PADI Ice Diving Course

[creamofwheat]

My LDS is offering the ice diving course just this once, on a charter to Alberta. I've always wanted to learn to ice dive, so i am seriously considering signing up, as it is being offered one time only.

I will have my AOW by the time the course comes around, so that wont be an issue. I will also probably have just over 20 dives by the time this rolls around as well, as i have a bunch of dives planed for the near future. I am starting to get fairly comfortable with everything and i am improving by leaps and bounds with every dive i do (but of course am still not perfect...i never will be )

My question is, is it a good idea for a newbie like me to take an ice diving course? or should i pass and get more experience first? All of my dives so far are in cold water (warmest dive ever was 10C), in a dry suit.

What is involved in this course? What are the skills that I will be tested on? If you have taken the course, how did you find it?

Sorry for so many questions, but i just found out that my LDS is offering the course, and it excites me greatly. so i am now compulsively asking questions wherever i can. Thanks in advance!

 

[JeffG]

Its going to be in Lake Minniw anka (A guess....thats probably 98% chance of being right.) They will cut a hole above the 1912 Dam site.

Water temp with be about 1C. Air temp????? Depends when you are going. Last Feb we had some wonderful sunny 10C days.

As far as what they will teach you...I have no specific idea. You will be tethered. You will learn "communication" using the tether. You will dive and you will do a spot as a safety diver. (All dressed up and ready to go) Mind you, I'm not certified for ice diving.

 

[daniel f aleman]

My question is, is it a good idea for a newbie like me to take an ice diving course? or should i pass and get more experience first? All of my dives so far are in cold water (warmest dive ever was 10C)

Short answer is no; but:

here's the title of the book that is the current standard bearer, Beneath a Crystal Ceiling: the Complete Guide to Ice Diving. by R. Todd Smith. Smith is the author of the PADI Ice Diving Manual, you can get that book form the LDS.

Talk to these people, as reference sources at least,

http://www.tekdiv.com/ice_diving.htm

http://www.pcdiving.com/class_ice_diving.htm

It's a great class...

 

[spectrum]

Frankly I'd wait. You sound like a natural but the different enviornment, the tether, potential darkness and ulitmate cold are more task/change loading that I would have wanted at 20-30 dives.

I'm seriously considering the course for late this winter if I can get a few more dives on my drysuit. From what I know it includes the signaling, precautions on not overworking your regulator which can cause freeflow and what to do if this should happen. You end up learning the diver/tender and rescue roles so there's a handfull of details to each.

They say once you get the hang of it you can walk upside down on the bottom of the ice!

Let me add as an edit:
Doing it to say "been there done that, gotr the T-shirt" is OK. Consider what your oportunities to really do this as recreation are. In this area from what I've found it's mainly the search and rescue crowd that are there for training and recertification and the chance to just go do it for fun is limited. A paryt of 6 is the standard minimon for pairs of divers, tenders and recue divers. Getting a shelter out on the ice is usually also involved. If you have a local group of ice diving entusiatsts (which may be the case) then good for you, but I'd still wait a year.

Pete

 

[JeffG]

Doing it to say "been there done that, gotr the T-shirt" is OK.

This style of diver is probably the biggest section of divers found at Lake Minniw anka.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Being under ice means there is only one way out. You have to come back out through the hole. And if you lose your tether, you must restrain yourself from swimming around trying to find it. Yes, I know it sounds like a no brainer but it's a different world and you'ld be surprised at some of the stupid **** I've seen. One year that my wife actually accompanied me (not as a diver although she is certified) she was so irritated by the behavior of some of the divers that she flat out told me "never again ... at least with that crowd".

Oh, and the DM was a PADI and teaching a course no less !!!

You must also be prepared for problems such as: free flow, no flow, inflators stuck open, etc. <--- been there, done all that

I suggest you try tending a few divers and get a "feel" for the routine before you decide to try the dive itself. Believe me, a good tender is worth his or her weight in air fills

 

[JeffG]

I suggest you try tending a few divers and get a "feel" for the routine before you decide to try the dive itself. Believe me, a good tender is worth his or her weight in air fills

Kinda tough when the trip she is talking about is a 10hr drive.

You must also be prepared for problems such as: free flow, no flow, inflators stuck open, etc. <--- been there, done all that

This is the biggest area of risk and I am not sure what type of regs CreamofWheat has and weither or not they are ready for Ice Diving. (I'm sure they will talk about it but I don't know if they would adjust her regs for the dive.)

And if you lose your tether

Tether? TETHER? Whats happens if you don't have a tether

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Tether? TETHER? Whats happens if you don't have a tether

Oh you dove with that guy too, eh?

But there is a school of thought, and I can't say I disagree, is the best way to dive under ice is to drop a shot line then run reels from the line. That obviously assumes you have a bottom within a reasonable distance and that all the divers are experienced in running a line. Of course, if they drop the reel .....

 

[ppo2_diver]

You need to ask yourself why you want to do this. I mostly teach fire departments, but the recreational students I've taught I normally don't see them come back for the recreational ice dives I do. Ice diving is similiar to cave diving in that you must follow a line and come out of the hole you entered. Yes, you will be tethered to the surface. I don't always agree with this, but this is how I have to teach it. You must be very comfortable in the water as you will more than likely have reg free flow, stuck inflators, ice covered mask, or things just wont work right. Normally, I tell people that have less than 100 local dives, to avoid the ice diver class. Some of the people I have dove with and know they have good skills and comfort levels. So I would take them under the ice. You will also be spending more time above the water, so you will be more cold than in the water. And you'll spend most of the day on the surface.

DJ

 

[JohnW]

I'm actually doing the course at Minniwanka, classroom Feb 28 at The Dive SHop and the actual dives on Mar 11th & 12th.

I met the instructor, he informed me that there will be only 2 students at a time underwater. So I suppose alot of the time you will be on the surface as someone else mentioned.

I think it will be fun to try, my only concern is my regs (SP S600MK25) like to free flow at anything under 40 Degrees. I just had them serviced and was assured it would no longer be a problem.

I've been told the Vis could be 60 ft +, this for Minniwanka is great.

Here is a Link to the Mossman site with some pictures of the Ice Diving at Minniwanka http://www.mossmanscuba.com/reports.php?pics=45

This is the site that got me interested in Ice Diving.