Primož Jakopin, photo diary

Boybuloq 2021
The grotto at 2880 m above sea level

August 6, 2021, 18 pictures

Most images are approximately 683 x 1024 pixels in size, numbers in front of the picture descriptions are serial numbers of the original photo files. Full names of the most visible persons, depicted or mentioned in the pictures: Mitja Mršek, Laurence Baudoux d'Hautefeuille, Martin Kern, Pauline Georges, Alexandre Honiat, Théophile Cailhol, Arnauld Malard and Vadim Loginov.
The page, text and photos copyright (c) Primož Jakopin - Klok 2021.

Above the Base camp

49981. Mitja is examining a photo he took of the canyon, early in the morning.

Above the entrance of Višnevskij cave

49984. With Mitja we followed the canyon upwards to its beginning and the edge of the Chul-Bair ridge with its precipituous northeastern side looked quite close. After a little over half an hour we reached the edge and followed it upwards. In the photo - view down the slope from the edge, with Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata ridge on the horizon. To get to the Base camp canyon, one should keep to the right.

49985. Soon we noticed this rope, which leads to the entrance of Višnevskij cave some 20 m lower, at an altitude of 3522 meters above sea level. Approximate coordinates: N 38⁰22' E 67⁰31'.

49982. Mitja is taking a photo to the southeast, towards Tajikistan

49983. View of the ridge to the southwest, Dehibolo is hidden behind the wall.

49986. View north reveals an even mightier rock tower, at around 3700 meters above sea level.

49988. A moment of reflection on the ridge

49990. A bit to the north from the Višnevskij's starting point this fault in the ridge opens up a more moderate view down ...

49989. ... here enjoyed by Mitja.

49991. Mitja during the return from the edge

At the bottom ledge of the Base camp

49992. Handmade hammer and chisel

49993. L'équipe française: Laurence, Martin, Pauline, Alex, Theo et Arnauld

To the grotto

49994. A short stretch downstream of the water source resembles a slot canyon - view to the west, to the light

49995. Further down the canyon is still narrow, with steep sides, and it is becoming increasingly impassable.

49996. The author, trying to locate the cave U istočnika (At the water source) encountered a drop in the bed, too steep and high to climb, and was forced to make a 300 m detour, to the west, over the rock ledges on the left side. He managed to descend into the dry stream bed again and followed it upstream about 150 m. He failed to locate the cave, supposed to be even closer to the water source, but found a nice, about 50 m long cavern, about 10 meters high, into which the stream, in the wet season of the year, must be falling in a nice waterfall. The cavern was not shown on any of the Vadim's maps or elsewhere in accessible SGS resources. The cavern, at an elevation of about 2880 m above se level, also contains a water source, comparable in capacity to the one used by the expedition, which is at an altitude about 20 m higher. In the picture - view west from the cavern entrance.

49998. View out from the grotto

49999. View inside, with a dark circle on the right where the water drops fall ...

50000. ... and a wider view inside, without human presence.