Most images are approximately 768 times 1024 pixels in size,
numbers in front of the picture descriptions are the serial numbers of the original photo files.
Full names of trip participants, mentioned in the text:
Vladimir Levašov, Janez Modrijan - Modrc, Metod Di Batista and Marjan Juvan - Manč.
Where not otherwise stated, Vladimir is in the photos and the names of the cave parts were,
in places, given by the author.
Unfortunately, the time of the cave trip, the goal of which was to rig a traverse
across the shaft to the siphon in Levi Rov / Left Tunnel for a possible later dive, was very
limited. Its start was at five in the afternoon, and return at a quarter past ten in the evening.
The author therefore only took the following photo equipment: a phone camera (Huawei P30 Pro)
and two 10 W LED lights, one floodlight and one with a variable focus (zoom). All photos
were taken handheld, with short exposure times. Better shots would require better equipment,
which had to remain in Članska vas: a SLR camera with flashes and a tripod. It would mean a
bigger load, slower movement in the cave and a longer time to take the photos.
The participants simply could not afford to return in the morning.
Pictures photo and copyright (c) Primož Jakopin - Klok 2022, except for photo VL5 which is the work of Vladimir Levašov, who is also the copyright holder (published with permission).
51254. Janez has a rock at his feet, which he pulled from a depth of 20 meters with the modest help of Klok. He is also today's birthday boy, he turned n*m years old, where n is the fourth prime number and m is the fifth. All the best, Janez, keep up the good work!
51255. Large garden snail, Helix pomatia, with a single, right, tentacle
51256. Metod, assistant to the chief digger Manč, on return from the depths
51257. The participants climbed the first step in the Left Tunnel, a good two meters high, with a rope wrapped around a large rock outcrop.
51258. Vladimir used 35 m of rope to descend into an approximately 10 m deep shaft above the siphon, or more precisely, to make a traverse to the other shore of the siphon lake. The video shows the first stretch, where it was possible to fix the rope around two nicely dissected rocks.
51259. Below the first of three anchors. With Manč's powerful drill, the work proceeded smoothly.
51275. On a rock outcrop below the third anchor and...
51274. ... at the bottom, across the lake. With the help of a rope, it was possible to cross the muddy slope above the water.
51260. Finally, the rope was passed over the clay bank and tied to rocks in the bed of an occasional stream. The photo was unintended, it was created by the voice control of the camera shutter which gets fired not only by the loud speech, but also by other sounds.
VL5. The author on the traverse over the lake, photo by Vladimir Levašov
51261. View of the Siphon Lake from the other side, from the continuation of the tunnel
51273. Baroque decoration above the eastern lake shore
51262. On the north side of the tunnel, a little further from the siphon, this flowstone waterfall with a heap formed under the chimney.
51263. Here it is shown in a slightly wider perspective, lit only from the front, ...
51270. ... and another photo, more from the east side.
51264. In the rather fragmented Left Tunnel, it is necessary to balance over a muddy bed with some water, along muddy slopes where you dig footsteps into the clay with the heel, or get over it "quickly", hoping you don't slide down before running out of momentum for the next step. The continuation is on the far right, after the bend.
51265. An ascent follows, about ten meters up a climbable slope, to a tunnel on the upper right, which continues to the left. Only Vladimir went and saw some interesting chimneys and a meander that was a little too narrow to get through.
51267. The author waited under the slope and as, in Serbian, besposleni pop i jariće krsti (a jobless priest will also baptize baby goats), paid attention to some interesting details so that he wouldn't get too cold. In the photo: the wall on the left side of the bend, stone with various inclusions, calcite, clay.
51266. View back down the tunnel
51268. At the top, a calcite covered passage in the stream bed
51269. From time to time there is a small lake with an estavelle (sinkholes at low water, springs at high water table) at the bottom
51271. At the end of the Left Tunnel, Vladimir found a lot of cobwebs under the chimney, and where there are cobwebs, there are also flies, so the surface must be near. This box of canned fish is too old to be from the time of the first tunnel visits (he found no other traces) and did it really come from the surface?
51272. Calcite formations in a fault above the stream bed, against the light
51276. On the way back, all sorts of fuel were running low, but it is always difficult to pass the "Crocodiles" in Piparski rov / Piparski tunnel without taking a picture.
When the two participants were driving back home, forty minutes by car, Vladimir said: You Slovenians are really lucky, everything that Ukrainian cavers have quite far away, you have almost at your doorstep: Kanin is like Arabika, Najdena jama is like caves in Crimea, and Radošca like caves in the Carpathians.
Related posts:
Lanski vrh, June 1
Lanski vrh, July 14, 2022
This page, text and photos by Primož Jakopin,
member of the Ljubljana Cave Exploration Society (DZRJL), except where stated otherwise.
Send inquiries and comments to primoz jakopin guest arnes si
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Page initiated on July 14 and last changed July 19, 2022.
URL: https://www.jakopin.net/primoz/slike/pj2022/PJ20220622_en.php
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