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MIGOVEC 2023

(2nd July - 6th August)

Hi all,

 

Sign ups for our summer expedition to Slovenia are open! 

 

This email is to give you an idea about the expedition and this year's plans! Please reply if you want to attend.. 

 

 

Basic overview:

 

Leading up to the end of summer term and primarily the week before leaving we shall be preparing for expo. 

This involves:

·  Oversuit repair and equipment fettling 

·  Buying very large quantities of food 

·  Packing the food, equipment and first aid into crates for stacking in the minibus (how heavy can it get before the brakes don't work?)

·  Packing personal kit

 

2nd July - Minibus laden with fresh faced, clean cavers leaves stores and drives to Dover, boards a ferry to Calais, and then through continental Europe ( Belgium - Netherlands - Luxembourg - Germany - Austria) arriving in Tolmin, Slovenia 24 hours later. 

 

4th July- 4th August - EXPEDITIONARY CAVING (and all the activities surrounding that)

 

5th August - Minibus departs Tolmin and does the above journey in reverse, arriving at Beit Quad on the 6th where we will unload the minibus, venture home and have a good wash.

 

 

Camping:  

 

The expedition has special permission to camp on Migovec (the mountain we cave under). This is significant as camping is not usually allowed in the Julian alps.

So on the morning of the 4th we will depart from Ravne, where the roads end, and we leave the minibus with rucksacks full of personal gear and hike up ~1km of ascent to the Migovec plateu to pitch our tents.

 

This will be the first of many carries, as now we need to get caving kit, equipment, food etc up onto the mountain. For the first few days this is the main activity (gets your fitness up for hours of prussiking...) along with setting up the Bivi (home for the next 4 weeks) and preliminary rigging of the abseil into Primadona. 

 

Please note: You don’t need your own tent. If you are going to bring your own tent, make sure it’s expedition worthy i.e. storm proof – don’t skimp on a cheap tent unless you like sleeping in puddles. If you are unsure just ask one of the committee/old lags. The communal tents can accommodate several people. Please share a tent if you can, the plataeu can get pretty crowded if everyone has their own and we don't want to attract too many wayward hikers. 

 

 

The caving:

 

Notably, the caving here is much tougher than that which you’ll find in the UK – deeper bounces, tricky SRT and constant movement to stave off hypothermia make trips quite the undertaking, and rest days are common to rejuvenate. Gaining experience underground on weekend trips is the best way to build confidence for that, and building up your fitness in the months before will definitely help; but having said that, after a couple trips down Mig you will probably have done more caving than an entire year’s worth of weekends, and carries up the mountain will build your fitness more than any normal human can motivate themselves to do in the gym, so don’t worry too much. If you’re concerned just send us an email, and if we’re concerned we’ll get in touch.

There are lots of different leads dotted around the system, all of (most of) which have potential to continue for miles and miles... They can mostly be loosely categorised into:

Pushing trips are usually organised on an informal basis by chatting to people in the bivi.

There are a few options for an underground camp too, which will depend on a number of factors including wetness of weather and number of people on the expo.

 

Things you will need:

 

-------------------Equipment-------------------

 

* Frame Rucksack - 60L with good anatomical back!

* Rollmat - (a few spare in stores) or lightweight inflatable mattress.

* Sleeping bag (3 seasons+ ) - A cheap, big, synthetic is absolutely fine and probably most comfy on the uneven ground.

* Tent - make sure you've got something arranged (bring your own/share/ use club tents)

* Decent sized durable water bottle - for drinking from.

* (Optional) Hiking poles - If you care about the longevity of your knees, or have grown out of your milk knees hiking poles are recommended.

* (Optional) Dry Bags -  Big ones for your clothes/electronics on the surface (tent leaks happen, only idiots let their sleeping bag get wet). Small ones for taking thermals/electronics underground. Bin bags / heavy duty garden sacks are a perfectly acceptable alternative just as a rucksack liner.

* (Optional) Personal First Aid kit - club has communal kit, though ideal is to get a crush-proof beaker and assemble your own from spare bits 'n' bobs (include spare contact lenses, personal medication etc.).

 

-------------------Clothes-------------------

 

* Walking Socks - Lightweight ones are good for carries, warm ones are nice for cold bivi days (cheap ones work fine e.g. Mountain Warehouse/Decathlon, Bridgedales are highly recommended if you want to spend a bit more and they last for many years) You'll want 2 pairs minimum, 4 pairs or more will make you like life more (personally I take as many as I can). Liner socks are also nice and help prevent blisters (Isocool from Mountain Warehouse are what the cool kids wear).

* Hiking boots - Ideally find something with a Vibram sole (or equivalent) if you want to not suffer. Break them in before expo!

* Thermals - check Uniqlo for their ultrawarm 'heatmax' range - read materials to check for 'NO COTTON'. 'expensive'/nice versions are the Helly Hansen LIFA stripes range (~£20). Merino wool ('woolpower' or similar) is probably over-doing it but nice, particularly for dossing on the surface. Recommend having a pair for caving and a pair for on the surface!

* SUN HAT - fashion! ...and sun protection

* Sun glasses - it's bright up there when the sun is out, look after your eyes.

* Warm Hat - or two, cheap acrylic is effective/ Rab(-agucci) is fashion 

* Waterproof jacket - alpkit have some really nice ones but decathlon etc also work fine

* Waterproof trousers (you'll regret it if you don't have these! Wet legs and boots are very sad)

* (Optional, but very very recommended) Duvet jacket / down jacket/some kind of insulated layer - nice to have a super warm layer to put on for when you're sitting around in the evening. Synthetic ones from mountain warehouse are cheap/good but take up space. You can get fairly cheap ones from decathlon that pack down small

* (also optional but v recommended) Synthetic 'wicking' tshirts – super nice and cheap. Makes sweating not unpleasant (and damn will you sweat on the carries up). MW & decathlon once more

*Hiking trousers/shorts - zip of trouser/shorts work well, also running legging type things are good, ideal to have things that dry quickly. I usually have at least 3 pairs. 

 

-------------------Caving-------------------

 

* Knife - Petzl Spatha or cheaper / smaller / more versatile, a simple swiss army knife

* Head Torch - Petzl Tikka is the classic but they've recently got less good. Or get a cheaper/different brand. Important for walking round at night not just in cave. Many people have black diamond headtorches and the Pixa 3 is chunky but bomb proof – this is what most of the current club ones are.

* Whistle - good for signalling above and underground.  I have one like this which has a lanyard that i attach my knife to. Borrow one of the club's superfriends as last resort (but definitely have this!)

* Thin fleece hat (to wear under helmet) / (balaclava). Very useful when surveying or when waiting for others to bolt an epic traverse.  

* Fleece neck warmers - or buff (same as above, can get cheap ones from MW/Decathlon/Millets)

* Gloves - Thick rubberised work gloves are good, (can buy in Slov from farmers market - these are the best!!). In general, gloves need to be more rugged and warmer (but less waterproof) than ones we wear in UK. Often people have builders gloves

* Warm layers - Absolutely necessary. I personally have extra layers for caving because it gets well cold (one set of cave thermals, extra top + possibly a cheap fleece)

* (Optional) Cave pants - highly recommended, synthetic form fitting pants help with comfort, warmth and style. Some people in the club wear these: womens fit, mens fit. 

* (Optional) Glove liners – silk/fleece for warmth or comfort. Decadence?!

* (Optional) Your own helmet + super-duper expo light. Ideal time to get your own if you're planning on caving a lot in the future. Talk to older members of the club for advice here. 

 

Of course all caving kit can be borrowed from the club.

 

Note on clothes: Temperature is from ~just subzero (but feeling lower at altitude, with windchill) to 30C+ in the valleys and Tolmin. Layers are brilliant. Shorts are ace - many of us have zip off hiking trousers. Thermal long trousers + tracksuit bottoms/ 'technical' fast dry trouser outers are typical evening attire, with thermal layers on top + fleece /down jackets.  

 

Also **Baby wipes - as we collect rainwater/melt snow to drink, water is scarce and there is non spare to wash. But baby wipes are very nice to keep things clean.

 

 

-------------------Entertainment-------------------

 

 

* Books/Kindle - Find books with really small text / get an e-Reader. You will have doss days when it's raining / you're recovering from caving and it's nice to lie in tent, doze, pop to Bivi for more cheese + tea, & otherwise spend your day 'getting the chapters in'.

* A hobby - Why not learn to sew a reusable tea-bag, devise a better mousetrap, learn to play guitar/ukulele/harmonica/panpipes, write a novella or learn to juggle while on expo? Ellie and Chris will almost certainly teach you to crochet if you ask them to.

* MP3 player - good for the carries / tent action. Probably bring a cheap/rugged MP3 player. A spare set of earphones would be wise.

* Battery pack - we will have a solar power set up but its always good to have an independent supply to recharge your phones/kindles/mp3s for those cloudy days where a drill battery is sucking up all the juice.

* Phone – there is some dodgy 3g (but mainly edge (2g)) signal floating around on the mountain so it can be worth bringing a phone to check exam results/tell parents you're not dead etc.

 

  -------------------Periods on the mountain-------------------  

*Recommend tampons/moon cup type things if you can use them (moon cup is good because no waste to carry down the mountain but washing is more effort than usual and changing underground can get complicated. Tampons maybe wise for long caving trips.) 

*Steal a resealable bag from the bivi and carry rubbish down to Ravne 

 *There will be emergency tampons in all first aid kits if periods should arise unexpectedly underground  

*Celia wrote a good thing about periods on the mountain on the club wiki (under "periods on the mountain")

 

-------------------Things you don't need on the mountain-------------------

 

* Cutlery/Plate/other cooking stuff/food 

 

-------------------Key points-------------------

 

* Any questions? Ask someone!

* Don't worry

* All your personal kit not including caving kit should fit into one rucksack.

 

 

 

Questions?

 

How good/fit do I need to be? /  I haven't caved much recently...

 

Expedition caving is naturally risky business; However, don’t be put off. If you have been on several SRT trips with us this year you'll be fine. You won’t be thrown down 700m into the deep right from the start. You will do several shorter bounce (down and up again) trips with an experienced leader first, on re-rigging/surveying/kit drops to get yourself acclimatised. 

 

What is caving like in Slovenia? 

 

We are caving in the Julian Alps - so alpine caving! This means largely more vertical and mostly more spacious than some caves you will have been in in Yorkshire. Also, much colder, and much looser.

 

What else is there to do besides caving? 

 

Besides kicking it back in the bivi with a book and hot vitaminski, as we are camped in the stunning Julian Alps and it would be a shame if you were not to explore the mountains further than the plateau. Many people will do day hikes or longer during the expedition. Also you could explore the old system, visit a few of the ice caves, be roped into assisting Tanguy with cave science or help Ben with some surface bashing. Those who stay for the entire expedition will usually drop back down into Tolmin to swim/wash in the Soča, eat many many pizzas and fresh fruits and drink Laško and Radler in the sun for a few days of rest in the middle.

 

I can't go for the whole time, how do I... ? 

 

We realise that 5 weeks is a serious commitment, but going for less than two weeks will probably leave you with a shallow experience, this is expeditionary caving and requires a lot of time spent in preparation and planning. 

 

If you are joining us late, or leaving early then you will need to organise transport for yourself. See here for information about that, or just ask - many humans have travelled via interesting routes and ultimately everything works out fine (and what’s the worst that can happen? You get stuck in gorgeous Slovenia for a few days...)

 

How much will it cost... ? 

This depends how long you’re there for and how much we end up spending but should be £300-400 for the full 5 weeks. 

 

So that's all! if you plan to come, please reply to the email and I’ll then send you a link to a sign up sheet to fill out. Usually space is made for anyone that wants to come, there’s no first-come-first-served system, however there is a minimum amount of caving experience you need to have acquired to keep yourself safe there. Again, just ask if you have questions, and we’ll get in touch if we have concerns.

 

I shall send an email at some point in the future asking for deposits which can secure minibus space. In the meantime if you have any questions feel free to ask me, or any others who have been on expo.

 

 

Yours 'til the final pizza is devoured,

Matti