Dive today Mt. Storm

[Lone Wolf]

A friend and I went up to storm today, to work on skills & drills. When got to the stained glass for breakfast, it was '0', a little cold! We had breakfast, sort of lingering in the warmth. But we had come to dive, so off we went. When we arrived at the lake, it had warmed up to '3'. There was about 3" of snow, but thankfully only a light breeze. We geared up quickly and got into the water. the water was '53' at the surface, I tried my BC inflator, and found that it was frozen. But after sitting underwater for a few moments it started working. We did an hour and ten minute dive. Hit all the platforms. it was '43' at 90'. When we got out it had warmed up to '13'. Our gear froze before we could get to the truck. Removing a frozen dry suit is interesting. All in all a good dive. :mooner: I have a few pictures on my blog.

 

[poe26bcfd]

You are one HARD CORE Diver. You know it's bad when it's warmer in the water then on land.

 

[Fly Girl]

I just bought my dry suit last week and was wondering just how cold it is going to be when I dive next month. Thanks for the reality check. I must remember to bring a big thermos of hot chocolate for the SI!

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

Glad you had a good dive. That's the trouble with Storm - may be great under the water but the surface is frequently unbearable.

 

[Lone Wolf]

I just bought my dry suit last week and was wondering just how cold it is going to be when I dive next month. Thanks for the reality check. I must remember to bring a big thermos of hot chocolate for the SI!

In these temps., we usually just do one long dive. If you get out of the water for a SI. everything freezes up within minutes, and you can't unclip clips or use your power inflator. In fact this last weekend our gear froze so quickly when we got out, that we were unable to get it apart. We just loaded it into the truck and thawed it out at home. As others have posted, conditions on the surface can be brutal, be prepared with lots of warm dry clothes and a warm reliable vehicle. You could easily die in the conditions we saw last sunday if your vehicle did not start and you did not have enough warm dry clothing! That said conditions in the water are good 50 degrees at the surface, so it is easy to do one long dive, and remain warm.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Good for you Joe. I wish I could have made it. The conditions at Storm can be a nightmare. I'm actually looking forward to my Ice Class next weekend in Indiana. By the way guys/gals I may have a spot open in my vehicle. THere were supposed to be 4 of us going but found out tonite at least one backed out. There may be more. I'm going regardless so if anyone is interested the course is 120 bucks, share gas and room with me. I've been told that the quarry we are using normally has 20-40 foot vis if no one is screwing it up. Under the ice though it has gotten as good as 100 feet plus! This is from the mouth of the instructor Tom Leaird. Water temps stay at 38 degrees under the ice. I've done that in Lake Erie. If anyone is interested shoot me a PM or email thru my website.