Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
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Ilona Vladimirova, second year student Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, NSU, took part in an international speleological expedition to the Gissar Range in Uzbekistan this summer. For twenty days, a team of 34 researchers from Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Israel and the United States studied the largest caves in the region – Boy-Bulok and Vishnevsky.
The main objective of the expedition was to find a connection between the Boy-Bulok and Vishnevsky caves, conduct a topographic survey of the Boy-Bulok cave passages, explore an ice cave at an altitude of 3,700 m, and refine the topographic survey of the Khodja-Gur-Gur-Ata massif caves. In addition, more specific tasks were also solved: installing a hydrogenerator in the underground base camp (UBC) at a depth of -560 m to generate electricity, organizing communication between the caves using the Nicola device, delivering ground penetrating radars to both caves, and measuring the distance between the closest points, as well as other studies.
Ilona worked as part of a team at the Chulbair massif. The speleologists managed to pass a narrow section in the Boy-Bulok cave and explore a new clay passage about 70 meters long, which allowed them to refine the topographic survey data and increase the amplitude of the cave depth by another 6 meters.
— It was not easy, since the route through the cave has the fourth category of complexity. However, I really enjoyed life underground in PBL-560, where I spent three nights (some participants lived there for up to 14 nights). But the most pleasant thing was to come to the surface. It was very beautiful. We met the sunset on the edge of the Chulbair wall at an altitude of 3,700 meters, looking down at a four-hundred-meter cliff. I also remember the volleyball match in the Uzbek village of Dekhibolo between locals and cavers, in which friendship won, — Ilona shares her impressions.
In addition to research in Boy-Bulok, the expedition examined an ice cave at an altitude of 3,700 m, where bears' beds were discovered, and also carried out work on the Khodja-Gur-Gur-Ata massif.
Ilona admits that she would like to return to Uzbekistan to continue searching for the connection between the two largest caves.
The expedition was organized by the Sverdlovsk city speleosection under the leadership of Vadim Loginov, who has been conducting research in this area since 2007.
Material prepared by: Yulia Dankova, NSU press service
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