Scuba-Climbing... the sport of the future

[Dennis_Harmon]

Wow, icegirl, good suggestion! Do you suppose that we could rent an air compressor with a 300' hose and a submersable drill here in Wenatchee from Herb's Rent-All? We could then station the air compressor on an anchored inflatable Zodiac and put up, or should I say down, some really kick-ass sport routes. I can't wait to start nameing them. If you ever get over to this area bring your scuba-climbing gear and give me a PM. Dennis

[icegirl]

Only if you are doing them on mix. I don't do deep air any more...

[Dennis_Harmon]

No, we're not nitrox trained. Can someone get that kind of training over here in Wenatchee? Please PM at your convenience. Dennis

[icegirl]

Trimix. Helium/oxygen/nitrogen = deep decompression diving.

 

Nitrox is for shallow (<130') longer dives.

 

I used to know someone out there, will ask around and see if he's still doing it.

[Dennis_Harmon]

icegirl, Sorry bout that. I did mean to say heliox or trimix istead of nitrox. You can get PADI training in nitrox over here but there's no one I know who is qualified to teach trimix over here. Who would you recommend, or who were you trained by over there? Dennis

[klar404]

I'd PM you anytime baby! An I love them slick lookin' scuba suits!

[Dennis_Harmon]

Now who in the hell is this 'klar404' moron? I have to assume that you're a homosexual trolling for anal sex and that you don't even climb. Please stay the hell off of my posts, and thank you. Dennis

[Gimpy]

It all seems like a bunch of BS to me. Even IF you weigh yourself down, as you climb you need to constantly adjust your BC to keep from being shot to the top. As such the whole concept of drilling for bolts and placing pro (How would you properly seat a nut in pond scum coated cracks anyway?) seems ludicrous. You don't "fall" fast in water, especially when using a BC (that's bouyancy control if you're wondering). If you slip off, and if your currently negatively bouyant, hit the valve and bring yourself right back to the spot you greased off.

 

But what do I know, I suppose I'm just missing something. Hell, if your having fun down there it's just one less party competing for the belay ledge to me.

[Dennis_Harmon]

Gimpy, How do you assume that they are, "scum coated cracks anyway," in your words. Have you ever scuba-climbed in Lake Chelan? And regarding your bouyancy issue, once we achieve our desired route at whatever depth it is, we completely deflate our BCD's and dry-suits so that we remain extremely negatively bouyant throughout our climbs. That way, we know that we're no cheating. If you have any further doubts, just bring your dive and climbing gear over and we'll take you out. Try it.. you'll like it. Dennis

[Gimpy]

Dennis, the deflation idea occured to me after I posted. Not something I would normaly think of doing so it didn't jump to mind. Your still going to experiance some bouyancy gain as you ascend, but not much. As for the scum coating, I haven't been in that lake at all, but have yet to see a lake that wasn't algae ridden.

 

What depth are you starting from? If your working a 2000 ft wall (Incidently, that's 40 ft deeper than the bottom of Crater Lake) I'll go out on a limb and guess your not decending much below 160 ft. What do you do, set a porta-ledge?

[Dennis_Harmon]

Gimpy, If you're a diver, and it certainly sounds like you are, you know that underwater cliffs have natural features such as ledges and stances, etc. As for depth, I believe our maximum has been 170' so that when the rope ran out we were at the perfect depth for a safety stop. It's all pretty conventional work except that we're employing scuba to access the rock. I'm told that the max depth of Lake Chelan is roughly 2000', but I can't honestly tell you the depth at Granite Point where we've been working. It continues well down beyond scuba range. This lake remains relatively free of milfoil and algae, for now. Hope that answers some of your questions. Dennis

[icegirl]

Air at 170'... Looking for a cheap high, eh. I assume you are following all the appropriate decompression standards, including ones that compensate for work load, cold, etc...????

That depth is getting rather close to the 1.6ATA O2, at which a certain number of divers suffer CNS oxygen toxicity. Not something I'd mess around with. Personally I wouldn't dive air deeper than 150-160 anymore, and when diving mix always work with an equivalent air depth as shallow as I can. (i.e. dive to 300' with enough helium to make it 'feel' like 100') as I don't want to be inebriated when I'm crawling around inside a shipwreck...

But then for scuba climbing, perhaps it's like watching a bad movie, and you need the '6 pack' effect to make it more enjoyable. Whatever.

 

9th deepest lake in the world.

 

Lake Chelan Washington, U.S.A. 1,419 ft (433 m)

 

[ 06-28-2002, 02:41 PM: Message edited by: icegirl ]

[Dennis_Harmon]

Icegirl, Yes, we know that we're getting 'narcd,' actually a lot 'narcd' but we understand that that's the case and we deal with it. Appreciate your concern of O2 tox however, and thanks. Once again, do you mind me asking who trained you in mixed gas? And also, I'm assuming this now, who do you believe to be the best cave instructor in Florida? Dennis

[klar404]

FISH ON!!!!I'd like to reel in this flounder, but it would't be fair watching him decompress on the dock! This wasn't written by me, but it's aimed at you DENNIS!peace

quote:

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Let's get a few things straight kids, a true flamer at least has a general idea of how the english language works and uses it to get his point across in amusing and/or in at least half-assed eloquent ways. For instance, stating remarks like " suck my cock " and " you fucking gay lamer " as well as possibly " fuck this fuck that fuckety fuck fuck " just shows that persons immaturity and inexperience. When it comes down to flaming, the intelligent flamer doesn't need that shit because he doesn't need to, the punks and people wanting the attention over use those words because they are worthless and weak and most importantly...they just do not have the vocabulary...period. Basically they are idiots who know a few curse words. Ignore those kind of idiots, they just want the attention that society will not give them in real life as they are very likely ugly and stupid and quite possibly inbred.

 

Now don't get me wrong, a well placed fuck is a welcome thing, but in general the twits who over use the term and that is all they have ammunition-wise are a waste of time. They are not flamers, they more or less need to be pitied and are too fucking ( << well-placed fuck ) stupid to realize it. In general, they are very easy to beat in a flame war.

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[Dennis_Harmon]

There klar404 goes again. Can anyone out there remind me, exactly, why in the heck I bought a computer in the first place? Dennis

[joekania]

So if you're a bumbly scuba-climber, do you need to set up a bottom rope system?

 

And why not pump your BD to the max and then downclimb? Inverted?

[Dennis_Harmon]

joekania, That's a heck of a good point... but a little too radical/extreme for us. Better to reserve that technique for the next generation. Dennis

[ScottP]

If you are serious about the drill, contact Divers Institute of Technology (DIT) in Ballard. They would be able to answer you question, but I'm believe suface supplied pneumatic is going to be the answer.

 

There are some huge walls under the northshore of Lake Tahoe. The visibility isn't what it used to be, but Tahoe is definately a freshwater dive destination if you like that sort of thing (which I do.)

 

On a dive of Crescent Lake, I found a big old 3.5 to 4 feet in diameter) log round in about 90 feet of water on about a 40-45 degree slope. My buddy and I lifted it up on edge and gave it a good "kick". It rolled down that slope, leaving a wake of mud. Last we saw of it, it was getting small in the distance and still going.

[joekania]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dennis Harmon:

joekania, That's a heck of a good point... but a little too radical/extreme for us. Better to reserve that technique for the next generation. Dennis

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I'll bet some amoral GenY/Zers will be bolting it from the bottom rope soon, eh, Dennis?

[Gimpy]

quote:

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Originally posted by joekania:

And why not pump your BD to the max and then downclimb? Inverted?

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Um, not what I would recomend. Ice girl would be a better source to advise on this but there are a few hazards with this maxed out BC inverted downclimb. One, as you decend you constantly need to add air to your BC to maintain a high level of positive bouyancy since the increase of water pressure compresses the air, lessening it's bouyancy effect. Two, if you should "fall upward" so to speak, you would need to quickly release air or face an increasingly rappid ascent lacking in proper decompression.

[icegirl]

I don't recommend anyone in particular. I have aquaintances who are involved with the Woodville Karst Plains Project, but have not been in contact with them in a while, so I don't know if I'd have them train me (no, I did not get certified by them) My training was in the early 90's, before there were real agencies other than the NSS-CDS/NACD, and IAND (before IANTD)