Exactly! Same when I did my ice diving class two years ago. That’s what makes me wonder if the divers in this incident were using cave line - aka the line off any standard spool or reel.
Ice diver's rope snapped - Cold Stream Pond, Maine
- Thread starter DandyDon
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Exactly! Same when I did my ice diving class two years ago. That’s what makes me wonder if the divers in this incident were using cave line - aka the line off any standard spool or reel.
Need more clarification on "Snapped". As most of the previous ice diving participants have mentioned, the lines we use are pretty strong. That is for tethered Ice Diving. There such a thing as untethered Ice Diving. It is usually done under the Artic and Antarctic ice shelf. It is done my trained divers who explore the areas under the ice shelf. How do they know how to come back to the hole? They are familiar with the area and by using natural and compas navigation, they can get back to the hole. There are many documentaries of divers doing this, again they are experienced and accept the risks to do it. Cave divers who run permanent lines on structures and land mark under water treat Ice diving as a Cave dive. Run a line from the surface to the first structure/ landmark and then follow the lines attached to other landmarks or structures underwater. We did this kind of Ice diving in Lake Wazee in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Over the years Tech divers ran lines to Structures (platforms for training, sunken boats, etc) . We were all Cave certified and took our scooters under the ice to play and gain time and experience with our scooters.
That was my thought, possibly a finger spool. When ice diving we generally use a throw rope or life safety rope. Other contingencies are usually at play as well, such as backup divers, lines in the snow that can be seen as directional markers from underneath, and a plan for the diver to stay against the surface if he gets off the rope so he is easier to find either by surface crews or the backup diver.
I use 5/8" twisted polypro. Climbing rope absorbs water and sinks. It becomes a huge entanglement issue.
Polypro floats, much better for underwater use.
Conveniently, I have it in 600' spools in the garage as it is also what we use for wreck mooring lines.
There are at least a couple of approaches to ice diving. The "traditional approach" uses a safety harness worn beneath the scuba rig, a line tender, line signals, a standby safety diver, etc. Some people ice dive using a "technical overhead diving approach" (think: wreck penetration diving or cave diving), using cave/wreck reels and wreck line. There are other approaches, too.
rx7diver
rx7diver
Absolutely agree! Still, some people ice dive using a wreck penetration or cave approach. I have observed this, personally, myself. (I was taught using the "traditional approach.")
ETA: A recent post on another thread shows divers diving under the ice using what appears to be a wreck reel with wreck line: Tell me about your experiences ICE DIVING, learned tips & tricks, and things gone wrong....
rx7diver
I became separated from my tether during an ice dive about a decade ago. The line did not fail, but I had clipped into a D-ring on my BCD which tore off with a strong pull from the surface. Entirely my fault for not recognizing that a sewn-in D-ring did not provide a sufficient anchor point and/or underestimating how much force might be applied. I was attempting to stand upside down and be pulled towards the hole by the surface team. They did their best to give me a great ride!, the D-ring ripped off, and I was left about 30 feet from the hole in nearly zero visibility. Fortunately, we had a safety diver ready and I did the right thing by following the established safety procedures to wait at the surface to be found. All ended well, but it could have been a fatality if I had attempted to find my way back to the hole. We reviewed our safety procedures and made some changes based on what was learned.
Ice diving and cave diving are two very different activities. The safety procedures established for one are not appropriate for the other. Ice diving safety techniques work if followed. My close call/second chance is one of the reasons I get frustrated when I see posts from friends who are not using the well-established safety protocols for their ice dives (such as in the above referenced video)- and trying to make the case that what they did was safe.
I'd like to hear additional details of what happened in this recent incident.
Gayle Orner
Wisconsin
Ice diving and cave diving are two very different activities. The safety procedures established for one are not appropriate for the other. Ice diving safety techniques work if followed. My close call/second chance is one of the reasons I get frustrated when I see posts from friends who are not using the well-established safety protocols for their ice dives (such as in the above referenced video)- and trying to make the case that what they did was safe.
I'd like to hear additional details of what happened in this recent incident.
Gayle Orner
Wisconsin
a properly taught ice dive course is mandatory lecture what gear is appropriate to do ice dives safely . i see bad courses taught all the time .....a instructor here in ontario was kicked out of padi a couple years ago for just that reason
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