Ice Diving Technique

[JDostal]

As a way to add more light, shovel lines away from the hole.

When you cut the triangle hole in the ice, get a snowshovel and start shovelling a long line away from the hole - one line to each side of the triangle.

We make them quite long. You will now have three lines radiating away from your hole. Now, shovel "arrow marks" in the line that point towards the whole. Usually one right by the hole, one near the end and one in the middle.

In addition to letting a little more light through the ice it has the added benefit of making a much larger target for ice divers to see...just in case.

I tried making an ASCII drawing of it but they don't post well here...

 

[Westwinds]

Thanks for the information that you have posted, many of the ideas and techniques described are similar to, or the same as, what we are currently doing. It’s satisfying to know that the techniques that have been outlined in course outlines are current and up to date. I have gained some new ideas and insight through discussions on the board.

I’m interested in the techniques used to cut the ice. Traditional I have used chainsaws and augers however over the years I have grown to dislike the gas and oil machines because of the environmental impact. I also dislike diving through oil slicks.

Are you aware of any materials or products that clean up the oil residue of the chainsaws and power augers?

Westwinds

 

[mddolson]

When the ice is snow covered, a good technique is to shovel the snow, with spokes on the surface, and a radial path , like the rim of a bicycle wheel around the entry hole.
The spokes all lead back to the hole and the rim marks the outer boundry of your dive area. A second rim can be added at half the outer radius to the hole.

The Spokes can have V's or arrow heads pointing back to the hole.

I addition to adding light, it creats a visual reference for the divers, positive and direction to the exit hole.

Regards

Mike D

 

[mddolson]

Historical I have stayed away from Poly line and favoured nylon. I say historically because techniques change.

The reason is the supeior strength of nylon, and the way it stays tied, unlike polypropylene.

Polypropylene floates however, which can be a very desireable under the ice.
Especially if there are entanglements on the bottom. So a knot (bow line) with the leads taped with duct tape secures it so it will not untie.

In situations where we recover snow mobiles from under the ice, we have used combinations. ( There seems to be one or two sleds that fall thru the ice every year, not to mention the odd pick up truck)

We prefer to use a nylon line on the divers and poly line on the tow rope for the snow-mobile.
This technique helps prevent accidental entanglement.

Mike D

 

[mddolson]

ATTACHED IS A DIAGRAM OF THE SHOVELING PATTERN


Mike D

 

[Seadiver5]

Hello. Just to qualify myself. I am a certified diver with the AAUS (american academy of underwater sciences) and I have extensive Arctic under ice diving experience.

We have found that Mountaneering Runners work the best. they are worn in a criss cross fashion (figure 8) around your arms with a simply stainless steel biner between your head and the tank. This allows the diver to be pulled up through the Ice Hole if he can't help himself out.

Since our safety cables are also our comm cables we do need to take into consideration sufficient slack after the fast for free movement of the divers head... If you prefer not having the line made fast behind your head you can also do it on your chest but at the possible expense of not being able to be pulled free of the Ice hole. In many areas that may not be as big of a concern as it is in the Arctic where the Ice is often 30 feet thick.

Kevin Parkhurst
IDEA Instructor 3402

 

[MikeFerrara]

Thanks Kevin,

We use a harness and back plate for all out diving so we don't need a special harness for ice diving.

We don't have any comms and, generally speaking, doun't want any lines around our valves. Our holes are about 10 ft across and the ice isn't any where near 30 ft thick so pulling some one through isn't an issue.

 

[mddolson]

In addition to wearing a harness to provide a secure and safe attachement, point for the tether, It also provides a permanent and secure way to pull an injured diver out of the hole, after the backplate/harnness have been stripped off.

I wear an upper body harness in addition to a backplate and harness when I ice dive or if I'm in a stiff current.

Mike D

 

[KVDIVR]

Like I said in my other post "the harness is the first thing on and the last thing off". I also like an upper body harness or the full one. I have seen instructors use a step in type rope climbing harness that is only on the waist & legs. In an emergency a tender trying to pull a diver back with this harness can be real hard if the diver loses his grip on the line and you are trying to drag them by the waist back to the hole. The pull should be at the back of the neck or at least high in the chest area to avoid unnecessary drag. The diver should always have control of the line in his hand for hand signals.

Dive Safe
Kvdivr

 

[KVDIVR]

Westwind
I was wondering if Instructors are including emergency manifold / valve shutdown for free flow failures