Expedition Members

Expedition members are from:
Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Laos, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and USA .


		Joerg Dreybrodt (Germany) Laos 2002 / 2003 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2012 Joerg came 2002 the first time to Laos. He had to return in a open passage in a "tourist cave" in Muang Ngoy. This incidence started the expeditions to Northern Laos. He returns to Laos at least every year. He lives and works in Switzerland.

		Michael Laumanns (Germany) Laos 2002 / 2003 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 Michael participates and organizes expeditions to Ruanda, Iran, Cambodia and many other countries. His specialty is caving in Africa. He publishes the successful series of "Berliner Hoehlenkundliche Berichte". The only expedition reports in English language that cover areas worldwide.

		Helmut Steiner (Germany) Laos 2003 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2012 Helmut is the biospeological expert of the expedition and has meanwhile a huge collection of insects and bat skeletons. His expedition equipment is infamous - wish it and he has it. He participates also at the French expeditions to Khammouane.

		Jos Burgers (Netherlands) Laos 2000 (Dutch expedition) / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2010 / 2011 Joss is the official survey expert of the expedition and loves cave mapping over all. His participation is a guarantee that none of the evenings is boring. He lives in The Hague.

		Wolfgang Zillig (Germany) Laos 2003 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2010 Wolfgang is the survey software expert and expedition photographer. He like to modify survey equipment and to improve his photo equipment. Latest he is busy to create 3d flights into cave systems.

		David Eskes (Netherlands) Laos 2000 (Dutch expedition), Laos 2005 / 2010 / 2012 David was coordinator of the first large scale expedition to Northern Laos. He returns as often to Laos as his growing family allows.

		Liz Price (Great Britain) Laos 2006 / 2007 / 2008 Liz is "the" person that knows all about expeditions in South-East Asia. She is very much interested in biospeleology and lives in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

		Hong Tong (Laos) Laos 2005 / 2006 Hong Tong is the chief guide of the ecotourism micro project in Vieng Phouka. He is very familar with nature and culture of Laos and a perfect guide.

		Juu Moua (Laos) Laos 2005 / 2007 / 2008 Juu enriched our understanding of Laos as reliable guide and translator. He also introduced us to Hmong traditions and impressed us every evening with Hmong networking in every town. He works as freelance guide in Luang Prabang.

		Nancy Pistole (USA) Laos 2011 / 2012 Nancy is a long time veteran of caving and has been on most continents. Her caving area is south of the her home town Los Angeles in the neighboring countries of Mexico and Guatemala.

		Matt Oliphant (USA) Laos 2011 / 2012 Matt is from Los Angeles. He can tell endless stories about caves and adventures all round the world with special focus on Mexico and Guatemala. He is fascinated of photographing and caries always a good selection of cameras.

		Francois Brouquisse (France) Laos 2008 / 2009 Francois is one of the first cavers to Laos. He started in 1994 together with Claude Mouret an ongoing series of expeditions to the Southern Khammouane province. His heart is in hydro geological investigations. While doing it he forgets the world around him.

		Lica Ersek (Romania) Laos 2009 / 2010 Lica is the climate expert of the expedition. He investigates speleothems to learn about climate changes in the past. He accompanies the project within his Post doc work at the Earth Science Department of the University of Oxford.

		Dave Clucas (Great Britain) Laos 2009 / 2010 Dave is a longtime veteran of the Mulu caves in Sarawak/Malaysia. He convinced everybody of advanced survey technique by using a distometer with integrated compass and clino.

		Manuel Borruat (Switzerland) Laos 2012 Manuel is from Lausanne and did caving in several areas in Switzerland. He came to Laos from a work trip in China and is looking for adventures in Asia.

		Urs Etter (Switzerland) Laos 2012 Urs grew up with caving in the famous Siebenhengste area of Switzerland and actively drove the extention of the large system. A oversea caving trip to Indonesia got him interested in tropical caving. He lives near Bern and works at the Swiss railway.

		Irina Ermakova / Dmitry Bogushev (Russia) Laos 2012 Irina from St. Petersburg in Russia is a full-time cave instructor for youth groups and schools. She is an experienced cave surveyor and cave diver. Dmitry is a cave diver, who got interested in Lao caves because he visited some interesting resurgences in Vang Vieng. He works as a sea container consolidator and logistics agent.

		Carsten Ebenau (Germany) Laos 2012 Carsten is a long-time member of the Arbeitskreis Kluterthöhle in Germany and has made several caving expeditions to Syria. Carsten is a specialist in bats. He runs a construction engineering consultancy.

		Jean Charbonnel (France) Laos 2011

		Marcel Dikstra (Netherlands) Laos 2011

		Wietske van den Berge (Netherlands) Laos 2008 Cave surveying in it's best is the aim of Wietske. She loves to draw cave sketches.

		Emma Lundh (Sweden) Laos 2008 / 2010 Emma visited Laos the first time for her diploma theses at Uppsala university about plants in Laos for pharmaceutical use. Now she came back again to discover the caves. She lives in Sweden after returning from Cran Canaria.

		Thomas Matthalm (Germany) Laos 2010 Thomas finally made it to Laos after many trips deep into the caves of the Untersberg near Salzburg. His specialty is Asian food - whether in the jungle camp with fresh frogs from the forest or at the Indian Restaurant in Pakbeng.

		Christiane Grebe (Germany) Laos 2010 Christiane is member of the Swiss caving community and lives in Bern. She is truly active to bring European cavers together and participates in many caving events.

		Katy Roodenko (Israel) Laos 2008 Katy is member of the caving group in Berlin in non-caving area. She discovered the world of cave survey in a impressive crash course.

		Torben Redder (Denmark) Laos 2009 Torben was the best equiped person of the expedition and had virtually everything. A wet suit appeared for river caves beside intensive photo and video equipment. The convincing way he gave us director commands indicates a great career as film maker.

		Udi Fuchs (Belgium) Laos 2008 His heart is in cave photography. Unfortunately there is never enough time for this at expeditions.

		Sergey Tarasov (Russia) Laos 2008 Sergey is since his youth interested in all kind of beetles and insects. He is guest researcher at the National University of Laos in Vientane.

		Steve Weston (Great Britain) Laos 2007 Steve lives near London. He caves in Yorkshire since many years. His British understatement and humor certainly contributes to the European expedition feeling. Bamboo rats are his favourite animals.

		Gerhard Binder (Germany) Laos 2005

		Horst Brand (Germany) Laos 2005

		Stefanie Jamann (Germany) Laos 2005

Northern Lao - European Cave Project

Northern Lao - European
Cave Project