drkwing
Registered
hey whats up? I'm in eugene, i've been up to Puget Sound, A little diving in Florence, and my new favorite place is Clear Lake at the mouth of the McKenzi river. About 150ft vis, but really cold, about 38F when I went.
Oregon divers
- Thread starter coastkid
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Sorry I haven't gotten back to you guys until now. I have been really busy the last few days.
The wall at Crater is not as interesting for the life there as it is for the way it is formed. There are some critters, a few fish and such, but not all that much. What most people see is the steep sides and the dirt and trees along the hole filled with water. What you see under the water is amazing. The thing is like a huge cannon barrell. Picture straight down rock sides like a cliff that form the barrell of a huge volcanic cannon. There are a few rocks that have tumbled into the water in places, but for the most part it is straight down. It kind of gives you a better picture of what the thing was like when it erupted, not a slow flow type of thing but rather a violent huge gunshot blast.
As far as the permits and such, I really don't know. I will ask Walt this weekend as we have several other dives planned. I will try to get back to you early in the week.
Later, Hawk.
The wall at Crater is not as interesting for the life there as it is for the way it is formed. There are some critters, a few fish and such, but not all that much. What most people see is the steep sides and the dirt and trees along the hole filled with water. What you see under the water is amazing. The thing is like a huge cannon barrell. Picture straight down rock sides like a cliff that form the barrell of a huge volcanic cannon. There are a few rocks that have tumbled into the water in places, but for the most part it is straight down. It kind of gives you a better picture of what the thing was like when it erupted, not a slow flow type of thing but rather a violent huge gunshot blast.
As far as the permits and such, I really don't know. I will ask Walt this weekend as we have several other dives planned. I will try to get back to you early in the week.
Later, Hawk.
Thanks, Hawk.
Bryan
Bryan
otter-cat
Guest
The National Park Service at Crater Lake is no longer requiring permits to dive Crater Lake. It is an absolutely astounding place to visit, and an incredible dive! But it isn't an easy place to dive. If you plan to dive at Crater Lake, make sure to consider the following in making your plans:
1. Altitude considerations
Even though you no longer have to show altitude certification or get a permit, YOU SHOULD STILL GET TRAINED IN ALTITUDE DIVING before diving there. Otherwise you run a serious risk of getting bent due to the altitude -- which would be all the worse because Crater Lake is in a VERY remote area, AND because to evacuate a diver to a recompression chamber in an emergency requires a helicopter flight that will bring the victim to an even higher altitude before it can descend. I will not go into an extensive discussion on altitude diving here, but know that without the proper training, altitude diving can be very dangerous.
2. The Trail
The only way to get to the lake is by the Cleetwood Cove Trail, which is a steep 1 mile trail. You go DOWN the trail to the lake, so it's the mile-long trek back up AFTER the dive that is the most challenging. There is no way to have your gear transported for you (unless you can convince some other PERSON to carry it for you...I've wondered if there shouldn't be caddies for scuba like there are for golf.
) You can't even pull it in a wheeled cart. The only people who get to have their gear tractored up & down are people doing diving work either for the Park Service or for the concession company that operates the tour boats. Also remember that unless you live at altitude, the air at Crater Lake will seem very "thin" to you -- which makes hiking your gear up and down the trail take even more exertion.
3. Timing
You will need long surface intervals at the rim, before you go down the trail, before you dive, between dives, and before attempting to haul you're gear back up the trail. Diving there will be an all day event, even if you just do one or two dives. (Which is really all you should be doing at altitude, anyway.)
4. Season
You can only dive there in the summer, when the snow has melted enough for the Park Service to get the Cleetwood trail open. This usually happens around mid-June. As for when the trail closes (or the road to it, which amounts to the same thing), it just depends on the weather. It's a pretty safe bet that the trail will be open through late September, but after that, it all depends on snowfall.
5. Entry points
There are basically two places from which the public may dive at Crater Lake. The first, and by far the most common, is at the bottom of the Cleetwood trail, entering from the docks or the nearby rocks. This is the "wall" that people have referred to. The other place from which to dive is the visitors dock at Wizard Island. Divers using this option are extremely rare, b/c the only way to get to the island is by taking the concession-run tour boat, which I think costs $20 or so AND on top of that, you actually have to pay for TWO tickets, because your gear will take up the room of another passenger. So, to dive Wizard Island, you're paying at least $40 per person. Tickets for the boat tours, which usually run from July to mid-September, get sold out very quickly, so be sure to get there very early if you have your heart set on getting to the island. It's also important to get on an early tour boat, because they don't let people off on Wizard Island later in the day.
6. Miscellaneous
-The water is VERY cold, even in summer. You absolutely need a dry-suit or a two-piece thick (6-7mm) wetsuit. Do not be fooled by warm surface temperatures. Once you descend more than 15 feet, the water will be around 36 deg F.
-There is no place to get air fills or rent gear in or anywhere near the park. The closest dive shops are in Medford, OR, and Klamath Falls, OR, each over 60 mi away from the lake.
-During most of the summer, the Park Service charges a fee of about $10 per vehicle for entrance to the park. This goes to maintaining the park, and is entirely separate from the charge for tickets sold by the tour boat company.
In conclusion.... :luxhello:
I know this is a long post, but I thought it was worth doing because Crater Lake is an amazing, wonderful place to dive, but it's not for everyone. If you can put up with hauling your gear up and down the trail, then you can dive in the deepest, clearest lake in the United States, and have the experience of a lifetime!
1. Altitude considerations
Even though you no longer have to show altitude certification or get a permit, YOU SHOULD STILL GET TRAINED IN ALTITUDE DIVING before diving there. Otherwise you run a serious risk of getting bent due to the altitude -- which would be all the worse because Crater Lake is in a VERY remote area, AND because to evacuate a diver to a recompression chamber in an emergency requires a helicopter flight that will bring the victim to an even higher altitude before it can descend. I will not go into an extensive discussion on altitude diving here, but know that without the proper training, altitude diving can be very dangerous.
2. The Trail
The only way to get to the lake is by the Cleetwood Cove Trail, which is a steep 1 mile trail. You go DOWN the trail to the lake, so it's the mile-long trek back up AFTER the dive that is the most challenging. There is no way to have your gear transported for you (unless you can convince some other PERSON to carry it for you...I've wondered if there shouldn't be caddies for scuba like there are for golf.
) You can't even pull it in a wheeled cart. The only people who get to have their gear tractored up & down are people doing diving work either for the Park Service or for the concession company that operates the tour boats. Also remember that unless you live at altitude, the air at Crater Lake will seem very "thin" to you -- which makes hiking your gear up and down the trail take even more exertion.3. Timing
You will need long surface intervals at the rim, before you go down the trail, before you dive, between dives, and before attempting to haul you're gear back up the trail. Diving there will be an all day event, even if you just do one or two dives. (Which is really all you should be doing at altitude, anyway.)
4. Season
You can only dive there in the summer, when the snow has melted enough for the Park Service to get the Cleetwood trail open. This usually happens around mid-June. As for when the trail closes (or the road to it, which amounts to the same thing), it just depends on the weather. It's a pretty safe bet that the trail will be open through late September, but after that, it all depends on snowfall.
5. Entry points
There are basically two places from which the public may dive at Crater Lake. The first, and by far the most common, is at the bottom of the Cleetwood trail, entering from the docks or the nearby rocks. This is the "wall" that people have referred to. The other place from which to dive is the visitors dock at Wizard Island. Divers using this option are extremely rare, b/c the only way to get to the island is by taking the concession-run tour boat, which I think costs $20 or so AND on top of that, you actually have to pay for TWO tickets, because your gear will take up the room of another passenger. So, to dive Wizard Island, you're paying at least $40 per person. Tickets for the boat tours, which usually run from July to mid-September, get sold out very quickly, so be sure to get there very early if you have your heart set on getting to the island. It's also important to get on an early tour boat, because they don't let people off on Wizard Island later in the day.
6. Miscellaneous
-The water is VERY cold, even in summer. You absolutely need a dry-suit or a two-piece thick (6-7mm) wetsuit. Do not be fooled by warm surface temperatures. Once you descend more than 15 feet, the water will be around 36 deg F.
-There is no place to get air fills or rent gear in or anywhere near the park. The closest dive shops are in Medford, OR, and Klamath Falls, OR, each over 60 mi away from the lake.
-During most of the summer, the Park Service charges a fee of about $10 per vehicle for entrance to the park. This goes to maintaining the park, and is entirely separate from the charge for tickets sold by the tour boat company.
In conclusion.... :luxhello:
I know this is a long post, but I thought it was worth doing because Crater Lake is an amazing, wonderful place to dive, but it's not for everyone. If you can put up with hauling your gear up and down the trail, then you can dive in the deepest, clearest lake in the United States, and have the experience of a lifetime!
Fishlips_1
Guest
Hello,
I'm not yet certified but will be in the next month. I live in the Bend area. I will be starting with OW then altitude diving, which as Hawk stated is done first by diving Waldo lake then Crater lake. For more info go to www.codiving.com . I'm sure Walt can hook you up with altitude certification. Great hearing from others in the Oregon area.
Lips
I'm not yet certified but will be in the next month. I live in the Bend area. I will be starting with OW then altitude diving, which as Hawk stated is done first by diving Waldo lake then Crater lake. For more info go to www.codiving.com . I'm sure Walt can hook you up with altitude certification. Great hearing from others in the Oregon area.
Lips
Similar threads
