Is Bonne Terre worth it?

[InstantDiver]

Wow, mixed feelings on this subject...

I will put my two cents in because I feel I can. I have been to Bonne Terre. Discovered it about two years ago and am on the side that loves it. I understand the side that doesn't, some of them are my best friends..

If you have never done it but the thought of it intrigues you, then by all means try it out. It is a bit more adventureous than 'normal' open water dives.

I rented a wetsuit the first time because I had no cold water suit and thought it was cold as hell. Coldest water I had been in up to that point. But I loved the experience. Since then, I got a nice 7mm wetsuit and a hooded vest and find I can stay down for up to an hour without shivering. So, I guess that is why proper exposure protection is one of the fundamentals..

Anyway, I have made as many trips as my bank account can afford. Took my Cavern Diver cert course there and logged 50 plus dives repeating almost all of the lower trails many times. Am going this weekend for 3 of the upper trails. (Called Bear trails after the Dive guide who leads them).

It is a great place to get familiar with that type of diving as well as try out different equipment configurations. I have seen people practicing side mounts and all types of tech rigging. A perfect environment for that. You not only have a dive buddy, you also have a dive safety and a dive guide.. most of them are VERY experienced divers and some of us (who aren't all knowing) still have stuff to learn.

Yes, it costs $65 a dive with a minimum two dives. Carrying your tank in/out is not an option, they have their tanks and air fill station on the dive deck. That probably came from real life trial and error with people who thought they could make it with their tank and found out they couldn't..It is 120 feet down to the waters surface(like an underground lake) including 68 steps. It is a workout to be sure when you are carrying nothing. Luckily, you can leave all your gear down below in between dives. Surface interval is back up topside.

$65 a dive seems pricey. But do a cost analysis.. If I go to Bonaire for instance, it is going to cost me $1800 (Flight and hotel w/dive pkg) and I am going to get say 15 dives in that week. Averages out to $120 per dive.. Hell, us midwesterners, we pay 20 to get into a rock quarry and $10-12 for air fills. So, I can either
1. not dive
2. spend 20 bucks to log a dive in a mud puddle
3. spend 65 to log a dive in a 'one of a kind' dive location
4. Dive nice warm water but only once a year

(Personally, I opted for 2,3 and 4!)

That is part of the price your paying. It is a one of a kind experience. Not to mention with all the lighting, I expect they have a huge power bill! If you make a dive there and you are not at least mildly impressed with some part of it, the vis, cathedral like rock structures, the history of where you are, then read no more.. nothing else I say will matter to you anyway.

If your curious, you will find out the rules are minimum and all about insuring safety. Without the rules, a dive there could kill me like a bad cave dive.(It has already done that to others before it was opened as a site) Above and below water it is a maze of rooms, passages, archways, pillars, shafts, deep holes, leftover machinery and I personaaly want to explore all of it! With the rules they have in place, you will find that anyone that has the most basic competency in scuba can venture in and try out a true overhead environment (it has many comparisons to cavern diving) safely and securely knowing that their guide will get them back.

If you don't like the experience, don't go back(ain't this country great!)

If you liked the dive but didn't like the mess of people on trail 1, 2, then I suggest come back again during summer months. I have at times been the only diver on a trail (with the guide).. He may know where he is at, but it is all new to me! Know this.. After trial 5, the overheads get longer, passages get tighter (not squeezes though) it all keeps getting more intense. You can take it as far as you want it or not go back.(this country is great!)

If you have been once and are in the 'hated it' club, you either don't like the underground experience, the u/w overhead environment or the cold temps because the dive guides are some of the best. Nice people, who want you to have a good, safe, fun time in an absolutely cool place.

That is it. All I can do is try to tell you what to expect. I love it, you won't know if you love it or hate it til you try it. And then I think you will be firmly in one camp or the other!

 

[b1gcountry]

I'll throw my own take on this as well...

I live in St Louis. I avoided going to the mine for a long time since the expense was high, and the rules were restrictive. I also worked with one of the DMs, and you weren't anything to him unless you dove the mine as much as he did. Still, I thought it was an interesting dive, and eventually figured I'd make it there. Last year, I made my first trip.

A little about the mine first...Missouri is the world's top producer of lead, mining over 90% of the lead worldwide. The first missouri lead mine was started by the French in Mine LaMotte...just south of Bonne Terre. Eventually, it got mined out, and they dropped the ceiling on a large portion of the mine, creating a large, open pit. I'm not certain why this was done, but I think it was due to some unstable portions of the mine due to the early mining and shoring techniques they used. Today, it is a recreational area called 'The Offsets' where the locals go to drink beer, and jump off the cliffs. It still has a lot of diveable tunnels, and the visibility tends to open up very nicely once inside the tunnels a couple hundred feet. The open pit, and some half-flooded areas of the mine are open to recreational divers. Another section has been mapped out by local cave divers.

Bonne Terre was opened much later than the MLM, and was much larger scale. BTM operated concurrently with several other mines located southwest of it. Eventually, all the other mines got connected with one another, and the St Joe's mining company became the sole owner. The SJ mine contained thousands of miles of tunnels on many levels stretching like 70 miles across. When it was mined out in the early '70s, it donated for use as a state park. You can visit the mill today, but there is no access to the mines themselves. Being a much deeper vein than BTM, or MLM, the first level is about 400' below ground level, and about 200' below the water table.

Today, there are several other active mines still producing lead, which is important for new car batteries, which each contain more than 20lbs of lead. Another major use is for ammunition.

BTM is somewhat unique because it is a very shallow mine, and the water table is low enough that a good portion of the mine is left above water, but still underground. This means the water is relatively unaffected by runoff, etc, and the visibility stays ideal. Plus, it's not completely submerged, so it can be accessed by recreational divers.

There are also several very scenic caves in the area, which, while more prone to weather, can also offer impressive visibility, and beautiful scenery and formations. So BTM, is not the only game in town, but probably is the most accessible, and offers the clearest water.

The other area mine/cave/cavern dives include:
The Offsets (Old Mine; Recreational->Full Cave $20 admission)
Orornogo (Old Mine; Recreational->Full Cave/Tech $?? admission)
Cannonball (Spring; Intro-Cave->Full Cave/Tech; Free)
Roubidoux Springs (Spring; Cavern->Full Cave/Tech; Free)
Boiling Spring (Spring; Sidemount Cave; $??)


When I went to BTM for the first time last year, I had already been diving caves for a while, and had some experience with the other area sites. Even as a cave diver, though, the mine at Bonne Terre is very complex compared to a cave, and navigating using typical Cave procedures would be challenging. To a recreational diver, the guides are absolutely essential.

I joined up with a pretty experienced group, some of whom had been diving the mine for a while. We were not asked to start with the introductory trails, were allowed to bring our cave lights, and several of the divers brought their doubles with. The visibility was less than I expected due to some intense storms, and our first dive was somewhat of a disappointment, swimming midwater between large columns in 150'+ water. I was told it was a lot cooler when the water is clearer, and you can see the columns in the background. The second and third dives were much better, with a lot smaller, more hands on passages. All our dives were 60-70minutes long.

I was pretty happy with the dive guides we had. They were friendly, and seemed to know their way around, and brought us to places we wanted to see after the formal trail was over with. The group size was pretty small, and thinned as the day went on. The above water portions of the mine were just as impressive as the underwater portions.

All in all, I enjoyed the experience, and plan on doing it again this year. The rules in real life are not exactly what is outlined on the website. The no lights rule is mostly for the first three trails, and does not apply to backup lights (as it was explained to me at the mine.) A lot of their procedures go in the face of standard cave safety rules, like going into an unknown overhead blindly, without laying a line, on a single tank. Basically, you are putting a lot of trust into your guide that he knows where the heck he's going. I've got to think that as the trails progress, you will be doing almost a full cave dive without the training, which I did not like. On the plus side, however, we never violated thirds, and all of the more lengthy overheads had gold line running through them.

Tom

 

[Jendra]

I will be there this weekend with some Indy Dive Club members. I am looking forward to a new diving experience!

 

[Davemohio]

Jen,

I am anxious to read your trip report.

Variety is good!

Have fun!

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Do they let you bring cameras on the dives? I believe I read somewhere that you can not carry a camera! I was wondering what the purpose behind such a rule would be?

 

[ScubaGypsy]

Is cave diving permitted (with or without a hired guide) for folks that have Full Cave certifications? Or are ALL divers required to go in groups? Are double steels with EAN and DIN valves available?

 

[b1gcountry]

Is cave diving permitted (with or without a hired guide) for folks that have Full Cave certifications? Or are ALL divers required to go in groups? Are double steels with EAN and DIN valves available?

Full Cave doesn't mean anything to them, really. It's unfortunate, but there is no unguided exploration at the mine unless you own the mine. To go on the really good dives, you need to do most/all the trails beforehand. I have met some of the upper level guides, though, and some of them seem pretty cool about doing what you want to do. It seems there are different sets of rules for divers who have been there, and they know can handle themselves.

If you want a real mine dive, let me know, and I'll loan you a set of doubles, and we can take a dip at MLM.

 

[Fish in a Barrel]

Do they let you bring cameras on the dives? I believe I read somewhere that you can not carry a camera! I was wondering what the purpose behind such a rule would be?

Cameras are allowed after the first dive (just like flash lights), but you need a lot of light. It's basically night diving. I'm a noob, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that unless you're very talented and have great gear it's not worth bringing the camera.

Last time I went I took a little point-and-shoot in a housing that I just got. I didn't expect many shots to come out, I just wanted to get it wet and try it out. I got two whole shots that were usable, the rest were just too dark or blurry from low shutter speeds. None of the cool vistas you see down there came out. They all require such long shutter times that you'd need a tripod to capture anything more than a gray smear.

Are double steels with EAN and DIN valves available?

EAN and DIN are available, but I think they're all single AL80s.

 

[Ninja Diver]

Some people bring their own doubles in the mine. We do have Dins for filling your tanks.

Once you've completed several trails, even the "Die Hard" caverns realize that applying advanced Cave diving guidelines and training, simply won't work in this enviornment. We have at least 5 miles of divable shore line. There are many places in the mine that you won't know which way the dock is even after you have surfaced. Back up lights, and any video equipment are allowed after the first dive.
To quote B1gcountry
"When I went to BTM for the first time last year, I had already been diving caves for a while, and had some experience with the other area sites. Even as a cave diver, though, the mine at Bonne Terre is very complex compared to a cave, and navigating using typical Cave procedures would be challenging. To a recreational diver, the guides are absolutely essential.