cavern diving uder the ice

[diverpaul69]

I am looking for comments or questions about cavern diving under the ice. I live near Lake Superior. During the winter months the ice forms over the lake. There is a bay in Ashland Wisconsin that has a power plant. The warm water discharge into the lake keeps the water warm enough so it never freezes. Its an overhead environment with a fixed open water entrance and exit. My idea is to use this location for cavern training as we don't have caves in northern Minnesota. Any comments?

[Sludge]

Other than move to Florida?

[Half-Fast]

Florida already has too many people. Move to Georgia and drive down to Florida to dive on the weekends.

My idea is to use this location for cavern training ...

Doesn't sound like a great idea, frankly. I doubt the location has conditions similar to what students would experience in a real cavern: silt, rock formations, flow, etc., etc. They might become trained for ice diving, but ice diving <> cave diving.

[SLIM]

Better check with the agency that you plan to teach through. Let them decide.


SLIM

[RN]

Most agencies also require at least 2 sites be used for the cavern course. Another issue is that the site is not technically a cavern by definition since it's not part of a cave. Would training at this site truly prepare students for cavern diving in Florida or Mexico?

[Half-Fast]

Besides, wouldn't that icy water make the obligatory alligators a bit lethargic? (NSS-CDS did add the gator wrestling drill to the cavern course, didn't they?)

Seriously, I really think to do a cavern cert, your students will need to be in an actual cavern. There's more to caverns and caves than the ceiling.

[diverpaul69]

Thanks a lot for the input. I like the first one the best. Think I'll move to Florida. I'm tired of freezing my but.

[DA Aquamaster]

I have done ice dives using cave/cavern techniques from open water. This has usually been in circumstances where the main portion of a lake is open while a bay is still ice covered allowing you to enter the water from land on a point, and then swim back under the ice shelf from open water.

Cavern techniques are used, but it is nothing like cavern diving for several reaosns:

1. It's never dark and there is really no reliance on agood t light.
2, The topography is usually very lake like rather than cavern like.
3. The ceiling is flat and translucent.
4. line skills are less important and it's hard to find tie offs and placements that replicate what you'd se in a cavern. That has obvious training implications.
5. It's really frickin cold and that also has an impact on the line skills you can use/teach.

Also in addition to having a very hard time selling the pseudo cavern training to a cave training agency, if the agency also teaches ice diving, you will pose a liability iss ue to them as well as you are in effect ice diving but not using (traditional) approved ice diving techniques.

Your best bet may be to develop a course reflectig what it really is - ice diving using a subset of cavern diving techniques.

[Half-Fast]

Think I'll move to Florida.

Be aware that we've recently added an immigration tax for snowbirds wanting to move down here. Send me your credit card number and I'll get the paperwork started for you.

[Sludge]

I saw this on Facebook recently:

Florida - God's Waiting Room