Elefante Bianco – Beyond Luigi Casati’s End of Line
Our dream of exploring Elefante Bianco in Italy goes back to around 2018. That was when Tomek, Zdziebeł and I first met to dive together in Italian caves.
Since then, we have returned to Italy many times, gradually pushing farther and gaining experience in its cave systems. Along the way, I reached the end of the existing line in Grotta dei Fontanazzi, where a massive rock collapse blocks any obvious way forward. In the nearby Oliero cave system, I also carried out a photo shoot in the vast and beautiful dry chambers beyond the first sump, more than 2,500 metres from the entrance.
As our experience in Italian caves grew, one idea kept returning more and more often: Elefante Bianco. The cave had not been explored beyond Luigi “Gigi” Casati’s end of line since 2004, when his breakthrough exploration extended it to a depth of 186 metres, approximately 530 metres from the entrance.
The plan – February 2024
We decided that in February 2024 I would attempt to reach Casati’s end of line and, if everything went according to plan, continue into the unexplored cave beyond it.
When the time came, I met Tomek “Wieczny”, Bartek “Zdziebeł” and Mariusz “Banan” on site, and we began our week-long project. Unfortunately, for the first time in many years of our Italian trips, we were welcomed by heavy rain. Elefante Bianco is an extremely powerful karst spring, and after the rainfall the cave was completely flooded with high flow. We had to wait another two days before conditions settled enough for us to begin diving.
Even then, visibility was far worse than we had hoped for.
Preparing the route
During the first few days, each member of the team focused on different tasks. My own dives were focused on gradually extending the guideline towards the approximate location of Casati’s end of line, acclimatising to the increasing depths and placing additional emergency bailout gas. The others worked on removing and repairing old, broken guidelines down to approximately 120 metres. The flow in Elefante Bianco can be so powerful that after major rainfall, lines are torn from their placements and left hanging from the walls and ceiling — exactly where they can become caught in a DPV propeller. The team also helped me stage some of the deep open-circuit bailout cylinders. In total, more than ten cylinders were positioned along the route, reaching as deep as approximately 170 metres.
After several days, I reached a horizontal corridor where my depth gauges showed 186 metres. At the same time, my Seacraft ENC3 navigation console indicated a travelled distance of approximately 530 metres from the entrance.
Everything matched. I had reached Casati’s end of line.
I left my partially used exploration reel there, ready to pick it up during the next dive and continue beyond the known cave. That dive lasted approximately five hours.
Back on the surface, we decided that I would spend the following day resting and recovering while the rest of the team completed their own deeper dives. The day after that would be reserved for the final exploration push. During my rest day, Mariusz and Tomek descended the second shaft and continued a short distance into the horizontal passage beyond it, reaching a maximum depth of approximately 135 metres.
The big push
Finally, the day came to attempt to go beyond Gigi Casati’s exploration from twenty years earlier. We spent the previous evening reviewing the dive plan, discussing emergency procedures, refreshing first-aid protocols and double-checking every piece of equipment. For the dive, I carried two fully independent closed-circuit rebreathers — a backmount Liberty CCR and a sidemount Liberty CCR used as bailout. I also used two Seacraft Future DPVs in a side-by-side configuration, allowing me to move through the cave at speeds exceeding 90 metres per minute where the passage allowed it.
The plan was precise - I intended to reach my reel at 186 metres approximately ten minutes after submerging. From there, I would spend no more than seven minutes in the exploration phase, with only three to four minutes allocated to moving deeper into the unknown passage. The return and decompression would take approximately six hours in water at around 9°C.
The support plan was equally clear. I was supposed to meet Mariusz at approximately 110 metres. He would accompany me to around 70 metres, where Tomek would join us and remain with me for the rest of the decompression.
Beyond the known cave
I began the descent through the main shaft, which quickly took me to approximately 90 metres. About a minute later, I reached the second shaft and descended from around 120 to 130 metres. Visibility remained poor. Because of the enormous dimensions of the passage, I could not see the opposite wall — only part of the bottom and the wall I was following with my DPV. Another minute or two brought me to the third shaft, descending from approximately 165 to 180 metres. Soon afterwards, I reached my reel.
From this point onward, everything in front of me was unexplored. No human being had ever seen this part of the cave.
I started laying line.
The corridor continued with an enormous cross-section. Because visibility was still limited, I had to remain close to one wall simply to maintain a reliable sense of direction. After approximately 70 metres of exploration, at a depth of around 190 metres, the bottom suddenly disappeared beneath me. Another shaft. I continued horizontally over the black void below. It was enormous — perhaps 20 metres or more in diameter.
Eventually I reached the opposite wall and began descending.
200 metres.
210 metres.
220 metres.
At 227 metres, the shaft was becoming narrower, but it was still clearly continuing deeper. My computers were already showing more than three minutes since I had started the exploration phase. I still needed time to secure and cut the exploration line, turn around and travel back to the point where the known route began. Visibility had not improved at all. I decided that was enough.
227 metres. I turned the dive.
The long way back
After cutting the line, I began the return at full DPV speed. My dive computers were already showing more than five hours of decompression, and I still had several minutes of deep cave ahead of me before I could even begin the decompression phase. When I reached approximately 120 metres, I saw Mariusz’s light ahead. I gave him an “all OK” signal and we continued together towards the first decompression stop at around 110 metres.
Once we settled at the stop, I showed him the dive profile on my navigation console. The maximum depth was clearly visible. We both started laughing into our CCR mouthpieces. But this was only the beginning of the ascent. It was far too early to celebrate.
Six and a half hours underwater
The rest of the dive went exactly according to plan. Thanks to a heated undersuit, heated vest and heated gloves, the six-and-a-half-hour dive was surprisingly manageable despite the 9°C water. During decompression, I was able to drink isotonic fluid from a hydration system and eat energy gels, which helped me remain hydrated and properly fuelled throughout the long ascent.
When I finally surfaced, I was tired but in good condition. The team was already waiting outside. They helped remove the rebreathers, batteries and bailout cylinders, and gave me a hand getting out of the water.
Only then could we finally celebrate. By that point, it was already dark.
From 186 to 227 metres
As a result of the expedition, we extended the explored depth of Elefante Bianco from 186 to 227 metres and added approximately 150 metres of previously unknown passage. And most importantly, the final shaft was still continuing deeper when I turned around.
This made Elefante Bianco the deepest explored underwater spring in Italy, claiming the title from Sorgente dell Gorgazzo, explored to -222 metres.
And the exploration was far from over.
