"Advanced" cave dives

[Ken Roop]

What is considered to be an "Advanced" cave dive?

I was told by my Intro to Cave Instructor that it was an overhead environment that exceeded 120 feet in depth.

Another factor was visibility that should be considered "Advanced" if vis was less than 20 feet.

What other factors should be considered when making a determination of an "Advanced" cave dive? Non-book answers are sought.

Best wishes and safe caving,

Ken Roop

[MikeH]

Anytime you're diving with TJ it's considered an advanced cave dive....due to the additional responsibility/task loading of babysitting him..

Mike

[CTRDVM]

Hey Ken,

It's Craig from Gainesville. Sorry I have not called any time recently...been busy makin' a livin'.

As for your question. In my humble opinion:
An advanced dive is any dive that the team feels a possible complication could increase the task loading and skill requirements of the dive to any significant degree above the "lazy" planned tourist dive. Thus, things like 1. New team members, 2. stage bottles, 3. Scooters, 4. new cave passage, 5. any new gear addition/modification, 6. Not being in the water for over a few weeks (A BIG problem), 7. Less than ideal vis, 8. of course depth, etc.

To me are all concerns than make the dive "Advanced" because they have the possibility of ending that way... The actual cave chosen and route, depth and duration of the dive are misleading in deciding on what is advanced or not. However, these known details are easier to factor...

[Cindy]

Let's see, difficult entry: very steep sided sinks like Alachua. Divers have been bent there because the cave is deep and the effort of taking the equipment up the hill has to be factored into decompression. Caves with lots of restriction, caves with halocline, caves with great depth combined with lots of jumps. Caves that require Tri Mix. Caves that combine two or more of those factors.
Caves that require excellent buoyancy skills. Siphon caves with high flow.
That would be a good start on a list. Cindy

[CaptainSpeleo]

Ken:

There are several elements to what can be considered an "advanced" cave dive, but the more obvious ones are:

Diving to depths well below 130' which require Trimix and multiple decompression gas mixes

Swimming or scootering extremely long penetration distances and requiring the need for one or more stage bottles

Being exposed to a combination of low visibility and tight restrictions

[Chuck from KY.]

I have been full cave certified for 20 years and have never heard of a "lazy tourist dive" being an option before. Please define this type of dive.

[Cindy]

Not to be too mean but our running joke is that if there is a picknick table at the site, steps, showers and porta potties, that's a tourist dive. You can of course make a tourist dive and advanced dive but for most it's a tame cave site. I would however love to take you to places where one of those things are present if you promice to carry my tanks. So you can see for yourself what the difference is, Cindy

[CaveDivingCop]

Cindy I'll carry your tanks anytime you want to take me to some of the cool out of the way hardcore dive sites you have snuck into over the years.....I love the idea of find a hole in the ground kinda diving !!!

[DeWayne]

Cindy I'll carry your tanks anytime you want to take me to some of the cool out of the way hardcore dive sites you have snuck into over the years.....I love the idea of find a hole in the ground kinda diving !!!

Once you have experienced your first one, you will know what cave diving is really all about. It is a real rush to emerge from the sink with a big ole grin on your face and report to others that it goes

[CaptainSpeleo]

Cindy:

One place that comes to mind when I think about a "tourist dive site and an advanced cave dive" all-in-one is making the 3000'+ penetration to The CourtYard at Madison Blue Springs. I remember my first dive there very well - 60 minutes going in, 48 minutes coming out.