This thread ought to die, but there are several misstatements here.
Non divers are fully saturated with nitrogen in equilibrium with a partial pressure of approximately 11.6 pounds per square inch. Nitrogen is in constant flux in and out of the bloodstream, and the definition of saturation is that the outflux is equal to the influx, so that the net nitrogen in the bloodstream has reached equilibrium. But it is constantly being absorbed from the air we breathe, and offgassed into the air we exhale.
Going to altitude when saturated with nitrogen is only dangerous if the gradient that is created between what is in the blood and what is in the ambient atmosphere is too high. That's the whole point of this thread -- You can go from sea level to 8000 feet without getting bent. You can go from 5 ffw to 8000 feet without getting bent, no matter HOW long you have been there.
By my calculations, if you're saturated at 9 fsw and go immediately to 8000 feet, you are at the 1.58 gradient that Haldanian theory says could produce symptoms. Depths below that, you have to figure out what percentage saturation the various compartments have accumulated during the time you spent underwater, and also make allowances for the offgassing that begins during ascent and continues as you dry off, pack gear, get something to eat, drive to the airport, wait in the security line, etc.
You can be in serious trouble when you never got anywhere near saturating any but the fastest compartments, if you were deep enough. You can be in no trouble at all if you're fully saturated, if you were shallow enough. Saturation has really nothing to do with it; gradients have everything to do with it.
