Omni Divers Underwater Services, L.L.C. Ice Diving Blurp!

Ice Diving Blurp!
by Lisa McFall

Greetings!

I wanted to share some information on an Awesome winter diving opportunity - ice diving!

The following lists some information on the Ice Diving course taught in January, February, and March in McCall, Idaho by Phillip E. Graf of Omni Divers Underwater Services. Specific dates are located at Ice Diving or if you have a group we may be able to make special arrangements for you.

First, some cool photos from one of the 2001 ice diving outings: Ice Diving Photos 2001 (note all of the photos enlarge if you double click them) and other ice diving outings Ice Diving Photos Several Years

Three dives are required for certification, but most people opt to do a 4th dive for fun too :)

In addition to the actual ice dives (3), the course covers top-side site preparation (both lecture and hands-on), assisting your fellow ice-diving enthusiasts in and out of the water (easier said than done :-), and taking turns tending an ice diver. I can honestly say I love the site preparation work as much as the actual ice diving.

The following lists some of the work involved in site preparation: opening the ice-hole by first drilling holes into the ice at the three points of the future ice opening triangle with an auger; using a long bladed hand saw to "connect the ice hole corner 'dots'" so to speak; and shoveling a rather intricate concentric circle pattern in the snow around the ice-hole opening Ice Diving Spokes. The prep work usually takes between 2-1/2 to 4 hours (depending on the thickness of the ice and the number of ice diving candidates). On two occasions in the past few years we've encountered ice as thick as 3 feet.

Making your first descent "Beneath the Crystal Ceiling" is a treat! I love experiencing the liquid realm I treasure so much in this very unique manner. One of my favorite things to do is hover a few feet beneath the ice ceiling and watch my exhalation bubbles expand into silvery swollen jellyfish shapes before abruptly shattering against the ice ceiling. The image that's created when the swollen air bubble strikes the ice always reminds me of watching someone throw a bucket of diamonds out on to a large piece of glass. The individual diamond-like "drops" of air scurry wildly about against the ice surface enjoying their independence for a few moments before sliding together to form psychedelic blob-like shapes that eerily slither out of site. When you're on the surface tending you will occasionally hear the "blurp, blurp, blurp" noises as the large blobs of trapped air make their way to the ice-hole opening to escape. Probably the closest any of us will ever come to hearing a lake burp :)

Please Join Us Under the Ice and Beneath the Crystal Ceiling!

Additional Ice Diving information can be obtained from the following site, Ice Diving.

Class - $250
Text - $35 (optional)
Certification fees - $25
The text is Beneath a Crystal Ceiling: the Complete Guide to Ice Diving by R. Todd Smith.

Feel free to send the instructor, Phil Graf an email with any questions you may have too. His email address is omnidive@omnidivers.com.