Tell me about your experiences ICE DIVING, learned tips & tricks, and things gone wrong...

[Jay Whitehair]

ps - nearly everyone I see is ice diving with an open face mask. Could you guys share your thoughts on ice diving with a full face OTS Guardian? Bad idea?

 

[shurite7]

ps - nearly everyone I see is ice diving with an open face mask. Could you guys share your thoughts on ice diving with a full face OTS Guardian? Bad idea?

The nice thing about the FFM (Guardian in my case) is the ability to use coms. What can be annoying about the FFM is, when equalizing it is easy to blow snot (winter means snivel season) inside the mask if it isn't sealed snugly against your nose. Another nice aspect of the FFM is a warm face. Most ice divers up here use a FFM.

When diving without the FFM mask use a lip guard. It is rather nice to avoid freezing lips, especially when using a DPV. Note - we don't use DPVs under the ice, but we've used them during the winter in 33 degree water.

 

[shoredivr]

I’ve always thought that bailing out from a FFM to a half mask and bailout reg would be fairly torturous in super cold water.

 

[lowviz]

It is.

See "kiss the water" procedure, 25, 173-4, 226, 252-53 (copied from the IDO book's index, post #3)

I chose to dive a standard mask, isn't all that bad...

 

[rhwestfall]

I'm not getting all the cold water concerns. We, even in August, are diving water that is in the mid 30's, the same as it is when ice diving (my computer logs validate that). The part that is challenging to endure is out of the water.

YMMV

 

[Marie13]

AquaLung lip shield. US $8. Fits on pretty much any reg.

 

[Erich S]

Most times your computer will not log a dive. So shallow you stay. You dive just under the ice, most times less than 1m deep.

The official way to teach here is also with someone with a rope at surface. But we don't have moving ice here, so we can do it the cave style also. But that is only with experienced divers. We use that quite a lot if we don't have 'officially organised' icedives with sportsdivers. Remember: icediving is sportsdiving, recreational diving, where cavediving is called technical diving. So the equipment is most times single tank and normal bcd. Another reason for someone at surface is the line signal given by divers if something goes wrong. Sportsdivers are most times not able to turn of valves when a regulator freeflows, technical divers can do it. And yes, freeflows are quite common when icediving. Another point is when you do it from a hole in the ice is that you are not able to climb out yourself.
Most times when we do icediving, the ice is not strong enough to hold people, but it is strong enough to do a real icedive with the ice as overhead.

Should ice diving be considered Tech diving?

 

[rhwestfall]

Should ice diving be considered Tech diving?

The way SDI teaches it (tendered/tethered), I'd say "no" it isn't - self reliant skills are not the basis. If you are thinking it is because of overhead, then any diving with active boating overhead should be a technical dive too...

YMMV

 

[abnfrog]

@EricS...technically it isn't , that being said I teach a technical mindset AND technical rigging of gear in my class, I also don't think the ice diving instructor should have that qualification by sending in some paperwork and 80 dollars , on this course I have seen every thing from a 10 min lecture at the hole ready to go in and 3 days before your in the water .....the real threat is some with a card in their pocket and THINKING they have the skills to do the dives on their own.....jm2c

 

[shurite7]

I'm not getting all the cold water concerns. We, even in August, are diving water that is in the mid 30's, the same as it is when ice diving (my computer logs validate that). The part that is challenging to endure is out of the water.
YMMV

The last comment is a good point. My feet don't get cold during the dive, but they do after the dive when standing on the ice. It gets really cold above the water when the wind is blowing and it is snowing. I've seen people tear their hood or gloves because they set it down on the ice, a boulder, or tailgate of the truck after the dive. The gloves or hood will freeze to the object and will tear if it isn't heated before being picked up.

Diving in 30 water during the summer, up here, isn't unheard of, especially in the higher elevations. My most miserable dive, because of cold hands, was a summer dive in Yellowstone Lake. In June there is ice still floating on some of the lakes - Ice Berg Lake in Glacier is a good example.