Ice Diving?

[Gary D.]

The water is very clear in the winter.

It has it's moods just like during the rest of the year. Here I'm looking directly at a UK800R pointed directly at the camea within 10'. I don't think that's very clear.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/14319/cat/500/ppuser/2714

Reg free flows are not common if you have the proper gear and properly adjusted.

Why?
Because it is so much flippin fun".We are actually warmer under the ice than we are the rest of the year.

Gary D.

 

[ScubaSarus]

I guess proper gear is the key. My buddy's class all got free flows. They were constantly being pulled out of the ice. Nothing like a top of the line reg or a reg with an environmental kit for ice diving.

 

[Vtdiver2]

Invigorating! There's that word again! No I don't really want to get under the ice right now but my dive club does a New Year's Day dive that sounds pretty darn "invigorating", might try that.
If I could get in nasty 'ol Champlain and have 100' vis. that would probably take my mind off the cold and the fact that the water is gross. Wanna go hunt Champ w/ me Chris?

Sure, let's go...I dive wet in the lake all the time, and below the thermoclines, the water is in the high 30's to low 40's, so what's a little ice?
If you're interested, I can let you know when they are offering the ice diving class this winter. They normally cut a hole directly over the General Butler wreck and dive that if they can.
Chris

 

[Gidds]

Sure let me know since I always have January free. I don't like VT much but I suppose I could come back just to be reminded how truely tropical RI is in comparison :yuck:

 

[Gary D.]

I guess proper gear is the key. My buddy's class all got free flows. They were constantly being pulled out of the ice. Nothing like a top of the line reg or a reg with an environmental kit for ice diving.

Top of the line is not what it takes. Some gear works well in cold temps while others don't work so well and the range is through out the line top to bottom. How you treat the equipment at the dive site will also make a big difference.

Gary D.

 

[crpntr133]

Can anyone answer Hoosiers question about the PADI standards? Hoosier's thread

 

[DA Aquamaster]

A reg designed for cold water diving is adviseable. Some regs are very reliable in cold water and some are not - and price often has little to do with it. The Scubapro Mk 2 and Mk 16 for example are very good ice diving regs, while the more expensive top of the line Mk 25 is not all that reliable in water colder than about 45 degrees.

Even with regs that are very reliable in cold water it is still a good idea to use good cold water techniques like not using the power inflator to air up the BC before the dive, not testing the reg on the surface, not breathing off the reg until the first stage is submerged, not breathing and inflating the drysuit or BC at the same time, etc. With proper equipment and technique, a freeflow should not occur on an ice dive.

Doubles are an awful lot of weight to get back out of the hole with, but redundancy is nice in the event a freeflow does occur so a pony or stage bottle can be good to have along if you are on a very long line and are getting fairly far from the hole.

A line is normally secured to the ice topside and then managed by a tender who lets out or takes in line as needed and pulls you back to the hole quickly if the need arises. This can be fun if you invert yourself under the ice, "stand" upside down under the ice and then give the signal to pull you back fast as you can they sort of water ski back to the hole.

Visibility is normally a lot better under the ice, but in smaller lakes this is only true until some dweeb rototills the bottom, so make suspected dweebs and other divers with poor bouyancy control dive last.

Cutting the hole is a lot of work as is shoveling a radial pattern in the snow away from the hole if the lake is snow covered and I suspect that accounts for the limited recreational ice dives that occur.

Locally, lakes will freeze in the bays first and the ice will come off last in the bays so there is normally a month or so on either end of the winter where you can enter the water on a point and swim back under the ice shelf in the bay. I normally do this with a wreck reel like any other penetration dive and take a compass heading for backup. With proper wreck or cave penetration training and equipment including an adequate redundant air supply, you'd have to be really stupid to fail to find your way back out as you have what amounts to an exceptionally huge hole to find your way back to. But it is none the less not what you could call an approved ice diving procedure. Still you get all the fun of being under the ice, without the bother of having to cut a hole, mess with line tenders, etc.

 

[JeffG]

I appreciate your honest, non-sarcastic answers

Only idiots and morons would attempt that kind of nonsense.



Ooops...violated 50% of the rules for the response

 

[JeffG]

Can anyone answer Hoosiers question about the PADI standards? Hoosier's thread

Why? Its not the right way to do it. (Ice diving)...but if you want to take divers that are little bit freaked out and tie a line to them...go for it.

 

[SwimJim]

DA Aquamaster gave a very good description on how its done. We also have a safety diver hooked up and ready to go as well. Ice diving, although is alot of work is also a good reason to get together and dive with you friends in the middle of winter when there simply isn't anything else going on. Its as much of a party as it is a dive usually. A proper ice dive means hot chili and other good things afterwards. Sure beats the alternatives, which is nothing. Ha

Jim