishing a small two man camp at –750 m. We are hoping to visit the various known sumps to gather hydrological information and perform a feasibility study for potential cave diving. Photographs and measurements of the sumps, and estimates of the flow rates, will be made. Currently we are speaking with Slovene caving clubs with regards to the possibility of dye tracing, and whether it would be possible to conduct small dye tests within SysMig or Vrtnarija, to understand the hydrology within the cave systems. Due to the direct use of the resurgences as drinking water, and the delicate ecology of the national park, full permission and support from the Slovene local government & interested parties is required. As well as the exploration of the deep leads in Vrtnarija, we think it is wise to resurvey parts of the M2 system (original data is from the 1970s), and to survey parts of the newly discovered M2 by the work done in Autumn by JSPDT. Finally, as we have several good climbing leads which are currently inaccessible without assistance, we plan to purchase a new electric drill for bolt climbing these promising leads. Further exploration of the surface ('shaft bashing') will be undertaken to attempt and locate new cave systems. Due to time constraints during the 2010 expedition, little effort was put into the surface and we have a considerable backlog of waypoints of interest from various out of season reconnaissance visits. In terms of 'deliverables' from this expedition we intend to: * fully survey all discoveries, freely distribute survey data * produce a complete vector drawn cave survey * present talks of our discoveries to the Slovene and English caving community * register all discoveries & expedition findings and new caves with the Slovene 'Kataster' cave registrar * freely distribute photos from the expedition * incorporate materials from this expedition into a further book publication that will cover exploration on Migovec from 2007--

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: 94,95,96,97,98,99,00,01,03,04,05,07,08,09,10 and smaller recces in Easter 95, autumn 06, winter 09. Vrtnarija was discovered in 2000, and extended on every expedition since then. M2 was originally explored to -350m during 1974-1978, but was rerigged during the 2008 joint expedition, and extended in 2008, 2009 and 2010.