Ice Diver

Ice Diving is not for everyone! You will need all the guts, all the training and really fit physically and mentally to dive into water that is below freezing. This is actually specialty diving because even the smallest mistake can lead to hypothermia or even cost you your life. But the bottom line is that ice diving is adventurous, fun, and freezing!

You can give a shot to diving under the ice if the spirit of adventure, challenge and unusualness appeals to you. Ice diving will let you explore the unique aquascape that is covered by the mystical aura of a thick sheet of Arctic ice. If you become an ice diver then you will be one of the very few who have dived under a solid ice sheet and into a world that is as beautiful as it can be.

WHAT YOU LEARN

The ice diver course is one of the specialty scuba diving courses and you will need to successfully complete a minimum of three ice dives before you get your certification. This is a niche and needs to be taken seriously. We recommend an established institution like PADI.

Generally ice diving cannot be done alone. You will need to do it along with a number of divers and an instructor. The group of scuba divers will include support personnel, safety divers, tenders, etc.

As challenging as it is, ice diving will teach you new things and aspects of diving. Some of the important aspects of scuba diving that you will learn include controlling buoyancy, navigating under the ice, keeping contact with the lead diver and the tenders with the help of line pulls and much more. Some of the other aspects that you will have to focus on during the course include planning and organizing ice divers, opportunities and reasons for ice diving, considerations for equipments, selection of the site, hole cutting procedures and preparation.

You will have to practice the procedures and the techniques for handling the problems as well as the hazards of ice diving. Usage of specialized equipments, safety lines, communication, signals, line securing techniques and line tending will also be taught as a part of the course curriculum. Managing problems that are caused by the equipments is something that is important and will also be included in the teachings. There will be extra emphasis on different procedures in case of an emergency and especially those related to the safety of ice divers.

REQUIREMENTS

To undergo a course in ice diving, you will need:

  • To be at least eighteen years of age
  • Have a PADI / NAUI advanced open water diver certificate OR
  • A qualifying certificate from another established scuba diving training institution

SCUBA GEAR

You can make use of your basic cold water scuba diving equipment, a redundant air source and a dive knife. It is very important that you look into your regulator and make sure that it works well so that you are not in trouble under cold temperatures. But most of the times all the safety equipments are provided by the instructor themselves. So there is not much to worry about in this case.

So if you are ready then take the DIVE!!