Switching Divers Under the Ice.

[Rookie]

[quote='Terry' pid='40281' dateline='1397610479']
All of us must determine our own level of comfort with the "risks" as to where we "draw the line" under the ice, based on experience/abilities, training, equipment, crew, existing conditions, etc. I've been thru a few icing certs. myself, but have left some of the class's ideas behind, eg, sand around the hole, nylon ropes, colored tape on the ropes (to indicate distance out), confusing numbers of pulls to indicate even more confusing situations, as dumb ideas come up with by people who had spent more time thinking about icing, then actually icing. I think its fair to state that each of us, (Nate, John, Steve, Joe, Popo, Robert, and myself) have more ice dives, (time under the ice), then many of Minnesota's icing instructors, certainly many of them combined. Along with that experience comes a comfort level as to how much risk is being assumed on any individual dive. A few times this season I was 400' out from the hole, some divers would not be comfortable with that distance, and that's understandable.
I don't see much of a concern with Nate and John switching divers under the ice as long as Art or someone is still on the surface. I have iced a few times with just two divers (just two people) on the ice and would not recommend leaving "no one" on the surface, in anything other then an emergency situation, especially without a shack. This is partially due to differences in our setups, we submerge our block, Nate and John pull theirs. If the block were to pop back into the hole without surface support, (on top of the existing emergency) it would make survival MUCH more difficult.
In all of my icing classes we ALWAYS had a fully suited (and at the ready) safety diver, and safety tender, as we did for our regular ice dives with the Argonautes under the direction of Jean Francious Aubineau (for some of you, a dive shop on University Ave back in the 70's and 80's where I did my master's class) Today we do not utilize a safety diver/tender with my group, nor do Nate and John, for it requires an absolute min. of 4 people. One thing made me wonder, (while I was safety diver, partially because you had little to do other then sit and get cold).... Ice diving is an overhead enviornment, much like penetration wreck or cave diving, but you don't have a safety diver and tender for wrecks or caves, sure the water is cold adding another concern, over frozen regs. and fingers, but still no safety divers or tenders.
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