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Diversities of the cave Lenčkova jama

Backdoor to the Predjama Cave System - 2021-05

A long time has passed since the discovery of the cave Lenčkova jama. It was registered as early as 1954, as the large entrance is easily accessible because it is located close to the road and was therefore known far and wide. For some, it seemed perfect for a convenient dumping ground and was littered with garbage right to the entrance.

The entrance passage ended in a rockfall and was uninteresting for researchers until the winter of 2005, when cavers from Postojna caving club noticed clouds of steam while searching for drafts at the entrance to Lenčkova jama. This promised large spaces, but they first had to break through the rockfall, which they did in a short time. The reward for the effort was the discovery of a large passage filled with beautiful speleothems soon after the unstable rockfall, which even collapsed on the way back from the cave and closed the passage. A few cavers remained trapped in the cave, but luckily the outside team was able to dig through the rockfall quickly again. The rockfall was later further widened and reinforced with concrete, and doors were installed so that it no longer poses a danger today.

Numerous visits took place in the cave and the cavers at the same time discovered the continuations and at the end explored almost a kilometer of beautifully ornamented passages and halls. The speleothems only starts to run out in the last two halls with rockfall, which was the main reason for installing the tapes on the most sensitive parts and thus charting the way for the cavers. With any crossing over the pools, cavers would certainly destroy them in the long run, and in this way they are additionally alerted to the sensitive environment. Despite the fact that the main part of the cave runs at a depth of about 45 meters, the passages with shorter descents and ascents are quite diverse, and two longer traverses are also made. Towards the end of the main part, the tunnel rises slowly and the ceiling of the last hall reaches almost the same depth as the entrance hall.

The area where the entrance to the cave is located has been researched for many generations and many hoped to discover a side entrance to the Predjama system. After discovering new parts of Lenčkova jama, the cavers from Postojna caving club discovered and explored the cave Bojanova jama, through which they finally came to the Western Tunnel of Predjama. The connection between Lenčkova jama and the system certainly exists somewhere, but it has been persistently eluding ever since the discovery of new parts. At that time, the cavers of Postojna came through the deepest in the narrow and muddy passage named Izi. For the time being, this continuation is still hidden, but last year, as part of inter-society campaigns with cavers from Borovnica, they broke through a main strait at the other end of the cave below traverse Jurčkova prečka.

In the labyrinth of passages between the fractures, they managed to discover a tunnel with a large hall and an entrance to the abyss, where they descended 40 meters deep. At this depth, Lenčkova jama should already be connected to the lower-lying parts of Predjama, but the abyss, which ends in mud, currently passes the known tunnels.

Lenčkova jama is certainly one of the most beautiful caves in this area, which, in addition to speleothems, also impresses with its length, diversity and variety. Photographically, it is too demanding for a one-day visit, so we only got to know it well in our second visit. Fortunately, Vid from Postojna club also joined us at that time, without whom we would certainly have wandered through the last newly discovered passages. Some parts were left without a photo, which can always be just a motivation for another visit.

Janez Jaka Cerar, Petra Pavšič, Mojca and Boštjan Vrviščar, Miha Staut, Ines Klinkon, Anja Hajna, Klemen Suša, Vid Trebše and Peter Gedei exercised and photographed in the halls, tunnels and straits of Lenčkova jama. You can read even more interesting information about the first research of the cave in the magazine Jamar (in Slovene).

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Copyright Peter Gedei