Autumn trip to Slovenia 2026 (ECRA, IDF)
There are only a few days left until the Slovenia IDF - International Diving Federation Instructor camp and the European Cave Rescue Association workshop start. There are still many errands left to settle and gear to prepare before departing.
This is the next big milestone for me - participation in the IDF workshop, led by experienced veterans like Anton Zhuchkov, Oleg Klymchuk (Олег Клим), and others, will help me solidify my skills as a cave instructor, become a better cave diver, and most importantly, enjoy the company of great comrades who are united by one great interest: the exploration of underwater caves!Participation in the European Cave Rescue Association workshop will give me a baseline for implementing cave rescue protocols in Georgia, ensuring I am always ready to help if someone is in trouble - or to expect the same from fellow comrades.
For me, all of this is a long and strenuous path, with zero support from the government, legal entities, and organizations (with one exception). I pay for participation in workshops, and in general for all expeditions and expensive training, myself; I buy the gear myself and spend great amounts of money to progress and push the exploration of caves in Georgia further. The lack of support is saddening but not unexpected.
While I am the one and only speleologist in Georgia (and probably whole region) with such vast, multi-domain experience (which includes dry speleology, SRT, mapping, cave and sump diving, closed-circuit rebreathers, trimix, cave/tek diving instructor), I want to form a strong community by teaching and introducing new people to this fascinating activity. Being backed by the IDF - International Diving Federation and its tight-knit team, I am sure that we can create a strong community of Georgian underwater cave explorers who will single-handedly explore the complex, dry, and water-filled cave systems of Georgia without the need for international teams. It is time to take matters into our own hands and not wait for someone else to do the work instead of Georgians.
You can always support our cause in many ways, starting from logistical support (a.k.a. carrying heavy gear), multimedia, and influencer support, all the way to pushing political and stakeholder strings, or sponsoring and financing our projects (and we do have a lot of projects in our stash).
I would like to thank the Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography's geomorphology division for the opportunity to work together and for their support. The Institute tries its best to support my work (both financially and by providing gear), and I am greatly thankful for that! Nana Bolashvili Kukuri Tsikarishvili Lasha Asanidze Zaza Lezhava
A huge shoutout to my daring and ambitious cave diving students - Grdzelidze Giorgi and Mirian Okradze - who back me up and are growing into solid professionals. To Lasha Tetruashvili - a legendary MiA Rescue Diver and Giorgi Japaridze, who are already fulfilled cave divers, all the comrades from Speleo Club სპელეო კლუბი "Caving Georgia" and, of course, Beka Gogilava (ბექა გოგილავა) from Speleo Club "Egrisi" სპელეო კლუბი - ეგრისი. Beka's enthusiasm is what the local speleological community has long been awaiting. Keep up the great work! I hope the day will come when your efforts are rewarded as deserved.
Wish me luck, I will need it in the cold, water-filled caves of Slovenia.
Sincerely yours
Cave Diving Georgia • ქეივ დაივინგი საქართველოში
Tbilisi SCUBA • დაივინგის აკადემია • Diving Academy
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