Cave 1 course

[Lorenzoid]

Not trying to discourage you, but that's a lot to take in with no tech experience.

I'm not sure whether I'm taken aback or envious. I have been steadily working on the same goal over the course of two YEARS. I guess if the OP is already proficient in drysuit and doubles, it is possible.

Helium?!

 

[kensuf]

Two months ago the NSS-CDS Board of Directors and the NSS-CDS Training Committee released a digital copy of Sheck Exley's book, Cave Diving: A Blueprint for Survival, as a free digital download. This book has been a cornerstone for cave diving training since it's initial release in 1979 and the CDS felt that even though some of the material is dated, overall the book still serves a need.

You can download the entire book at https://nsscds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Blueprint-for-Survival.pdf

Page 34 describes a version of the touch contact exit and communication system.

BTW, I would strongly encourage taking intro to tech earlier and gaining some experience, comfort, and familiarity in doubles before moving on to Cavern / Cave 1.

 

[EireDiver606]

What agency are these courses from?

 

[In2theabyss]

You cannot use helium because it’s really good heat conductor, which is exactly what you do NOT want. You need something that will not conduct the heat away from you - air, or better yet, argon.

As for the touch contact exit, there are protocol on how to do that which you will practise during the course both on land and in the water.

I recommed watching this awesome video about cave course:

Great video, thanks for posting it! Hoping to pick up my cave diving in the future!

 

[rddvet]

What agency are these courses from?

It's not GUE, so I would suspect either NAUI or IANTD. I'm more interested to know who the instructor is. There's not a ton of instructors in cave country that will want to blow you out from no tech experience to cave 1. I've seen it, but it's not common.

But hell, I saw an instructor in cave country(whos name people know) teach their student drysuit, sidemount, and cave scooter all in the same 3-4 day course. Zero drysuit or sm experience prior. The student just bought a used drysuit and saw me on the stairs at Ginnie and asked about my p-valve and if I thought his was balanced or unbalanced. Dude apparently passed too, but that scares the crap out of me.

Either the student/instructor were awesome at putting multiple complex gear changes together comfortably in a short time or he got passed through and looks like a skittle.

 

[Schwob]

Akin to what @Lorenzoid may be alluding to in his post a bit further up:
Side question of the frugal kind (I know, an oxymoron in the context of diving):
There is nothing in the cave1 calls (Edit class & cert. that suggest Helium beeds to be used in the gas mix - or?

 

[kelemvor]

Akin to what @Lorenzoid may be alluding to in his post a bit further up:
Side question of the frugal kind (I know, an oxymoron in the context of diving):
There is nothing in the cave1 calls & cert. that suggest Helium beeds to be used in the gas mix - or?

I think you will find there are separate classes that cover mixed gas diving. The cave classes I experienced did not get into the subject. I think the confusion is simply because many certified cave divers are also doing deep/long mixed gas dives in those caves. NASE did it Cave1, Cave2, Tec45, then Cave3 and Cave4 if I recall correctly. Tec45 because by the time I got to cave3, I needed to be able to do accelerated deco with 100% o2. Obviously I could have done Tec45 prior to Cave1, but it wasn't "necessary" until Cave3. In any event, the stuff that wasn't directly related to cave diving specifically was a separate class. Open Water, Drysuit, etc.. there are plenty of examples of "other" classes you may need.

GUE is probably an exception here. They do things differently from everyone else, as I understand it.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Akin to what @Lorenzoid may be alluding to in his post a bit further up:
Side question of the frugal kind (I know, an oxymoron in the context of diving):
There is nothing in the cave1 calls & cert. that suggest Helium beeds to be used in the gas mix - or?

Re-reading the original post, I think maybe the "book" he referred to with regard to the helium question was not specifically cave-related at all but a more general "intro to tech" book, discussing the topic of drysuit inflation in the tech context. I guess it briefly mentioned that IF a helium mix is used, you wouldn't want to inflate your drysuit with it.

 

[Schwob]

Re-reading the original post, I think maybe the "book" he referred to with regard to the helium question was not specifically cave-related at all but a more general "intro to tech" book, discussing the topic of drysuit inflation in the tech context. I guess it briefly mentioned that IF a helium mix is used, you wouldn't want to inflate your drysuit with it.

That makes sense...

 

[EireDiver606]

GUE teaches it the right way.

You know even the halcyon glasses I would buy, just to get every help I can on one of these courses.