Ascent To Altitude From Santa Rosa

[AlmightyApkallu]

Thank you much for that reply, John. It makes me slightly nervous for sure, as it is not just me but my SO who is my dive buddy so I want to be cautious as possible. I imagine we could eat lunch or something after the dives as well to give it that much more time. Would there be a big difference in whether or not we go to Albuquerque or back to Phoenix? It sounds like the main challenges are between Santa Rosa and Albuquerque.

Also, will how many dives, for how long and how deep have an effect? I was planning on maybe doing 3 total dives and was hoping to get to the bottom on all of them with proper surface interval of course. Also we will be diving air and not nitrox if that makes a difference. Thanks!

 

[boulderjohn]

Thank you much for that reply, John. It makes me slightly nervous for sure, as it is not just me but my SO who is my dive buddy so I want to be cautious as possible. I imagine we could eat lunch or something after the dives as well to give it that much more time. Would there be a big difference in whether or not we go to Albuquerque or back to Phoenix? It sounds like the main challenges are between Santa Rosa and Albuquerque.

Also, will how many dives, for how long and how deep have an effect? I was planning on maybe doing 3 total dives and was hoping to get to the bottom on all of them with proper surface interval of course. Also we will be diving air and not nitrox if that makes a difference. Thanks!

Good questions!

Yes, the number of dives you do makes a difference. They will put you farther and farther along on the tables. Diving air rather than notrox makes a difference, too, but there is not much you can do about that unless you bring all your tanks with you--the only place in town to get gas (Stella) does not do nitrox. I think getting something to eat after your dives makes a lot of sense. Lots of people do that. As I said earlier in this thread, a lot of people who are heading north meet in Las Vegas to get something to eat, do log books, etc., and that does not make sense, since by the time you reach Las Vegas you have already completed most of the elevation gain.

 

[KevinNM]

The shops that teach OW classes there and are based in Abq traditionally wait at least 2 hours after the last diver gets out of the water before starting back. Last time I tagged along this involved lunch at Joseph's, but there is also a lot of paperwork signoffs and discussion after people have their wet suits off. I have never heard of any DCS issues following that plan.

I have heard, from people teaching at Blue Hole for a very long time, that there have been some suspected cases of DCS from some tiny number of people who basically jumper out of the water, ripped their gear off and drove as fast as possible to Clines Corners. But it was years ago.

 

[AlmightyApkallu]

Just curious, being at altitude is it not a good idea to do more than 1 dive at max depth? I heard from some one that you only want to go to the bottom once and keep your other dives shallower, is this true? Thanks for any advice on this matter.

 

[g2]

Just curious, being at altitude is it not a good idea to do more than 1 dive at max depth? I heard from some one that you only want to go to the bottom once and keep your other dives shallower, is this true? Thanks for any advice on this matter.

Going deep(er) obviously adds to your nitrogen loading. If your goal is to minimize that loading before ascending to a higher elevation, it helps to limit the depth and/or length of your final dives. At the Blue Hole, keeping the last dive of the day shallow or short would be prudent if you'll soon be driving north.

Speaking for myself, I would simply plan my dives as if I was already at the maximum elevation on the return trip (8000ft) and not worry about it.

If you're not flying or ascending after diving, there's nothing wrong with doing deeper dives after shallow ones, regardless of the elevation. Just stay within your NDLs (altitude adjusted, if required) and have fun.

 

[boulderjohn]

Doing deeper dives after shallower dives is not a known problem in terms of danger. The "rule" against it has been much discussed, and no one knows for sure why it first came into being. When it was introduced (first known instance was in a 1972 PADI OW manual), it was only a suggestion, but with no reason stated. There is, however, an obvious reason for it--if you are diving tables, the required surface interval between dives is much longer if you do the shallower dive first. Back in 1972, they were using the Navy tables, which had HUGE surface intervals to begin with, so it made a lot of sense to do what you could to minimize them. If you have had enough surface interval to do the second dive, then you can do that dive, regardless of what came first. Just realize that with tables, if you do the shallower dive first, your required surface interval will be longer.

As a technical instructor, I pretty much have to do deeper dives after shallower dives, because the required dive sequences get progressively deeper. I don't worry about it, but I do think about the day's total and my expected trip home. Yesterday i was diving at Rock lake, and I did two dives for tec classes. The first dive was to 145 feet, and the second dive was to 160 feet. I made sure I had a long surface interval between the dives, and when it was over, I hung around for a while before driving away. While I drove, I breathed pure oxygen for more than the first 1.5 hours of the trip.

If I am doing more serious dives, I will further limit things. For example, I did some trimix certification dives there last fall, and if we went past 250 feet, I only did one dive a day.

 

[AlmightyApkallu]

Great info, John. I will definitely keep all that in mind. Perch lake sounds like a very interesting dive spot, I hope to dive it too some day.

I know this is slightly off topic, but I didn't want to create a new topic just to ask. I heard that every day from early morning until 11am is diver only time, no swimmers cliff divers allowed. Does anyone know if this is true? I dived it on a very busy Friday and the vis was very poor until we got the very bottom. I would like to avoid that next time around.

 

[J-Vo]

John,
Have you ever monitored the GF99 on your Shearwater for the drive home? If so, what did it read and what are your thoughts on using it to make sure you do not over do it after your dive?

 

[boulderjohn]

John,
Have you ever monitored the GF99 on your Shearwater for the drive home? If so, what did it read and what are your thoughts on using it to make sure you do not over do it after your dive?

I have not.

 

[shurite7]

My Luna started beeping then gave me a no fly of 49 hours after driving over a pass at 6300' eight hours after diving to 150' for 15 minutes, at an elevation of 4000'. I didn't have a Shearwater for that dive, so not sure what it would have done.