One should not be overly concerned about whether one is a "technical" diver or a "recreational" diver! Unless you are being paid to do what you do, you are, by the most basic of definitions, a "recreational" diver.
The term "technical" diver originally started out as a way to differentiate those of us who want to penetrate caves, the hulls of sunken ships, or soak ourselves in nitrogen and helium and hang on the end of a line until we are bored silly, from those of us who merely want to extend our snorkeling time to a nice shallow glide along the reef (or ledge, etc).
The term has grown in its usage, and been (as we all love to do) modified a lot over the years. Yet, within the gathering gloom, there does seem to be a consensus that "recreational technical" diving is the correct term when one is participating in diving in which one is prevented from returning "directly" to the surface by some sort of ceiling, be it rock, ice, metal, or the "glass" ceiling created by required decompression obligations.
So what do we call our northern brethren who, by choice and/or necessity, dive in near freezing water under a load of already frozen water? Well, some would call them desperate to find a place to dive. From my personal standpoint, since I believe that water freezes below about 69 degrees, I would call them genial nutcases who think they are related to polar bears, BUT they do have my respect!
From the standpoint of being an Instructor Trainer with a "technical" agency, I would have to vote for the side that advocates never doing it without the tether or guideline, AND a redundant air source (meaning not just the buddy near by, and more than the little Spare Air unit). As Mr. Natural always said: "Get the right tool for the job, kids!"
But, hey, have at it and have FUN!=-)
