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Jon Guizar <jeg154@ps*.ed*> writes: > Why would someone freeze their ass off to go 100 feet under the ice? = > If there is a mission to be accomplished, then do it. Take the = > necessary cave training, assume some responsibility for yourself and = > "the team" and do it. The cave line isn't going to BREAK. =20 Cave diving isn't ice diving; given a choice between a cave course and an ice course prior to going ice diving, which is going to directly address the issues involved? A big part of the ice course, for example, is diving under extreme cold conditions, and that's something not mentioned at all in Florida on the cave course. Ice, cave, and wreck may all be overhead environments, and there's a big chunk of knowledge they share, but there are fundamental differences too. BTW, "going 100 feet under the ice" doesn't apply at all in the same sense as going X distance in a cave. If there's a specific objective under the ice (eg. a wreck or other point of interest) and you don't drop straight down on it then you cut the hole in the wrong place! You do all your navigation pre-dive. The length of line basically just determines your exploration radius from the hole. > If you need to alter the order of entry based on the preference for = > visibility you should try cutting a hole in the ice where the water = > below is more than two feet deep. That way the vis wouldn't go to shit = > from people getting in and out. This brings to mind a dive years and years ago; some folks from a local dive shop cut a hole failing to realize that the lake had dropped a foot or two from its summer water level, and that they were still too close to shore. After spending a lot of time cutting throught two feet of ice (and that's a LOT of work!), they found only three feet of water under the ice. They weren't about to cut another hole. You could climb in the hole and stand on the bottom. Sand bottom, so viz wasn't terrible after entry, but was still a lot better further out. > What's the big deal with finding the exit if a 10 foot walleye chews = > your cave line. Just go back to the point of entry the same way you = > would if it were open water. =20 In open water you go to the point of entry by going straight up. The tricky thing about an ice hole is you CAN'T see it very clearly from underneath. The lower layers of ice are transparent, at a very similar density to water. From the bottom looking straight up is easier, but from any lateral distance is bad. You'd be completely lost 50 to 100 feet from the hole, while twice that distance into a cave you'd generally still be able to see some glow of daylight and find your way out. Under the ice, daylight shines through everywhere and doesn't give you that pointer to the exit. -- Anthony DeBoer <adb@on*.ca*> -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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