Altitude diving

[al248005]

Hi everyone, I got a question for ya. Altitude diving is considered to be any dive over 3000 ft above sea level and in most agencies it's offered as a specialty course that's not taught in basic OW training. However I know of dive shops that take students to sites such as Mt Storm that are considered altitude dives to do their cert dives for basic OW. Isn't this a major contradiction to the rules of basic OW cert. I think it would only hurt the divers who are getting certified because they are not using correct tables to fill out their dive logs correctly. Whats everyone else think???

 

[fisheater]

I'm pretty sure that students taught at altitude are taught about altitude at the same time. Just as students taught in drysuits are taught about drysuits.

 

[Dragon Down]

Are you just making an assumption that the correct tables are not being used?

 

[DevonDiver]

If local conditions require it, extra skills can be added to the open water training. For instance; in the UK it is common to add drysuit to the training.

 

[spoirier]

When I had my OW class in Québec from a CMAS agency we learned how to use the table when diving in altitude because there is one quarry that is accessible around here at an altitude of 3000ft. I suppose that if there were no altitude diving possible nearby this would be different. We are also learning drysuit at the same time of OW because the water temperature is in the range of 31-45. I think they adjust the class to the location and dive possibilities.

-----------------
Sébastien Poirier

 

[tbone1004]

What's so difficult about altitude diving? It's the same as calculating EAD for Nitrox. You just have to accept that your depth gauge is going to be off, know by how much it is going to be off and factor it in.
At 3000 feet I know that I'm going to be 4 feet deeper than my depth gauge reads.
At 6000 feet, I'm 7 feet deeper
At 9000 feet, I'm 9 feet deeper

Not rocket science. Tables still apply the same way they would otherwise. They're calculated based off of ATA's of pressure. You just have a bit less pressure. Instead of depth in ATM plus 1 atm for the atmosphere, you add .89atm

For your logs, you just write it it was an altitude dive at x-feet. You have your computer or depth gauge max depth readings and you just add y-feet to make it accurate.

 

[Can't swim]

I did my OW cert dives at Mt. Storm, WV. We used the RDP tables and had the difference explained to us while filling out the log. No big deal!! We got wet, we went under, swam around and got out. And we lived!!!!
It wasn't complicated at all, really it wasn't.
If you get a little stressed out over it while there just sit back and watch the wind mills, they have a very calming affect but near as calming as being in the very warm water at the top of a mountain surrounded by beautiful scenery..........

 

[Roko]

I think having an extra certification for altitude diving is a bit ridiculous. When I took PADI OW, they taught us how to adjust for altitude -- It's a simple concept.

 

[Marek K]

You just have to accept that your depth gauge is going to be off

...and by how much, and in what direction, depends on the type of gauge.

And then you need a table to calculate your theoretical depth, which at 3,000 ft. altitude is about 10% deeper than actual depth. The theoretical depth is finally what you use with your normal tables.

*edit* I guess that's what you were saying in your next paragraph, except that the .89 atm is only for an altitude of 3,000 ft.

Or, after understanding the theory, just use a computer that does all these calculations for you.

Just wish our hockey-pucks had an icon that showed when the computers switch to high-altitude mode...

 

[tbone1004]

My pc does have an altitude thing... It's not that accurate, but it's there.
I have an excel sheet that I wrote with all diving formulas, so it's easy there.