Oxford University Cave Club

Social Meets, Trinity term 2013

The club meets in Oxford on Wednesday evenings; usually, anyway.

At some meetings there will be a short talk about caving, at others general chat, beer and socialising. These meetings are also where you sign up for Caving trips.

New members are always welcome. Contact anyone on the Committee or just turn up to a meeting. See also how to subscribe to the OUCC email lists. 

* Events at St Edmund Hall are in the Hearne Room, Pontigny Room or the Emden Room (ask the porters for directions).

Baisun-tau 2012: Cave exploration in Southern Uzbekistan.

Antonina (Tonya) Votintseva

Very little is known about the karst and caves in Southern Uzbekistan, where some of the deepest caves in Asia are found. The limestone plateau of the Baisun-tau mountain range has a tremendous potential for exploration. In summer 2012 an international team of cavers, led by the Ekaterinburg Speleological Club and with support of Speleological Association of Ural (SAU, Russia) continued the exploration of the unique high altitude caves of the Baisun-tau. For more than 15 years Festival'naya cave, now Festival'naya-Ledopadnaya cave system, was the main focus of cavers’ efforts. The great potential of Dark Star was revealed in 2011 after discovery of extensive new parts of the cave. During the expeditions 2011–12 the length and the depth of Dark Star were increased two-fold each year. Now Dark Star has 6 known entrances and 7,800 m of surveyed passages to a depth of -610 m and it became the center of exploration. The talk will be focused on the findings of the recent expeditions.