The expedition has returned safely

The team of Greek cavers who went to the Caucasus has returned safely to Greece after a few weeks at Voronya-Krubera. It was not easy to reach the mountain and details of the crossing are not clear. Only three of the four actually went to Ortobalagan in the end.

The three members of the expedition who made it to the mountain surveyed the first ca. 1,000m of the cave spending up to five days at camps inside. They descended to the sump at -1,400m where the sump itself formed a barrier to their continued exploration as the three are not familiar with the cave-diving skills needed to cross through it.

I hope to be presenting more news from the Greek team from SELAS and SPOK caving clubs as I learn it over the next few days, together with some pictures. The three cavers who made it to the mountain are Kostas Adamopoulos, Elias Kazais (SELAS) and Methodios Psomas (SPOK).

On the last few days (22 July 2005), news came of an accident which left a Russian caver wounded after a drop of about 7 to 10 m (broken legs, hips and other injuries). The accident was caused by the absence of a knot at the end of a rope the caver was descending. A camp has been created at the accident spot and efforts were under way to open a narrow passage behind which the accident happened, to allow the rescue team easier access to the caver.