PHILLIP E. GRAF - PADI ICE DIVING
SCUBA INSTRUCTOR
This page last updated
on November 19, 2000.
Ice Diving Jan/Feb/Mar 2001
Updated November 19, 2000
Ice Diving Jan/Feb/Mar 2000
Updated November 19, 2000
Omni Divers Ice Diving Information
Interested Student wrote:
Dear Omni Divers:
I am interested in your Ice Diving class. Please if you could, tell me about the
class and any special gear I will need. I normally dive a particular kind of dry
suit. Will this work. Also if you could inform me on local places to stay.
Sincerely yours, Interested Student
Great!
Initial Question for student:
Have you had any experience
diving with overhead restrictions? No prerequisite to have done so.
We take it pretty easy the first diving day.
Special briefing:
We will have probably have a briefing
on Friday night in Boise for all divers.
Getting to the dive site:
Drive to McCall from Boise is 2 hours on perfect
roads. Get to the dive site about 10 am.
Drive to Cascade from Boise is 1.5 hours on perfect roads. Get to the dive site about 10 am.
The drive from Cascade to McCall is 0.5 hours.
Arrival at dive site and duties at the site:
It takes quite a bit of work just getting the hole
open. It takes from two to three hours to get the hole open and ready to go diving.
We need to start digging the wheel and spokes for the reference points.
Also an old cross cut saw the triangular hole. Set up the tent. Get ready to get in
the water
Briefing at dive site:
We will try to dive between 2 - 5 pm.
Do a pre-dive briefing, assign in
and out of water tasks, divers, line tenders, buddy teams, etc. We make
three dives over a period of two days. Now based on the new PADI rules all three ice
training dives can be conducted on a single day, either Saturday or Sunday.
Special gear: Scuba gear:
If you can get your regulator
(first stage) environmentalized if possible, for cold water, 32 degrees,
it will tend to work better and not free flow.
Special gear: Clothing:
Being in the water is fun, standing outside taking your
turn as a line tender, can get a bit cool. Need to bring warm clothing
and a good pair of warm waterproof boots to do all the preliminary work.
A change of dry clothes. Several pairs of warm gloves and pants. Rain slickers or
rain pants work great. Warm hats, skull cap like. We will try to have all the
stuff needed to do the on site work, as long as you can bring personal stuff
to be out in the cold and
wind and blowing snow from say 10 am to 5 pm.
Special gear: Dry suits.
Dry suits work best, but I have
had divers with wet suits do this. Any dry suit will work fine, you may
want to bring something to wear under it for added insulation while
standing topside.
Special gear: What is supplied in the course.
Where are you located? Will depend on
whether you bring a tank and weights or we have to supply them. Usually need
two tanks and extra weights.
Where to stay:
We stay in McCall, Idaho. Last year several of
us stayed in the new Best Western McCall (about
$83 per night) and others stayed in the new Super 8 (about $56 per night).
When to make reservations:
Before you make reservations we need to confirm
the exact days. I have selected three months (and have selected three series of days),
a series each in January, February and March as ice diving dates.
Who may be involved:
The McCall Fire/Rescue team have
expressed an interest again this year to get in and get wet. In addition, several other
folks in McCall want to go through the entire classroom/open water sequence.
Several divers from Oregon and Washington have
expressed an interest again this year to get in and get wet.
What is needed before you
start ice diving and where you can achieve it:
Those of you who may be interested please respond.
Advanced Open Water or equivalent is required. I have several more dates for Advanced
prior to January/February/March 2001. In no way does a positive response this commit you,
this year.
Thanks:
Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you.
Phil
By this message, I am asking Ken, if I have
missed anything, in regards to your questions. I will use this message as the
start of my notifying those interested in ICE DIVING 2001.
Dear Interested Student:
Phil covered the equipment pretty good.
Undergarments:
If you dive a dry suit in conditions
like Puget Sound, etc., you are already pretty much geared for ice diving,
except you will want to have an extra pair of wool socks or some heavier
undergarments on. We've had a number of divers with a dry suit and
they have reported being perfectly warm. The extremeties (hands, feet,
nose) tend to get the coldest.
Service/Maintenance of your gear:
Make sure your gear has been serviced and any
maintenance details fixed (it's not a good
thing to have that recalcitrant weight release decide to let go half of your
weights while you're under 10-16 (3 feet in March 1999) inches of ice with a full
drysuit -- ouch!).
Food:
Plan on bringing some stick to your
ribs; snacks and a thermos full of something hot to drink. As usual, we
need to stay hydrated, so water is pretty good to have along, too.
Extra Items (Boots, Rug to stand on and Chair):
The hoof out to the dive site can
sometimes be a lot of work and being geared to walk through snow
(with good boots) until we get ready to get under the ice is a good thing. Having a folding
chair to sit on and a rug to sit the chair on when you get a break is also nice.
Sun and Burn:
The main thing to remember is that after
you spend your time under the ice, you're going to be standing around on the ice for a while.
Sunglasses and sunscreen are critical; if it is a bright day, we will all get
sunburnt from the neck up! Bring attire appropriate for a cold winter day
outside.
We'll see you in McCall! -- Ken
We'll see you in McCall! -- Phil
For more information on our ice diving
activities, e-mail us at omnidive@omnidivers.com
For more information on our ice diving
schedule of activities, check this page
Ice Diving Schedule 2001
For more information on our 2000 ice diving
discussion of needed items/activities, check this page
Ice Diving Info 2001
Ice Diving Photos at Payette Lake March 1999
Ice Diving Photos at Cascade Lake February 1998
Ice Diving Location Photos at Payette Lake August 1998
Ice Diving Photos at Payette Lake 1997
Ice Dive Payette Lake, Idaho, March 13-14, 1999 was
fabulous!!
March 1999 Ice Dive
Report!
Ice Dive Cascade Lake, Idaho, March 20-22, 1998 was
fabulous!!
January 1998 Ice Dive
Report!
Ice Diving Article in UK Magazine 1998
Specialty Article
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