Originally Posted by Greenwood_60
Welcome to the Cave Diver's Forum.
Congrats and good luck! Do us proud!
It's not the years in your life that matter, but the life in your years.
I dont know if this is the right place for this or not. If not, feel free to move it.
But what makes Upstream Cow so difficult? Small passage? Flow? Other?
I have only been down stream at cow, so I dont know what to think about upstream.
Insert something witty and creative here_________________________.
You're in the right place.
Upstream Cow is not necessarily difficult (though some areas do require above average skill), just that it is fragile. See my recent trip report here http://www.cavediver.net/forum/showthread.php/18402-Cow
Skip all the BS down to the 3rd paragraph past where it reads "January 3rd, 2012" and read the next 3 to 5 paragraphs (if you have the time and don't feel like putting the muzzle of a pistol to your temple). After that it is all talk about downstream, which you already know about.
This should give you a vague idea of what it is like in there...
and why it needs to be protected.
It would be much easier to support experience level requirements if they weren't discriminatory. As a CCR diver I view the experience award levels with more than a little skepticism. If the award was based on dives OR hours, then it would be meaningful for me. But as it is, it favors the diver who is getting experience getting into and out of the water, over the diver who is in the system. On a typical 4 day dive trip it's easy to spend 12+ hours in the cave on only 4 dives. Why not find a way to level the bar?
Are you an NSS-CDS member? If so, send me a request for a change in the Abe Davis award, and I will present it to the BoD.
Forrest Wilson <i6FW@bellsouth.net>
I am a member. I'll be happy to put something togther. Can give me a little guidance on what you feel should be included to be an effective request?
In my opinion I think it should stay 100 dives, but should have more requirements imposed (# of systems, types of dives, etc). Then again, this isn't the thread topic for that discussion.
--- back on topic ---
Cow has a semi-tight restriction entrance where only one diver can pass. This alone has done a bit to limit who dives the location because not every certified cave diver wants a coffin of rock surrounding them while breathing scuba.
Joe
The greatest benefit of NSS-CDS membership is access to the NSS's caves. Hart and Cow are the only ones that don't require trimix. Cow is the only one that doesn't require a guide.
If Cow is closed to most members, why belong? Cave Divers' Forum offers more information than UNDERWATER SPELEOLOGY. The Sierra Club has more clout in conservation. Non-members pay only slightly higher registration fees at NSS-CDS events, most of which are prohibitively far away.
Bob Cree's suggestion that the NSS-CDS offer a mentorship program is one that most newbies would jump at, but it is unlikely that there are enough mentors to go around. If offered, it would meke up for losing access to NSS-owned caves.
Most of my dives since full cave are short because most of the buddies I can find are at the intro level. That's not all bad: Intro cave divers tend to be sticklers for the rules and fiercely critical of the slightest lapse.
"I like to do dangerous things safely."
Hart Springs is not a property owned or managed by the CDS. it is owned and operated by Gilchrist County.
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