Jeseni leta 2018 smo obiskali Šolnovo brezno, ki se ponaša z čudovitim modrim jezerom na dnu sto metrskega brezna. Glavna ovira za obisk pa ni samo brezno, ampak potoček ki curlja po breznu zadnjih trideset metrov prav tam, kjer se je potrebno spustiti (in potem tudi splezati nazaj) po vrvi. Zato smo za obisk izbrali bolj sušno obdobje. Potočka res ni bilo, ampak na dnu nas je čakalo neprijetno presenečenje – gladina jezera je bila kakšen meter nižja od običajne in zato je bilo tudi jezero precej manjše. Smo pa zalo lahko poslikali nekatere sigaste strukture, ki so običajno skrite pod gladino vode.

Kakšne tri mesece kasneje smo Šolnovo brezno ponovno obiskali v nekoliko bolj vlažnih razmerah. Potoček je tokrat curljal, vendar jezero še vedno ni bilo povsem polno – manjkalo je še pol metra do roba.

V galeriji sta združena oba obiska – na fotografijah se lahko vidi oba vodostaja. Naj omenim še, da je dno jezera prekrito z kalcitnimi kristali, ki so zelo občutljivi. Zato smo pri gibanju skrbno sledili že utečene poti predhodnikov in stopali na površine, ki so manj občutljive (npr. večje kamne brez sige) oziroma uporabljali čisto obutev.

Foto: Uroš Kunaver z Matijem Pernetom, Andrejem Drevenšekom, Niko Pišek Szillich, Lukom Večerinom in Matejo Centa.

In the autumn of 2018 we visited Šolnovo brezno (Šoln’s abyss), famous by beautiful blue lake at the bottom of one hundred meters deep shaft. The main obstacle to visit the cave is not the shaft but small flow of water dripping through last thirty meters of the shaft just where one has to descend the rope (and subsequently climb back). Therefore, we chose dry season for our visit. Surely the water flow was gone, but at the bottom we were unpleasantly surprised – the water level of the lake was about meter lower than normal and therefore the whole lake was smaller. However, that enabled us to take pictures of some limestone structures, that are normally hidden under the water.

About three months later we visited Šolnovo brezno once again in somewhat wetter conditions. The water was dripping this time, but the lake still wasn’t full yet – water level was half meter below the edge.

In the gallery both visits are combined – one can see the difference in water levels. I should mention also that the bottom of the lake is covered with calcite crystals, which are extremely fragile. Therefore, we strictly followed the paths, made by our predecessor and always step on less sensitive surfaces (like bigger rocks without limestone) or used clean footwear.

Photo: Uroš Kunaver with Matija Perne, Andrej Drevenšek, Nika Pišek Szillich, Luka Večerin and Mateja Centa.