Well - I'm back from a weekend of Ice, and I have to say, this was the most demanding class I've taken so far. Hauling gear, tending line (which isn't that easy), and ensuring you are always ready to enter the dive rotation when asked, along with the rescue scenario were all things I gained a lot of respect for.
The course Director, Ron Engel, did an great job and made sure everyone was comfortable and was a lot of fun to dive with (Polar Bear dip, by the way, is an absolute must). Everyone had at least one free flow, none of them became an issue - As already posted, the best method for dealing with it is:
1) Keep the reg in your mouth, and allow the air to vent through the exhaust ports.
2) Make sure your buddy knows your'e flowing (it's definitely not always apparent).
3) Keep an eye on your PSI and decide if you want to just ignore the freeflow (which, in the only instance I had one, I chose to do), or return to the hole to pour warm water on your second stage.
Even the significant free-flows (of which I think there was only a few) ended up being pretty casual events. I found very, VERY slow and deliberate exhalations worked well to keep the free flow under control, and in one instance, even stop the free flow alltogether.
Hawk, my name is ray by the way - I might end up returning for a few pleasure ice dives on the march 10th-11th weekend, so if you enjoy the ice and want to go again, toss me a pm!
