How High????

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Triton

Contributor
Messages
81
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0
Location
Rancho Cordova
# of dives
100 - 199
Hello everyone,

I had a question regarding high altitude diving. This summer, I’m planning on spending a long weekend diving at Lake Tahoe (and gambling at some near by casinos :crest: ).

This would be my first high altitude dives so I’m looking for any information you can give me. Like, special considerations, safety tips, pre-dive rituals or anything that might come to mind.

This will eventually lead to my second question which will be posted in the travel section.

Thanks…
 
I have not taken the course - but I knpow PADI offers a specialty course in high altitude diving - might be the place to find answers to all of your questions. I would guess the other certifying agencies have similar courses...
 
Dive planning using the Recreational Dive Planner requires special planning considerations at altitudes above 1000ft. Taking the Altitude Diver Specialty course is highly recommended, as it can cover far more information than these few tips.

When traveling to altitude, the air pressure is lower and your body starts to off-gas some of the nitrogen in your system. If you dive immediately upon arrival at altitude, you are effectively entering the water with some residual nitrogen in your system, and you need to account for that in your dive planning (shorter NDLs).

Also, the lower atmospheric pressure means you will offgas faster upon surfacing. Slower ascents, and use of something called "apparent depths" can help compensate.

Driving to a lower altitude (higher atmospheric pressure) immediately after diving should not present problems.
 
if you are going to dive at high altitudes i recon there is a probability that there is mountains and so on on the same spot.
dont drive to a higher altitude even just for a moment, treat the higher altitude as "flying"
if your computer tells you not to fly dont get higher up in the mountains !

have happy dives :wink:
 
Hello Triton,

I do not know your level of certification or dive experience, however almost everyone will tell you that anything above 1000ft is condidered high altitude diving and should be taken seriously, I would highly suggest taking an altitude course and now would be the time to do it. And as Hobbs mentioned there is more to it than just diving at altitude, such as driving to higher elevations after you dive and so forth.

I hear Tahoe is a great place to dive and I hope you enjoy it while you are there. Also there are probably dive shops and instructors around there locally that might be able to help you better prepare also, Have Fun!!!:mean:
 
I have dove Lake Tahoe alot, infact i am planning another trip for this summer.

The LSD has altitude tables if you need some.

The Lake is at 6200' above sea lvl

Its cold, very cold. I use a dry suit so it doesnt bother me as much. it was around 55 on the surface and in the 40s around 50'.

I usually dive the wall at Rubicon Wall, fun dive, but for advanced dives only.

Stay at lake level after your dive, dont be driving over the pass the altitude is about 2500 feet highier than the lake.

If your using tables make sure you account for the cold water.

Do a safety stop, dont mess around with the altitude and cold, play it safe.

watch your gauges, you can get jimmy hoffa deep there in no time at all.

Stay hydrated eat a healthy meal, NO ALCHOLOL!!!!! your just gonna have to play Black jack and drink a OJ or coke.

Hook up with the LDS, they will help you out. You may want to ask the dive shop where to dive and get as much info as you can from them.


I love it up there, i will be back this summer for some great wall dives.

TMD
 
If you're doing computer diving, find out if your computer automatically adjusts for altitude (many do). That would make things simple. Otherwise you'll have to use an RDP compensated for altitude, as Drew mentioned.

g2
 
Let me just start by saying thanks to all for your replies.

Looks like the smart thing to do is to take the high altitude class. Why take chances when you don't have to, so I'll contact the LDS and see what I can set up.

TMD,

I found two dive centers around the area, one is SunSports and the other was Sierra Dive Center. Which one would you suggest to go with. Or is there another one that I missed.
 
There is a shop in South Lake Tahoe, only one shop there if i recall. The other shops are not as close, but both those shops are good. They have been super nice to me and my buddy every year we go. its more of a tight scuba family up there, not too many divers there. needless to say they go out of there way to help you out.

One more thing, last time i went up they couldnt fill my DIN equiped tanks, so make 100% sure you take a Yoke adapter or call them bfore you head up to Tahoe. And yes i had a yoke adater with me. i drive 9 hrs to get there so i take an extensive dive box and tools with me.

if i get a scanner i will post my Rubicon wall dive pic.

TMD

just an addition to G2, alot of computers will adjust for altitude yes, but not all will adjust to 6200 hundred feet, so read your manual and be sure.
 
The basic problem with high altitude diving is that 1 ATM is no longer 14.7 psi, while 34 FFW is. Therefore, all those bubble growth models you learned have to be corrected for the reduced value of 1 ATM.
In a nutshell, you have to treat dives as though they are deeper than their actual depth - as an example, a 70 foot dive might have to be treated as a 100 foot dive and so forth. And your rate of ascent slowed to 20 FPM.
Take the course before you do it.
Rick
 

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