Winter scuba diving withdrawal? Try ice diving!
So it is winter time here in wonderful Canada! So many of us Canadians are going south for the winter months on long and deserved vacations. The rest of us sit here wishing for warmer months where the sun is beaming down and filling us full of vitamin D. Well, the sun really doesn't give us any vitamin D but you get the point. Well, there are plenty of divers here in Canada. Many are waiting for the summer so they can get their dive gear wet again... If you are going through the annual winter diving withdrawals, you can still dive! Try something new. Try ice diving!
Ice diving is a fun and exhilarating experience. Sure, it isn't for everyone, but there are plenty of you out there that this may apply to. Have you ever considered it? Are you considering it now? You should if a challenge and adventure sounds intriguing to you.
So, what is ice diving? The answer is simple. Ice diving is diving under and overhead ice environment. There are more risks and equipment involved with ice diving but the payoff is seeing the underwater world from a different chilly view and gaining experience on different types of challenging dives. What would your friends or other divers think about you when you pull out your ice diver certification card? They will probably think your completely insane but you will see things they never will! Is that worth it to you?
Ice diving is a challenging dive, no doubt. You will work with numerous people on your ice dive and you will need redundancy on your dive of all your equipment. Think cave diving. There is no immediate access to the surface and the same is to be said about ice diving. Both of these diving situations are overhead environments. If something goes wrong and you aren't trained or prepared for your dive, the consequences can be, chilling. But I'm sure you know the risks involved now. Still, ice diving is one way to get yourself wet during the winter months!
- Ice Diver Courses - Open Water Diving Adventures - PADI Scuba Diving Training Society
If the spirit of adventure and unusual, challenging diving appeals to you, try diving under the ice! During the course, you dive with a PADI professional in one of the most extreme adventure specialties recreational diving offers. - Ice Diver | tdisdi.com
Check out SDI/TDI's ice diver course!
So if you think that ice diving is something you would be interested in, contact your local dive shop and see if they offer ice diving courses. If they don't, see if they can direct you in the right direction. Get a couple of your diving buddies together and see if they are interested in taking the ice diving course with you. It's always nice to dive with people you are familiar with and have dove with before. Also, you may meet some new people during your ice diving adventure. It's always nice to make new diving buddies too!
If you want to know more about ice diving and the techniques involved, go to PADI and find their ice diving course. They can tell you everything you need to know. If PADI isn't your certifying agency of choice, go to TDI/SDI or your certifying agency and see what they have to offer. See you under the ice soon!
