  Let G be the graph of a triangulated surface $\Sigma$ of genus $g\geq 2$. A
cycle of G is splitting if it cuts $\Sigma$ into two components, neither of
which is homeomorphic to a disk. A splitting cycle has type k if the
corresponding components have genera k and g-k. It was conjectured that G
contains a splitting cycle (Barnette '1982). We confirm this conjecture for an
infinite family of triangulations by complete graphs but give counter-examples
to a stronger conjecture (Mohar and Thomassen '2001) claiming that G should
contain splitting cycles of every possible type.
