Jaskinie - The Caves, issue 12

Jaskinie - The Caves, issue 46 (1/2007)


News

What is new at Zakrzówek? - Andrzej Górny

A tectonic horst Twardowski Hill in the western periphery of Kraków, built of Upper Jurassic limestones, hosts e few caves, including Twardowski Cave, now 500 m long. The caves in this area are extensive though tight. They are explored mainly by digging and removing of limestone debris, guided succesfully by data of ground penetrating radar surveys.


Polish activity abroad

Gloria o Muerte! or Pirates' camp - Paweł Skoworodko, Kasia Okuszko

"Proyecto Sistema Cheve", Bill Stone's project of deep cave exploration in Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico, continued in 2006 exploration in J2, a cave discovered in 2004 a few kilometres north of Sistema Cheve. The action by an international team of 36 was intended as a preparation for a big expedition planned for 2007: installing telephone communication from the base camp to the bottom, finding a new deep camp site in the cave and building an underground hydropower plant. The telephone was installed and a new camp was set at - 1000 m. Exploration of the main lead quite fast led to a giant sump. James Brown passed the 160 m long and 7 m deep sump and came to a next sump behind a boulder choke, where he decided that a second diver is necessary. The next expedition is planned for 2008, aimed at diving the final sumps and climbing near the present bottom in search of a dry by-pass.


Cerro Rabon - Paweł Skoworodko

Five Polish and two American cavers continued exploration of Sistema de los Tres Amigos on the southern slopes of the Cerro Rabon in Oaxaca, Mexico. A search near the botttom at -611 m led to a new, spacious and richly decorated series, quite different from the rest of the cave. A deep camp is planned for further exploration. A trip planned for December 2006 had to be postponed because of political unrest in the region.


Tiang Xing - Eva Hajduk

Six cavers from Poland took part in an international Hong Meigui expedition led by Erin Lynch, in company of cavers from Russia, Austria, Denmark and USA. They explored deep caves in Tian Xing area, Chongqing provice, Central China. The aim of the expedition was to connect neighbouring deep caves Lanmu Shu (-833 m) and Qikeng Dong (-920 m) and to explore other caves, including 177 m deep Su Jia Ba. All exploration was strictly accompanied by precise surveying, which made the search for connections more effective. The Polish team deepened Su Jia Ba by 100 m and backed from the head of another shaft for the lack of rope. Meanwhile, Duncan Collis and Marcel Nawrot made the desired communications. The Tiang Xing system, 983 m deep, became the deepest cave of China. The search for another communication was hampered by a 100 m rise in water level, caused by a newly built dam on a nearby river. Shortly after the teams returned from the expedition, Erin with Duncan and two other cavers came to Su Jia Ba and 30 m below the end of the earlier exploration found the entrance to a shaft 491 m deep which can be roped down in a single shot without touching the wall.


Prokletije - damned mountains - Ditta Kicińska, Krzysztof Najdek

An attempt at a reconnaissance trip to the Prokletije massif at the Montenegro-Albanian boundary frontier, resulted in a 40-strong Serbian-Polish expedition that in summer 2006 explored this promising limestone massif with huge glacial cirques hanging high above great resurgences. Of several tens of explored caves, 25 were surveyed, up to 115 m deep and up to 200 m long. All appeared blocked with snow or rock debris or were too tight.


Eighth time in the Kanin - Paweł Ramatowski

A team from STJ KW Kraków went to Polska Jama (BC4) for the first time after the events of December 2005 (see JASKINIE 41, p. 9). The system Mala Boka - Polska Jama is now 1319 m deep and more than 8 km long. They visited the series near the junction, explored new series in the deep parts of the caves and searched for new entrances to the system.


Expedition to Norway 2006 - Karolina Filipczak

A team from STJ KW Kraków went to Norway, invited by Norsk Grotteforbund. This year's exploration in Tjoarve resulted in surpassing the long-expected 20 km of length. A visit to the Burfjell area, with guidance by Hans Oivind Aarstad resulted in discovery of a new series that may lead to communication with other caves.


Poland

Poszukiwaczy Skarbów Cave - "forgotten series" - Jakub Nowak

The author surveyed a part of Poszukiwaczy Skarbów (Treasure Hunters') Cave in the Tatra Mountains. This part of the cave was earlier known but has been omitted in the published inventory. The cave is seldom visited.


Mine galleries or caves in the Sudetes end their foreland - Andrzej Wojtoń

In the past centuries intense mining and other excavations left many artificial underground galleries and chambers in the Sudetes Mountains. The author reviews those that are marked in tourist maps and guides as caves but are obviously artificial.


A shelter at the margin of Polish Jura - Adam Polonius

The author describes a chamber 25 m long, excavated in platy limestones in a quarry in the eastern margin of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. He notes also a find of a flint artefact, unrelated to the undeground chamber.


Editors:
Janusz Baryła, Michał Gradziński, Jakub Nowak, Mariusz Szelerewicz
This HTML-version: Dariusz Bartoszewski
Editioral address (main):
ul. Ehrenberga 36a 31-309 Krakow, Poland e-mail: szelerewicz@ceti.pl
Internet edition:
e-mail: dbart@panda.bg.univ.gda.pl WWW: panda.bg.univ.gda.pl/~dbart


BACK BACK
to index
EPIMENIDES
polish speleo page.

Last change 2007.03.04