Hidden Earth 2017 - Imperial College Caving Club

A short presentation on the findings within the Migovec System (NW) Slovenia between the years 2016-2017. Delivered on Sat 31st September 2017 at the Hidden Earth 2017 caving conference.

Transcript

1. The exploration of System Migovec (2016-2017) Finding the longest cave in Slovenia Tanguy Racine Hidden Earth 2017 Imperial College Caving Club, Jamarska Sekcija Planinsko Druˇ stvo Tolmin
2. In 2012, at 25.2km, System Migovec became the longest cave in Slovenia thanks to many years of collaboration between ICCC and the JSPDT. Five years on, the cave is 39.3km long, with 8 entrances and more potential for further deep discoveries 0
3. Overview Introduction and localisation Brief history Logistics Expedition findings 1
4. Introduction: Slovenia Figure 1: Slovenia, on the Adriatic coast 2
5. Introduction: The Julian Alps Figure 2: The Triglav National Park - the mountain is on the national flag! 3
6. Introduction: Tolminski Migovec Figure 3: The Migovec Plateau 4
7. Satellite imagery Figure 4: Orthophotograph of the Migovec Plateau geopedia.si 5
8. Introduction: Tolminski Migovec Figure 5: Tolminski Migovec, as seen from the town of Tolmin 6
9. Geology Figure 6: The geological map of Tolminski Migovec 7
10. Geology Figure 7: The upper Triassic Dachstein limestones (pink in previous map) 8
11. Overview Introduction and localisation Brief history Logistics Expedition findings 9
12. History of exploration 1974 - 2015 10
13. History of exploration 1974 - 2015 11
14. History of exploration 1974 - 2015 12
15. History of exploration 1974 - 2015 13
16. History of exploration 1974 - 2015 K K K K K K MIGOVEC SYSTEM Drawn by ICCC/JSPDT 2015 Surveyed to BCRA Grade 4-5B (1994-2015) Exploration 1974-2015 Tolmin, Julian Alps, Slovenia Depth 972m, Length 30.8 km Gardeners' World: Altitude 1794m Location 540510 / 512398 M2 Kavkna Jama: Altitude 1861m Location 540504 / 512393 M16: Altitude 1857m Location 540505 / 512381 M18 Torn T-shirt: Altitude 1840m Location 540503 / 512394 Vilinska Jama: Altitude 1779m Location 540512 / 512408 EXTENDED ELEVATION Hardy Pico Space Odyssey Concorde Alchemy Fistful of Tolars Pink Zimmer Friendship Gallery Meridian Way Tessellator Swing Piston Captain Kangaroo Olympic Rift Bonus Chamber Dangermouse Mirage Canyon Happy Monday Wet Hammer 2 Minutes to Midnight Leprechaun Red Cow No More Potatoes Falls Road Memory Lane Smash Pleasure Palace Balamory Colarado (-879m) To Infinity and Beyond Korita Highway 32 Insomnia Roaring Prince Consort Rd. Albert Hall Serpentine Povodni Mož Minotaur Rift The Queen's Bedchamber The Palace of King Minos Lost Hopes Eso. Dark Tranquility Laurel Day Dreamers Watership Down (-972m) Penguin's Egg e e Stuck in Paradise Magic Dragon Let na Drugi Svet Grace Banzai Salvation Penitence Lost Miles Walk the Line Skynet Cheetah Red Baron Atlantis Minestrone Invictus Milky Way Sanje za Dušo Vilinska Jama Vrtnarija e e e Poltergeist XXX Sajeta Always the Sun Plopzilla Galactica Ta Mokr Hidrant Gauntlet Gulf Silos Kinder Surprise Wizard of Oz Paradiso Titanic Britannic Olympic Canberra Mig Country Hotline Rock n Roll Toilet Humor Vhodni Del Brezno Strahov M18: Torn T-shirt M2: Kavkna Jama M16 Exhibition Road Getafix * Obelix Shreddies NCB Passage Dodge City Fawlty Towers Lost City Dinsdale Mower Penelope Pot Father Shed Hole in the Hill Pawoden Wonderstuff Northern Line Trunk Passage Waterloo Marwood Inlet Cold Feet Good Not Grand (-958m) Water Hope (-970m) FA999 Paradox Passage Rameses Broken Pencil Warriers for Mig Kaboom Glory Boys Pencil Sump (-967m) Earthquake Way (-937m) Brezno Slapov Yorkshire Xanadu Time Bandits Cuckoo's Nest Straightjacket Slinging in the Rain Lethe (-863m) Pick Your Poison Kokain Clapton # Beetle Juice Artistic Licence Gladiators Rural Underground Rotting Socialism Rotting Communism Gloworm P.J. Kamikaze Serrure A Pun Too Far Blast! Aja! (-967m) Davy Jone's Locker Rock Steady Love Winter Journey Hoover Dam Rock of Sages Push your Luck Jetstream Final Draft Lazarus Choke a Bloke Empty quarter Nitro Aven Andrea Bocelli True Adventures 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000m 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000m Figure 12: System Migovec at the end of 2015 14
17. Important connections in System Migovec K K K K K K MIGOVEC SYSTEM Drawn by ICCC/JSPDT 2015 Surveyed to BCRA Grade 4-5B (1994-2015) Exploration 1974-2015 Tolmin, Julian Alps, Slovenia Depth 972m, Length 30.8 km Gardeners' World: Altitude 1794m Location 540510 / 512398 M2 Kavkna Jama: Altitude 1861m Location 540504 / 512393 M16: Altitude 1857m Location 540505 / 512381 M18 Torn T-shirt: Altitude 1840m Location 540503 / 512394 Vilinska Jama: Altitude 1779m Location 540512 / 512408 EXTENDED ELEVATION Hardy Pico Space Odyssey Concorde Alchemy Fistful of Tolars Pink Zimmer Friendship Gallery Meridian Way Tessellator Swing Piston Captain Kangaroo Olympic Rift Bonus Chamber Dangermouse Mirage Canyon Happy Monday Wet Hammer 2 Minutes to Midnight Leprechaun Red Cow No More Potatoes Falls Road Memory Lane Smash Pleasure Palace Balamory Colarado (-879m) To Infinity and Beyond Korita Highway 32 Insomnia Roaring Prince Consort Rd. Albert Hall Serpentine Povodni Mož Minotaur Rift The Queen's Bedchamber The Palace of King Minos Lost Hopes Eso. Dark Tranquility Laurel Day Dreamers Watership Down (-972m) Penguin's Egg e e Stuck in Paradise Magic Dragon Let na Drugi Svet Grace Banzai Salvation Penitence Lost Miles Walk the Line Skynet Cheetah Red Baron Atlantis Minestrone Invictus Milky Way Sanje za Dušo Vilinska Jama Vrtnarija e e e Poltergeist XXX Sajeta Always the Sun Plopzilla Galactica Ta Mokr Hidrant Gauntlet Gulf Silos Kinder Surprise Wizard of Oz Paradiso Titanic Britannic Olympic Canberra Mig Country Hotline Rock n Roll Toilet Humor Vhodni Del Brezno Strahov M18: Torn T-shirt M2: Kavkna Jama M16 Exhibition Road Getafix * Obelix Shreddies NCB Passage Dodge City Fawlty Towers Lost City Dinsdale Mower Penelope Pot Father Shed Hole in the Hill Pawoden Wonderstuff Northern Line Trunk Passage Waterloo Marwood Inlet Cold Feet Good Not Grand (-958m) Water Hope (-970m) FA999 Paradox Passage Rameses Broken Pencil Warriers for Mig Kaboom Glory Boys Pencil Sump (-967m) Earthquake Way (-937m) Brezno Slapov Yorkshire Xanadu Time Bandits Cuckoo's Nest Straightjacket Slinging in the Rain Lethe (-863m) Pick Your Poison Kokain Clapton # Beetle Juice Artistic Licence Gladiators Rural Underground Rotting Socialism Rotting Communism Gloworm P.J. Kamikaze Serrure A Pun Too Far Blast! Aja! (-967m) Davy Jone's Locker Rock Steady Love Winter Journey Hoover Dam Rock of Sages Push your Luck Jetstream Final Draft Lazarus Choke a Bloke Empty quarter Nitro Aven Andrea Bocelli True Adventures 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000m 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000m 2012 1996 1996 2007 Figure 13: The various connections of system Migovec 15
18. Primadona - the missing piece of the puzzle 15
19. Primadona- Sysmig connection MIGOVEC SYSTEM EXTENDED ELEVATION Drawn by ICCC/JSPDT 2017 Surveyed to BCRA Grade 4-5B (1994-2017) Exploration 1974-2017 Tolmin, Julian Alps, Slovenia Depth 972m, Length 39.3 km Vrtnarija: Ent. eleva�on: 1794 m Kat. Št.: 8283 M2 (Kavkna Jama): Ent. eleva�on: 1861 m Kat. Št.: 4465 M16: Ent. eleva�on: 1854 m Kat. Št.: 6001 M18 (Torn T-shirt): Ent. eleva�on: 1840 m Kat. Št.: 8284 Vilinska Jama: Ent. eleva�on: 1779 m Kat. Št.: 10868 Primadona: Ent. eleva�on: 1726 m Kat. Št.: 8282 Mona�p: Ent. eleva�on: 1730 m Kat. Št.: 10180 U-bend 571: Ent. eleva�on: 1779 m Sistem Primadona Sistem Migovec Sistem Vrtnarija Smer0 Hardy Pico Space Odyssey Concorde Alchemy Fistful of Tolars Pink Zimmer Friendship Gallery Meridian Way Tessellator Swing Piston Captain Kangaroo Olympic Rift Bonus Chamber Dangermouse Mirage Canyon Happy Monday Wet Hammer 2 Minutes to Midnight Leprechaun Red Cow No More Potatoes Falls Road Memory Lane Smash Miles Underground Pleasure Palace Balamory Colarado To Infinity and Beyond Korita Highway 32 Insomnia Roaring Prince Consort Rd. Albert Hall Serpentine Povodni Mož Minotaur Rift The Queen's Bedchamber The Palace of King Minos Lost Hopes Eso Dark Tranquility Laurel Day Dreamers Watership Down (-972m) Penguin's Egg e e Stuck in Paradise Magic Dragon Let na Drugi Svet Grace Banzai Salvation Penitence Lost Miles Walk the Line Skynet Cheetah Red Baron Atlantis Minestrone Invictus Milky Way Sanje za Dušo Vilinska Jama Vrtnarija (Gardeners' World) e e Poltergeist XXX Sajeta Always the Sun Galaktika Ta Mokra Hidrant Gauntlet Gulf Silos Kinder Surprise Wizard of Oz Paradiso Titanic Britannic Olympic Canberra Mig Country Hotline Rock n Roll Toilet Humour Vhodni Dele Brezno Strahov M18: Torn T-shirt M2: Kavkna Jama M16 Exhibition Road Getafix * Obelix Shreddies NCB Passage Dodge City Lost City Dinsdale Mower Penelope Pot Father Shed Hole in the Hill Pawoden Northern Line Trunk Passage Waterloo Marwood Inlet Cold Feet Good Not Grand (-958m) Water Hope (-970m) FA999 Teotihuacán Paradox Passage Rameses Antivox Broken Pencil Warriers for Mig Kaboom Glory Boys Pencil Sump (-967m) Earthquake Way (-937m) Brezno Slapov Yorkshire Xanadu Time Bandits Cuckoo's Nest Straightjacket Slinging in the Rain Lethe (-863m) Pick Your Poison Kokain Clapton # Beetle Juice Artistic Licence Gladiators Rural Underground R.S. R.C. Gloworm P.J. Kamikaze Serrure A Pun Too Far Blast! Aja?! (-967m) Davy Jone's Locker Rock Steady Love Winter Journey Nitro Aven Hoover Dam Rock of Sages Push your Luck Jetstream Final Draft Lazarus Choke a Bloke Empty quarter e e Primadona Alkatraz U-Bend Bear Pitch Monatip TTT Galerija Povezava Stara Jama Spiral climb Risanke Mandare Cloaca Maxima The Rock Terminus Karstaway Déjà Vu Hotel Tolminka True Adventures (-911m) Andrea Bocelli Wonderstuff e Upside Down Chamber What a Coincidence! Hall of the Mountain King Hallowine Vzporedni svet Singing Rock Salome Vialos Drek Pivnica Donji Milanovac (-722m) Gambler's Ruin Fenestrator X-Ray Pravokotni svet Telovadci Slab Primer Netopir Loozer e Smer1 Electric Dreams Hallelujah Sweet Baby Jesus Jack of Hearts Double Time Brez Volje The Atrium Hammerhead High and Dry Alabaster Knot Very Good What a Disappointment! 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000m 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000m Figure 14: Primadona (brown) connected to SysMig in October 2015 16
20. A depth coloured map of the system Figure 15: Primadona highlighted in the west sector 17
21. Primadona plan - passage coloured by date 18
22. Primadona E-W projection- passage coloured by date 19
23. The cave entrances on the cliff side Tolminski Migovec mountain. Access is quite hard, 3-4 h walking from the valley. Figure 18: entrances of Monatip and Primadona caves 20
24. Overview Introduction and localisation Brief history Logistics Expedition findings 21
25. Getting there Figure 19: a 24h minibus drive across Europe ferrying kit 22
26. Equipment carries Figure 20: 16 crates full of food and metalwork carried in 9 seater minibus 23
27. Tolminske Ravne (924m) - base camp Figure 21: Equipment priority sorting and stashing before the ascent 24
28. Cooking area - Petrol stoves Figure 22: Deep frying on Coleman petrol stoves, food left in darren drums 25
29. The bivi - surface camp Figure 23: Communal area for pushing kit, food, wood stash, brew and kitchen 26
30. Water capture and storage Figure 24: Barrels for water capture and storage 27
31. Mountain life Figure 25: Clearing the seating area is sometimes necessary 28
32. Mountain life Figure 26: Relaxing at the Sunset spot with a view of the Italian plain 29
33. Overview Introduction and localisation Brief history Logistics Expedition findings 30
34. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 30
35. Neprehojene Poti -2016 K MIGOVEC SYSTEM Smer0 S Miles Underground To Infinity and Beyond Salvation Invictus Sanje z XXX Sajeta Always the Sun Exh Pawoden Northern Line Trunk Passage Waterloo M d Cold Feet Teotihuacán Paradox Passage Rameses Antivox Warriers for Mig Kaboom Glory Boys Rock of Sages e e Primadona Alkatraz U-Bend Bear Pitch Monatip TTT Galerija Povezava Stara Jama Spiral climb Risanke Mandare Sejna Soba Cloaca Maxima The Rock Terminus Karstaway Déjà Vu Hotel Tolminka Wonderstuff e Upside Down Chamber What a Coincidence Hall of the Mountain King Hallowine Vzporedni svet Singing Rock Salome Vialos Ajdovscina Pivnica Dojni Milanovac (-722m) Gambler's Ruin Cattle Grid P Telovadci Slab Primer Netopir Loozer 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 Figure 27: The findings of the expedition 31
36. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 28: Laying a string from bivi to the start of the cliff abseil 32
37. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 29: Rigging a cliff abseil to Primadona (wrong valley) 33
38. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 30: Rigging a cliff abseil to Primadona (correct valley) 34
39. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 35
40. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 32: Entrance chamber with snow slope (notice high level 2000’s rope) 36
41. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 33: Alkatraz chamber, one of the biggest chambers in the system 37
42. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 34: A new way into Alkatraz (the Rock) 38
43. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 35: Alkatraz chamber 39
44. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 36: Knot Very Good pitch, on the way to deeper levels 40
45. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 37: The Karstaway extensions 41
46. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 38: Rokovo Brezno, bottom of the pitch wide open and unexplored 42
47. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 39: Stainless steel M8 raul bolts for durability 43
48. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 40: The Hall of the Mountain King (P42) 44
49. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 41: The rest of the collapse chamber, with pitch up at far end 45
50. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 42: A horizontal passage joining both shaft series of Primadona 46
51. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 43: Above Upside Down chamber, 2nd largest by volume 47
52. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 44: The pitch parallel to Upside Down chamber (P46) 48
53. However this year was not without incident 48
54. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 49
55. Neprehojene Poti - 2016 Figure 46: Casualty helicoptered back to Ljubljana after 30hrs in the cave 50
56. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 50
57. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 MIGOVEC SYSTEM Smer0 Smash Miles Underground Colarado To Infinity and Beyond Invictus Sanje za Dušo Polterge XXX Sajeta Always the Sun M2: Kavkna Jama Exhibition Road Pawoden Northern Line Trunk Passage Waterloo Marwood Inlet Cold Feet FA999 Teotihuacán Paradox Passage Rameses Antivox Broken Pencil Warriers for Mig Kaboom Glory Boys Hoover Dam Rock of Sages Lazarus e e Primadona Alkatraz U-Bend Bear Pitch Monatip TTT Galerija Povezava Stara Jama Spiral climb Risanke Mandare Cloaca Maxima The Rock Terminus Karstaway Déjà Vu Hotel Tolminka Wonderstuff e Upside Down Chamber What a Coincidence! Hall of the Mountain King Hallowine Vzporedni svet Singing Rock Salome Vialos Drek Pivnica Donji Milanovac (-722m) Gambler's Ruin Fenestrator Pravokotni sv Telovadci Slab Primer Netopir Loozer e Smer1 Electric Dreams Hallelujah Sweet Baby Jesus Jack of Hearts Double Time Brez Volje The Atrium Hammerhead High and Dry Alabaster Knot Very Good What a Disappointment! 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 Figure 47: The findings of the expedition 51
58. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 48: Electric Dreams - passages above the Hall of the Mountain King 52
59. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 49: A horizontal passage at depth 53
60. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 50: The Alabaster branch - potential for more depth 54
61. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 51: The Hallelujah streamway 55
62. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 56
63. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 57
64. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 58
65. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 59
66. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 60
67. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 61
68. Surface exploration: discovery of Gondolin 61
69. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 58: A view out to the Tolminka Valley from Gondolin entrance 62
70. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 59: The pendulum into the cave involved acrobatic SRT manoeuvers 63
71. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 60: The Gondolin 3rd pitch 64
72. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 61: The final chamber is choked with frost shattered debris 65
73. Surface exploration: Area N - beyond the ridge 65
74. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 62: A little peak, ’Rob’, juts out of the Area N plateau 66
75. ˇ Cez Rob - 2017 Figure 63: Potential cave entrance in Area N 67
76. Acknowledgements Thanks to the photographers: Jack Hare, Rhys Tyers, Jarvist Frost and everyone else, for taking the time to capture the newly discovered passages and provide valuable documentation for future years. Detailed reports on our activies in Slovenia from 1994 onwards can be found on www.union.ic.ac.uk/rcc/caving/slovenia/ 68