Narcosis -- insidious and subtle

[LCF]

I did my Cave 2 class last August in Florida, and got repeatedly slammed for poor situational awareness. I knew a part of it was narcosis, but I thought CO2 intoxication from depth and exertion, coupled with sleep deprivation and generally poor morale, had a big role to play.

Last weekend, I did three very relaxed and pleasant dives in the Mill Pond. One was in Twin, where our plan was to swim the mainline, going down the fissure, swimming the loop, and coming back up and going home. I was comfortable with the plan -- I had dived that portion of the cave in class, so I knew it. But we also agreed to do a short jump into a small passage, to get the experience of swimming something small and having to return in zero viz, something I had never done.

So we went in, swam the Subway tunnel, went down the slot, and swam to the double arrows. At this point, the leader tied in a spool, and we jumped off to a small passage on the right. We swam it, turned around and came back in zero viz (that's another whole thread) and returned to the mainline. We turned right and continued along the line to the other fissure, went up, and swam back. Uneventful and enjoyable dive, and pretty cave.

The next day, my husband commented on the fact that I had not dropped a cookie at the intersection where the leader tied in the jump line. I felt like somebody had slapped me. I have, from the moment I began doing jumps, been the "cookie Nazi"; not only do I drop a cookie on every intersection, I insist that every team member do so. I have never forgotten to do this; I have never had to be reminded. I've never had to THINK about it, because it's obvious and one of the deeply ingrained procedures I believe in and practice always. And I didn't do it, and didn't know I hadn't done it, and didn't recognize I hadn't done it when we came back to the main line, and didn't realize I hadn't done it until the next day, when Peter idly inquired about why I hadn't. (He hadn't signaled me, because he knew it didn't MATTER which way we turned -- going right was shorter to get home, and we knew that; going left was the way we had come, and since we hadn't hit turn pressure, that was fine, too. I wish I could say I went through the same thought process, but I didn't go through any thought process at all.)

I didn't feel drunk. I didn't feel anxious. I wasn't obsessively checking my pressure, nor was I euphoric. I didn't feel any different at all. I was just stupid.

No more 100 foot depths in caves for me, without helium. And I think everybody should think about how sneaky nitrogen can be -- it isn't that you are woozy or can't read your gauge. It's about the little things, the important things that can be the difference between safety and risk in a cave. Don't dismiss nitrogen!

[RN]

Could you have forgotten to drop a cookie because you were focused on what was going on at the moment? You backed off to let me pass you to put in the spool. You knew we were going into a small passage where our return would be in zero visibility. You were certain you were going to prove me wrong and make it through that passage without mucking it up. I think even if we were at 50' you probably would have missed the cookie. It's not like we were at any risk. The spool was tied into a directional marker on the gold line. Personally, I don't drop cookies very often, if at all, especially in situations like that where a marker is already in place.

[LCF]

Well, I'd much rather believe that narcosis was playing a role, than believe that I could be stupid enough not to mark an intersection just because I was distracted by something simple like letting you swim past me. If the former, there's a solution. If the latter, David was right.

No, we were at no risk. But not because I was doing the right thing.

[Michael Stroeck]

Don't overcomplicate things

1) You probably just forgot. It might have been due to narcosis, but you'll never know.

2) I think it's not helpful to put cookies everywhere just as a matter of course. In cases where you're tying into a directional marker, I'm almost certain it's the wrong thing to. It just adds unnecessary procedure and potential for confusion.

I only use them in situations where they add useful information that isn't already there: At T's, of course. Also, when I tie in somewhere in the middle of a line, where there aren't any permanent markers. But in that case, it makes no sense to use a cookie - drop an arrow!

[LiteHedded]

I think I would hesitate to blame narcosis on this one. I've seen divers forget these things on shallow dives.

Don't overcomplicate things

1) You probably just forgot. It might have been due to narcosis, but you'll never know.

2) I think it's not helpful to put cookies everywhere just as a matter of course. In cases where you're tying into a directional marker, I'm almost certain it's the wrong thing to. It just adds unnecessary procedure and potential for confusion.

I only use them in situations where they add useful information that isn't already there: At T's, of course. Also, when I tie in somewhere in the middle of a line, where there aren't any permanent markers. But in that case, it makes no sense to use a cookie - drop an arrow!

if everyone marks intersections it can be helpful in the event of a team separation

[DA Aquamaster]

Returning through a small passage in zero viz, especially in new cave is a very large and looming issue when you've never done it before - and even until you done it enough in enough different places to know you can do it.

As a counselor, I think Rob is correct that it would have just as easily happened at 50' as at 100'.

To play devil's advocate a bit, narcosis can do two things that could have played a role here:
1) it can potentiate your predominant mental state. If that state is apprehension at doing something new, performing well in a demanding class, etc then it can increase that apprehension.
2) it also narrows your band width a bit through the overall reduction in cognitive resources.

The two can interact a bit if you are overly focused on one portion of the dive and are looking ahead to it, rather than staying in the moment and focusing on what you need to be doing now. I see some of that in Rob's observation of the dive as well.

I would not over think it or obsess on it, but on the other hand, you're a doctor and you can afford He on all your cave dives at or below 100'.

Of course, to close in support of the initial point, being a doctor, you also bring more congitive resources than the norm to the cave to start with, so that suggests that narcosis is probably not the major cause of not dropping a cookie.

[NEON]

I have, from the moment I began doing jumps, been the "cookie Nazi"; not only do I drop a cookie on every intersection, I insist that every team member do so. I have never forgotten to do this; I have never had to be reminded.

Now, not to derail the thread, but have you ever considered how time consuming and inefficient negotiating intersections in zero visibility would be if multiple teams had ALL their team members drop cookies?

[LiteHedded]

Now, not to derail the thread, but have you ever given some serious thought on how easy it would be to negotiate several intersections in zero visibility where multiple teams had ALL their team members drop cookies?

it's not a big deal

[LCF]

Well, maybe you guys are right, but I see a pattern of me doing really stupid things at depth that I don't do on shallower dives, and it scares me.

[Bobby]

I have no idea if narcosis or something else played a role in why you did what you did. IMHO if you believe that HE will make a difference use it. At least it will give you the opportunity to gain experience using it as well as without. If you make the same type of error then you can say that narcosis is probably not the cause.

Bobby