Eagles Nest Revisited

Derek and I recently had the pleasure of joining Kirill for another stunning photo dive at Eagles Nest.
Conditions have been stellar over the last few weeks and we had high expectations. Fortunately the cave did not disappoint.
Our plan was to scooter upstream to the double arrows at 1700', park our scooters and spend the majority of the dive in Kings Challenge.
As we descended down the line and our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we knew we were in for a great dive with amazing potential.
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Kirill was able to capture our effortless descent into the clear blue water of the Ballroom, where we were met with wall-to-wall visibility and refreshingly cool, crisp water.
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The quick ride to 1700' was peaceful yet mesmerizing. As we passed through Randy's Room and made the quick right turn through the 'duck under' and into the Super Room, conditions continued to improve and the water become increasingly blue.
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As the cave grew bigger and bolder, it felt as though time stood still. Every rock and boulder became increasingly more vivid and there appeared to be a glow emanating from the walls of the tunnels as we allowed our scoots to smoothly glide us through the cobalt water.
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Upon reaching our destination, we quickly parked our scooters and made the short jump to the line circling King Challenge. Collectively we could hear each other gasp (or giggle) as we soon realized that the visibility was well over 200' in this massive room.
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Any missing bottles?

Kings Challenge was first explored by Larry Green and Jim King in 1990. It begins at approx 1700' upstream from the entrance and ends approx 200' further, but easily extends over 200' from left to right.
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Entering this massive room while enjoying these spectacular conditions was awe-inspiring. The colors, striations, immense boulders and breakdown, coupled with the shear walls made for quite a backdrop.
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We easily spent over 30 min in depths averaging 225'-250', while Derek and I guided Kirill around this mammoth room, allowing him to work his magic, setting up shot after shot after shot.
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Every crack and crevice presented itself as a gift to the camera.
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Slowly circling the room, Derek and I blissfully leap-frogged from one spot to another, begging to be the center of attention.
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As we rounded the last corner, and I feared our dive was nearing its end, I realized that we had one more opportunity to capture the essence of Eagles Nest. As vast and amazing as each of these rooms are, each are unique and often separated by smaller tunnels clearly defining the transition from one to another.
At 1900', I spotted the Balcony leading to Green's Tunnel and was excited to get some final shots.
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Amazingly as we turned and started our swim along the gold line, we could clearly see our strobe flashing from over 200' away.
Collecting our scooters and starting the trek home was bittersweet. We were already over 60 min of bottom time and had accrued at least 3-4 hours of deco, but you never want to pull the thumb on a dive with such spectacular conditions.
Fortunately, Kirill in an effort to never be outdone, had other plans for us. He had already identified a small section of cave with some interesting formations he wanted to capture, so on our way out, we stopped at about 1000' and positioned ourselves for a few more photos.
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After stowing the camera and the strobes, we made a quick exit and began the long, slow journey to the surface.
Deco was uneventful, but enjoyable as we could see the entire ballroom with our lights off, just by the ambient light filtering through the holes in the ceiling.
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After nearly six hours underwater, we surfaced with a feeling of immense joy and accomplishment, and are already planning our next adventure back to the Nest.
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Amazing write up. Thank you for sharing. No I'm even more psyched for my trip in two weeks

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WOW


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Awesome as usual.

Where is the photo of your glorious exit from the water?

Beautiful photography and great write up. Thanks for sharing!

Simply out of this world work!

Gorgeous photos!!

"Collectively, we could hear each other gasp (or giggle)"
"Every crack and crevice presented itself as a gift to the camera."
"Derek and I blissfully leap-frogged from one spot to another, begging to be the center of attention."

Dear Mr. Draker:

Kudos on your recent post! We here at Rainbows and Unicorns Magazine are squealing with ecstasy at your impassioned verbiage and we invite you to JOIN OUR STAFF at your earliest convenience. We can hardly wait to introduce you to our members!

Sincerely,

Miles Long
Coming Out Publications

Awesome

Just awesome...I need to get back there ASAP!

If you see 2 divers in double alum. 80's diving EN they are not cave certified. They will probably be EN next victim.

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Definitely Nat-Geo photo shots. Bet you get a call soon !!

I like the last one :-D

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Originally Posted by FW

I like the last one :-D

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Sorry,no royalty money

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Originally Posted by shellmoundal

If you see 2 divers in double alum. 80's diving EN they are not cave certified. They will probably be EN next victim.

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That's a pretty bold statement Al. I dove there on OC in a set of double 72's back in November or December. It really depends on the dive you're doing.

* full disclosure, we never left the ballroom and kept the depth above 190'.

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It would seem I missed a truly spectacular dive and some world class photos.

While I wish I'd been able to attend I'm certain you were better off with out my clumsiness.

A great summary, James.

Bob

Floridabobs thumb strikes again!

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Originally Posted by derek

Floridabobs thumb strikes again!

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Do you have the photographer's permission to post that pic?


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