Diving in Whitewater Rivers?

I'd like to hear from anyone who has any experience in diving whitewater rivers.

We don't have an ocean here in West Virginia, but we do have a couple of large, 300-foot deep reservoirs and hundreds of deep, large whitewater rivers such as the New River, the Gauley River and the Cheat River.

I get plenty of action kayaking through class 5 rapids, so I'm not looking to "scuba" through whitewater rapids.

However, there are many slack pools on the rivers that might be interesting to dive. They appear calm, but on closer inspection the current is deep and strong. Some of the pools are 20+ feet deep. Visibility might be 10-15 feet on a good day. There are many undercut boulders along the banks, so I'm sure they exist on the bottom too.

Anyone have any experience diving in such an environment? I'm trying to get more information before I attempt such an endeavor.

The Gauley River

Take a peek at this:

http://www.mindspring.com/~divegeek/articles.htm

I suggest you poke around a bit once you get to the site. There is an amazing amount of information there.

Don Burke:

Take a peek at this:

http://www.mindspring.com/~divegeek/articles.htm

I suggest you poke around a bit once you get to the site. There is an amazing amount of information there.

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Cool.

I've been looking for some river diving instruction, but can't find any.

I've done a bit of diving in those rivers !!!
But it was only because I missed my eskimo roll !!!

Doc Harry:

Anyone have any experience diving in such an environment? I'm trying to get more information before I attempt such an endeavor.

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I went diving a couple of years ago in the Verzasca river, in the Italian part of Switzerland. This is a mountain torrent, with some very nice pools cut out of the surrounding granite where one can dive to a max depth of about 40 ft. We took a river diving course in preparation for this, which unfortunately I do not have in electronic format.

I do remember a few pointers, though:

- Dive a minimalist configuration, to avoid both bulk and snag points. The recommendation was a backpack (no BCD), single tank, one first and second stage, and a small wrist computer, plus enough weight to be able to crawl along the bottom if and when necessary.

- Spend as much time as necessary to identify the point where the current starts picking up at the exit of the pool. Above this point, string a rope across the river, and dump a bunch of while plastic bags filled with stones on the bottom. This marks your mandatory exit point, and the rope can be used for rescue operations if something should go wrong.

- Be aware of the weather forecast for the entire drainage area for the stream you are diving. A storm many miles upriver can bring catastrophe very rapidly.

Here is a link to a small brochure that they distribute to divers. It is minimalist, but contains some useful information.

There are some nice pictures here.

Have fun!

Get some training first and learn how to read a river. Not quite the same as the surface.

Gary D.

I second you need training on how to read the river... or you can get into trouble in a hurry!

Gary D.:

Get some training first and learn how to read a river. Not quite the same as the surface.

Gary D.

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Thanks. I think after years of running class 5 rapids in a kayak I can read a river.

It's the diving aspect that's got me concerned. I cannot find a course in diving rivers, so I'm looking for some info to decide whether or not it's somthing I should fool with.

It sounds like fun, but I have no idea where I would get training on it. We are not much for fast rivers around here.

Having rafted both the Gauley and the New rivers for about ten years, I can honestly say I have no interest in trying to dive them. While it's been about five years since I did them, I remember there was absolutely no vis there at all.

I'd think you'd have a much better time in the reservoirs above the dams instead.

The Gauley espescially makes me think of a meat grinder when I consider diving it. Hell, it tore up rafts on my last trip (literally to shreds), and I vowed never to set foot in that river again.