Ice Diving?

[UCFKnightDiver]

I'll be moving to Ohio for graduate school this fall and was
tossing the idea around of trying out some ice diving while I'm up there.
Looking online and talking to others in the north who do ice dive it sounds like
being on a tether with a support person above is the norm... which sounds assinine to me!
To me it would seem redundancy with a good buddy and cave lining techniques would work just fine
and that being on a tether would create many more problems than it solves.
I'm curious to hear the opinions of those who ice dive and are DIR/tech etc.. as to what they do
in regards to the ice overhead and techniques for diving it. Seems to me that the ice should be treated as any
other cave or wreck in concept (line running etc.)

I am intro to cave and fundamentals certified by the way.

- Ryan

 

[nimoh]

I have done the ice diving tether thing, and IMO it sucks, in particular:

- once in a while it will slip your mind and you will end up on a line that doesn't float and will snag on pretty much everything.
- to be fair you need to take a turn tending. Best to find someone in a wetsuit to tend so you know you won't be bored for long
- the ropes are usually frozen solid when cleaning up the gear.

this past winter was my last tethered ice dive...well, unless I fail Cave 1 in August that is

 

[Dhboner]

You make a good point however ice diving is even less forgiving than cave diving (in my opinion). The opening in the ice (depending on the size for your group and how many chainsaws made it to the dive) can be only a few feet across. If you lose the line for any reason you run the risk of never finding your way back to the hole. You can't backtrack or rely on familiar features to help out. When we ice dive we also shovel HUGE arrows in the snow on the surface pointing to the hole from all angles as an additional safeguard. You can dive under ice using cave techniques and line protocols but I really prefer to be tethered and have a safety diver at the surface. At the end of the day I guess it comes down to risk tolerance.

 

[rongoodman]

I agree that the tethered technique sounds scary and that cave techniques appear to make more sense. There was a fatality up there a couple of years back, though, which involved trained overhead divers(I think they were GUE) following a line out to a wreck.

Details here: http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?23451-The-Rockport-accident-report-Feb-18-2007&highlight=ice%2A

 

[Dhboner]

I agree that the tethered technique sounds scary and that cave techniques appear to make more sense. There was a fatality up there a couple of years back, though, which involved trained overhead divers(I think they were GUE) following a line out to a wreck.

Details here: The Deco Stop

I know quite a few divers who disconnect their inflator hose once they reach depth to prevent an stuck inflator and out of control ascent under ice. They can still orally inflate the wing and use the drysuit for lift if needed but it eliminates one possible failure due to freezing.

 

[nimoh]

I know quite a few divers who disconnect their inflator hose once they reach depth to prevent an stuck inflator and out of control ascent under ice. They can still orally inflate the wing and use the drysuit for lift if needed but it eliminates one possible failure due to freezing.

why don't they disconnect the drysuit inflation hose too, just in case?

 

[Dhboner]

why don't they disconnect the drysuit inflation hose too, just in case?

If you disconnect both you have no way to provide lift except by oral inflation. A drysuit inflator is less likely to get stuck (not sure why it just seems to happen less) and, if it does, it can be disconnected much quicker (since it is right in the middle of the chest and not tucked into a d-ring with a piece of bungee) and you also have the option of pulling your neck seal if the poop really hits the fan. I've never done it but some of the regulars here do.

 

[nimoh]

If you disconnect both you have no way to provide lift except by oral inflation. A drysuit inflator is less likely to get stuck (not sure why it just seems to happen less) and, if it does, it can be disconnected much quicker (since it is right in the middle of the chest and not tucked into a d-ring with a piece of bungee) and you also have the option of pulling your neck seal if the poop really hits the fan. I've never done it but some of the regulars here do.

makes sense.

One advantage of using cave diving protocols is putting the hole near shore, and then if doing multiple dives, leaving your gear underwater between dives so that it doesn't freeze up. I guess you could do this tethered as well, but need longer ropes to get to the interesting stuff, and this increases the time that a rescue diver can get to you.

 

[elan]

while cave style seems to be appealing its way more dangerous than overhead wreck diving as you have unlimited number of "passages" and ways to get lost and the water is near freezing so freeflow is a real danger.

 

[PfcAJ]

Congrats on getting into grad school! You earned it, my friend!