new to Scubaboard

[squidward]

Greetings to all --

I'm an active diver, but only have 500 logged dives. I currently live in SoCal but will be moving to Colorado in the spring or summer.

Has anyone here done high altitude diving? All of my dives have been California or Hawaii.

Thanks.

Squidward

 

[DandyDon]

squidward once bubbled...
Greetings to all --

I'm an active diver, but only have 500 logged dives. I currently live in SoCal but will be moving to Colorado in the spring or summer.

Has anyone here done high altitude diving? All of my dives have been California or Hawaii.

Thanks.

Squidward

:hi: Welcome to Scuba Board. Great place to learn, compare, argue, etc.

"Only 500 dives," huh?

Colorado is a pretty big place. What part you going to? I see a lot of classes from Colorado at Santa Rosa NM - which is a little under 5,000 feet. There are certainly considerations about altitude diving, but I don't think there are any real worries below 10,000 feet. Besides allowing for the alitutde of the dive, you need to be careful of higher passes on the way home.


don

 

[squidward]

Thanks Don. We'll likely be moving to the Denver area, but certainly not averse to driving a few hours to get wet. Thanks for the reminder about returning home over the passes -- I know some of them are well over 10,000 ft. Could cause a bit of a bubbly problem

Any suggestions on lakes, quarries etc to dive?

 

[DandyDon]

I think the Colorado people bring students to New Mexico because of a lack of diving places in Colorado, but - maybe some others will correct me? You might clikc the (SEARCH) button at the top here, put Colorado in "Key Word" and run a search.

Mostly I think you'll need to work flight schedules and fare sales like I do...

don

 

[nauifins73]

I'm not comfortable with the advise about not worrying about diving at altitude under 10,000 feet. I feel that you need to figure your altitude in whenever you are over 1,000 feet. Much better to error on the side of safety than not to.

I have taken an altitude course - it is a good course & I would recommend to anyone diving inland to take it. It is amazing how quickly the altitude can change.

Becky

 

[R_Deluca]

Not much altitude diving in Ontario! But welcome aboard and hope you enjoy!

Safe Diving!

 

[squidward]

nauifins73 once bubbled...
I'm not comfortable with the advise about not worrying about diving at altitude under 10,000 feet. I feel that you need to figure your altitude in whenever you are over 1,000 feet. Much better to error on the side of safety than not to.

I have taken an altitude course - it is a good course & I would recommend to anyone diving inland to take it. It is amazing how quickly the altitude can change.

Becky

Thanks, Becky. The 1,000ft standard is indeed what we teach in PADI. I'm sure NAUI and other agencies teach the same thing. All conversion tables I've seen start at 1,000ft.

I don't think Don was necessarily suggesting there aren't any considerations below 10,000ft. Nonetheless, I appreciate your concern, and I agree that a course would be a good idea.

Squidward:read:

 

[MikeFerrara]

squidward once bubbled...


Thanks, Becky. The 1,000ft standard is indeed what we teach in PADI. I'm sure NAUI and other agencies teach the same thing. All conversion tables I've seen start at 1,000ft.

I don't think Don was necessarily suggesting there aren't any considerations below 10,000ft. Nonetheless, I appreciate your concern, and I agree that a course would be a good idea.

Squidward:read:

Yes. Don didn't say that altitude below 10,000 ft should be ignored he just said there wen't any worries.

Agencies commonly teach that compensations need to be made above 1,000 ft and some recommend that no diving take place above 10,000 ft at all. Tables are quit clear on what altitude they're meant for and many computers partially compensate automatically.

Like anything else, the further we move from the norms the less reliable our models (and that's all they are) tends to be.

 

[DandyDon]

dandydon once bubbled...

"Only 500 dives," huh?

Colorado is a pretty big place. What part you going to? I see a lot of classes from Colorado at Santa Rosa NM - which is a little under 5,000 feet. There are certainly considerations about altitude diving, but I don't think there are any real worries below 10,000 feet. Besides allowing for the alitutde of the dive, you need to be careful of higher passes on the way home. .


don

I assumed a diver with 500 dives had heard about altitude considerations, but I mentioned them as a reminder. Sorry if it seemed to anyone that I was discounting safety standards, and I never intend to do so.

If he comes down to Santa Rosa's Hole, he needs to check the road to and from. As it turns out, he'll be living higher, but I don't know the roads between...?



don

 

[DandyDon]

I guess I could have offered more comprehensive suggestions, or someone else who noticed my imcomplete anwer could have...?

Okay Squid,

Since you're moving from sea level to The Mile High City, you will be living at about 5,000 feet elevation, and any nearby diving will be Altitude diving. (I'm afraid I tend to not think about such, as it's an automatic part of my local diving. Maybe I need to think about it more?) You should plan such dives accordingly, consider wait after arrival times to different altitudes, and consider wait after diving times if you will be changing altitude after diving. Here is one source for topographic information...

http://www.gpsnow.com/co.htm

Even though you have completed hundreds of dives, have you completed Specialty Training for Altitude Diving, and are you up to date on such? If not, such would be strongly suggested.

http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/altitude.asp

National Geographic lists 6 Scuba diving sites in Colorado, with Aurora Res just outside of Denver...

http://www.coloradoguide.com/recreation/index3.cfm

Do you own a dsrysuit and thermal undergarments? Might be a good idea, and there's training for those, too.

Two additions I'd suggest for your computer's Favorite list would be ScubaBoard, so you can check in easily and often, and Expedia.com, so you can search for afforidable escapes...


don