GotAir once bubbled...
Are you crazy or what ? please call 1-800 GET-a-LIFE. please explain what its like to cut a 4ft hole in the Ice and Dive In ? I'm serious. please tell our veiwer's what it is like. are we missing the Crystal Palace or something ? Mike
First off, it's a 12' by 12' triangle cut into 1 to 4 feet of ice. Secondly, the water temperature is exactly the same under the ice, as it is under the thermo cline during the summer, when the water temperature above the thermo cline is in the 80's.
(For those who need to be pointed out when sarcasm starts,,, tongue firmly in cheek now)
The only cold we deal with is the air temperature, and because we are not soft, pink skinned, whinny little wusses; we men and women take to the ice because we are of a special caliber of divers who are revered the world over. Only those who pass THE test can call themselves Ice Divers. This test is of course a secret and is known only to the brave heros of the Ice Divers of the World. (Tongue now out of cheek)
We dive under the ice for many reasons; here are just a few of them.
1) Camaraderie: It's a social event that re-establishes close friendships that grow every summer with every new diver that comes along.
2) Clear waters: The water clarity will rival that of the best spring or ocean environment. We can see objects clearly over 200 feet away.
3) The life under the ice: You have to see it to believe it. Insects that crawl on the ice bottom, fish that would normally be at the bottom hiding come right up to you and wonder what the heck you are.
4) The feeling of being on another planet: You can stand on the ice, upside down, and in a few seconds the world will "turn" and suddenly you feel like you are on some strange planet. Most people tend to giggle a lot when they do this the first time, flooding their masks.
5) It's the biggest cave you will ever dive into: The main difference between cave and ice diving, is that in cave diving you have a tunnel to follow and should have a line to guide you back if the cave has multiple branches. If you loose your way in a cave you *may* be able to find your way out if it is not a complicated tunnel system. You can dive a cave with just you and a buddy. In ice diving you have no tunnel, your line is attached to you leading up to the line tender on the surface, and if you somehow loose your line you stand a better than 99 percent chance of not finding your way to the hole and will die. You need at least 4 people to ice dive safely, any less and the risks are far too great for all normal thinking people. We read about those people in accident reports every winter.
Just as in cave, wreck, or deep diving, ice diving is NOT for everyone, and thats just the way it is. No one is any less for not wanting to dive in an environment that they feel is not for them, regardless of the reason.
