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Ekaterinburg Speleo Club (SGS) (from Sverdlovskaja Gorodskaja Speleosekcija; Свердловская Городская Спелеосекция – СГС), founded in 1961, is a
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n, non-profit
speleological Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). ...
organization dedicated to the exploration, research, and conservation of
caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
. It is based in
Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...
(named Sverdlovsk from 1924 to 1991), the fourth largest city of Russia, in the Middle
Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...
and on the western edge of
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. SGS is most known for the exploration of caves in the northern
Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as S ...
and high-mountain
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
areas of
Surxondaryo Region Surxondaryo Region ( uz, Surxondaryo viloyati, Сурхондарё вилояти, سرخان‌دریا ولایت, russian: Сурхандарьинская область, fa, سرخان‌دریا, UniPers: "sorxāndaryā"), old spelling Su ...
in Uzbekistan, including Boybuloq, the deepest cave in Central Asia and one of the deepest caves in the world.


Early history

In summer 1961 three
hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
from Ekaterinburg, Jurij Lobanov, Nikolaj Lizunov, and Anatolij Vagapov wanted to cross the
Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econ ...
mountain ridge and to raft down the Višera river. On the way, they encountered, near
Severouralsk Severouralsk (russian: Североура́льск, lit. ''(a town) in the Northern Ural Mountains, Urals'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vagran River (Ob River, Ob's drainage ...
, below a rock overhang, a shaft with a very narrow entrance. They managed to descend into the cave, full of stalactites, and climbed back to the surface with great difficulty. The whole experience persuaded them to turn from hikers to cavers. Soon the first own cave, Svetlaja, in the Northern Ural was discovered and explored. In the autumn of 1961, a team was formed, two substantial caves on the Serga river were discovered and SGS, speleo section of the Sverdlovsk city tourist club established. It was the third speleological organization in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, after cavers from
Krasnojarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...
and the
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. In 1962 SGS organized a search expedition to the
Southern Ural Southern Ural - the south, the widest part of the Ural Mountains, stretches from the river Ufa (near the village of Lower Ufaley) to the Ural River. From the west and east the Southern Ural is limited to the East European, West Siberian Plain and ...
and participated in the first all-Union meeting of speleologists in the Crimea, on the
Ai-Petri Ai-Petri (, russian: Ай-Петри, uk, Ай-Петрі, sep=comma) is a peak in the Crimean Mountains. For administrative purposes it is in the Yalta municipality of Crimea. The name is of Greek origin, and translates as St. Peter ( el, Άγ ...
mountain. In 1964 SGS organized its first caving school, with 160 participants, and in 1965 SGS separated from the city tourist club, obtained its own premises. Till 1968 several expeditions followed every year, to the caves of the Urals and
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
, including the extensive Sumgan-Kutuk cave in
Bashkiriya National Park Bashkiriya National Park ( Bashkort:''Башҡортостан милли паркы'', Russian: ''Башкирия (национальный парк)''), covers a large contiguous forest on the southern end of the Ural Mountains. The park is an ...
. In the 1970s further advancement was hampered by increasingly outdated and cumbersome equipment. Wire ladders were unsuitable for the descent and ascent in vertical sections of ever deeper caves, and the application of the
single rope technique Single-rope technique (SRT) is a set of methods used to descend and ascend on the same single rope. Single-rope technique is used in caving, potholing, rock climbing, canyoning, roped access for building maintenance and by arborists for tree climb ...
lagged behind because of stagnant, slow communication with the West. Cavers had to rely on locally, often even handmade equipment. At the end of the decade, technical problems were solved, SGS teams participated in expeditions to the main focus of Soviet speleology of the time, to the deep caves in the
Western Caucasus The Western Caucasus is a western region of the Caucasus in Southern Russia, extending from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus. World Heritage Site The Western Caucasus includes a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the extreme western e ...
, in Russia, and in
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
, on Alek and Arabika massifs. They carried equipment, rigged the vertical sections, made
cave survey A cave survey is a map of all or part of a cave system, which may be produced to meet differing standards of accuracy depending on the cave conditions and equipment available underground. Cave surveying and cartography, i.e. the creation of an accu ...
s, discovered new cave branches. But the credits went to the expedition leaders, caving organizations who were there before. It was time to look for new horizons, for new, more pristine caving areas.


Boybuloq

After the discovery of the Kievskaja cave on the Kirk Tau plateau in Uzbekistan in 1972, 2340 m a. s. l., by cavers from
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, they later explored it to the depth of 990 m and it was in the years 1977–1978 the deepest cave in the USSR, SGS cavers in the late 1970s started to search for new deep caves in the wider area. In 1980 6 small teams of 4 people were sent to different mountain karst areas of the USSR: to
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, to
Pamir Pamir may refer to: Geographical features * Pamir Mountains, a mountain range in Central Asia ** Pamir-Alay, a mountain system in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, part of the Pamir Mountains *A pamir (valley) is a high plateau or valley surro ...
in Tajikistan, to
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
, and to
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, with modest results. Yet in the same year, Aleksandr Bikbaev from the Institute of Geology of the Ural Scientific Center discovered in geological literature a location with a much better predisposition for very deep caves: massif Ketmen-Chapty in the south-western spurs of
Gissar Range Hisar Range ( tg, Қаторкӯҳи Ҳисор; uz, Hisor tizmasi, russian: Гиссарский хребет; uk, Ґаторкугі Гісор; fa, رشته‌کوه حصار; also known as Hissar, Hisor, or Gissar Range) is a mountain range ...
in Uzbekistan. The ridges here have an unusual structure: an almost vertical northeastern side and a gentle southwestern one, made of several different rock
strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
, including a covered limestone layer, 200–350 meters thick. An expedition led by Aleksandr Ryžkov discovered the Zindan cave in May 1981, 3100 m a. s. l., with springs at an altitude of 1300 m. In January 1983 the final depth of 565 m was reached, in the siphon too narrow to
dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...
. Search expeditions later in 1983 were fruitless, and SGS decided to refocus on Arabika massif, participating again in expeditions of other speleological organizations. In 1985 they resumed the Uzbekistan expeditions, to explore caves the entrances of which were discovered in 1984 by a token SGS team dispatched to Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata massif. A group of five expedition members was sent to Surkhan-Tau ridge to scout its surface for new caves. On the way, in the village Kurgancha, 1455 m a. s. l., they were told of a cave higher in the mountain, called Boybuloq where a villager from the highest
settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...
in Uzbekistan, the Dehibolo (boy buloq = rich spring in Uzbek and in
Tajiki Tajik (Tajik: , , ), also called Tajiki Persian (Tajik: , , ) or Tajiki, is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by Tajiks. It is closely related to neighbouring Dari with which it forms a continuum of mutually intelligible ...
, the language of the people from the village), went in 1971 and never returned. They followed the
stream bed A stream bed or streambed is the bottom of a stream or river (bathymetry) or the physical confine of the normal water flow (Channel (geography), channel). The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream Bank (geography), banks ...
, discovered the cave, with a small entrance at an altitude of 2647 m, and followed its narrow
meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
which slowly ascended 600 meters in a straight direction, to a height of 90 meters, where it turned down. Below the 27-meter shaft, they discovered human remains, of Mustafaqul Zakirov, a teacher from Dehibolo who visited the cave, four hours away on foot, several times before. In May 1971, in time of severe drought, he departed to the cave with his son and pack donkeys to fetch water. He entered the cave, and after a long crawl, he reached the point close to the first shaft, where his
kerosene lamp A kerosene lamp (also known as a paraffin lamp in some countries) is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. Kerosene lamps have a wick or mantle as light source, protected by a glass chimney or globe; lamps may be used on a t ...
went out. In the darkness, he missed the direction towards the outside and fell into the abyss. Not only Boybuloq but most other caves in the area are a long sequence of very narrow passages which are difficult to pass, due to the geological situation and the very meager quantities of water present during the
cave formation A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depending on ...
. All the (tiny) streams flowing in different directions in Boybuloq are, apparently, of
condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to ...
origin, since the floods the cavers observed on the surface do not reach the lower horizons of the cave. In the following years further expeditions took place: in 1986 the cave was deepened to −400 m, in 1987 to −500 m and the remains of Zakirov were returned to his family, in 1988 a siphon at −600 m was free-dived and also the barrier on the other side lowered so that the lake could be waded through, and a new branch of the cave was discovered – it continued to −900 m. In 1989 a combined Soviet-Italian team reached the terminal siphon at −1158 m and managed to climb upwards to the point at an elevation of +156 m which gave the total cave depth of 1310 m. In 1990 a Soviet-British team managed to extend the New branch in the cave upwards to +222 m (total depth 1376 m), in 1991 lower levels of the New branch were discovered, and in 1992 an additional
chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
upwards was climbed, to +257 m which gave the final cave depth of 1415 m. In 1995 a major collapse in the cave was dug through and in 1998 the diving of the siphon at −560 m was unsuccessful, and the spring Holtan-Čašma, where the water from the terminal cave siphon comes to light, was also dived. The spring is situated 130 m below the terminal cave siphon while the horizontal distance is 7 km, so the connecting passages are most likely submerged. The turmoil which followed the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
was unfavorable for caving expeditions. SGS cavers returned to Boybuloq only in 2007, and expeditions followed almost every year. New passages in Boybuloq were discovered and explored, yet the cave depth remained the same.
Diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...
in the Holtan-Čašma spring was resumed in 2014, 2015, and 2016, when, at a horizontal distance of 170 m and depth of 18 m, a lenticular
grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...
was reached, with impassable downwards extending slots.


Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata

There are three ridges in the south-western spurs of the
Gissar Range Hisar Range ( tg, Қаторкӯҳи Ҳисор; uz, Hisor tizmasi, russian: Гиссарский хребет; uk, Ґаторкугі Гісор; fa, رشته‌کوه حصار; also known as Hissar, Hisor, or Gissar Range) is a mountain range ...
, part of the
Tian Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
mountain chain, to the west of Baysun: Ketmen-Chapty, Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata, and Chul-Bair. They all include limestone strata. When the Zindan cave on Ketmen-Chapty, explored from 1981, ended with an impassable siphon in 1983, SGS refocused on Arabika massif in Abkhazia. In the summer of 1984 a small expedition of 9 people, led by Viktor Dianov, nevertheless departed to Uzbekistan, to try to open up new caves in the sinkholes near Zindan. After several days without success two members of the team, Sergej Matrënin and Igor' Belokrys, asked Dianov to depart to the Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata ridge on the northeastern horizon, topped at 3700 m by very distinctive precipitous mountain wall, with a karst baseline defined by the Machai spring at an altitude of 1400 m. Just for a few days to check the stories about "terribly deep caves" there, heard on the Baysun
bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
. They got four days. While
hitch-hiking Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads have ...
from Baysun to Kurgancha, the village below the ridge, fellow travelers who gave them the ride, learned that they are looking for caves. One of them showed with the hand towards the mountain wall: ''Why to look for them, here they are!'' Indeed, in the wall, there was a dark hole, which the locals called the Sacred Grotto, and next to it – either the shadows of the rock outcrops or cave entrances. Another villager recounted that somewhere behind the village of Alachapan, on the Chul-Bair ridge, there is a cave, into which a local resident ventured a few years ago and never returned. The two left the second option, which next year led to the discovery of Boybuloq, for later and the next day found the first cave of the Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata ridge, Sifonnaja (Siphon cave). After the rendezvous with Dianov, the whole team continued to explore the surrounding caves, Berloga (Den cave) and Jubilejnaja (Jubilee cave) till the end of the expedition. In 1985 an SGS expedition led by Aleksander Babanin discovered the largest of the Southern caves on this ridge, Festival'naja. During the expeditions from 1986 to 1988 Emma Lobanova was marking the cave entrances in the up to 400 m high wall below the crest of the ridge, labeling them as R (for a reference point) and a number, for the distance in meters from Katataš, the towering rock outcrop at the far south, divided by 100. Examples are R-10, R-19, and R-21: 1000 (10 times 100) meters from Katataš to the northeast, 1900 and 2100. Marking ended 2400 m from Katataš (R-24). All the Southern caves of the ridge were included, and a few of the Northern group. Unlike many caves in the southern group, those caves required a long climbing route to access, entrances were in the middle of a 400-meter high near-vertical wall. In 1988 cavers from Iževsk managed to explore R-10 (renamed Isetskaja, 1600 m long, 220 m deep), R-19, and R-21. In 1986 Vladimir Čudinov discovered several entrances of the Northern cave group, beyond R 24. Towards the end of the 1980s
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
began to open up, under the leadership of Mihail Gorbačev movements such as perestrojka and especially
glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
led to the establishment of contacts with Western cavers. One such instance involved Tullio Bernabei, a
councilor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
of the Italian Speleological Society and Aleksandr Višnevskij, a senior member of SGS and expedition organizer. SGS expedition in 1989 included 11 Italian cavers and in the summer of 1990, Čudinov led British cavers to the main cave in the Northern group, 160 m above the wall base, which they named Dark Star and explored 2 km far and about 100 m deep. Unlike previous caves in the area, mainly composed of very tight meanders, Dark Star was wider, a large tunnel with lakes. The temperature in the cave was −3 °C and −5 °C deeper inside, so the lakes were frozen and allowed easy advancing. They stopped at a T junction with a large shaft, due to lack of equipment and time. In 1991 the British part of the expedition returned to the cave but it was warmer, ice in the deep lakes melted and they had to return, while the Italian team made considerable discoveries in the Ulugh Bek cave, the northernmost of the Northern group. As already mentioned in the previous chapter, the regional tensions after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, which never completely subsided, civil war in Afghanistan and its aftermath exploration at the ridge virtually stopped. A reconnaissance expedition by cavers from
Krasnojarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...
to the plateau on top of the ridge in 1996 discovered several promising entrances with strong air draft. They were not explored because of a lack of equipment. In 1998 a large expedition of cavers from the entire
Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...
region, led by Alexander Plastinin, planned to resume work in caves of the ridge but a bad injury of a participant brought the work to an abrupt end. After that cavers returned to Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata only in 2010. That year a
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
expedition found new, considerably shorter routes to the wall and to the plateau above it, better, stable water sources below the wall, and discovered several new, perspective worksites in Festival'naja cave. In August 2011 a Russian-Italian expedition of 3 teams worked at the ridge. Extremely warm spring and summer took away all the snow (and water) from the plateau and the team, tasked with the exploration of Ulugh Beg cave and caves on the plateau, could not set up camp there, but at the closest water source, just below the Dark Star cave, and they joined the second, "Dark Star" team. Surprisingly the lakes in the cave were still frozen and cavers were able to resume exploration where the Brits stopped in 1990. 1500 m of new large tunnels were discovered, a new entrance, Vino rosso, the cave also connected to Iževskaja, which enabled easier access to deeper parts of Dark Star. The cave now had 6 entrances and its depth reached 300 m. The third team, tasked with explorations in Festival'naja cave, found out that the bottom of the cave is without continuation, but they found a higher continuation in "Salavat universe", which yielded 2 km of new tunnels, including a very large hall "Everest". The survey showed that the connection to other caves of the Southern group, Jubilejnaja, Berloga, and Učitel'skaja caves was within reach. In 2012 SGS, with the support of the Association of Cavers of the Urals, launched the largest expedition so far, with 29 participants from Russia, Italy, Spain, China, and Germany of which 10 were girls, very skillful in cave survey. They worked in 3 caves: Ulugh Beg, Festival'naja, and Dark Star. In the first one cavers needed 3 days to break through the ice-blocked tunnel but discovered new parts which ended in the mountain wall, with a new, easier cave entrance. On the plateau on the ridge, several caves were found which ended with impassable narrows. In Festival'naja cave 2 km of new tunnels were found, 1 km of which was also surveyed, and a surface survey was made which connected the cave entrance to entrances of Jubilejnaja and Berloga. In the Dark Star normal route was again impassable, lakes were full of a
slurry A slurry is a mixture of denser solids suspended in liquid, usually water. The most common use of slurry is as a means of transporting solids or separating minerals, the liquid being a carrier that is pumped on a device such as a centrifugal pu ...
of water and ice. The connection to Iževskaja cave, discovered in 2011, made the access possible. The team made important new discoveries, cave depth increased to 600 m, there were 6 km of new tunnels surveyed, several possible continuations remained. Samples were also taken and sensors were installed to help determine the paleoclimate of the area. An expedition result rarely surpassed in deep cave exploration. In 2013 a Russian-Italian-German team of 21 managed to substantially deepen the cave, to the level around 900 meters below the top entrance. They also discovered around 40 m high waterfall at a depth of 750 m. Previous achievements attracted the largest ever SGS expedition to Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata in 2014, of 31 people from 6 countries which included a
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
photo team. A team of 4 set up camp on the ridge plateau, at an altitude of 3700 m. They surveyed a surface trek from above the Red dwarf entrance to the bottom of Dark Star. The elevation difference between the cave tunnels and the surface gradually increased from 150 m to 250 m. There were no visible tectonic faults along the way, above the cave bottom there was a small canyon on the surface, which ran in the direction of a lake, situated at an altitude of 2400 m. This fact would reduce the cave depth potential from 2100 m to 1100 m. The team also inspected the terrain from the cave area to the group of canyons close to the top of the mountain at an altitude of 3921 m. No potential cave entrances were found. They also checked the cave R-20 which closed soon. The Dark Star team examined the bottom of the cave, at a depth of 900 m, and concluded that the karst rock strata (limestone) came into contact with poorly soluble and non-karst strata such as
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
and
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
. Any advancement to greater depths would require extensive digging. The team discovered many new tunnels, of considerable length, following several small water flows in the upstream direction. In 2015 an SGS and ASU expedition of 26 was divided into three teams, the largest, 14 cavers, departed to Dark Star cave and the other two to Boybuloq cave, water springs below its terminal siphon and to the plateau above the cave. At the Dark Star bottom, the team tried to push through
boulder choke A boulder choke is a collection of large rocks or rubble that obstructs a shaft or passage in a cave or mine. In order to progress through passages cavers often need to negotiate or clear boulder chokes. Boulder chokes can be formed by rockfall, ...
s and previously impassable meander tights. To no avail, any reasonable effort to get through would have to involve large-scale mining. There was progress in the higher levels of the cave, new tunnels decreased the distance from the nearest cave of the Southern group (Isetskaja) to 800 m. In 2016 the 26-strong Russian-Italian-Ukrainian expedition worked mainly in Chul-Bair. One team however departed to Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata ridge to try to connect the Northern and Southern caves through Isetskaja cave, to check possible new cave entrances in the mountain wall, and to advance in the upper levels of the cave. In Isetskaja cave a meander, leading to the closest Northern group cave, Iževskaja, was discovered. Soon after its beginning, the meander turned away, towards the inside of the mountain. Through the entrance R-20, which is not far from Iževskaja cave entrance, cavers advanced 1300 m far and 190 m deep into the mountain, to 100 m of the nearest point in Dark Star. They renamed the cave to Registan. Progress was also made in the Dark Star, in the Forest steppe tunnel. Further work on Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata was put on hold, all the efforts were directed to the Višnevskij cave.


Višnevskij

In 2015, the year of the death of Aleksandr Višnevskij, leader of SGS expeditions to Boybuloq from 1988 to 1992 and 1995 – 2008, a minor part of the SGS and ASU expedition to Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata, a search team of 7, led by Vasilij Samsonov from
Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...
, methodically examined the 3 km long section of the 150–200 m high wall at the edge of the ridge above Boybuloq. They found several possible cave entrances, all located 30–50 m below the crest of the wall, and the most promising proved to be the one marked as ČB-15 (Chul-Bair 15), at an elevation of 3522 m, 25 m below the top of the ridge. 400 meters far and 70 meters deep the team stopped at an impassable fissure which they eventually broke. In 2016 a team of 7, from the Baysun-Tau 2016 expedition widened the passage at −70 m, descended 15 m a hall. It continued with a narrow but tall meander (3–30 m), which turned into an inclined and slippery one. After a 40 m shaft and a series of problematic passages they reached a small stream which led, as a tributary, to a wider and higher meander with a larger stream. Soon the lack of time forced them to return. The cave, deepened to 234 m and prolonged to 1089 m, with more left unsurveyed, was renamed to Višnevskij cave. It steadily descended in the direction of Boybuloq. In 2017 a 10-person expedition from SGS and ASU set camp above the cave, 3550 m above sea level. They set up the underground camp at −168 m from where S. Terehin and A. Abdjušev made their way through the cave till the siphon at −735 m, in one go. The new part is a 50 cm wide corridor with a stream, with 4 unexplored tributaries. The survey reached 586 m in depth and 2800 m in length, still descending steadily towards Boybuloq, at an angle of the surface, 19 degrees, at a distance from the surface of 70 – 100 m. A survey of the ridge surface was also made, for the 3D cave model. Part of the team scouted for more cave entrances on the ridge plateau and along the wall, to shorten the long crawl to the cave bottom. Several caves were found, but none connected to Višnevskij. In 2018 an international team, 14 people from Russia, 8 from France, and 3 from Switzerland set off to explore the Višnevskij, Boybuloq, Lunnaja, and ČB-5 caves. In the cave two new camps were set up, at −350 m and −600 m. Close to the latter, in a side tributary which continued in the ascending direction, a small gallery, a hint of a possible link with Boybuloq, was discovered. In the canyon which leads to Boybuloq, dinosaur footprints were found, while in the New branch of this cave a new survey was made to better estimate the connecting point with Višnevskij. 2500 m of new tunnels were mapped in Višnevskij and Lunnaja caves but the siphon bypass was not found. In 2019 it was difficult to assemble the expedition as there was no clear continuation, but when cavers from Moscow and
Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...
also joined in, a group of 15 gathered. Four: E. Sakulin, P. Kovešnikov, A. Janina, and A. Minogin departed to the bottom, to find an eventual continuation in the ascending tributary at −600 m. But on the first day at the bottom, Sakulin and Janina crawled through a narrow, half-flooded passage and found a siphon bypass. Other plans were scrapped and the team, reinforced with E. Rybka, V. Samsonov, and V. Loginov (called through a phone connection to the surface), set off to the new part. A wide meander with a stream at the bottom continued until the stream disappeared below the dripstone floor in a narrow passage, above which the "Big gallery" began. A low crawl with a wet clay floor followed. After two hours the "Big Collapse Hall" opened up, followed by a meander with a small stream, a passage, and a beautifully colored meander named "Amber River". It joined a larger inflow, most likely the main stream which disappeared before the "Big Gallery". On a shelf under the ceiling of the junction hall, "Aquapark", the last camp was set up. An even larger meander followed, and several 10 m pits. Because of lack of time and rope, the party stopped on top of another 20 m shaft, after which one more pit was visible. The cave ran steadily in the direction of a cascade of pits in the New Branch of Boybuloq. It was deepened to 1131 m and prolonged to 8004 m. The deepest point in Višnevskij was 50 m above and 200 m horizontally apart from Boybuloq. The eventual connection, at around a. s. l. would make a cave with a depth of . In 2020 the plans for a large expedition to the Višnevskij cave were scrapped because of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, while a smaller expedition is foreseen for August 2021.


Vižaj

Vižaj (pron. Veezhay) is a river in the extreme north of
Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as S ...
, flowing east, a right tributary of
Lozva The Lozva (russian: Лозьва; Mansi: Лусум-я̄, ''Lusum-jā'') is a river in Sverdlovsk Oblast in Russia. At its confluence with the Sosva, the Tavda is formed. The river is long, and its basin covers . The river freezes up in Octobe ...
, in a mostly uninhabited land of
taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...
, subarctic
coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...
forest. It was also a nearby village, from which the Djatlov ski party set off on their fatal trip. As of 2021, it is the main home area where SGS conducts cave exploration. Since the 1970s the main purpose of SGS was to explore the great caves, in the beginning of the
Western Caucasus The Western Caucasus is a western region of the Caucasus in Southern Russia, extending from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus. World Heritage Site The Western Caucasus includes a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the extreme western e ...
, from the 1980s in Central Asia, where a world depth record could be reached. For training of cave climbing, descent and ascent in shafts, trips were organized to caves of
Bashkiriya National Park Bashkiriya National Park ( Bashkort:''Башҡортостан милли паркы'', Russian: ''Башкирия (национальный парк)''), covers a large contiguous forest on the southern end of the Ural Mountains. The park is an ...
, especially the Sumgan cave, 700 km to the southwest of
Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...
. The cave is 10 km long, 130 m deep, one of the largest caves of the
Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...
. It was widely believed that there could be no large, technically demanding caves on the eastern slope of this mountain ridge. Until 2007, it was not known that the north of the Sverdlovsk Oblast (Ekaterinburg is located in its south) could be interesting, as far as speleology is concerned. The main cause was the remoteness of the region, but also its closedness, as until 1990 the wider area to the north of
Ivdel Ivdel (russian: Ивдель; Mansi: Сапсаус, ''Sapsayas'') is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Ivdel River ( Ob's basin) near its confluence with the Lozva River, north of Yekaterinburg, the administrative center of ...
, including Vižaj, there were many prison camps. Several caves were known on the Lozva and two caves on the river Northern Tošemka, none on the river Vižaj, until 2007. In the 1970s, geologist Aleksandr Bikbaev carried out a
hydrogeological Hydrogeology (''hydro-'' meaning water, and ''-geology'' meaning the study of the Earth) is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust (commonly in aquif ...
survey, associated with
bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
ore deposits. He discovered the presence of a large underground
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
, and places of partial absorption of the Sev. Tošemka and Vižaj waters. Fishermen and tourists reported riverbank
ponor A ponor is a natural opening where surface water enters into underground passages; they may be found in karst landscapes where the geology and the geomorphology is typically dominated by porous limestone rock. Ponors can drain stream or lake wate ...
s and numerous karst springs. In July 2007, two SGS cavers, during the rafting down the Vižaj, discovered a riverbank cave they named after V. Tatiščev, a historian who described the Kungur Ice Cave in the Urals. In June 2008, the Vižajskij kamen cave with a 20-meter entrance shaft was found and systematic exploration of the area began. In 2009 six expeditions followed, by SGS cavers, and cavers from
Pervouralsk Pervouralsk (russian: Первоура́льск, lit. ''the first in the Urals'') is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Chusovaya River (Kama's tributary) west of Yekaterinburg, the administrative center of the oblast. Populatio ...
, Verhnjaja Pyšma,
Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...
,
Kungur Kungur (russian: Кунгу́р) is a town in the southeast of Perm Krai, Russia, located in the Ural Mountains at the confluence of the rivers Iren and Shakva with the Sylva (Kama's basin). Population: 64,800 (1959); 36,000 (1939). Hist ...
, Naberežnye Čelny, Tjumen, Čeljabinsk and
Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...
, led by Evgenij Curihin. 67 new caves with a total length of over 6 km were discovered, till 2021 the number increased to 130, total length to 12 km. The formation of many caves is associated with the underground flow of the river, they often contain anomalously large halls (up to 80 m in diameter), caused by a very thick layer of
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. Considerable depth of the lakes in caves suggested the presence of large underwater spaces, explored since 2011 by SGS divers. The most important are Severnaja and Taëžnaja caves. Severnaja, 3510 m long and 84 m deep, is the largest cave in the
Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as S ...
and the entire eastern side of the Urals. In it, the bones of
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
were found – of
rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
,
bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
,
mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...
, bear, reindeer, and horse. Taëžnaja, morphologically the most interesting cave, was 2050 m long and 101 m deep, the deepest cave in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. From April 2012 to February 2021 12 divings were made in the cave, 3 underwater halls were explored. The biggest is the Kiselev passage, 46 m deep and 200 meters long, with two loop tunnels at the side, named Canyon 1 and Canyon 2. It leads to the Funnel hall and the Third hall. Kiselev passage is also one of the largest underwater spaces in Russian caves.


Gallery

Лагерь у пещеры Бой-Булок.jpg, Base camp, Boybuloq 1992 Посвящение в спелеологи.jpg, Initiation, Kizelovskaja 2006 Mustafa's oil lamp.jpg, Mustafa's lamp, Boybuloq 2008 Погружение в сифон пещеры им. Василия Татищева.jpg, Returning diver, Vižaj 2009 Натечные образования в Тоннельной пещере.jpg, Cream and red, Tonnelnaja 2010 В Бойцовской пещере.jpg, Rock intarsia, Bojcovskaja 2010 Полупрозрачные натечные образования.jpg, Translucency, Taëžnaja 2012 Вид на стену Ходжа-Гур-Гур-Ата изнутри протаявшего ледника.jpg, Ice cavern, Baysuntau 2012 KVA 3669.jpg, Team, Hodja-Gur-Gur-Ata 2015 Ходжа-Гур-Гур-Ата, Азия, Холст, масло, 50*90, 2015г.jpg, Cave mountain, oil/canvas 2015 Middle asia transport.jpg, Pack donkeys, Višnevskij 2016 Расширение меандра в пещере ЧБ 17.jpg, Meander widening, ČB-17 2017 Dinosaur footprint.jpg, Dino footprint, Boybuloq 2018 BB-Vishn Team 2018.jpg, Boybul. & Višnevskij team, 2018 Chulbair 10-08-2019.jpg, Precipice edge, Višnevskij 2019 Подземный лагерь в пещере имени Вишневского.jpg, Lunch, -168 m, Višnevskij 2019 Ice Wave in Peščera Češirskij kot (Cheshire cat), Vižaj, 2019.jpg, "Ice wave", Češirskij kot 2019 LP 06059.jpg, Shaft in darkness, Pobeda 2020 Команда СГС у входа в пещеру Таёжная.jpg, Circle of cavers, Vižaj 2020 Пещера Северная.jpg, Sparkling cave ice, Vižaj 2021


Publications

After 2000 a tradition of publishing a book at every important anniversary was established. It was usually in Russian and covered the results of the club's work. The first, ''SGS – 40 years'', was published in 2001 by the Association of Ural Speleologists. Two more books followed, by Azimuth Publishing and SGS: ''SGS – The first semi-centennial. Caves. Events. People.'' in 2011 and ''SGS – In the spotlight'' in 2016 (in Russian and English. The same year a
travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...
''In the head of my sawdust ...'' by Sergej Kuklev, expedition participant, was published. A 55-minute documentary film ''Asia forever'', directed by Anna Loginova, premiered in December 2014.


Notes


References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , first = Bill , last = Stone , language = en , title = 2021 Sistema Cheve Expedition: Initial Report , date = 12 June 2021 , url = https://www.usdct.org/Cheve_2021-Initial_Expedition_Summary.pdf , access-date = 18 July 2021 {{cite journal , first1 = Paz , last1 = Vale , first2 = Rob , last2 = Wallis , title = Aspex '90 , language = en , year = 1991 , issue = 52 , pages = 20–23 , journal = Caves and Caving , publisher = British Cave Research Association {{cite AV media , people = Loginova, Anna (Director) , title = Азия навсегда , trans-title = Asia forever , language = ru , medium = Motion picture , date = 16 February 2016 , location = Ekaterinburg , publisher = SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club, The Assoсiation of Ural Speleologists , url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7en5Dbz_NY , access-date = 6 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Sergej , last = Kuklev , title = Азия: туда и обратно , trans-title = Asia: round trip , language = ru , year = 1999 , url = http://www.skuklev.narod.ru/asia.htm , url-status=live , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060109000000/http://www.skuklev.narod.ru/asia.htm , archive-date = 9 January 2006 , access-date = 1 May 2020}
Alt URL
/ref> {{cite web , first = Evgenij , last = Curihin , title = Имени Александра Вишневского (ЧБ-15) , trans-title = Aleksandr Višnevskij Cave (ČB-15) , work = speleoatlas.ru – Caving atlas of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) , language = ru , date = 18 November 2019 , publisher = Русское географическое общество / Russian Geographic Society , url = https://speleoatlas.ru/caves/imeni-aleksandra-vishnevskogo-19130/ , access-date = 18 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Evgenij , last = Curihin , title = Бой-Булок (Бай-Булак) , trans-title = Boybuloq , work = speleoatlas.ru – Caving atlas of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) , language = ru , date = 1 April 2017 , publisher = Русское географическое общество / Russian Geographic Society , url = https://speleoatlas.ru/caves/boy-bulok-11730/ , access-date = 18 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Vadim , last = Loginov , title = Бой-Булок 2018 , trans-title = Boybuloq 2018 , language = ru , date = 11 March 2018 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg speleo club , url = http://sgs.su/news/text/286/ , access-date = 6 February 2021 {{cite web , title = Бой-Булок пещера , trans-title = Boybuloq cave , language = ru , year = 2015 , publisher = Meros.uz Культурное наследие Узбекистана / Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan , url = https://meros.uz/ru/object/boy-boloq-gori , access-date = 26 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Marat , last = Nadjibayev , title = Boy-Bulok – deepest cave in Uzbekistan explored , language = en , date = 22 October 2018 , publisher = kun.uz / News of Uzbekistan and the World , url = https://kun.uz/en/news/2018/10/22/boy-bulok-deepest-cave-in-uzbekistan-explored , access-date = 4 May 2020 {{cite journal , first = Georgij , last = Sapožnikov , title = Бой-Булок – исследования последних лет (2014–2016 гг). , trans-title = Boy-Bulok – explorations of recent years (2014–2016). , language = ru , year = 2016 , volume = 29 , pages = 5–6 , journal = Журнал АСУ / ASU Journal , publisher = ASU – The Assoсiation of Ural Speleologists , url = https://viv-asu.ru/index.php/component/phocadownload/category/1-files?download=185:zhurnal-asu-29-32-1-mb-pdf&lang=ru , access-date = 23 May 2020 {{cite news , title = Спелеологи обнаружили следы динозавров при изучении глубоких карстовых пещер в Узбекистане , trans-title = Cave explorers discovered dinosaurs footprints during the study of deep karst caves in Uzbekistan , agency = TASS , date=31 August 2018 , language=ru , url = https://nauka.tass.ru/nauka/5509379 , accessdate= 5 February 2021 {{cite web , first = Bruce , last = Pannier , title = Conflict On The Kyrgyz-Tajik Border Moves From Sticks And Stones To Bullets And Bombs , publisher = Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , date = 30 April 2021 , url = https://www.rferl.org/a/kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-deadly-border-fighting-analysis/31231165.html , access-date = 20 July 2021 {{cite web , title = The cave named Alexander Vishnevskiy , language = en , year = 2019 , publisher = Asia adventures , location = Tashkent , url = http://centralasia-adventures.com/en/sights/caves_of_uzbekistan/aleksndr_veshnevskiys_cave.html , access-date = 7 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Aleksandr , last = Zalesskij , title = Дарк Стар – 2013 , trans-title = Dark Star – 2013 , language = ru , date = 11 September 2013 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg Speleo Club , url = http://sgs.su/diary/text/6/ , access-date = 18 July 2021 {{cite web , title = Экспедиция Дарк Стар — 2014 , trans-title = Dark Star expedition – 2014 , language = ru , date = 15 December 2014 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg Speleo Club , url = http://sgs.su/news/text/160/ , access-date = 18 July 2021 {{cite web , first1 = Evgenij , last1 = Curihin , first2 = Ivan , last2 = Russkih , first3 = Vasilij , last3 = Samsonov , first4 = Vadim , last4 = Loginov , title = "Байсунтау-2015" , trans-title = «Baysuntau-2015» , language = ru , date = 21 September 2015 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg Speleo Club , url = http://sgs.su/news/text/213/ , access-date = 18 July 2021 {{cite web , first = Vadim , last = Loginov , title = Результаты экспедиции Байсун – 2016 , trans-title = Results of the Baysun-2016 expedition , language = ru , date = 12 September 2016 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg speleo club , url = http://sgs.su/news/text/234/ , access-date = 18 July 2021 {{cite journal , first1 = Evgenij, last1 = Curihin , first2 = Sebastian , last2 = Breitenbach , first3 = Vadim , last3 = Loginov , first4 = Antonina , last4 = Votintseva , title = The Dark Star of Baisun-tau: A history of cave exploration in Southern Uzbekistan, 1990–2013 , language = en , journal = Cave and Karst Science , date = March 2014 , volume = 41 , issue = 1 , page = 36-41 , url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262740560 , access-date = 17 July 2021 {{cite web , first = Ol'ga , last = Čerepanova , title = Стартовала экспедиция в Бой-Булок , trans-title = Expedition to Boy-Bulok started , language = ru , date = 4 August 2008 , url = https://cml.happy.kiev.ua/cgi-bin/cml.cgi?num=10709 , access-date = 2 May 2020 {{cite conference , first1 = Evgenij, last1 = Curihin , first2 = Vadim , last2 = Loginov , first3 = Francesco , last3 = Sauro , first4 = Sebastian , last4 = Breitenbach , title = Exploration of High Altitude Caves in the Baisun-Tau Mountain Range, Uzbekistan , language = en , book-title = 2013 ICS (International Congress of Speleology) Proceedings: Exploration and Cave Techniques , year = 2014 , page = 147–152 , url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259646057 , access-date = 28 May 2020 {{cite journal , first1 = Tullio , last1 = Bernabei , first2 = Italo , last2 = Giulivo , first3 = Marco , last3 = Mecchia , first4 = Leonardo , last4 = Piccini , title = CCCP: una spedizione all'ombra della Perestrojka , trans-title = CCCP: an expedition in the shadow of Perestrojka , language = it , date = March 1990 , issue = 22 , pages = 9–14 , journal = Speleologia , publisher = Società Speleologica Italiana , url = https://education.issuu.com/speleo.it/docs/speleologia_22_mar_1990_ocr/9 , access-date = 20 July 2021 {{cite web , title = Скончался основатель Ассоциации спелеологов Урала Александр Вишневский , trans-title = The founder of the Association of Speleologists of the Urals Alexander Vishnevsky died , language = ru , publisher = obltv.ru / Sverdlovsk region TV , date = 16 June 2015 , url = https://www.obltv.ru/news/society/skonchalsa_osnovatel_associacii_speleologov_urala_aleksandr_vishnevskij/ , access-date = 5 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Sergej , last = Kuklev , title = История исследования пещеры Бой-Булок (Александр Вишневский) , trans-title = History of exploration of Boy Bulok cave (Aleksandr Višnevskij) , language = ru , year = 1999 , publisher = Комиссия спелеологии и карстоведения / Speleology and Karst Studies Commission , url = http://www.rgo-speleo.ru/caves/azia/boy_bulok_hist.htm , access-date = 1 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Evgenij , last = Curihin , title = История исследования пещер на реке Вижай , trans-title = History of the exploration of caves on the Vižaj River , language = ru , year = 2021 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg Speleo Club , url = http://sgs.su/about/5/ , access-date = 27 July 2021 {{cite web , first1 = Vasilij , last1 = Samsonov , first2 = Vadim , last2 = Loginov , title = История исследования пещеры им. А.С. Вишневского , trans-title = History of the exploration of A. S. Višnevskij cave , language = ru , date = 12 April 2020 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg Speleo Club , url = http://sgs.su/about/9/ , access-date = 9 February 2021 {{cite book , first = Sergej Gennad'evič , last = Kuklev , year = 2016 , title = В голове моей опилки... , trans-title = In the head of my sawdust... , language = ru , publisher = Aegitas , pages = 239 {{cite conference , first1 = Sebastian , last1 = Breitenbach , first2 = Ola , last2 = Kwiecien , first3 = Yanjun , last3 = Cai , first4 = Yanbin , last4 = Lv , first5 = Maksim , last5 = Petrov , first6 = Vadim , last6 = Loginov , first7 = Zhenya , last7 = Zurikhin , first8 = Tonya , last8 = Votinzeva , first9 = Sasha , last9 = Osinzev , first10 = Hai , last10 = Cheng , title = Inside Uzbekistans mountains – impressions from the Silk Road , language = en , conference = 16th International Congress of Speleology , date = 21-28 July 2013 , location = Brno, Czech Republic , url = https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yQ6HRR5qwsbyDcvdxomP3rCLF9Ts2thY/view , access-date = 11 July 2021 {{cite web , first = Evgenij , last = Snetkov , title = Киевская (КиЛСИ) , trans-title = Kiev Cave (KiLSI) , work = speleoatlas.ru – Caving atlas of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) , language = ru , date = 8 February 2018 , publisher = Русское географическое общество / Russian Geographic Society , url = https://speleoatlas.ru/caves/kievskaya-20009/ , access-date = 24 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Rustam , last = Qobil , title = Lost in Asia's deepest cave , language = en , date = 27 December 2018 , publisher = BBC , url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46555824 , access-date = 4 May 2020 {{cite web , first1 = Aleksandr , last1 = Višnevskij , first2 = Vladimir , last2 = Mal'cev , first3 = Viktor , last3 = Dubljanskij , first4 = Jurij , last4 = Dubljanskij , title = Крупнейшие пещеры Средней Азии , trans-title = The largest caves of Central Asia , language = ru , year = 2004 , publisher = Комиссия спелеологии и карстоведения / Speleology and Karst Studies Commission , url = http://rgo-speleo.ru/biblio/aziya.htm , access-date = 28 May 2020 {{cite book , first1 = Viktor , last1 = Dubljanskij , first2 = Vladimir , last2 = Iljuhin , title = Крупнейшие карстовые пещеры и шахты СССР , trans-title = Largest karst caves and abysses of the USSR , publisher = Наука / Nauka (Science) , pages = 46 , place = Moskva , year = 1982 , language = ru , url = https://silkadv.com/en/content/kievskaya-peshchera-v-uzbekistane , access-date = 13 July 2021 {{cite web , first = Sergej , last = Kuklev , title = Средневековье Средней Азии , trans-title = Middle Ages of Central Asia , language = ru , date = 9 March 2011 , publisher = Сетевое издание "МК – Урал" (Московский Комсомолец) / Network Edition of "MK-Ural" (Moskovskij Komsomolec) , url = https://chel.mk.ru/articles/2011/03/09/570905-srednevekove-sredney-azii.html , access-date = 27 May 2020 {{cite web , first1 = Evgenij , last1 = Curihin , first2 = Vadim , last2 = Loginov , first3 = Francesco , last3 = Sauro , title = Новая эпоха экспедиций в Среднюю Азию , trans-title = A new era of expeditions to Central Asia , language = ru , year = 2012 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg Speleo Club , url = http://sgs.su/about/6/ , access-date = 20 July 2021 {{cite web , first1 = Valentin , last1 = Potapov , first2 = Ekaterina , last2 = Jacucenko , title = Часть 2 Камни на склоне , trans-title = Part 2 Stones on a Slope , language = ru , date = August 2012 , publisher = Спелеоклуб Самарского университета / Samara University Speleoclub , url = http://speleo.ssau.ru/index.php?status=article&dnew=ARTICL/2012/08/Asia12_off.html , access-date = 26 May 2020 {{cite web , first1 = Larisa , last1 = Pozdnjakova , first2 = Ol'ga , last2 = Čerepanova , title = Премьера фильма "Азия навсегда" , trans-title = Premiere of the film «Asia Forever» , language = ru , date = 6 December 2014 , publisher = Azimuth Publishing , url = https://www.aziko.ru/novosti/news_items/ekaterinburg-11-dekabrya-premera , access-date = 1 May 2020 {{cite journal , first1 = Vadim , last1 = Loginov , first2 = Vasilij , last2 = Samsonov , first3 = Evgenij , last3 = Curihin , title = Результаты Байсунской экспедиции – 2016. , trans-title = The results of the 2016 Baysun expedition. , language = ru , year = 2016 , volume = 29 , pages = 3–4 , journal = Журнал АСУ / ASU Journal , publisher = ASU – The Assoсiation of Ural Speleologists , url = https://viv-asu.ru/index.php/component/phocadownload/category/1-files?download=185:zhurnal-asu-29-32-1-mb-pdf&lang=ru , access-date = 23 May 2020 {{cite web , title = Russian cavers explored more than 30 caves in 2018 , language = en , date = 18 December 2018 , publisher = Russian Geographical Society , url = https://www.rgo.ru/en/article/russian-cavers-explored-more-30-caves-2018 , access-date = 4 May 2020 {{cite web , title = Спелеологическая экспедиция в Байсун-Тау (Узбекистан), Август, 2021 , trans-title = Speleological expedition to Baysun-Tau (Uzbekistan), August, 2021 , language = ru, en , publisher = Foundation for the Preservation and Exploration of Caves , year = 2021 , url = https://speleo.kg/expeditions/speleologicheskaya-ekspedicziya-v-bajsun-tau-uzbekistan-pervaya-polovina-avgusta/ , access-date = 17 July 2021 {{cite book , editor-first1 = Sergej , editor-last1 = Evdokimov , editor-first2 = Aleksandr , editor-last2 = Višnevskij , editor-first3 = Emma , editor-last3 = Lobanova , editor-first4 = Aleksandr , editor-last4 = Plastinin , editor-first5 = Sergej , editor-last5 = Valujskij , title = СГС – 40 лет , trans-title = SGS – 40 years , publisher = The Assoсiation of Ural Speleologists , volume = 6 , place= Perm , year = 2001 , language = ru , pages = 51 , url = https://viv-asu.ru/index.php/component/phocadownload/category/1-files?download=8:sgs&lang=ru , access-date = 26 July 2021 {{cite book , editor-first1 = Sergej , editor-last1 = Evdokimov , editor-first2 = Aleksandr , editor-last2 = Višnevskij , editor-first3 = Emma , editor-last3 = Lobanova , editor-first4 = Aleksandr , editor-last4 = Plastinin , editor-first5 = Sergej , editor-last5 = Valujskij , title = СГС – 40 лет , trans-title = SGS – 40 years , publisher = The Assoсiation of Ural Speleologists , volume = 6 , place= Perm , year = 2001 , language = ru , chapter = Наша Азия / Our Asia , first1 = Aleksandr , last1 = Višnevskij , first2 = Vladimir , last2 = Zotov , pages = 40–42 , url = https://viv-asu.ru/index.php/component/phocadownload/category/2-fajly-asu?download=8:sgs&usg=AOvVaw0uzuokVrqqdhIWdMaFlnYY , access-date = 5 May 2020 {{cite book , editor = SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club , year = 2011 , title = СГС – Первые полвека. Пещеры. События. Люди. , trans-title = SGS – The first semi-centennial. Caves. Events. People. , language = ru , publisher = Azimuth Publishing, SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club , chapter = История исследования пещеры Бой-Булок / Boy Bulok cave – History of exploration , first = Aleksandr , last = Višnevskij , url = https://book.exje.ru/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Speleo_book_print1.pdf , pages= 65–66 , access-date = 1 May 2020 {{cite book , editor = SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club , year = 2011 , title = СГС – Первые полвека. Пещеры. События. Люди. , trans-title = SGS – The first semi-centennial. Caves. Events. People. , language = ru , publisher = Azimuth Publishing, SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club , chapter = Байсунтау, предыстория / Baysun-Tau, prehistory , first = Sergej , last = Matrënin , url = https://book.exje.ru/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Speleo_book_print1.pdf , pages= 21–29 , access-date = 26 July 2021 {{cite book , editor = SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club , year = 2011 , title = СГС – Первые полвека. Пещеры. События. Люди. , trans-title = SGS – The first semi-centennial. Caves. Events. People. , language = ru , publisher = Azimuth Publishing, SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club , url = https://book.exje.ru/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Speleo_book_print1.pdf , pages = 148 , access-date = 26 July 2021 {{cite book , editor = SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club , year = 2016 , title = СГС – В центре кадра , trans-title = SGS – In the spotlight , language = ru, en , publisher = SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club, Azimuth Publishing , chapter = Александр Сергеевич Вишневский / Aleksandr Sergeevič Višnevskij , first = Evgenij , last = Curihin , url = https://book.exje.ru/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/%D0%A1%D0%93%D0%A1-%D0%B2-%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B0.pdf , pages = 180–181 , access-date = 1 May 2019 {{cite book , editor = SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club , year = 2016 , title = СГС – В центре кадра , trans-title = SGS – In the spotlight , language = ru, en , publisher = SGS – Sverdlovsk speleo club, Azimuth Publishing , url = https://book.exje.ru/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/%D0%A1%D0%93%D0%A1-%D0%B2-%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B0.pdf , pages = 226 , access-date = 26 July 2021 {{cite web , title = Sensational result of a speleological expedition in Uzbekistan , language = en , date = 29 August 2019 , publisher = Pravda Vostoka , location = Tashkent , url = https://www.pv.uz/en/news/sensatsionnyj-rezultat-speleologicheskoj-ekspeditsii-v-uzbekistane , access-date = 4 May 2020 , archive-date = 5 December 2020 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201205142220/https://pv.uz/en/news/sensatsionnyj-rezultat-speleologicheskoj-ekspeditsii-v-uzbekistane , url-status = dead {{cite web , title = Struggle for the underground "Everest" continues: Speleological expedition in Surkhandarya region ended with a sensational result , language = en , date = 29 August 2019 , publisher = Uzbekistan National News Agency , url = http://uza.uz/en/society/struggle-for-the-underground-everest-continues-speleological-29-08-2019 , access-date = 4 May 2020 {{cite web , first = Evgenij , last = Curihin , title = Таежная , trans-title = Taëžnaja (cave) , work = speleoatlas.ru – Caving atlas of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) , language = ru , date = 1 December 2020 , publisher = Русское географическое общество / Russian Geographic Society , url = https://speleoatlas.ru/caves/taezhnaya-895/ , access-date = 21 July 2021 {{cite web , first1 = Mark , last1 = Synnott , first2 = Robbie , last2 = Shone , title = Is This the Underground Everest? , language = en , date = March 2017 , work = National Geographic , url = https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/03/dark-star-deepest-cave-climbing-uzbekistan/ , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170207011240/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/03/dark-star-deepest-cave-climbing-uzbekistan/ , url-status = dead , archive-date = 7 February 2017 , access-date = 4 May 2020 {{cite book , first1 = Jurij , last1 = Lobanov , first2 = Valentin , last2 = Ščepetov , first3 = Vladimir , last3 = Iljuhin , first4 = Georgij , last4 = Maksimovič , first5 = Vitalij , last5 = Kostarev , title = Пещеры Урала , trans-title = Ural Caves , publisher = ФИЗКУЛЬТУРА И СПОРТ / Physical culture and sports , pages = 144 , place = Moskva , year = 1971 , language = ru , url = http://nsi.psu.ru/cave/bibl/407_1971.pdf , access-date = 11 July 2021 {{cite web , title = Who are we , date = December 2020 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg speleo club , url = http://sgs.su/text/aboutsgs/ , access-date = 7 February 2021 {{cite web , first = Bob , last = Gulden , title = Worlds deepest caves , language = en , work = Geo2 Committee on Long and Deep Caves , publisher =
National Speleological Society The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally headquartered in Washington D.C., its current offices are in H ...
(NSS) , url = http://www.caverbob.com/wdeep.htm , date = 22 January 2020 , access-date = 7 May 2020
{{cite web , first = Evgenij , last = Curihin , title = Уральская им. Зенкова (Зиндан) , trans-title = Urals-Zenkov (Zindan) cave , work = speleoatlas.ru – Caving atlas of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) , language = ru , date = 10 April 2017 , publisher = Русское географическое общество / Russian Geographic Society , url = https://speleoatlas.ru/caves/uralskaya-im-zenkova-12790/ , access-date = 24 May 2020 {{cite journal , first1 = Evgeny , last1 = Tsurikhin , first2 = Vadim , last2 = Loginov , first3 = Francesco , last3 = Sauro , title = BAISUN-TAU 2011 / La reprise des expéditions en Asie Centrale , trans-title = BAYSUN-TAU 2011 / Resumption of expeditions to Central Asia , language = fr , date = March 2012 , issue = 125 , pages = 36–40 , journal = Spelunca , publisher = Fédération Française de Spéléologie , url = https://spelunca.ffspeleo.fr/201203_Spelunca_125.pdf , access-date = 10 July 2021 {{cite book , editor-first = Sergej , editor-last = Evdokimov , title = Журнал АСУ 27, trans-title = ASU Journal No. 23 , publisher = The Assoсiation of Ural Speleologists , chapter = БАЙСУНТАУ-2015 / Baysun-Tau-2015 , first1 = Evgenij , last1 = Curihin , first2 = Ivan , last2 = Russkih , first3 = Vasilij , last3 = Samsonov , first4 = Vadim , last4 = Loginov , pages = 4–6 , place= Perm , year = 2016 , language = ru , url = https://viv-asu.ru/index.php/component/phocadownload/category/1-files?download=183:skachat-zhurnal-asu-27-13-mb-pdf&lang=ru&usg=AOvVaw0UW75Vb1Cj3RZxyQRnVx6B , access-date = 11 February 2021 {{cite journal , first1 = Giuseppe , last1 = Spitaleri , first2 = Antonio , last2 = De Vivo , first3 = Tullio , last3 = Bernabei , first4 = Francesco , last4 = Sauro , first5 = Vadim , last5 = Loginov , first6 = Evegeny , last6 = Tsurikhin , first7 = Antonina , last7 = Votintseva , first8 = Gulnaz , last8 = Masalimova , first9 = Alexander , last9 = Ivanishchev , title = Baysun Tau, Ritorno all'Asia centrale , trans-title = Baysun Tau, Return to Central Asia , language = it , date = June 2015 , issue = 72 , pages = 44–51 , journal = Speleologia , publisher = Società Speleologica Italiana , url = https://issuu.com/speleo.it/docs/speleologia_72 , access-date = 10 July 2021 {{cite journal , first1 = Evgenii , last1 = Tsurikhin , first2 = Sebastian , last2 = Breitenbach , first3 = Vadim , last3 = Loginov , first4 = Antonina , last4 = Votintseva , title = Cave exploration in southern Uzbekistan, 1990–2013 , language = en , year = 2014 , volume = 41 , issue = 1 , pages = 36–41 , journal = Cave and Karst Science , publisher = British Cave Research Association , url = https://researchportal.northumbria.ac.uk/en/publications/the-dark-star-of-baisun-tau-a-history-of-cave-exploration-in-sout , access-date = 10 July 2021 {{cite book , editor1-last = Bernabei , editor1-first = Tullio , editor2-last = De Vivo , editor2-first = Antonio , year = 1992 , language = it , title = Grotte e storie dell'Asia Centrale. Le esplorazioni geografiche del Progetto Samarcanda , trans-title = Caves and stories of Central Asia. The geographic explorations of the Samarkand Project , publisher = Centro Editoriale Veneto , pages = 307 {{cite journal , first1 = Hai , last1 = Cheng , first2 = Christoph , last2 = Spötl , first3 = Sebastian F. M. , last3 = Breitenbach , first4 = Jasper. A. , last4 = Wassenburg , first5 = Klaus Peter , last5 = Jochum , first6 = Denis , last6 = Scholz , first7 = Xianglei , last7 = Li , first8 = Liang , last8 = Yi , first9 = Ashish , last9 = Sinha , first10 = Pingzhong , last10 = Zhang , first11 = Youbing , last11 = Peng , first12 = Yanbin , last12 = Lv , first13 = Antonina , last13 = Votintseva , first14 = Vadim , last14 = Loginov , first15 = Youfeng , last15 = Ning , first16 = Gayatri , last16 = Kathayat , first17 = R. Lawrence , last17 = Edwards , title = Climate variability of Central Asia on orbital to millennial timescales , language = en , year = 2016 , volume = 6 , issue = 36975 , journal = Scientific Reports , page = 36975 , publisher = Springer Nature , url = https://www.nature.com/articles/srep36975.pdf , doi = 10.1038/srep36975 , pmid = 27833133 , access-date = 10 July 2021, pmc = 5105073 {{cite journal , first1 = Louis , last1 = Stähelin , first2 = Arnauld , last2 = Malard , first3 = Antoine , last3 = Aigueperse , title = Boy Bulok 2018, Une expédition franco-helvético-russe en Ouzbékistan / Boy Bulok 2018, Eine franco-helvetisch-russische Expedition in Usbekistan , trans-title = Boybuloq 2018, A French-Swiss-Russian expedition , language = fr, de , year = 2019 , volume = 69 , issue = 1–2, pages = 40–49 , journal = Stalactite , publisher = Société Suisse de Spéléologie / Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Höhlenforschung {{cite web , first = Evgenij , last = Curihin , title = Фестивальная (Фестивальна-Ледопадная-Козлиная) , trans-title = Festivalnaja (Festivalnaja-Ledopadnaja-Kozlinaja) , work = speleoatlas.ru – Caving atlas of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) , language = ru , date = 8 April 2017 , publisher = Русское географическое общество / Russian Geographic Society , url = https://speleoatlas.ru/caves/festivalnaya-12397/ , access-date = 20 July 2021 {{cite journal , first1 = Mark , last1 = Synnott , first2 = Robbie , last2 = Shone , title = Into the Deep , language = en , date = March 2017 , volume = 231 , issue = 3 , pages = 104–119 , journal = National Geographic , url = https://issuu.com/1magazine10/docs/8dvfdfv/112 , access-date = 17 July 2021 {{cite web , first = Valentin , last = Potapov , title = Рассказ об экспедиции в п. Фестивальная 2010 г. , trans-title = The story about the expedition to the Festivalnaja cave in 2010 , language = ru , date = 26 November 2010 , publisher = SGS – Ekaterinburg speleo club , url = http://sgs.su/diary/text/2/ , access-date = 18 July 2021 {{cite journal , first1 = Stefano , last1 = Guarniero , first2 = Giuseppe , last2 = Spitaleri , first3 = Cecilio , last3 = Lopez Tercero , title = Uzbekistan / Baysun Tau 2012: Un'ottima annata , trans-title = Uzbekistan / Baysun Tau 2012: An excellent year , language = it , year = 2012 , issue = 67 , pages = 77–78 , journal = Speleologia , publisher = Società Speleologica Italiana , url = https://issuu.com/speleo.it/docs/speleologia_67 , access-date = 10 July 2021 Organizations established in 1961 Caving organizations Clubs and societies in Russia