Utah diving

[tryerson64]

you'll need to check out the bonneville seabase sometime.... very unique place and dive.

I believe that’s been permanently closed.

 

[AZTinman]

Back in the early 1990's, we used to float the "A" Section of the Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam in scuba gear. Floating the river involved having a support raft with some extra air tanks along for the trip. Basically, we'd float with inflated BCDs and snorkel until we saw something we wanted to submerge to look at. Water clarity was amazing. Of course back in those days, I could tolerate the extremely cold water in a 7mil wetsuit. The sizes and numbers of trout were amazing.

 

[Litefoot]

Back in the early 1990's, we used to float the "A" Section of the Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam in scuba gear. Floating the river involved having a support raft with some extra air tanks along for the trip. Basically, we'd float with inflated BCDs and snorkel until we saw something we wanted to submerge to look at. Water clarity was amazing. Of course back in those days, I could tolerate the extremely cold water in a 7mil wetsuit. The sizes and numbers of trout were amazing.

I've floated the 'A' section more times than I could possibly remember, but never in scuba gear. Sounds like extreme drift diving. Did float through the rougher rapids or climb back into the raft?

 

[AZTinman]

I've floated the 'A' section more times than I could possibly remember, but never in scuba gear. Sounds like extreme drift diving. Did float through the rougher rapids or climb back into the raft?

No, we didn't climb back in the raft for any of the whitewater areas on the "A" section of the Green. At the time, I was the training officer and dive team leader for a fire department. I was trained for swift water rescue as well as a whitewater boater (kayak and river dory). The whitewater rapids on the "A" section of the Green were pretty easy compared with those on Colorado, Roaring Fork, Yampa and Green through Lodore Canyon in Dinosaur National Monument. Water releases from Flaming Gorge were a bigger issue than whitewater areas on the "A" section. Western Power Authority (WPA) was usually pretty stingy with water releases. Floating in scuba gear required decent water flows. I spent a lot of time floating and fly fishing from my whitewater dory on the "A" section and knew it extremely well. My dory was custom built by a company in Salt Lake City. The dory lives in Montana now. (LOL)

 

[Litefoot]

My son-in-law is an electrician at the dam (works for the USBR) and I actually retired from WAPA a couple of years ago, so I spent a lot of time in the dam and continue to get really good info on the flows. LOL.

 

[AZTinman]

My son-in-law is an electrician at the dam (works for the USBR) and I actually retired from WAPA a couple of years ago, so I spent a lot of time in the dam and continue to get really good info on the flows. LOL.

I was a seasonal park ranger with the Resource Management Division in Dinosaur National Monument for fourteen years. I also taught a lot of people to fly fish on the Green. Floating the Green River's "A" Section was always an eye-opening experience, but it was really cold. (LOL)

 

[Litefoot]

My first floats on section A were with youth groups who were most interested in making noise and splashing each other. It wasn’t until later that realized what a beautiful float it is.
BTW, my daughter drew out for the Grand Canyon and she is on her fourth day of an eighteen day trip as we speak. I declined to join them. An overnighter is all the river I want. Eighteen days? No way.

 

[AZTinman]

My first floats on section A were with youth groups who were most interested in making noise and splashing each other. It wasn’t until later that realized what a beautiful float it is.
BTW, my daughter drew out for the Grand Canyon and she is on her fourth day of an eighteen day trip as we speak. I declined to join them. An overnighter is all the river I want. Eighteen days? No way.

Wow, eighteen day Grand Canyon trip... that would be a hard one for me to take a pass on. My wife has been down the Grand Canyon several time, but those were before we met. She used to be stationed at Lee's Ferry. One of the drawbacks to my National Park Service job used to be camping in the dirt while doing fieldwork, working fire assignments and doing river trips.

 

[zankster]

I believe that’s been permanently close

Seabase was one of my first. Cool place unless there was a class going on with divers kicking up sediment.

 

[Fiveftviz]

Hi zankster! Sand Hollow also has some great diving. We were down there last Thursday and the average water temp was 65f.

I’ve been to Strawberry Reservoir, Flaming Gorge, Blue Lake, Mountain Point Lake, and the aforementioned Sand Hollow. Always looking to visit new dive sites in Utah and would be happy to get together to go diving!