A very bad week in Florida

[JeffG]

Perhaps I will ... I've kind've moved away from GUE training due mainly to the fact that every time I take a course, I never get to see the instructor again. But with a cave class that'll probably be the case regardless of who I take it with ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I've just heard too many good things about Chris and Danny. There are a bunch of Cave 1 and Cave 2 divers in Alberta now.

I'm thinking of doing it in 2008.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Would have to be 2009 for me ... a month in Indonesia is gonna eat all of my vacation time for next year.

Question for the audience ... should a person consider taking up cave diving when they're almost 60? Recognizing that we're all individuals, at what point should age start to enter into your tech diving considerations?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Doubles]

YES

I'm pretty close and just took up the tech stuff 2 years ago. Its a bit of a struggle but it's a blast - of course i just completed cavern and am about to embark on intro/full cave later this summer.

Look at Hal Watts still diving deep in his 70's

I hope you are going to post some pics of your trips, the few number of your photos that I have seen so far have all been fantastic

Cheers

-s

 

[loosebits]

Would have to be 2009 for me ... a month in Indonesia is gonna eat all of my vacation time for next year.

Question for the audience ... should a person consider taking up cave diving when they're almost 60? Recognizing that we're all individuals, at what point should age start to enter into your tech diving considerations?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Not sure what kind of diving you're doing now but looking at your profile picture, it looks like you're already doing technical diving and if it's not in the caves then it must be off of boats. Most recreational caves you will find far less physically demanding; they are warmer then whatever you're doing now that requires drygloves, access is simple, just pull up the van/truck/whatever and jump in- no dealing with a pitching boat ladder, and you usually don't have to strugle against the current (either dive low flow caves or pull and glide). Cave diving will probably be the last form of technical diving you'll need to give up as you get older.

 

[TSandM]

The climbs out of the cenotes in doubles are a bit daunting, though!

 

[Meng_Tze]

.. Cave diving will probably be the last form of technical diving you'll need to give up as you get older.

Yeah, you can roll your wheel chair up to the spring run, have the nurse exchange the O2 bottle for some other regulator. Since you already will be wearing depends, you are good to go...

 

[loosebits]

 

[PfcAJ]

I think that one must carefully consider thier personal health when thinking about technical/cave diving. A recent fatality has been attributed to a heart attack. Could that person have been saved if they weren't serparated from the surface by a rock celing? We'll never know.

As a society, we have a tendancy to overestimate our health. "Its just a few pounds" is a common misconception. Those few pounds can exist side by side with a more serious condition that could lead to stroke or MI, which could be especially disasterous in a cave. In our persuit of enjoyment, we must not put or buddy in danger, as well.

Not trying to discourage you, just something to ponder.

 

[mania]

Question for the audience ... should a person consider taking up cave diving when they're almost 60? Recognizing that we're all individuals, at what point should age start to enter into your tech diving considerations?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

C'mon go for it....
GDI is - as we all already wrote - a great instructor. Even with almost 60 yo


Bob, caves are great.....
Mania

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think that one must carefully consider thier personal health when thinking about technical/cave diving. A recent fatality has been attributed to a heart attack. Could that person have been saved if they weren't serparated from the surface by a rock celing? We'll never know.

As a society, we have a tendancy to overestimate our health. "Its just a few pounds" is a common misconception. Those few pounds can exist side by side with a more serious condition that could lead to stroke or MI, which could be especially disasterous in a cave. In our persuit of enjoyment, we must not put or buddy in danger, as well.

Not trying to discourage you, just something to ponder.

You will find me more receptive to that conversation than I was a few months ago ... doing deco schedules gives one plenty of time to think about these things ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)