44765. We followed an old, grass-overgrown track in the sparse deciduous karst forest, of mainly thin oaks.
Most images are approximately 768 x 1024 pixels in size, numbers in front of the picture descriptions are serial numbers of the original photo files. Names of the event participants depicted in the pictures and related persons: Claudio Bratos, Ludvik Husu, Goran Rutar in Volče, Metod Di Batista, Alenka Terlep - Lenča, Branka Hlad, Miran and Marjana Marussig with their she-dog Ajči in Lanski vrh.
Loves Me, Loves Me Not refers to the cavity - will she open up enough to be a cave or will she not.
Pictures photo and copyright (c) Primož Jakopin - Klok 2019.
44765. We followed an old, grass-overgrown track in the sparse deciduous karst forest, of mainly thin oaks.
44766. Are we far enough? Ludvik, Clauido and Goran
44791. View of an about 50 m long and a few meters wide fault with collapsed rocks at the bottom, from above.
44767. At the bottom, at the southern end, there is ...
44768. ... about 6 meters deep shaft which Claudio is now evaluating.
44770. Claudio is ready for descent, with Ludvik ...
44771. ... and Goran near by.
44772. Entrance rocks are thickly embroidered with moss and small ferns.
44773. Here he is soon at the bottom ...
44774. ... and here in a closer view, aided with additional illumination. The cave procceds a few meters along a meander, perpendicular to the main fault. All in all, well over 10 m, the registreation limit. But na draft.
44792. At the bottom side of the large fault this dead nettle grove found a perfect place to develop to the full splendor.
44776. Moving up the fault Goran ...
44775. ... called to attention an opening below this large, ...
44777. ... rainwater carved rock. It capsized so the indentations are now horizontal and not vertical. Yet there was no draft and ...
44779. ... we moved a few steps upwards, where this little hole, after a stone or two were removed, ...
44778. ... allowed Claudio to peek in. No success again, to get anywhere near some reasonable cave, tons of rock would have to be moved away.
44783. A selfie of today's quartet on top of the fault, where, between Ludvik's and Goran's feet ...
44780. ... this hole required further attention. Klok was the first to tackle it, legs first, but the bottom stone (picture center) was a bit too bulgy even for his slim chest. The stomach passed without problems, the ribs stuck.
44781. So Goran tried to push the rock away by hand ...
44784. ... but it was unmovable. So the whole party started a head-on excavation.
44785. Little by little, in 10 minutes ...
44787. ... the hole got a twin with a small pillar in between.
44789. Claudio slipped in ...
44788. ... and soon disappeared from sight. He delved deeper and deeper but decided to return because there was a lack of draft.
A 2 minute film sequence is depicting Claudio's exit from the cave.
44790. From the top of the fault, where the terrain looks like a forested meadow ...
44793. ... we moved down to its southern end, where plateaus of large broken rocks ...
44794. ... are interspersed with dolines. Here Claudio is searching for a possible entrance.
44795. No luck, so the party moved west, where Goran spotted another good location years ago.
44796. Southwestern flank of a large, more or less flat collapse which could hide a cave below.
44797. On the southern side a narrow entrance ...
44798. ... invited Claudio to move in.
44799. He advanced a few meters horizontally, up to this crack, a top window.
44803. Claudio at the large rock on the access to the cave, after the following dialogue - Claudio: What's inside? Goran: 19 sheep bodies. Claudio: 19? Goran: Yes, 19. Bear ripped them apart. But it was 20 years ago.
44800. The first try to enter the cave: head first.
44801. It was a no go. Second try follows: legs first.
44802. The cave is not long, a meander along a large fissure. In the picture: Claudio on the exit, with a horse skull he removed for an easier crawl out.
44804. Claudio and Ludvik in the quarry, there are steeper walls on top ...
44805. ... also with some cave-like features.
44807. View across the quarry entrance, against the late afternoon sun, with Goran in front and Vremščica mountain in the distance.
44808. It is late summer already, as this grove of ox-eye, Buphthalmum salicifolium, vrbovolistni primožek in Slovenian, shows
44809. An against-the-light forest greenery opening with a view on the road which brought us here ... and which will take us away again.
44810. It was merry all around: Miran, Marjana, Ajči, Lenča and the birthday boy with Branka in front of the shelter door.
Hotiške ponikve / Hotična Sinkholes, July 3
Cape Debeli rtič, July 20
This page, text and photos by Primož Jakopin, member of the Ljubljana Cave Exploration Society (DZRJL).
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Page initiated on July 10, 2019; date of the last change: July 27, 2019.
URL: http://www.jakopin.net/primoz/slike/2019/PJ20190710_en.php
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