Where to go?

[Dirty-Dog]

Hi all,
To date, 100% of my diving has been in Cancun. But that's a loooonng way from home, and I can't exactly go down there once a month.

Is there any good diving in CO? Obviously, the gear I use in Cancun wouldn't be warm enough, so what gear do people use? Pueblo Res is 10 minutes from my house. What's that like? I've assumed it would be limited visibility and cold, but have been thinking it might be a way to at least get wet in, say, August when it's as warm as it's ever going to get.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[robint]

My husband did Pueblo Resv. once, I think it was in May, he said the vis was about 3' and water was so cold he got an ice-cream freeze headache between his eyes. Luckily, he was only doing it for his AI cert so he didn't have to be in water long. He said he would never do that place again.

Most of us in CO, NM area dive at Santa Rosa, Blue Hole. Best thing is that you can dive year-round as the water is always the same temp, 62 degrees. Water is clear, too. Lots and lots of posts here about it. I have photos and videos on my website.

 

[RonFrank]

In the summer we dive a few spots in CO. We do Aurora (not bad in spring but in the 50's), Chatfield Res (suck vis the time I dove it), Turquoise Lake and Jefferson Lake (both VERY cold, even in Aug). Vis in most CO high mountain lakes ranges from 1'~35'. Unfortunately 1' is more common than 35', but I have seen that vis a few times.

CharlieO dives Chatfield quite a bit. I hear on the weekdays vis can be much better than the near zero I experienced one weekend.

I tend to dive BH more than anything else. It is a six hour drive (one way) so that makes it a bit of a chore to go dive.

Next BH trip for me is March 6th, and any/all are welcome to join us! There is a separate thread on that.

My motto is if a can not do it in comfort wet in a 3mm, I dive it dry. Not a bad way to go from my experience, and many living here have a similar attitude.

 

[toddthecat]

My motto is if a can not do it in comfort wet in a 3mm, I dive it dry. Not a bad way to go from my experience, and many living here have a similar attitude.

I cannot even begin to describe my +1 on that motto...I took a class to BH last weekend for their OW certs and of course I went dry. Nothing beats that warm cotton feeling when taking of a dry suit

 

[robint]

I cannot even begin to describe my +1 on that motto...I took a class to BH last weekend for their OW certs and of course I went dry. Nothing beats that warm cotton feeling when taking of a dry suit

geez, you bunch of wussie boys!
I dive wetsuit (7mm, hood, gloves) at Blue Hole year round with no problems. The biggest issue is wind topside. If it is windy you will instantly chill when you get out of the water, so it is important to get OUT of the wetsuit, dry off completely and drink some hot coffee or hot chocolate (we always take a thermos with us, you can get it refilled at McD's).
I have used a drysuit for quite a few dives at BH but have decided it is way too much of a hassle for me. The extra undergarments and weight needed to compensate are a drag, literally! I hate it, would rather dive wet. Yeah, I own a drysuit but I may be selling it on ebay soon.

robin

 

[georoc01]

The best diving in CO IMHO is at the aquarium. Not a cheap dive, but fun.