In memory of Sir Edmund Percival Hillary

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Created: Wednesday, 29 May 2013 11:04

Published: Wednesday, 29 May 2013 11:04

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Exactly after 60 years from the first ascent of Mount Everest accomplished on 29 May 1953, along with sherpa Tenzing Norgay, we want to remember the figure of this honorary member of our association.
It has been an immense honor for us having, before his presence in La Venta, his great friendship.
Sir Edmund has been one of the most famous mountaineers and explorers of the world.
He was born in Tuakau, south of Auckland in New Zealand. At sixteen, during a school trip to Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand Alps, he found that his physique was stronger than his walking companions'. Thus began his interest in mountaineering.
In addition to the mountains of New Zealand, Hillary visited the Alps and then went to the Hymalayas, where he ascended eleven peaks over 6000 meters of altitude.

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Report of La Venta explorative expedition "Selva Chiapas 2013"

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Created: Thursday, 23 May 2013 08:55

Published: Thursday, 23 May 2013 08:55

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Mexico is a large country with a variety of unique environments: thorny desiertos in the north, lush selvas in the south, very deep quebradas (canyons) in Sierra Madre, slumbering volcanoes almost everywhere, mysterious cenotes (flooded pits) in Yucatan and countless cuevas (caves), equally mysterious. This year, as well as the last twenty, La Venta is back in Mexico, specifically in the forests of Chiapas.
For La Venta, practising speleology in Chiapas means exploring history, where every place, every cave tells of the past, of ancient civilizations. In the case of our explorations of the Zoque, contemporaries and successors of the Maya, frequent visitors of the Rio la Venta.
Not only the underground environment but also the dense vegetation has protected the remains of these ancient peoples for centuries. The meetings take place almost by magic, when "machetando" through the green wall there is in front another wall, this time of stone. Many things of this kind happen in the selva: you can run into big sotanos (collapses), or make your way through the vegetation for hours on sharp blades of rock and come out in broad valleys, and there find pyramids, squares, building. Ruins, cities perfectly hidden under a mantle of green, to be studied, documented and delivered to the legitimate descendants after exciting expeditions.

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Seven days in Los Bordos, namely : jungle, guano and spaghetti after the Mexican fashion!

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Created: Saturday, 04 May 2013 05:51

Published: Saturday, 04 May 2013 05:51

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After being sent, loaded as donkeys, in a fabulous place, with the intention to explore a huge system, we will find that the primary intent of the leader of the expedition Tyrannosauro was to exterminate us by sure forms of diarrhea, nausea and powerful stomachache!
The final stroke will be given by the certain histoplasmosis, poisonous fungus grown in our lungs full of bat droppings (the guano).
Seven days out of time and out of the world, in a beautiful place that has nothing to envy to the touristic Agua Azul, a charm of waterfalls, water pools with travertine concretions in a green spot under a boundless and burnt sierra.
After getting badly lost wandering around for half a day, we go down on the Rio La Venta, eternal companion of underground raids and greet him, then climb upstream the "Conchuda", impressive and rejuvenating waterfall.

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First returns to Italy

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Created: Tuesday, 30 April 2013 00:42

Published: Tuesday, 30 April 2013 00:42

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Today the first returns in Italy. Sandro and Simona have left after helping us to photograph caves never immortalized.
The work in the area of the ranchito is almost finished. Tomorrow the last cave to topograph. Of course and as usual, many new reports that we have to leave for the next expedition. But at the end we are accustomed to it. The group that has been working in this area from tomorrow is moving to the colony Hierbasanta where a fast exploration has found several promising entrances. 
The speleodivers have finished their work, and now they can't dive anymore, having to fly back in a few days. The siphon of the Cueva del Naranjo keeps falling down and doesn't want to come up. So far so good. Yesterday, always in Hierbasanta, they dived in the Cueva Lagartja finishing the line available in big and shallow caves. They too will have to return here.

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Report of the crossing

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Created: Friday, 26 April 2013 15:39

Published: Friday, 26 April 2013 15:39

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On April 20th began the crossing of the Cueva del Rio La Venta, an underground route of 7.5 km with an altitude gap of 453 m. The group was composed of 9 persons: the guide Manuel Perez Perez, Hugo, Fabiola, Vittorio Crobu, Salvatore Cabras, Carla Corongiu, Andrea Pasqualini, Simona Tuzzato and Sandro Sedran.

The goals of the crossing were checking the status of the rigging, replacing some ropes, ascending a flow in the Salon of Caos and photographing some areas poorly documented.

On the first day, after about 7 hours, we arrived at the first camp at El Hongo.

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Buenos dias

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Created: Thursday, 25 April 2013 17:19

Published: Thursday, 25 April 2013 17:19

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In Mexico “buenos dias” means good days. For us, today, it means good days of exploration.
It's a bit that we don't give news and, as you can imagine, it is only because we have been too busy and in areas not covered by the signal. Let's make a summary.
We split in two groups. One went to the Aguacero, a partially touristic cave. We lacked a complete survey and the analysis of the water. Now we have them. With the help of the Civil Protection the water, sampled at various points of the cave, have been brought to the nearest laboratory, and soon we will know the results. At the bottom of the cave (a resurgence) we also attempted a dive. Unfortunately the scarce visibility stopped the divers just 60 meters from accessing the siphon.

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