DIVJE JEZERO 2001
(Published on the Magazine of Club Alpino Italiano)
My adventure
at Divje Jezero starts from the event “Bora 2000” ( the annual meeting of the
speleological world ) in Trieste, where between a chat and another, a glass of
wine and the next, I meet Samo, a Slovenian cave diver. While talking about cave
diving he asks me if I would like to continue the exploration of the Divjè
Jezero spring. Is it a spring which goes down deep? How can I reject such an
attractive proposal? (A beautiful and free access spring is almost a dream to me
as the mayors of the towns with jurisdiction over the cave sites have put
ridiculous access bans on almost all the most important Italian springs, using
danger of cave diving as the justification, which sounds more or less like
denying access to the mountains whenever someone dies).
The ideal
time for diving in this spring is in the winter. In the meantime, however, I
have scheduled another exploration, and then I assume to go to the Divje spring
in Winter 2002. As has often occurred in the last few years, the weather
conditions, which are the most important aspect for the satisfactory outcome of
a cave diving exploration, do not allow me to follow the planned schedule, but
the alternative one is clear. Quickly, after a consultation with Jean Jacques, I
contact Samo to consider if one can dive in the Divje spring: in Samo’s opinion
there are no problems. We decide the dates, while hoping to guess the favourable
period in February 2001.
JJ, Claudio
and I leave from Lecco on Saturday, 10th February; the other team members will
join us at the spring site. We get to Idria in the dead of night, after a 550km
journey which has lasted 12 hours and we go immediately to see the spring.
Tiredness is great but curiosity has the upper hand… With the led headlamps we
cover 150m of path through the woods that separate us from the lake. We
immediately notice that water is rather cloudy and the current is strong. Samo,
the Slovenian friend, anticipates us by saying that for a couple of days it will
be difficult to dive the gallery. Once we get to the hotel, which is the only
available in the surrounding area, we are awe-struck with its beauty: it is a
1300’s castle. As we are used to sleeping in sleeping bags, it makes me feel
strange to stay in such exclusive accommodation. The temperature inside the
hotel is so high that we are forced to sleep with the windows open. The next
morning we begin to unload materials both from our cars and cart; the direction
of the hotel offers us a warmed room to dry the materials and an area to deposit
some of the cylinders and cumbersome materials. In fact, we have brought 73
cylinders with us of various capacities ranging from small 4lt to large 50lt. We
go and see the spring in the day light with the aim of making a reconnaissance
and laying a new metrical measuring line starting from the surface. The water
visibility does not exceed one meter and the current is so strong that only with
the use of fins is it possible to move forward and, to manage in the task, we
have to grab hold of the rocks with our hands. I dive and after having laid a
new line down to -60m. I go up again but I’m a little disappointed by the
conditions of the spring. Samo tells me to keep calm because the weather
forecast foresees nice weather all week long and the conditions will improve in
a few days. We decide to wait for a day before starting to descend to the deep
gallery. On Monday JJ continues laying the new line down to -83m. He resurfaces
while saying that the conditions have changed significantly for the positive:
the water visibility is 2m and the current has decreased a lot. On Tuesday I am
ready for my first dive using a mixture. I descend using an underwater scooter
at two speeds to reach the deep zone as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the
visibility is only 2m and it is better to use the lower speed. I leave the
scooter at -100m: in this area there are some old broken lines that could play
bad jokes on me by getting entangled in the scooter’s propeller or worse still
around me. I continue swimming until I reach -116m. But my gas autonomy has
finished and I must return. I take this opportunity to check that, despite
snippets of old lines being scattered around, the area close to the new line
path is quite safe. The dive lasts 4h40' including 4h of decompression.
On
Wednesday, JJ goes down to install an emergency cylinder and a stage
cylinder at -107m: I’ll need them for Thursday’s dive. I pass the whole
night reviewing the dive’s procedures, calculating the time of progress and
looking at the tables to be used: in the meantime the conditions are improving.
On Thursday morning we are at the spring site: I check all the details of my
equipment, verify diving times with JJ who will manage outside assistance during
my decompression; at eleven thirty I begin to prepare myself. I don several
layers of thermal underwear and the electric jacket under the dry suit. While I
am zipping up the dry suit, I forget the fears of the night and I concentrate on
the project. I load the heavy cylinders on my back, and after verifying the
lights, regulators and tools are functioning correctly, I get into the water. I
chose to progress using 3 stage cylinders and
two 20lt back mounted tanks. When I am in the area to be explored I will have
the equipment reduced to the minimum necessary and then I will be faster and
I’ll be able to move nimbly. From the edge of the spring, JJ hands me the first
stage cilynder containing an hyperoxic mix,
that I attach to my harness, I put the reg in my mouth, raise my hand to say
goodbye and get going. The scooter lies at -6m. of depth. I pick it up and I
quickly reach - 40m. where I exchange the stage
cylinder, I abandon the hyperoxic mix and switch to a bottom mix containing
helium. The visibility has increased to three meters. I go down: I travel
quickly because the gallery fortunately doesn’t have any special obstacles and
the small-sized scooter that I use is very manoeuvrable and can avoid, even at
the last minute, the boulders falling from the side or below me onto the path.
At -107m., as I see the second stage cylinder, I stop and exchange cylinders. I
get going again, reach the reel, take it and continue unrolling the line while
driving the scooter. At -126m I see Isler’s line that ends on a boulder; from
here on, it is my turn. I leave the scooter and the
stage cylinder, and continue by breathing from the back mounted
cylinders. At -133m I see the last traces of Tomo’s broken line. Tomo had surely
reached the depth of -136m: as his depth gauges stopped working at -127m, he had
correctly estimated the additional depth to which he had arrived. I continue
swimming for about ten meters and here to -140m, where I am on the top of a
black hole; I descend till -145m, I belay the line to a suitable projection and
decide to come back toward the exit even if I still have a gas autonomy margin
to go downward. I start the decompression at -90m and I take advantage of the
various deep stops on the way up to adjust the line in a few points where it was
not properly fixed. Everything proceeds in the best possible way till the stop
at -33m where a regulator, which is mounted on a tank containing an hyperoxic
mixture, creates problems to me. In fact the regulator passed from free flowing
to blocked forcing me to suddenly hold my breath. Unfortunately, in this area
there are no other cylinders and therefore, a couple of times I have to breath
from the cylinder which I used to reach -107m. Miraculously the regulator has
begun to work again and I can resume a proper decompression. After 270', I reach
-9m: here a diving bell for the decompression was set. With the help of Michele
I take the back mounted cylinders, fins, weights , etc. off and I go inside the
bell. Here I can eat croissants with almond filling, drinking hot tea brought by
Michele, and talk with the outside world by means of a telephone. I let the
surplus food fall into water and the numerous trout in the lake come to share
the banquet. I surface after 410' of diving including 380' of decompression.
Friday and Saturday now remain to go on a new exploration. Time is running out
and we can not waste it. On Friday the team prepares cylinders filled with
hyperoxygen mixtures, cylinders for deco on far side, stage cylinders, and
finally they put them into the water. JJ goes down to -109m. to arrange a stage
tank for my downward progress. While going back, he verifies the correct
functioning of the cylinder regulators that I need for my decompression. All
regulators work well and given that starting from a depth of -36m, a cylinder
has been positioned every 3 meters, if something should not work, there will be
no problems continuing a correct decompression. While the others get on with
their various tasks to place the materials in accordance with the programme, I
check the cylinders I’ll load onto my back. I decide to dive with three 20lt
back mounted tanks to assure greater security in the deep section. During
dinner, while the members of the expedition enjoy the good Slovenian wines, I
drink only water with a bit of envy. I want to be at maximum efficiency when I
try the new exploration.
The night
seems shorter than usual, possibly due to the fatigue accumulated in the
previous days: as soon as I touch the bed I fall into a deep and sweet sleep. We
anticipate the following morning’s breakfast and even though we have speeded the
preparations up, by the time we are ready it is already 11 a.m. when I start
dressing for the dive. During the preparation of the materials an infinite
number of irritating banalities occurs. The thread of the steel valve is damaged
and this forces me to change the threaded bar that blocks the three back mounted
cylinders, a light bulb burns during the lights test, and when a regulator
doesn’t work, I begin having a feeling that the equipment wants to put a spoke
in my wheel. In the end, once we resolve the troubles, all is ready. The descent
into the water will be more difficult compared to the others over the past days.
I have to walk for about five metres wearing fins for about five meters while
I’m embalmed in my gigantic dry suit and carrying more than one hundred
kilograms on my back. In order to walk with fins I must go backwards and, as can
sometimes happen, fate dictates that shortly before reaching the deeper water, I
trip on a stone, stumble and fall down. I immediately grab a regulator and stick
it in my mouth, then I try to put myself in the right position: I feel like a
giant turtle. Bad luck signals are all around and I wonder if maybe it would be
better to give up. Then, as usual, I tell myself that if this is not the right
day I’ll notice it while diving. I move myself back to the shore where JJ is
waiting for me in order to give me the last things. Finally he hands me the
cylinder containing the hyperoxygen mixture, then I put the regulator in my
mouth, raise my hand to say good-bye and while JJ tells me to pay attention, our
glances cross as always occurs before a demanding exploration dive. At -15m I
slow down since Arno is there waiting for me to take photos on my way. Arriving
at -40m, I perform my first cylinder switch; it seems to me to be slower than
the previous dive. Reaching the -109m. it is the moment for the second switch,
the timer informs me that I’m even faster, by a minute.
I’m in the
long gallery, I know that I have to stay to the left of the line to avoid the
wall which starts at -118m, I reach -126m where I had planned to leave the
scooter and the stage bottle, but I do not stop and decide to continue; at -130
I find a good place where I can leave everything.
I proceed by
finning, I see the abandoned reel waiting for me, I take it and start going
down. After five metres I find myself at -150m: here I am again on the floor
sloping down to 35 degrees; I go on: my two depth gauges mark -155m and the
gallery is now almost horizontal. I cover 40m of new exploration including a 10m
distance at -160m depth when the line on the reel ends. I choose a belay point
where I can fix the line to, I take two turns around it, I put on a rubber loop
and retrieve the reel. I do not like leaving equipment in caves. I start the
return after 22' from my departure. I see clay falling from the ceiling which
contributes even more to reducing the visibility (3m) in the gallery. At -130 I
recover the scooter and I get going again; at -109m I recover the second stage
cylinder and after 30' I get to the decompression zone. Of course,
considering the depths I reached and the time that took to me to, my
calculations indicate me to start the first stop for a minute at -105m. The
total decompression time will be 8 hours. At -45m. a single trout approaches: I
observe it, try to touch it and I manage to do so: it keeps me company up to
-15m where it disappears mixing with its companions. At -9m I take off the
cylinders and enter the bell. The last dive’s ritual is repeated: the caring
companions brings me the barrel containing croissants with almond filling, some
hot tea and dried apricots. While waiting for the necessary time, the night is
downing and I remain in the dark to save my lights for moments when they are
indispensable. Over the phone, I am told that some men had arrived who had been
called by the mayor of the municipality, bringing with them generator powered
lighting. So my last period of decompression is illuminated by the light created
by the spot lights. I surface at 20.20: a small crowd, which is around the
spring’s edge, is watching me with curiosity; JJ with his shining eyes shares my
happiness and helps me to undress. The other fellows postpone the post-dive
celebrations to the dinner time and inexorable and heedless of the increasingly
pungent cold, dive in order to dismantle the diving bell and recover the
equipment which still remained in the water. Journalists submerge me with
questions that I can now answer: the cave measures 420m in length including
about 190m beyond -100m depth; my friends do not need words to express my
gratitude for their cooperation.
Participants:
Slovenia: Arno Hodalic, Matej Mihailovsai, Samo Morel
Switzerland: Jean Jacques Bolanz
Italy: Alberto Cavedon, Claudio Carnello, Gualtiero Naibo, Luigi Casati, Michele
Cerro
Thanks:
A big technical support was given, as usual, by the company UTEN GAS in Gorle
who provided the required gas for this type of diving (helium and oxygen), by
the company MUTEVOLE who supplied
particular thermal diving suits using specific
materials and by the company TECNOSINT srl Pieve di Soligo, Treviso that did
lathe work and made the modifications to the
underwater scooters.
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