Hi from Colorado

[Jwjeep]

New diver, looking for info and hopefully finding trips and opportunities to get wet. Thanks for the really good forum and info I've seen.

 

[CycleCat]

Welcome from New Mexico. Is there any diving in your part of Colorado? We have our Blue Hole down here in NM. I think there is some diving in Utah.

 

[boulderjohn]

You can learn about diving in the area by visiting the Rocky Mountain Region forum.

Rocky Mountain Region

Home of the Rocky Mountain Oysters. Divers with an Altitude! This includes Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

scubaboard.com

 

[Jwjeep]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[Tracerbullet]

Welcome aboard

 

[Jwjeep]

Welcome from New Mexico. Is there any diving in your part of Colorado? We have our Blue Hole down here in NM. I think there is some diving in Utah.

There are some reservoirs that people dive in Colorado, though mostly not near me. There are two spots in Utah that I know of. Both springs, one is inside a bell came, very popular for training dives and such but the water is really warm in the summer. The other is where I did my certification dives, called seabase Bonneville. It's a salt water spring with tropical fish and such, pretty fun, though visibility was horrible when we went.

 

[Jwjeep]

There are some reservoirs that people dive in Colorado, though mostly not near me. There are two spots in Utah that I know of. Both springs, one is inside a bell came, very popular for training dives and such but the water is really warm in the summer. The other is where I did my certification dives, called seabase Bonneville. It's a salt water spring with tropical fish and such, pretty fun, though visibility was horrible when we went

Welcome from New Mexico. Is there any diving in your part of Colorado? We have our Blue Hole down here in NM. I think there is some diving in Utah.

Also, how is blue hole? My daughter and I were talking about heading down there, though I'm not clear if it's even open, especially with the fires to the north. If you have any info on that l'd love to know so we can plan our visit.

 

[boulderjohn]

Jwjeep asked:

Also, how is blue hole? My daughter and I were talking about heading down there, though I'm not clear if it's even open, especially with the fires to the north. If you have any info on that l'd love to know so we can plan our visit.

The Blue Hole was still open when I was there two weeks ago. It was not the fires near Santa Fe that were a problem--the Santa Rosa area had its own brush fires. I estimate one got to about 100 yards from the motel where we stayed.

The Blue Hole is a much better dive than the Colorado Reservoirs and the Utah sites. It has great visibility and consistent conditions, with temperatures about 61° year round. It is not a big site, only about 60 feet across at the top and 85 feet deep if you stick your computer down by the cave mouth at the bottom. That's still bigger than the crater in Utah.

Just outside of the Santa Rosa is Rock Lake, which is considerably bigger. It is 400-500 feet across and 280 feet deep. (Some say deeper, but that is the deepest any of us has found.) It is on private property, and you have to be part of an organized group led by an approved group leader. Access is very limited--we can only go once a month on a prearranged date. Threats of it being shut down for good are a constant drumbeat. It is not hard to get into one of the approved groups, but you do have to have at least AOW. Pretty much everyone in our group is a technical diver or a technical diving student, but we don't require that. There are groups that focus more on recreational diving.

 

[Jwjeep]

Jwjeep asked:

The Blue Hole was still open when I was there two weeks ago. It was not the fires near Santa Fe that were a problem--the Santa Rosa area had its own brush fires. I estimate one got to about 100 yards from the motel where we stayed.

The Blue Hole is a much better dive than the Colorado Reservoirs and the Utah sites. It has great visibility and consistent conditions, with temperatures about 61° year round. It is not a big site, only about 60 feet across at the top and 85 feet deep if you stick your computer down by the cave mouth at the bottom. That's still bigger than the crater in Utah.

Thanks. Appreciate the info. I've seen that there's someone that rents tanks at/near the blue hole, at least in the weekends. Is that a dive shop, or just tank rental? Do they rent wetsuits and weight and such as well? We have regs, bcds, etc, but not our own weights or wet suits thick enough for comfort in those temperatures.

 

[CycleCat]

Stella's is mostly tank filling/rental but I know she has a few suits. Probably weights too.