True story behind vortex?

[OutlawCaver]

If the lock was not in my possession I would not venture out of site of the gate if it was open

[Spd 135]

I don't want to be locked in so when I dive I lock the gate open. I agree that you cannot miss another team in there, and if I was second I would run a reel, and / or place a marker. I have also been known to bring another lock when there were several keys and unlock the Vortex lock, take one end of the chain off, put my lock through it and then marry the two locks.

If an untrained person goes in and gets in a bad way I will bring them out when I am done. The grate, and gate (even open) is a solid sign that the area is restricted. On the other hand, if I somehow lose the key, with me in there, I am in a bad way. If others are irresponsible with their actions I will rescue or recover them, but I won't put myself in harms way because they "might" follow me in.

[J_glenn06]

Reserving the right to object,
I dont know whether they allow more than one team in at a time or not, but , It just isnt reasonable to think that a team could be exiting without knowing that someone else is in the system.

As far as a gate. Like most of us, I'm for minimal impact on any of the systems we dive in. However, With as much OW training that occurs at this site, I think the gate is a necessary evil. In fact, I found a snorkel back close to the gate when I dove.

i agree 100% with having the gate since there is OW training there everyday and thats were most open water students go on there on after they are threw with there certification. Thats what i did i was certified at ginnie and after i got my card thats the first place i went. But as far as the key to the gate goes from im sure vortex only alows one team to cave dive at a time. And with leaving the gate open; thats a tuff one. But you still have the key on you at all times right?

[cmufieldhockey8]

I dummy lock it and take the key with me. The rope lights are a little irritating because I have to put forth more effort to keep track of my buddy's light..no big deal.

[fixxervi6]

I dummy lock it and take the key with me. The rope lights are a little irritating because I have to put forth more effort to keep track of my buddy's light..no big deal.

Have your buddy get a brighter light! I think the rope light is neat, its not very bright.

[J_glenn06]

Have your buddy get a brighter light! I think the rope light is neat, its not very bright.

lol I agree i like the lights its pretty cool. Thats got to be a hell of an extension cord though

[OutlawCaver]

I never thought I would see the day that a cave diver would think that a gate or grate was a good idea regardless of the number of divers who know better and disregard their training limitations and venture past daylight. People die mountaineering, skiing, white water rafting, skydiving and hiking into the Grand Canyon every year. Fortunatley, no one is bulldozing the mountains into the canyons or draining the rivers to PROTECT the ignorant........JUST YET. IMHO, it is not the cave that is dangerous beyond the gate, it is the diver that left the daylight zone that is.

[GLENFWB]

Welcome to the world of being a business owner. You can have all kinds of theoretical arguments...but when you own a business like Vortex, you do everything you can as a business owner to avoid injuries and litigation. Own a business for one day where you have to deal with the public, and the gate will make perfect sense...at least from the owners point of view.

The world we live in now gives us the choice...a cave with a gate that the public can use...or an unspoiled cave with no gate...that you can only imagine is there, because the owner has closed the site to protect divers, and to protect himself against lawsuits

I never thought I would see the day that a cave diver would think that a gate or grate was a good idea regardless of the number of divers who know better and disregard their training limitations and venture past daylight. People die mountaineering, skiing, white water rafting, skydiving and hiking into the Grand Canyon every year. Fortunatley, no one is bulldozing the mountains into the canyons or draining the rivers to PROTECT the ignorant........JUST YET. IMHO, it is not the cave that is dangerous beyond the gate, it is the diver that left the daylight zone that is.

[FW]

Welcome to the world of being a business owner. You can have all kinds of theoretical arguments...but when you own a business like Vortex, you do everything you can as a business owner to avoid injuries and litigation. Own a business for one day where you have to deal with the public, and the gate will make perfect sense...at least from the owners point of view.

The world we live in now gives us the choice...a cave with a gate that the public can use...or an unspoiled cave with no gate...that you can only imagine is there, because the owner has closed the site to protect divers, and to protect himself against lawsuits

A FAR better option for the owner(s) would be to require all OW instructors to sign a statement saying that they warned all their students about the dangers of overhead, and recommended that they take a cavern course before venturing into the cavern (much less the cave).

[sskasser]

I never thought I would see the day that a cave diver would think that a gate or grate was a good idea regardless of the number of divers who know better and disregard their training limitations and venture past daylight. People die mountaineering, skiing, white water rafting, skydiving and hiking into the Grand Canyon every year. Fortunatley, no one is bulldozing the mountains into the canyons or draining the rivers to PROTECT the ignorant........JUST YET. IMHO, it is not the cave that is dangerous beyond the gate, it is the diver that left the daylight zone that is.