Denver on business; dive on 9-Oct-05?

[rab]

I'm going to be headed to Denver (Englewood) on Saturday for business on Monday and Tuesday. They mentioned golf, I said "No, Scuba", they said, "Oh, there's Blue Hole and a few other place".

OK, I need to figure out if I bring gear or not. I only have Sunday, 9-Oct-05, to do a dive (or two). I'd need to rent tanks & weights and find a buddy. (That last part is rather important if only for my non-diving wife's peace-of-mind.)

I'm AOW and Nitrox, but no Altitude training. I understand the physics and started doing the reseach to educate myself on the issues. I'm arriving Satuday evening (flight departs about 2pm MDT from CVG) so I'll have plenty of time before any 1st dive on Sunday. Also, I'm not leaving until Tuesday afternoon so no-fly time won't be an issue.

Aurora Reservior seems like a possible site. Of course, if there's nothing to see, I can get that locally However, I'm used to relatively low-viz quarries so that's not a show-stopper. (There's a difference between "nothing to see" and "can't see nuthin'")

Recommendations for (or against) a local dive shop that's either open late on Saturday or has Sunday hours will be needed, too (assuming that there's no tank/weight rental at the dive site).

-Rob

 

[Capnsnott]

Hummmmm,
Aurora will probably have good vis around now. Kinda cruddy dive for seeing anything. The plane is back where it is supposed to be now, so it should be easy to find. Vis is 0 to 25', depends on the wind and weather and if students have nuked it.
There is no rentals at any dive locations out here.
Also, the Blue Hole is actually in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, so that's out for you.

I know Odyssey Diving (NW Corner of 120th & Colorado BLVD in Thornton) is open Sundays 11:00 to 4pm. 303-457-4037. They close at 5:00 on Saturdays.
I don't know about any other places.

The diving community is in somewhat of a slump around here right now. I'm doing a hi altitude (11000') doubles dive in a couple weeks, but nothing this weekend.
I'm playing paintball till 5:00, so I'm out of the picture. I'm supplying gear to some people, so I can't back out (I do retail sales). Now, if you want to play too, I can set you up and you can play for free........ PM me if you want to play.
Greg

 

[rab]

Sorry to hear about the "slump". I was surprised at how many pins Google put into the map of "scuba near Denver, CO" -- about as many as Cincinnati gets.

Well, I think that the closest I'll get to diving on this short little trip is a stroll through a dive shop or two. I'll be in Florida for a few dives in two weeks anyway, so I won't be dry too much longer.

So, do the local shops thrive on more rentals if the dive sites don't rent? Or does everyone just have his/her own gear?

11,000ft... Turquoise Lake? Anyway, is it common to offset altitude with Nitrox. If dive sites had fills, I'd think banking the mix would be easy, but I suppose everyone must start with altitude corrections in OW up there.

-Rob