This past weekend I had the pleasure to dive the Valhalla missile silo in Wingate, Tx, aprox 30 minutes outside of Abilene, Tx. This place has such an amazing history and the owner treated us to a slide show that detailed the construction of the site along with the history. You have to descend multiple sets of stairs just to access the silo and then there's a long set of stairs to the dive platform. It's definitely a long walk and good exercise. Having to lug tanks and gear up and down is a task but it is WORTH it to dive. Not withstanding the historical aspect of the site it is a unique and great dive. The air temp was 66 degrees and the water temp was 63, which means you'll need a dry suit OR a 7mm wetsuit. The water was also very clear. I had finally dialed in my dry suit buoyancy after much practice and was looking forward to this dive. The one thing I forgot to mention is that my sciatica was acting up, so getting down to the dive platform was a bit hard for me. Once there I did a check and jumped in. The waters cooled me down and I was ready to submerge. I let out my air and away I go,......or so I thought. I could not descend. I was surprised and frustrated and after 5 minutes of struggling I stopped and swam to dive platform. It was then it hit me. When I did my practice dives I only had swim trunks and a rashguard on underneath my dry suit. Texas temps this summer have been from 104 to 108 degrees so no undergarments were worn. Well on this dive I had worn undergarments. As I swam to the platform the host saw me and said I was under weighted and at the same time I told him I forgot to take into account the buoyancy of my under garments. I apologized to him and I also apologized to my shop owner for embarrassing the shop. They both told me no apologies were needed and that the positive I needed to take from it was that I eventually stopped and figured out the issue and didn't panic. 4 additional pounds later I was good to go and away I went. As I was descending some divers were making their safety stop, I went past them until I hit the bottom. Once I reached the bottom I stayed down for maybe one minute took in the moment, then I began my ascent. At 14 feet I did my safety stop for 4 min. Oh, I'd forgotten to mention that the area is aprox 2500ft above sea level so this was considered an Altitude dive so the parameters were slightly different than a sea level dive. When I surfaced it was an amazing feeling, I troubleshot a problem, fixed it and made the dive. My second dive went a lot better, I stayed down longer and was able to really enjoy it. We all had a great debriefing, great stories and laughs and for me I experienced more growth as a diver as I was able to troubleshoot an issue. At the end of the day I'd also earned an Altitude certification. I wanted to go back for a second day of diving on Sunday but I had some massage therapy planned for treatment for my sciatica on Monday and didn't want to risk any DCS.
Trip Report Valhalla Missile Silo Dive
- Thread starter Tigerpaw
- Start date
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How deep was the dive?
Yes, please tell us about the dive itself. It is almost like a paragraph is missing describing the actual dive.
you said you descended, saw divers at the safety stop, then ascended, did a safety stop yourself and came to the surface…. That is after the long walk.
How deep is it? How long did you stay playing around? What did you see? Are there rooms/side corridors to explore? Other than diving table adjustment (computer will do it automatically) what did you learn by getting your altitude certification?
you said you descended, saw divers at the safety stop, then ascended, did a safety stop yourself and came to the surface…. That is after the long walk.
How deep is it? How long did you stay playing around? What did you see? Are there rooms/side corridors to explore? Other than diving table adjustment (computer will do it automatically) what did you learn by getting your altitude certification?
f4erhinogib
Registered
Thanks for sharing your experience, Tigerpaw! We fellow divers can always learn from these situations, which helps our dive community as a whole. You've acted correctly, to enjoy future dives. Each of our dives ought to be another 'learning' experience. Since I have a couple different exposure suit combinations, I've created my own ballast weight 'table' for every combination, both for fresh and salt water. Additionally, I add remarks for salinity and temperature conditions (90 degree fresh water requires slightly less weight than 70's temperature water, and Caribbean diving typically requires less ballast weight than the Gulf of Mexico, but personal experience should be a prime driver). This probably seems "OCD", but it saves me the inconvenience of changing weights once in the water.
OP
Ah, yes it is a trip report, OK Trip report take 2:
From the parking lot there is an entry way into the complex. The entrance has a steel grated gate and the first blast door. As you enter you go down aprox 4-5 flights of stairs to an area that used to be the control room and living quarters. These areas have since been converted over to a staging area where gear is staged and divers change in to or out of gear. The crew sleeping quarters have been converted over to a silo "hotel" for those who wish to spend the night for a small fee of course. If you don't spend the night at the silo, Abilene is only 30 minutes away, if you choose to stay the weekend. I personally opted to drive in Saturday, dive, then drive back home.
From the common area you go down a flight of stairs and then there is the entrance to the silo, it is so surreal. From that point it is aprox 40 feet down to the dive platform. There is a set of makeshift stairs that are supported by numerous steel cables to a floatable dive platform. With your full gear on you make the trip down these stairs to the dive platform.
Once on the platform you catch your breath, re check your gear, don fins and jump in. The water is crystal clear and because it is from the water table, the temp is 63 year round. I wore my dry suit with undergarments and was comfortable. If you are wearing a wet suit, a 5mm - 7mm wet suit should suffice, as no one complained about being cold.
There is a main decent/ascent line in the center of the silo. Once everyone was in and gave the OK signal, they descended. As I mentioned in my prior post, I descended last but I managed to catch up.
With the facilities lights on, you really don't need a flashlight until about the 70-80ft mark. You can clearly see the other divers. If the facility lights were turned off in the silo, the dive would be classified as a Night Dive.
During the decommission of the silo remaining structures and equipment was thrown to the bottom of the silo.(A metal forest of twisted scrap metal - the remnants of walkways and staircases that used to surround the missile. There is also a stove and other equipment) During the presentation we learned that the water depth is aprox 110-120ft deep. Due to all the salvage you could safely hover somewhere between 105 - 110. I made it down to 107, I've heard stories that some divers would actually wiggle and stick their arms as down as far as possible so as to get a 110 or deeper reading on their computer. While all the wreckage is settled that is just plain dumb, what if a diver shifts some equipment,....it's game over. I can say that our group played it safe. Due to the rust it is possible to silt up the area but we all were very careful not to and hovered above everything. There is so much debris that you can see something new on a another dive. There are no rooms to explore, it's just a huge debris field. Due to altitude, this is considered an Altitude dive. As such we were limited to doing two dives a day. The way the schedule was, you could have done one dive Friday night, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. So for a weekend you could possibly do 4 dives. For those who are looking for certifications, you could earn Deep, Night and Altitude. I have heard that some shops may also offer Wreck because of the debris field but I personally wouldn't claim that.
It is a worthwhile place to visit and dive. As having grown up and served during the Cold War the site was very intriguing to me and one can not help to acknowledge the historical significance of the silo. As far as visiting, you can only dive as part of a group or school. You can contact them and see about possibly getting added to another school that is scheduled to dive.
Oh site is not radioactive, it has been tested numerous times and declared safe. There are no 3 eyed fish ala The Simpsons, but why am I turning green..................me SMASH!!!
OP
Thank you,....yes I discovered the same thing and actually have made the same notes in my logs, especially after the Valhalla dive. I even record my body weight as well. I train martial arts and sometimes I compete in tournaments. Due to that my actually body weight fluctuates and that has affected my buoyancy in the past as well.
4spacecowboy
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