Certified at altitude in South Africa

[JeffG]

Good to have the voice of a local, experienced diver adding reason here.

Yes, the mountains of South Africa are amazing different then North America, ergo the deco procedures have to be adjusted accordingly. <snicker>

 

[DandyDon]

Yes, the mountains of South Africa are amazing different then North America, ergo the deco procedures have to be adjusted accordingly. <snicker>

Do you ever post anything of use on SB, or just follow people around and cause problems?

Tromp, hope you and your family have a great trip. Look forwarding to reading a report....

 

[SA-Diver]

Jeff is correct, if anybody gets bent on that drive back, after packing up, having breakfast etc, they would have been bent even if they stayed there.

Tromp, enjoy the trip.

Wade, we were still supposed to dive Bass in winter, never did. We were there on Sunday, 15 degrees above the 12m thermocline.

There is a new place opening in JHB (PhlyBlue I think).

Cheers

Kobus

 

[JeffG]

Do you ever post anything of use on SB, or just follow people around and cause problems?

Nope and yep.

Do you?

 

[GDI]

Perhaps Jeff would like to discuss the procedures that divers use when diving Lake Louise in Banff National Park before they drive back to Edmonton or Calgary? Mind you this is going down hill for most of the trip but after following a small rise in altitude first

Now as SA-Diver pointed out Jeff is not completely wrong but nor is he completely right. No one can say with 100% certainty that divers making the dive and driving back to altitude as mentioned in this thread could or could n't experience the affects of DCI nor could they be certain that they may have taken a DCI hit unknownly before the drive. There are just so many varibles when it comes to DCI.

If you are interested in a more conservative and safe approach then take some time before driving back it could not hurt to do so

 

[JeffG]

Perhaps Jeff would like to discuss the procedures that divers use when diving Lake Louise in Banff National Park before they drive back to Edmonton or Calgary? Mind you this is going down hill for most of the trip but after following a small rise in altitude first

In Jasper, you go up before you go down, or better yet, dive in Vancouver and drive to either Edmonton or Calgary (which would be very similar to what is happening to the original poster) Either way the procedure is to get in your car and drive. Sometimes, you stop for lunch.

No one can say with 100% certainty

So people let lawyers make the standards and you end up with nice round numbers that are absurdly "safe".

Go back to the post where I asked

What is the equiv depth of water?
How long does it take you to get there?
What is your final ascent rate?

and use what you know about deco to figure out if what you are doing is unsafe.

If you don't understand if its safe or not, sit there for X number of hours (but I will be back home watching TV)

Its not like we get out of the water and promptly get transported to high altitude.

 

[GDI]

In Jasper, you go up before you go down, or better yet, dive in Vancouver and drive to either Edmonton or Calgary (which would be very similar to what is happening to the original poster) Either way the procedure is to get in your car and drive. Sometimes, you stop for lunch.

Considering that you have more than a couple of hours drive from Vancouver in the valley to Chilliwack before the mountains begin and add that to the time it takes you to stow your equipment following the dive and that you would most likely stop and have something to eat. I would say one would have suffice time before going to altitude

and use what you know about deco to figure out if what you are doing is unsafe.

And you assume I didn't

As a recommendation exposures to high altitudes of 1500-8000 ft (580-2400 m) within a period of 1-24 hours for divers who do not have symptoms of DCI following a dive. The consensus recommendations should reduce the risk of DCI. Longer surface Intervals reduce the risk further. Following a Single NDL dive a time of 6-12 hours. Multiple dives, multiple days and deco dives a recommendation of at least 18 hours. Note that the exposure time at altitude can in itself lead to symptoms of DCI from such factors as dehydration caused by the activity of diving and the altitude itself.
DCI is not in itself caused solely by factors such as time at depth, depth, rate of ascent, fatique, obesity and dehydration. Recent studies suggest that DCI is a cumulative combination of several factors. NO preset dive planing table or software can prevent a diver from becoming stricken with DCI with a 100% guarantee

 

[boomx5]

Forget it.

 

[JeffG]

Forget it.

Yep

 

[H2Andy]

actually, i think everybody here is coming at the problem from different angles

DandyDon is coming from a recreational diver's perspective, and since those of us
who can't calculate our own ascent profiles have to rely on something, DAN's
guidelines are as good as it gets

JeffG is coming from an experienced, tech diver perspective. he knows how to
do his own ascent profile and doesn't have to wait around for what, with his
knowledge, is a waste of time (but Jeff, since i can't dupliacate your calculations
due to lack of knowledge, i won't take this trust-me dive uphill with you )

GDI is coming from the instructor's perspective, and is concerned that those
who don't know what they are doing may get hurt. he's basically saying
that while some people can calculate their own ascent profiles, this is not
something to be embarked upon lightly by those, like me, without sufficient
understanding of the issues involved. thus, since there's so much
uncertainty for those of us who don't "know it cold," it makes sense to wait

i'm a lawyer, so i'm certain by now i've pissed all three parties off... but
so what? i do it on a daily basis eyebrow

my legal bill, btw, should arrive shortly