BUS DELLE FRATTE

Discovering this cave is also an opportunity to learn about the unusual and remarkable geology of Montello.

I began guiding people on caving visits in 1985, and this remains one of the most enjoyable and rewarding activities I offer. For me it is a passion that is renewed with every visit; for you it is a chance to fall in love with a wonderful place.

Bus delle Fratte is the best cave on Montello for a complete exploration experience that is accessible to most interested visitors, especially beginners, including younger participants.

I have offered visits here since my earliest years as a guide. Over the decades I have led many visits and accompanied hundreds of people from all over the world.

My experience and specialist technical skills help provide the highest standards of comfort and safety possible in this environment. This is a low-risk guided activity, even though you will be moving through an unconventional setting.

• Clothes that can get muddy
• Hiking boots*
• A complete change of clothes for afterwards
• Personal medication**

* Suitable footwear is essential; boot rental is available for €10 per pair.
** The Guide carries a first-aid kit only.

Read the notes on technical difficulty and physical effort.

Recommended minimum age: 6–8 years. Normal general fitness is required; no previous technical skills are necessary. Suitable for beginners and families.

Outside weather does not necessarily prevent a visit, since rain does not fall inside the cave. However, the Guide assesses weather conditions and may postpone or cancel the activity if weather or water levels are unsuitable.

Optional hiking boot rental: €10 per pair. Bring a packed lunch to eat after the activity. There are also places to eat nearby.

Meeting time: 08:00 at the indicated location (see MAP). Registered participants will receive a message by the day before with confirmation, timings, the Google Maps meeting point and any other instructions.

Return to the cars: approximately 12:00. All times are indicative and include the approach, putting on equipment, initial briefing, cave exploration, return to the cars, changing clothes and farewell.

The initial briefing explains how to move through the cave and how to reduce the risks and hazards involved. Bespoke timings can be arranged for pre-formed groups.

ACTUAL TIME INSIDE THE CAVE is approximately 2–3 hours, managed by the Guide according to the characteristics and condition of the group.

TIMES AND MEETING POINTS MAY BE CHANGED BY PRIOR AGREEMENT.

Every participant must read, accept and follow the EXCURSION REGULATIONS.

Meeting point:
Piazza Donatori del Sangue, Giavera del Montello (TV)

Are there really caves on Montello?
This is probably the question I have heard most often since I began this activity in 1985! Yes: there are almost 100 natural caves, from small cavities to very large systems, some among the largest of their kind. Montello is made of polygenic conglomerate, locally called “croda”: sedimentary rock formed from pebbles of different origins cemented together. Conglomerates themselves are common; what makes Montello remarkable is its combination of structure, geography and landforms.

1. An open-air tectonic laboratory. Montello is the surface expression of an active anticline, formed as crustal compression lifted Miocene molasse. Its isolated, regular shape is an important example of a mountain belt advancing towards the plain.

2. Karst in conglomerate. Karst usually develops in limestone. Here water dissolves the carbonate pebbles and cement, creating sinkholes and caves in conglomerate, an unusual geomorphological setting.

3. Geological youth. The conglomerate was deposited around 5–8 million years ago and emerged from the plains during the last 2–3 million years.

There are also artificial underground spaces, including First World War bunkers and shelters, sometimes adapted from natural cavities. A cave extends far enough for a full transition from the outside to an underground environment; a shallow recess does not. Other underground spaces include artificial tunnels and natural cavities inaccessible to people. There could theoretically be an inaccessible natural cavity beneath each of Montello’s more than 2,000 sinkholes (“buse”).

Only a few caves are suitable for rewarding recreational visits. Bus delle Fratte combines accessible exploration with beautiful, varied interior features: it is a highlight of caving tourism on Montello.

What is caving tourism?
A guided activity exploring caves, mines or underground canyons. Routes range from easy, permanently lit visitor trails to unlit adventures with helmets, headlamps and specialist equipment. This visit belongs to the second category.

How long does it last?
Exploration inside Bus delle Fratte usually takes 2–3 hours, depending on group size and the assistance needed. Preparation and changing afterwards can take approximately another two hours. Allow half a day; afterwards you can enjoy one of the many places to eat on Montello.

Do I need experience or special training?
No previous experience is required. Beginners need normal fitness and the ability to negotiate moderately complex passages: short crouching sections and small obstacles requiring careful hand and foot placement, always under the Guide’s supervision. Recommended from approximately 6–8 years of age.

What should I wear and bring?
The temperature inside is approximately 11.3°C throughout the year. Wear comfortable sports clothes, medium-warm layers, a fleece or jacket, a light windproof jacket that can get dirty, and sturdy hiking boots with good grip. Leave a complete change of clothes and footwear in the car, plus a bag or container for muddy items. The Guide supplies an approved helmet and lighting.

Gloves are not necessary; if used, they must be suitable for caving. Bare hands help you feel surfaces and understand handholds. Bring a small container of clean water for washing your hands and face afterwards.

What should I take into the cave? What about personal belongings?
Ideally take nothing that could be lost or broken and keep your hands free. The duration normally requires no food or drinks inside. The Guide carries supplies for genuine needs and has space for car keys and essential personal medication. I always bring a camera and give participants photos and videos as a souvenir.

What if I need to pee?
Avoid urinating in the cave: it harms the fragile underground ecosystem and is impractical with muddy hands and clothes. Urine changes soil chemistry and pH, can cause persistent smells in a poorly ventilated environment and affects the underground biota. Leave No Trace principles require carrying waste out, including biological waste where required; the excursion regulations cover this. Empty your bladder before the activity.

Is it dangerous? What if it rains?
Like any human activity, caving involves risks. Slips, falls and impacts with the rock are the main hazards. Helmets, supervision and individual instructions through the more delicate passages reduce these risks.

Rain does not fall inside the cave, although natural dripping and small watercourses are present. Outside rain can make preparation and changing uncomfortable. An unexpected intense storm could make some passages harder to negotiate, so rising water requires prompt action. The Guide carefully checks forecasts and changes or cancels plans whenever necessary. The cave’s configuration and higher fossil levels provide places above the active watercourse in an emergency while excess water drains away.

What if I am afraid?
Only take part if you want to satisfy your own curiosity and interest. Fear is a normal protective response to real or imagined danger and supports a conscious, careful approach.

Claustrophobia is different: an intense, persistent phobia of confined or enclosed spaces. This recreational visit is not suitable for people who know they have claustrophobia. It is not always easy to distinguish an unfamiliar fear from a phobia. The supplied information describes possible contributing factors, including past negative experiences, biological factors and anxiety or stressful experiences.

Are there dangerous animals, snakes, spiders, insects or bats?
The supplied cave information describes no animals dangerous to people here. Without light there are no green plants in the dark interior. Cave fauna includes obligate cave dwellers (troglobionts, or stygobionts in water), species that can live both inside and outside (troglophiles), and temporary visitors (trogloxenes). Exclusive cave dwellers often lose pigmentation and eyes, develop stronger other senses and have slow metabolisms.

Bus delle Fratte may contain local endemic cave beetles of the genus Orotrechus, harmless Meta spiders around the entrance and twilight zone, long-legged cave crickets, and small white blind aquatic crustaceans such as Niphargus. These are delicate animals and must be respected.

What is there to see inside?
With the lights off, darkness is complete. This is a chance to experience touch, hearing and smell differently, and discover the unusual feelings of being inside the Earth.

By helmet light you can see how water dissolves and redeposits calcium carbonate to form stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, other concretions and sparkling crystals, as well as unexpectedly spacious chambers.

Other dates are always available on request for at least 4 people, with a separate quotation.

• Guide service
• Third-party liability and personal accident insurance
• Helmet and lighting

 . personal transport
 . meals
 . extras not listed under "the offer includes"

- advance bank transfer

- deposit (20.00 euros) + cash on site

- gift voucher (to be activated during registration)

Gift voucher terms
Unless otherwise and explicitly agreed, the gift voucher for one of the activities offered by TO SEE travel & outdoor cannot be converted into cash, does not entitle the holder to cash change and is non-refundable, even if it is not used before its expiry date.

The voucher may be used only for the services indicated and according to the conditions stated on it.

Any conversion of gift vouchers into discount vouchers for other activities is possible only by explicit prior agreement.

Other conditions:

- unless otherwise specified, the voucher is valid for 12 months;
- the voucher may be used only once;
- the voucher may be transferred to another person, who must be reported to TO SEE in advance;
- booking is mandatory and subject to availability;
- use of the voucher is subject to the same limiting conditions as any TO SEE activity:
 . minimum number of 4 registered participants for the activity;
 . favourable weather conditions;
 . accessible route conditions;
 . absence of other force majeure impediments.
- it cannot be combined with other promotions, unless otherwise indicated.

You can make bank transfers to:
IBAN: IT67P0760105138240966640969
BIC: BPPIITRRXXX
account holder: Tirindelli Enrico

Bookings not accompanied by advance payment of the full fee or the deposit are invalid.

The program may vary in case of low participation, fewer than 4 registered participants, adverse weather or other circumstances affecting the safety of the activity.

Assessments of weather conditions and other safety-related aspects are the responsibility of the Guide, and the resulting decisions are accepted unconditionally by participants.

Cancellation of the activity decided by the Guide entitles participants to a refund or to conversion of the paid fees into a voucher.

In case of cancellation due to low registrations, adverse weather or other later impediments NOT attributable to the Guide, conversion into a voucher usable for the same activity on another date is possible.

Any refunds will be made only by bank transfer or another traceable system.

If a refund of fees paid is requested for cancellation decided by the Guide for causes not attributable to the Guide, payment commission costs will be deducted.

If the cancellation depends on causes attributable to the Guide, conversion into a voucher will still be possible and any refunds will not be subject to deductions for payment commissions.

Cancellations decided unilaterally by clients up to 10 days before the activity date will result in the planned deposit being charged.

Cancellations decided unilaterally by clients less than 10 days before the activity date, or no-shows, will result in the full fee being charged.