Abkhazia is an amazing country where you can spend an unforgettable vacation with family or friends. This country is famous not only for its cordial hospitality, but also for its fabulous landscapes, the unusually warm and gentle Black Sea and its clean beach area. In addition, Abkhazia has a huge number of attractions that amaze with their diversity. There are a lot of architectural structures that have a long history and are considered the pride of the country. And there are also natural attractions that are unique and of great interest to researchers and tourists. One of the attractive places worth visiting is the Snow Cave. How can you get to this amazing place? In which mountains is Snowy Abyss Cave? All this will be discussed in the article.
A little about the history of the discovery of the cave
For the first time about the Snow Cave, the photo of which is in the article, they started talking back in 1971, when speleologists of Moscow State University, studying the Bzybsky Range, revealed a huge funnel with an area of 2000 square meters. m. Despite the fact that it was covered with snow, cavers set off down, and it turned out that this was the entrance to a vertical cave. After its discovery, research was carried out for 10 years. Every year the depth of the cave increased. For example, already in 1981, speleologists explored the cave at a depth of about 1335 meters.
In 1983, Snezhnaya was merged with another cave, which was named after Mezhenny. At that time, a cave complex with a length of 1370 meters had already been explored. In the 90s, the study of the cave complex was temporarily suspended, since at that time there was an aggravated armed conflict between Abkhazia and Georgia. A little later, work resumed.
- The Snow Cave research was restored in 2000.
- In 2005 another cave called Illusion was discovered. The depth was already 1753 meters.
- In 2008, the Throne Room was found, as well as an incredibly beautiful cave lake.
- In 2011, when exploring the lake, the depth of the cave was covered by 1760 meters.
- In 2015, another entrance to the cave complex was opened. It is located in the region of the lateral tributary of the Zazerkalie system. To get to it, you will need to go through the lower entrance, and the descent will take 2-3 days. The depth of the cave complex at that time had already been studied at 1800 meters.
To date, the studied depth remains unchanged. This is due to the fact that this cave is very difficult to pass and is considered one of the most difficult and deep in the world. It includes a huge number of narrow manholes, large vertical abysses and majestic halls with turbulent rivers, waterfalls, as well as streams andwells.
What is the Snow Cave
The location of the cave is located in the Hipsta mountain range, not far from the village of Duripsh, in the Western Caucasus. Snow Cave coordinates (Abkhazia) - 43°16'20″ s. sh. 40°42'57 E e. The cave complex includes four entrances, and its total length is more than 32 kilometers. The lowest point of the cave is Morozova Lake. There are rooms in the cave complex, a brief description of which is presented to your attention below.
Great Hall
There is a very huge snowfield in it. Its height reaches 60 meters, but the volume of snow in it is more than 90 thousand cubic meters.
Throne Room
This is one of the largest halls from the entire cave complex. It is 310 meters long, over 10 meters wide and 40 meters high.
Hall X
Another of the largest halls of the Snow Cave. It is 250 meters long, about 70 meters wide, and has a ceiling height of 50 meters.
Diamond Gallery
Its length is 100 meters, its side entrance is located at a depth of 750 meters. The surface of the cave is covered with gypsum crystals. But one of its branches is covered with white hydromagnesite crystals.
Waterfalls
Besides this, there are huge waterfalls. There are three of them. These are Irkutsk, whose height is approximately 45 meters, Olympic - a little more than 30 meters, and Record - its height is 25meters.
Water formations
There are also a large number of underground rivers, streams and wells, which are united by a cave complex. But the two rivers remain unexplored, because their connection has not yet been found.
Due to its great length, it takes 10-14 days to pass through the complex of many caves, but it is only possible to get into it as part of an expeditionary group, and you will need to have special equipment with you. In order to overcome it, you need a good physical preparation. This fact must be taken into account when planning your participation in the expedition.
It is possible to walk close and along the 15 km route that leads to the lower entrance. Incredibly beautiful landscapes open up along this path, consisting of mountain meadows and a centuries-old beech forest. The trail goes to a vast plateau, where you can see an extraordinary panorama of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, stretching from New Athos to Cape Pitsunda.
Interest in this cave is growing every year, because it has not been studied to the end, and today there is no information where the cave complex can end. Despite the fact that the Snow Cave is closed to the general public, this in no way stops speleologists and lovers of extreme recreation.
How to get to the Snow Cave?
Abkhazia is a disputed territory, although since 1994 it has receivedindependence from Georgia and is called a republic. Where is Snezhnaya Cave located and how can I get to it? These are the most pressing questions for young speleologists, as well as for tourists who like outdoor activities. You can get to the Snezhny cave complex directly from the village of Duripsh, to which there is a 15-kilometer trail. You can fly to your destination by helicopter or go on foot. Approximate hiking time is about 5 hours. If you want to visit such a mysterious place, you must remember that it is quite dangerous. You need to think about the appropriate equipment, which will be discussed later.
What equipment do you need?
Exploring something new always implies the possibility of adventures and surprises along the way, therefore, as mentioned above, it is imperative to acquire the most necessary things. A speleologist is one of those professions where everything is new and unknown at every step. These people need to climb, swim, dive. They are required to have special suits that do not allow moisture to pass through and retain heat. And besides this, the clothes must be very durable. Going to the Snow Cave, you need to remember that inside it is very high humidity and quite cool. For example, on the Bank, the air temperature is about +6 degrees at 100% humidity.
In addition, you need to take a tent, a sleeping bag, a few good flashlights and an additional set of batteries with you. And since the passage of the cave complex involves descents to a depth, it will takespecial equipment with ropes and attachments.
Briefly about the work of speleologists
The work on the study of the Snow Cave (Abkhazia), the description of which is presented to your attention above, is one of the most laborious and exciting, because when passing through new places, speleologists had to clear blockages, swim across fast-flowing rivers, and descend into deep wells. In addition, they had to swim under waterfalls to find out where their continuation was going. And the danger lies in the fact that it is not known what awaits there ahead. The thirst for adrenaline and the feeling of new discoveries always accompanies such work.
According to experienced speleologists who have already been in the cave, the best time to explore is winter, since at this time there is less chance of flooding the premises, since there is no melting of water. But starting from May, it becomes quite dangerous to work, because at this time there is a massive melting of snow. Due to all these nuances, the work of cavers sometimes lasted for several months.
Changes to the Snow Cave after its opening
Since the discovery, the cave complex has changed a bit. For example, a snowfield that was melting very slowly is now melting much more intensively, and it is very difficult to say whether this is the result of a natural process or whether it is still due to human intervention.
- As for the ice floor, which was located in the Gvozdetsky Hall, it completely disappeared, and in its place in the springperiod, huge icicles form, and crystals of bizarre shapes appear on the walls themselves.
- In winter, during the avalanches, snow is replenished in the cave, which, in turn, closes all the upper passages. But at the same time, new ones are formed in completely unexpected places. The peculiarity of this phenomenon is that it does not happen every year.
- The entrance to the Great Hall has become inaccessible today, but a new one has appeared - along the wall. It was formed in the process of melting. It is through it that snow is replenished during avalanches.
- The snow cone has faded slightly, so it is no longer as majestic as it was at the beginning of the first expedition. In addition, the walls seem to have shrunk and the ceiling has become lower.
- At this time, the impregnability of the Snow Cave in Abkhazia, the photo of which you have the opportunity to see in the article, has slightly decreased, since there have been changes in the technological plan. For example, equipment, equipment, overalls have changed. And what is important, cavers cleared the passages during the expeditions, and a telephone cable was laid to the very bottom, and in some places there were still stair railings and the stairs themselves.
One of the unfortunate changes is that the lack of a visitation ban is attracting tourists from many countries, who leave behind piles of garbage and carbide. As a result of such expeditions, some halls were badly damaged.
Snow Cave research continues, and soon, perhaps, there will be new discoveries in this amazing naturaleducation in the Abkhazian mountains. As already mentioned, the independent passage of the cave complex is very unsafe. Therefore, it is best to go on such a journey as part of an expedition or have a speleologist in your group who knows all the nuances of passing hard-to-reach places.
How can I go on an expedition to the Snow Cave?
If you have the opportunity and desire to go to Abkhazia and visit the Snezhnaya cave, you need to find an expedition group from the ads, with which you can make such a dangerous journey. It should be noted right away that the amount of payment includes the cost of tickets for transport, food, equipment. Remember, before you go on a trip, you will be forced to undergo special training and training. The main requirement for participation in the expedition is to reach the age of 18, as well as good physical fitness and endurance. For example, it may take three months or even six months to learn the SRT technique (one rope). If you are ready, then have a nice trip!
