Crater, Heber, UT Update

[Desert_Diver]

Just for giggles and grins, I thought I would post this update on the status of diving the Crater at Homestead Resort in Heber, Utah.

I was diving there on Sunday, Feb 15. As soon as I got in the water, I noticed the viz was worse than usual. As I was looking around with the trusty dive light, I noticed something funny about the bottom. I descended and sure enough, there was new wreckage on the bottom. It took me a moment of prowling around to figure out what I was looking at.

One of the "hot tub" platforms that hang off the "tee" of the dock had torn loose and sunk to the bottom. It looks like the screws just pulled out of the wood on the dock.

After I had exhasuted my air, I was talking to the lady at the compressor desk. She said the platform had ripped out on Saturday, Feb 14. It was apparently overloaded with "hot tubbers". Nobody was injured but it must have been quite a surprise.

The lady didn't know what the long term plan was.

CAUTION: Especially if you are a new diver, the Crater is an altitude dive. If you don't know what that means, don't go down to see the platform until you know how to plan an alitutude dive. Especially if you are going back to the Salt Lake valley via Parley's Summit, loitering on the bottom of the Crater can make you subject to the bends. If you do go down, plan on dumping nitrogen after the dive before you go home on I-80. (Going down Provo Canyon is OK. It's all down hill from Heber.)

Have fun. Dive safe.

Art

 

[RonFrank]

Always interesting to read about the Crater. At $30 or whatever a dive, it's not someplace I am dying to go, but I'm sure I'll dive there one day!

 

[Desert_Diver]

Always interesting to read about the Crater. At $30 or whatever a dive, it's not someplace I am dying to go, but I'm sure I'll dive there one day!

Weekdays, it's about $20 a pop. But unless you're doing a cert dive or checking out a new piece of gear, it's no great shakes. One of the girls in our dive group had a new BC. That's why we were there. (Other than it's winter and really cold outside. ).

Art

 

[rollerboi]

Oh, no! Heh. Valentines day.. hmm, hope nobody was bouncing on the platform.

When entering the area, facing towards the water, which side lost the hot tub benches?

It's fortunate that there were no divers beneath, that could have gotten really ugly.

 

[Desert_Diver]

Oh, no! Heh. Valentines day.. hmm, hope nobody was bouncing on the platform.

When entering the area, facing towards the water, which side lost the hot tub benches?

It's fortunate that there were no divers beneath, that could have gotten really ugly.

Walking down the "stem" of the T towards the water, the hot tub platform on the right was the one that tore loose. As I understood it, the platform was overloaded with hot tubbers but there were no divers in the water. (I can imagine something big like that zooming by me). My guess is (and it's only a guess) that the platform probably failed over a period of time so the hottubbers probably had some warning before it finally released comompletely.

I am headed up to the Crater again today to finish my Intro to Tec cert dives so I will try and post an update.

 

[longk14]

Interesting place for Intro to Tec dives.

 

[Desert_Diver]

The viz on today's visit was truely horrible. Ten feet max. The platform is still on the bottom and everybody and their idiot brother (especially the idiot brother with no bouyancy control) has been down to look at it.

I have no plans to go back any time soon so someone else will have to update us.

 

[Scott]

Ten feet max.

I have an AOW this weekend so I should bring the big lights?

The platform is still on the bottom

Maybe I'll change one of the dives to a S&R and bring it up for them. :blinking: Of course there will be little searching.

Art, who did your Intro class?

 

[boulderjohn]

Interesting place for Intro to Tec dives.

My thought exactly. I am trying to envision this. Can you help? I am going to describe some of what I see happening in an intro to tech class, and perhaps you can tell me how it is done differently there. I am really interested because I am supposed to go there soon and might welcome the opportunity to do some practice.

In our tech classes, we wear dry suits with pockets. The dry suits are crammed with things like SMB's and spools. These are removed and deployed as part of the class.

We wear heavy steel doubles, which weigh so much that there is often no need for additional ditchable weight, even when diving dry. The dry suit is a critical means of redundant buoyancy in case of a wing failure.

I am obviously trying to envision diving heavy steel doubles with no redundant buoyancy and without a clear means of carrying bags and all.

 

[Desert_Diver]

I have an AOW this weekend so I should bring the big lights?


Maybe I'll change one of the dives to a S&R and bring it up for them. :blinking: Of course there will be little searching.

Art, who did your Intro class?

Josh Thornton (Dive Addicts) did my Intro class and he is also teaching the Advanced Nitrox and Decompression class.

I don't know if you need big lights, but each diver may want to bring his individual underwater light.

We were shooting lift bags on Saturday. We offered to disassemble the platform into smaller pieces and raise them. (We had about 200 lbs of bouyancy available). The Crater folk said no.

The floor of the Crater really isn't that big. Not much Search involved. And it's been down long enough that it isn't Rescue, it's Recovery.