In the South parts of the Žirovcova jama
Southern parts of the cave - 2013-12
Time usually likes to rush things, and this time with Milan was no different. In January, the first lecture about discovering the Žirovcova jama will take place, in front of the most difficult audience – locals of Vrhnika, Stara Vrhnika and Zaplana. In front of those, who will take in Milan's chronology with their eyes wide open, as in this story, their cave will appear – a cave which lies almost at their feet.
The Žirovcova jama carries a respectful and round cadastre number of 10.000 and, with a length of over 5 kilometers qualifies as one of the longest Slovenian caves. I am sure I do not need to mention it twice that photographing a cave system like this one is a long process. In one trip you cannot see the whole cave, or even photograph it. And because it is, in some places, like a labyrinth, we do not like to venture into such parts without someone who has already visited them. And even that person can forget the right passage.
The last time we used our photographing equipment in Žirovcova jama was a over year and a half ago, where we tried to document two parts of the cave according to Milan’s instructions. At the first, we missed a sideways shaft in which we should have descended, while in the southern parts we stopped in front of a block of rock, which blocked our way forward. Well, there was a bounty nonetheless, but not the kind Milan wished for.
Since we were missing the shots of those parts, we decided for an afternoon trip in the holiday times during the week, due to the upcoming lecture. Kristina, after a longer caving abstinence, tagged along Milan and I as we headed fot the southern parts. Our two goals were to reach the beautiful part with limestone formations in the upper parts as well as the confluence of the two different water streams in the caves. The limestone formations are usually a pleasant surprise, but this time, they were especially interesting due to the see-through yellow and orange parts. Well, with a frontal lighting they are usually boring, but they show their charms when you put the light through them.
Finally, I also visited the parts behind the rock block, where we stopped the last time. According to Milan, “at the point where you think you have reached the end, you have to lie down on the rock in the water, look up and you’ll see the transition.” It was somewhat like that, but if I had followed Milan’s description again, I surely would not have found the transition. The cave continues there in the usual manner of huge fallen rocks, where you follow the stream and look for the logical transition. At the confluence, we made a few last shots and then stormed outside, towards complete darkness.
As Milan and I were looking through all of the successful footage from Žirovcova jama, we realized that we would need to do another photographing action to have a successful presentation. But for the first one we have more than enough material. If you are interested, you can attend the presentation on January 15th in Vrhika, Cankarjev dom. The others, who would rather wait for additional photos – I cannot offer you anything other than a promise for further lectures.
