Expedition Name (& Club): Durmitor Caving Expedition 2014 (York University Cave and Pothole Club)

Destination country: Montenegro
Region: Durmitor

Lat: 43.1441 Long: 19.0327 Elevation: m
MEF funding: none

Leader: Mr Mark Sims

Brief Expedition objectives:

List a short summary of the main Expedition objectives.

To continue the discovery and exploration of previously unknown deep caves in the Durmitor Massif, Montenegro, with the ultimate aim of realising some of the huge depth potential in the region.

- Continue exploration of Bunda Jama (current depth ~300 m)
- Continue exploration of JVC (current depth 133 m)
- Continue prospecting the northern areas of Durmitor
- Shaftbashing of previously identified entrances
- Personal development of team members

How can the GPF support your Expedition?:

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

The 2014 expedition to Durmitor builds upon the previous three years of expeditions to the area which were also funded in part by the GPF. There is a huge amount of potential in the region, of which we have only begun to scratch the surface.

The remote nature and logistics of our expedition make it a challenging and rewarding one, whilst also being financially viable for students and young people. As such, it provides a valuable opportunity to continue building on previously gained skills and to pass these on to a new generation of cavers.

However, as the expedition grows in size and exploration gets deeper, we require more gear: both personal and communal. Grant money would be used to buy vital rigging and rescue equipment such as rope, bolts and hangers as well as communal camping equipment.

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.

We have undertaken three lightweight trips to the region prior to our planned three-week expedition in 2014, and the results have been extremely positive, with a large number of cave entrances having been discovered. Our primary objective for 2014 is Bunda Jama: a cave currently explored by ourselves to a depth of over 300 m deep (surveyed depth 286 m) at which point we had to turn back in 2013 at the top of a large pitch due to running out of equipment and time needed to explore the ongoing passages below. We aim to continue exploration of Bunda Jama, surveying and photographing as we go. As the cave reaches greater depths, finding a suitable place for an underground camp for future exploration will become one of our objectives.

There are many secondary objectives in addition to Bunda Jama, one of the most notable being JVC, another cave discovered by us which has been explored to 133 m deep and where again exploration was curtailed due to a lack of time and equipment with open passage continuing below. In 2013, due to unusually high snow levels, the entrance to this cave was inaccessible so continued exploration will be an objective for 2014. As well as following underground leads, returning to as yet unexplored entrances found in previous years, there are many regions on the surface that are yet to be prospected for caves and we also hope to cover some of these areas during our 2014 trip (detailed in the 2013 report).

As the number of expedition members grows each year, establishing logistics for communal space, camping and cooking will always be a key objective.

Documentation of the expedition is also an important goal for us, so photography and filming equipment will be taken in 2014. As in previous years, we will write a detailed report of our findings in order to aid future expeditions.

We are always keen to pass on knowledge to keen young cavers. Several of our members for this year are new to caving and particularly to expeditions and so personal development and skill enhancement are key goals both prior to and during the expedition.

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.

Our previous visits to northern Durmitor in 2011, 2012 and 2013 provide the basis of the plans for our trip in 2014. These have each been lightweight trips with minimal gear, the main objectives of which have been to assess the real potential that the north of Durmitor has to offer, given that it had not been previously explored for caves.

These visits to the northern region of Durmitor build on trips by the Serbian caving club, ASAK, who have carried out numerous expeditions further south; YUCPC joined their 2004, 2007 and 2010 expeditions. The southern area has now been thoroughly explored but until YUCPC’s independent involvement in 2011, this more remote area of Durmitor was completely unprospected. We have developed strong ties over the last few years with members of ASAK, and we hope that some of them will be able to join us in 2014. Our close links with ASAK have allowed us access to detailed digital topographic surveys of the massif that we would not otherwise have.

These expeditions have proven very successful, during which time we have not only discovered a lot of previously unknown caves but we have established and developed techniques for living and working in this remote area of the mountain. We have written up detailed reports of each of the trips, available at http://durmitor.yucpc.org.uk/reports.php, and we will use the successes and challenges of these trips to maximise the scope for exploration in 2014.