ICE DIVING CLASS AT TWIN LAKES, CO
FEBRUARY 3 & 4, 2001
Every sense I started diving in the summer of 1999, I had wanted to ice diving. I figured it would be a good, carry-over from my love of winter backpacking. With my re-location from Southern California to Colorado in May of 2000, I decided to sign up for an ice diving class. Not-surprisingly, the local dive shop said I would have to wait to latter in the year before the classes would start to form. Unhappily, I waited.
I took my class from A1 Scuba and Travel (http://www.a1scuba.com ) in Englewood, Colorado. My instructors were Frank and Chris. We had two people in the class. After a few classroom and pool sessions, a winter weekend was planned for Twin Lakes. On Friday, February 2nd I packed my gear and two of my non-winter diving buddies into my car and we headed up the mountain. In the morning I meet my class, my instructors, an ice diving class from Colorado Springs, and various other divers (group_shot.html) for breakfast at our hotel. After a short drive to the dive site we got our first look at the ice house that instructors built the day before. 
Wow, I was impressed. The ice is 22" thick. Again, Wow!!! 
Saturday morning. The weekend ended with me doing a total of five dives, four for certification and one for pleasure. On the drive back to Denver, Dan my normal season dive buddy announces, he wished he had signed up for the class. He wants to do it next year. Becki, his wife, and dive buddy says, "You are on your own on this one Hunny!"
was a bitter cold day in the Colorado high country. A winter storm blew in overnight. This morning we were greeted by 10 degree temperatures, 40 mile an hour winds and to top it off, falling snow. I wouldn't have it any other way, it was just fitting.
After a through site briefing, I began suiting up in my 3mm wetsuit and summer dive gloves. Ok, maybe not. I proceeded to put on 3 layers of long underwear, 60-degree fleece dive suit, 3 pairs of socks, and 3 pairs of fleece gloves. Next came my dry suit complete with dry gloves. I felt like the Pillsbury dough boy. Looking at the ice hole and I begin to question my sanity. Well, I have dreamed about this for too long to back out, because of a little cold water. After the support crew helps me on with my dive gear, and safety harness, I'm about ready to go. I hand my think wetsuit hood to one of the crew members who dunks it in hot water cooler. Now were ready to go. The dive is planned for 15 minutes and Chris gives the signal to go and we plop in to water. I'm last to enter and once in the water I begin to descend. For the first 10-15 feet I'm thinking this isn't so bad. I dry. I'm not cold at all. Soon, the 33-degree water has its way with my once warm hood and my head begins to hurt very badly. It felt l
ike a nuclear power ice cream headache. After about 
2 minutes of this my head and face go numb and life is good again. We swim around for a few more minutes practicing our skills. Wow, this is sweet, I love this. Reality, starts to creep it way back into my minds eye. A finger on my right hands feels strange. Soon I remember I USED to have a hole in my dry gloves that I LONG ago patched. Well, the patch picked a find time to start leaking. Slowly, my finger becomes VERY cold and I'm happy when the rule of 1/3rd forces us to end the. Aside from my nearly frozen finger, I loved this dive. Nothing a quick hit of duck tape wouldn't solve, at least temporary. Next!
Man I can wait till next year!!!!
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