altitude diving pressure groups

[Tigerman]

You know, tigers can get very dangerous if you harass them :p

Where did you dive at 10,6k feet btw? Sounds like a bit of work

[Dive-aholic]

My highest was 8500'. This was in Arizona. Not difficult actually. Flagstaff is at an elevation of 8000' above sea level. John probably did his dive in Colorado. Also not difficult being that there are cities and towns in Colorado where people live at high elevations all year.

[Agility]

Rather serious typo in there unless you even worse have your math all wrong..
1000ft is NOT 3048m, its 304,8 meters. 10 000ft is 3048 meters and most places called skydiving rather than scuba diving

Yes indeed it should of course be 10.000ft.
Thank you for pointing this out.

I left my home at about 5,440 feet and drove 40 minutes to a place where I met two other friends for the purpose of carpooling. That was at about 8,230 feet. It took us over a half hour to get together and get started. (What is my pressure group now?) We drove through the foothills, ranging between 8,000-9,000 feet and began climbing the real mountains. It took us about a half hour to reach 11,000 feet. (What's my pressure group now?)

I imagine it would put you in group X, meaning that you would need 2h:54min to reach group A

The "theoretical depth" DivemasterDennis discusses is more important overall but acclimating to altitude should not be overlooked.

Use a vintage capillary depth gauge for accurate depth.

Whrere could I get a capillary gauge?
I would love to compare it with the reading on my Computer (just out of curiosity)


I do not intend to push NDL to the limits (it is too cold in our lakes) :-)
It is just much easier to remember facts I can understand.

[boulderjohn]

You know, tigers can get very dangerous if you harass them :p

Where did you dive at 10,6k feet btw? Sounds like a bit of work

Jefferson Lake, Colorado. It is actually closer to 10,700 feet. Work? Let me tell you about it. We geared up at a picnic spot across from the parking lot near the water. I put on my dry suit, double 108s, and all other gear and took that long walk to the water line. I thought I was going to die. By the time I got there, I was huffing and puffing, my lungs desperate for a few extra molecules of oxygen. It was at that point that I realized I had left my fins back at the picnic area. What a moment of pure despair! Fortunately, a SB member who was there (Ron Frank) had not geared up yet, and he graciously got them for me. I will be forever indebted to him.

My buddy and I were supposed to be getting our first scooter lesson. We went out with our instructor, who said to wait for him while he prepared a line for the exercise below. I won't go into the details, but that effort took 45 minutes while we floated on the surface, looking at the snow fields beside the lake.

So, yes, it was a bit of work.

[boulderjohn]

In case it was not clear from my last post, the most difficult part of diving at really high altitudes is getting in and out of the water with all your gear. The thin atmosphere and its low amount of O2 makes breathing a problem. Once you are in the water, you are breathing the same stuff you would be breathing at sea level, so the diving itself is no more difficult. Notice I am just talking about the effort of doing the dive, not DCS considerations.

[Tigerman]

Well, the effort was what I asked about too
Nice scenery though

[Bob DBF]

Whrere could I get a capillary gauge?
I would love to compare it with the reading on my Computer (just out of curiosity)

Check on Ebay, or an old divers junk drawer. Trident made them recently but I haven't found any in dive shops, but you might.

In my post I didn't make it clear that the capillary gauge gives the "theoretical depth" so you can use it with the tables but Thal cleared it up later.

Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.