Sidemount- Specialty or the new normal?

[MichaelAngelo]

That was clear as mud to me too.

It's an inside joke between us.

[Sludge]

Who was it that said, "If I can't go through it with backmounted doubles, two stages, and a UV-26, I'm not interested?"

[MichaelAngelo]

Who was it that said, "If I can't go through it with backmounted doubles, two stages, and a UV-26, I'm not interested?"

You did, but what does back mount doubles, stage and scooter have to do with a sidemount thread?

[Sludge]

It means I got a Nomad and started doing some tight stuff.

[skip]

Then you'd know better than me. I was told that naui allows instructors to teach students in sm configuration but the instructor has to be allowed by naui to do so. I may have been told wrong or misunderstood. I took naui cave 1 bm. I was told I could take cave2 in sm by more than one naui instructor. If naui says I can't I will get the cert through a different agency because my proficiency and safety is improved in sm configuration.

I do not teach cavern or cave, but I do teach NAUI Intro to Tec through Helitrox. NAUI allows any instructor to request special authorization to teach any course in some specialized way. You have to file a bunch of paperwork including course description, lesson plan, etc. And show capability of course (mostly through logged dives, but also by personal reference letters). I requested and received authorization to teach the tec classes in side mount, back mount, and mixed teams. I don't mean to argue with chris, NAUI may have changed things since and perhaps I was grandfathered in, but.... Also, if someone has already filed the paperwork to teach course in some modified way that matches what another instructor wants to do NAUI sends them the lesson plans, gear config, etc., for them to adopt or adapt. Or so I understand.

skip

[skip]

It means I got a Nomad and started doing some tight stuff.

So pigs do fly!

skip

[Kelly Jessop]

It means I got a Nomad and started doing some tight stuff.

"tight stuff" is relevant to the individual. A lot of passages that Sheck said he walled out,have a lot of line in them past that point

[Sludge]

"tight stuff" is relevant to the individual.

Bingo. But I've been through the bedding plane and Diamond Sands restriction at Jug, which I didn't think I'd ever do.

[MichaelAngelo]

You did, but what does back mount doubles, stage and scooter have to do with a sidemount thread?

Bingo. But I've been through the bedding plane and Diamond Sands restriction at Jug, which I didn't think I'd ever do.

Cool congratulations.

[gasdiver]

I took the PSIA Sidemount class with Edd. IMO, it was a gear configuration class. During the training dives, we did go through some low & wide places (beanie, horseshoe, LST in JB) that would have been belly dragging in backmount, but the focus of the class was getting our gear configuration right. The focus was not how to navigate small passage with minimal impact. (The class was great and Edd really knows his stuff.)

So, back to cerich's original question, should sidemount be considered a specialty? I don't think sidemounting your tanks should be a specialty any more than backmounting your tanks should be. As others have pointed out, it won't be too long before there are people with lots of diving experience that have never backmounted.

Gear configuration should be identified differently from the type of passage one dives in a cave. Consider snow skiing where a black diamond trail is designated as such regardless of what one chooses to ski it with (snowboard or skiis). At some point, we need to start identifying sections of passage in a similar manner. Then it may make sense to have a "double diamond" specialty designed for those who want to no-mount two tanks in a 24" diameter passage.

Who should be responsible for designating the difficulty or skill level required for a certain section of passage? I'm not the person to answer that question and who ever does the designation is bound to get flack from someone, but it could help address some of the issues our sport is facing.

For example, a passage could be designated as "double diamond" simply because of it's fragile nature and not it's small size. (I use double diamond as an example, how to designate passage is another topic.) The designation could be etched on a brick or poured in a small concrete block and placed at a certain point in the system. Certification agencies could reference these points as do not exceed markers and so on.

Granted, this would be an honor system and nothing would keep someone from swimming past a marker, but the same is true on the ski slopes. Any novice can ride the lift and take a black diamond trail. The concept I'm suggesting is not my original idea and I know others have proposed it in the past, but maybe now is the time to seriously consider the idea?