Everest vs the Andrea Doria

[old_mike]

what sorts of mixes & deco schedules do you guys use on the E. Fitzgerald? 530 ffw sounds like it is pushing that envelope!

Oh yes, and one other thing about Everest, and most dive sites for that matter, is that the weather plays a critical role! Get caught at 8000 meters when the jetstream drops by and you die! Get caught on a long deco when a squall drops in ain't my idea of a sweet dream either! Either way, summitting 8000 meter peaks or going to 200 feet are not for everybody!

 

[DiverDave]

Here's another candidate for the Everest of Diving.

http://www.hurd-deep.co.uk/what.html

170m (552ft for those on the wrong side of the pond)

 

[IndigoBlue]

This is an interesting old thread about the Doria.

I suppose it would be a rush to have guests over for dinner and serve china that was salvaged by yourself from the Doria.

I am not sure it is worth the risk to obtain the china, but it would certainly be a rush to have it and eat off it.

 

[SeaCobra]

To start, I personally have not dove the Andrea Doria, but have been in the company of many men and women who have. Peter Gimble and Mike DeCamp first went down on that wreck in 1956 wearing double hose regs and cameras in wooden housings to capture the images that we have all seen in Life magazine.

The first "sport" diving expedition went out in in 1966, not very successfully, and followed by a successful expedition in June of 1967. George Hoffman (of the Sea Lion), John Dudas and Evelyn Bartram (later Dudas) dove the Doria in twin 72's, on air and double hose regs.

They did not have pressure gauges, but did have a "bottom timer". A stop watch inside of a housing, to monitor their dive.

While you and I would never dream of diving a wreck in 220 - 240 fsw with 150 cubic feet of gas total, no SPG, no depth gauge and no bottom timer, at least they were very streamlined

They were the tech divers of the time and have paved the way for many of us today. With the currents, visibility and deterioating wreckage, the Andrea Doria is still the Mt. Everest of wreck diving.

Jeff

 

[Diver0001]

simonk999 once bubbled...
So I was at the bookstore the other day, and read through some of "Deep Descent" and "Last Dive"; both, as you probably know, are about deep tech/wreck diving. Both talk about the Andrea Doria as the "Everest" of diving. It got me to thinking: while the barrier to climbing Everest is such that only the physically elite do it regularly, it's only a matter of mental toughness, if that, (which of course, mountain climbers also have) for divers to go deep. In other words, the reason why most of us don't climb Everest is because we can't. Most of us don't dive the Andrea Doria because we don't want to. I mean, I know that a lot of training and experience is required to do deep dives, but nothing holds you back if you have the technical expertise. Now, I'm not knocking anyone who dives deep; what I am saying is that comparing the Andrea Doria to Everest isn't a fair comparison. A better comparison would be to say that deep free-dives are like climbing Everest. I'd compare diving the Andrea Doria to extreme base jumping.

I don't know about anyone else but I've done some mountain climbing and I've done some diving and I think that mountain climbing on the whole is considerably more dangerous than diving. And for those who said climbing Everest (or any reasonably difficult mountain) is just a matter of paying the entry fee, I would challenge you to try climbing a few reasonably interesting mountains. Even mountains like Kilimanjaro, which is a Sunday stroll compared to Everest would be a fairly interesting dive if you could translate it like that.

As for diving, I have the impression cave-diving is much more dangerous than the Andrea Doria. If there is an "Everest of diving" then I think you'll find it underground.

R..

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

keralucu once bubbled...
Hey SimonK9 - pardon my ignorance, but where is the Andrea Doria? I've never heard of it.

And in regard to only the 'elite' climbing Everest - that used to be true, but unfortunately these days they are taking tours up to the peak at some ridiculous number like 50 (or more?) a day - a couple of months ago a 15 yr old boy and a blind man made it to the top... "everybody is doing it" these days and leaving their garbage behind too, apparently.

Well, this is wrong. They can only make it to the peak a few months out of the year.

The "tours" are for the stong willed only. Not EVERYONE can make it. Not to mention the dollars it takes and the time it takes. You just can't take a week or a day off work and hit the peak of Everest.

The 50 a day you are referring to are to the base camp. Not camp two or three.

"Time To Climb:
A normal expedition lasts 60-90 days and is done during the months of April/May and October/November depending on conditions.

Costs:
A guided climb starts anywhere from $35,000 for the North route to $65-70,000 for the normal south route

How many people have climbed:
964 different people have reached the summit at least once

Can anyone climb?:
Guides usually have a minimum requirement of a peak of at least 22,000, and a good background of ice/snow climbing. Denali,Aconcagua,Cho You are a few of the peaks they need.

This doesn't sound like everyone can do it...

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Some of you are missing the point.

The Andrea Doria, while difficult and potentially deadly, is not the world's most challenging dive. But then Everest, while difficult and potentially deadly, is also not the world's most challenging climb.

Everest is physically demanding, but with fixed ropes and a competent guide leading you up, it is do-able for a lot more people than many would think or admit. There are many, many other peaks where that is not the case.

The Doria, in good weather and in good conditions is a do-able dive for a fair number of divers, particularly if you limit it to a touch dive to the hull at 180-190 feet or so and you don't wander too far away from the anchor line. That is within my ability and I make no claim to being the world's best diver or being even close. A deep penetration into the Doria on the other hand is not something I would try without additional training and a lot more experience with deep penetration of large wrecks in shallower water.

Everest is famous because it is highest, the Andrea Doria is famous because it is just plain famous. So in both regards they are a good analogy in terms of dificulty as both are challenging but not "the" ultimate challenge in either sport.

 

[chrpai]

My understand of the reason of comparing it to Everest, is that years ago ( and probably still a few today ) people were diving very wreckless on that wreck using singles and deep air. Today with better gas mixes and management its not really that difficult of a dive.

 

[Big-t-2538]

chrpai once bubbled...
Today with better gas mixes and management its not really that difficult of a dive.

Yeah, it's a walk in the park???

How many dives have you got on the 'Doria

 

[weekender]

DA Aquamaster has it dead on. read his thread. anyone who uses this expression isn't making an actual comparison of the two. all of you are over thinking this. its an expression because the doria is a famous and challenging dive, thats it. also, some authors are using creative writing to sell dive books. get over it. I often say "its africa hot." I'm not really comparing ny to africa. Its an expression, duh!