Driving to altitude after 3 days of diving

[MiltonC]

DAN member? Ask them:
Medical Information Line

Get answers to your non-emergency related, health and diving questions.

Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. ET

+1 (919) 684-2948, Option 4

ONLINE: Ask A Medic

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Years ago our U.S. Air Force Pararescue teams had a 12 hour delay between scuba diving and flying. The reason had to do with what could happen if the plane depressurized during flight.

SeaRat

 

[broncobowsher]

Years ago our U.S. Air Force Pararescue teams had a 12 hour delay between scuba diving and flying. The reason had to do with what could happen if the plane depressurized during flight.

SeaRat

The proposed altitude is way lower then what a pressurized cabin is pressurized to in normal flight. A de-pressurizing aircraft at altitude would be 10x the altitude that is proposed.

 

[SKS22]

Hi All!

I'm planning three days of diving in Sharm El-Sheikh in the Red Sea soon.

The dives will be to no more than 30 meters (100 ft) and I assume about 45-55 minutes long.
We will be using Nitrox 32.

I thought I'd head to Dahab, by bus or taxi, straight after coming back to port from the third dive, which should end by 4 PM.

But it turns out that the drive from Sharm to Dahab involves going up a mountain range that's 650 meters (2130 ft) before descending again.
The dive club said I should wait 4 hours before taking a bus or taxi.

This really surprised me, as I didn't think such an altitude would be a problem.
I also didn't realize it was that high

I did some searching in the forum, but would still like your input about how many hours to wait between finishing the dive and driving over that range.
4? 10? 24?
Any input would be welcome!

Cheers.

My wife was a NOAA scientific diver. They use the US Navy diving tables, which have an altitude recommendation based on ending pressure group. I took these photographs out of her old textbook. You would have to log the dives the old school way.

 

[Superlyte27]

Keep it under 4000’ and your good to go. I regularly dove long deco dives and fly home an hour later. It’s my plane and I don’t have to worry about a pilot going too high.

 

[boulderjohn]

In post #5 you were advised to read a thread about an ascent to altitude in another location. I am the author of that, and I have done a lot of reading on the subject.

• Some authorities will tell you that you it is safe to ascend 2,000 feet immediately after a dive. You will barely be ascending beyond that altitude.
• The US Navy ascent to altitude tables tell you how soon you can ascend depending upon your pressure group following diving. There is no way to predict that pressure group ahead of time, but an average NDL dive schedule would put you in the range of not having to wait at all before an ascent to 2,000 feet.
• According to those tables, you should be safe after a rigorous dive schedule after 4 hours.
• The reality is you will likely be safe by the time you have packed up your gear, etc. after the last dive.

 

[ChrisDee]

Thank you.
I will ask a couple of guides in the area and make my decision.

Do you have a dive computor that takes into account your workload and possibly a faster than anticipated ascent? That you can refeeeere to as you travel on land? No one here can predict the future so to speak about the 3 days of dive conditions, your individual body type, fitness level, predisposesson of MB formation, prior dive history,... What is going to be your long term ppo2? Are you diving every day prior to this trip?

This is from a popular dive computer manual:
" If you have to drive over a mountain pass to return home after a dive, this information can be quite
important."

We do not have that information untill you actually do the diving in question. But for planning purposes, I would reccomend you follow the cumulative desat info your personal dive computer will provide. In lieu of that the tables all indicate a longer time than 4 hours. Of concern is your square profile and proximity to your 32% mod,...you like taking risks? If your looking for someone to say it's ok to exceed the 32% MOD or dive for three days close to it, I'm NOT your guy. Because that area can easily exceed the bottom depths you have indicated for the times you have indicated. Where are you with 1.2 to 1.6? What if you get a tank of 36%? You have already exceeded bottom time? It appears that you plan a swift 0 minute RBT profile? This is my concern.

From a popular University:
"Divers driving to altitudes greater than xxxx feet above sea level must
consider the effects of the elevation and plan a surface interval sufficient
enough to avoid decompression injury."



And then you make a statement that you'l leave the decision up to the locals, this is clearly your decision, but IMO I would be more conservative in your planning.