Region: Central Asia & The Far East

Mel Penn (with Linda Martin, Peter Martin, Allan Richardson, and Bill Thompson from UK plus many Russian cavers and supporters). August 2002

There were three parts to this expedition making a return visit to the Ak-dovurak region of Tyva (aka Tuva), a country the size of England & Wales in the Russian Federation between Siberia and Mongolia. Part 1 was an exploration of Shagonar Pothole ('Hole so deep man not been to bottom of'), an exercise that, despite a surface temperature of 30ºC, required crampons to descend an ice flow: however other than an ice plug at a depth of 54 metres, nothing of great interest was found. It had been intended to use a helicopter for Part 2, but this was abandoned due to unreliability, and a 6-wheel-drive 'mountain climbing truck' utilised instead to traverse Naryn and B'loo Valleys in the Sengilen Mountains, exploring and surveying more caves in a vast area of limestone. For the final part, the team climbed over 1400 metres up the western ridge to explore and survey more caves