Shallowest dives

[Codiak]

Lately I've been thinking of something unique and interesting to do in diving. This would be something more of a life time project / goal.

As we know lots of teams work at going as deep as they can, but what about going really shallow?

To that end I was thinking of how to go about diving the highest altitude Continental Lakes. Agreeing on a definition of lake might be a challenge but that can be worked out... some good info for North America is at The Highest Lake in the USA Frankly, Pacific Tarn looks like it might be fun.

Is there is "list" of high altitude dive sites / challenge already?

Cheers,
Chuck

 

[Herk_Man]

Lately I've been thinking of something unique and interesting to do in diving. This would be something more of a life time project / goal.

As we know lots of teams work at going as deep as they can, but what about going really shallow?

To that end I was thinking of how to go about diving the highest altitude Continental Lakes. Agreeing on a definition of lake might be a challenge but that can be worked out... some good info for North America is at The Highest Lake in the USA Frankly, Pacific Tarn looks like it might be fun.

Is there is "list" of high altitude dive sites / challenge already?

Cheers,
Chuck

Are there any lakes in La Paz, Bolivia? I know the runway there is at like 13,000'!

 

[idocsteve]

As we know lots of teams work at going as deep as they can, but what about going really shallow?

"Extreme Shallow Scuba Diving"

I picture a bunch of folks in wet suits flopping around in puddles like fish in the bottom of a boat.

 

[idocsteve]

"Extreme Shallow Diving"

Think of the possibilities.

As per a hypothetical phone conversation between "Extreme Shallow Divers" Bill and Ed.

Ring Ring

"Ed here, whom am I speaking with?"

"Ed, it's Bill, your extreme shallow diving buddy"

"Hey Bill what's shaking man? Hit any good mud puddles lately?"

Bill- "Nah, you know I wouldn't dive solo, you're my buddy! It's going to rain this afternoon and that's going to create a whole bunch of new potential dive sites over at that paved road that runs by the old farmhouse on Haystack Drive. What do you say we gear up and wait for the rain drops?"

Ed-"Sounds good Bill but it's Sunday on a holiday weekend, do you think there are any Dive Ops going out today?"

Bill - "Ed, where we're going, we don't NEED boats. We're going to do a shore entry from the side of the mud puddle. We're talking maybe a 3 foot swim out on the surface and then a descent to a maximum depth of perhaps 8" tops"

Ed- "Ok, but I haven't had my tank inspected or filled since my last dive"

Bill- "That's OK Ed, we don't need to bring our tanks we can just use the surface supplied air, we're only going to be down about a half a foot"

Ed "Should I bring my Spare Air or split fins?"

Bill - "No need for those either, in fact all you really need to bring is your mask and your snorkel as a back up redundant air source".

Ed- "What about entanglements, should I bring a knife or shears?"

Bill- "No need, if you get tangled, just stand up"

Ed- "Safety Sausages or air horn?"

Bill- "If we need help I'll have my cellphone in my back pocket"

Ed- "See you soon Buddy".

No need to debate controversial gear, find a dive boat, or fill tanks. No need for extra gear such as cutting tools or signal devices. It's probably reasonable to assume that a safety stop or deco stops aren't required either. That's a real timesaver right there.

I think we're onto something here.

 

[Cave Diver]

Or this: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3443054-post47.html

 

[Doc Harry]

Many of these high-altitude lakes are not shallow.

Current tables for no-decompression limits and decompression schedules to not apply at those altitudes. You would be venturing into a diving realm that is not well explored. Unlike recreational and Navy tables, there's not a lot of empirical data to support hypothetical limits and schedules at those altitudes. Furthermore, your no-deco limits are extremely short at those altitudes, and deco schedules are extremely long. (Think about doing a 45-minute deco in 40 degree lake water.)

Combine very cold water, high-altitude and the difficulty in humping cylinders to the lakes, and you've got yourself a real mess.

A couple of divers carried pony bottles up to Tulainyo Lake and basically just got their hair wet (20-25 feet for 5 minutes), but I don't know of anyone who has done any serious diving there.

Here are a couple of pictures of Tuilanyo lake (12,802 feet), Sierra Nevada, California. My best guess is that it's 50-80 feet deep. That's like a 100-foot-deep sea-level dive at that altitude.

If you want to join me, we'll take 3-4 days to pack gear and cylinders up to Tulainyo Lake, get a couple of dives, and then take another 2-3 days to pack the gear out. We might want a rope to lower gear down from the Russell-Carillon Pass to the lake shore.

Tulainyo Lake

Tulainyo Lake

Tulainyo lake from the top of Mount Russell

The Russell-Carillon Pass (down in the distance, not in the foreground with the foot steps)

 

[StevenN]

"Extreme Shallow Diving"

Think of the possibilities.

As per a hypothetical phone conversation between "Extreme Shallow Divers" Bill and Ed.

Ring Ring

"Ed here, whom am I speaking with?"

"Ed, it's Bill, your extreme shallow diving buddy"

"Hey Bill what's shaking man? Hit any good mud puddles lately?"

Bill- "Nah, you know I wouldn't dive solo, you're my buddy! It's going to rain this afternoon and that's going to create a whole bunch of new potential dive sites over at that paved road that runs by the old farmhouse on Haystack Drive. What do you say we gear up and wait for the rain drops?"

Ed-"Sounds good Bill but it's Sunday on a holiday weekend, do you think there are any Dive Ops going out today?"

Bill - "Ed, where we're going, we don't NEED boats. We're going to do a shore entry from the side of the mud puddle. We're talking maybe a 3 foot swim out on the surface and then a descent to a maximum depth of perhaps 8" tops"

Ed- "Ok, but I haven't had my tank inspected or filled since my last dive"

Bill- "That's OK Ed, we don't need to bring our tanks we can just use the surface supplied air, we're only going to be down about a half a foot"

Ed "Should I bring my Spare Air or split fins?"

Bill - "No need for those either, in fact all you really need to bring is your mask and your snorkel as a back up redundant air source".

Ed- "What about entanglements, should I bring a knife or shears?"

Bill- "No need, if you get tangled, just stand up"

Ed- "Safety Sausages or air horn?"

Bill- "If we need help I'll have my cellphone in my back pocket"

Ed- "See you soon Buddy".

No need to debate controversial gear, find a dive boat, or fill tanks. No need for extra gear such as cutting tools or signal devices. It's probably reasonable to assume that a safety stop or deco stops aren't required either. That's a real timesaver right there.

I think we're onto something here.

I laughed so hard at that one my Daughter came in the room to see what was so funny!

 

[sschlesi]

Are there any lakes in La Paz, Bolivia? I know the runway there is at like 13,000'!

Looking at google maps, there is a good sized lake nearby at ~15,000ft. And as an added bonus there is a road that runs next to it.

La Paz, Bolivia - Google Maps

 

[kevinl4270]

Any one have any idea what sort of sea life to expect? I have seen some crystal clear lakes in the Cascade mountains in Washington State that I always thought would be fun to dive. I suppose there are some members of the trout family that live there.
Not sure if it's worth the DCS risks though. And the fact that the water would be freezing pretty much year round!

 

[Codiak]

Any one have any idea what sort of sea life to expect? I have seen some crystal clear lakes in the Cascade mountains in Washington State that I always thought would be fun to dive. I suppose there are some members of the trout family that live there.
Not sure if it's worth the DCS risks though. And the fact that the water would be freezing pretty much year round!

Freezing can be dealt with a nice DrySuit and Argon, maybe a FFM to boot.
DCS is always a risk.


Planning for GTFO if someone gets hit with DCS will be the tricky part.