British Tyva 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 and 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 30°C, 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' used 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 1,400m up the western ridge to explore and survey more caves.