Ice Diving | Chanb77's Weblog

Another Quarry Day

21 02 2010

Sunday, January 10th, 2010 ~

Steve, Jeremy, Kevin and I headed up to the quarry for yet another day of fun under the ice. The quarry had iced over once again, so we were back under the overhead. It was a bit of a grey day outside, but the sun did make an appearance here and there.

Here is an infamous self portrait…

The ice was not incredibly thick…

Once the hole was cut, Steve put the ice screw in…

Steve ran the line out to the plane, and we basically just messed around today, with a valve drill here and there. I had had a free flow on my stage reg, upon entering the water, so Kevin donated his reg to me, since he had an extra bottle.

Steve, chillin’…

Kevin demonstrated his arm dexterity…

Jeremy…

Steve took a picture of me, er.. flying…

A congregation…

We had a slightly shorter dive today, as I had a bit of a leak in my suit, and started to get chilled. The water temperature was also a bit cooler than it usually gets here, in the winter. We still had fun, and it was great to get in the water!

Bottom Time ~ 34 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 24′
Water Temp. ~ 34

Me…

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Tags: DIR, DIR Ontario, Diving, GUE, Ice Diving, Morrison's Quarry
Categories : It's 2010!

Frozen Over!

30 12 2009

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 ~

Steve was working today, so Eric, Zi, and I went up to the quarry, for some diving fun. When we arrived, we were greeted with ice.

There was still a small opening, near the run off point, so we were able to break it up. We were prepared, as we had had very cold temperatures during the week, and the ice was inevitable. We didn’t need the chainsaw, but Eric had it, just in case.

Eric broke up a large area of the beach for us, and we entered the water. Zi ran the line out to the plane, while I took some pictures.

We swam around a bit, then continued the line out to the boat.

It was a pretty chilly day, and when we got out, our gear froze pretty quickly.

Bottom Time ~ 30 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 44′
Water Temp. ~ 39

After our dive, we had a bit of fun on the surface. Hmm… how strong is that ice, anyway?

…and… Zi’s in!

Eric too!

By the end of it, we had most of the beach area broken up.

Thanks for coming out to play, fellas!! Zi.. thanks to your wife for those yummy Peanut Butter treats too!!! Here I am with my cold water, pudgey face…lol.

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Tags: DIR Ontario, Ice Diving, Morrison's Quarry
Categories : Diving In 2009!

Friends, Feast, and Finning… Part 1

1 04 2009

Saturday, March 21st, 2009 ~

On Friday night, a bunch of our friends came from as far west as St. Catherines and as far east as Quebec City. We were having another gathering of friends from afar, for some diving goodness!

Francois and Eric were the first to arrive, followed by Jen, then Jay. We were all hanging out in the dive garage, and helping Jen with her new scooter. After some catching up and nibbling on pizza, we hit the pillows.

Saturday morning, we were up bright and early to go to the quarry. The ice will probably be gone soon, so this weekend would be one of the last couple of ice dives of the season.

When we arrived, there were another three groups of people there to dive. It was a busy day for the watering hole, and there was a large opening above the plane too! We also met up with Jeremy.

We had brought our short body scooters to play with, so that Jen could try out her new toy! We didn’t all have them, so we took turns handing off scooters.

Jen…

Jay…

I handed mine off for a bit, so that I could take some shots, and it was even left to the plane for a bit…

Jay’s little scooter…

Steve, sending me the secret hand shake signal…

Jeremy…

Frankie…

Steve, mid barrel roll…

We had a heckuvalot of fun!

Bottom Time ~ 38 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 38′
Water Temp. ~ 40
Vis. ~ Great!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so a few of us decided to go for a second dive! I left the camera behind, so that I could play around with my scooter. Jen took some shots from the surface, and since there was a gaping hole above the plane, she got some shots of us below!

Jen also got a video clip with her camera…

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We weren’t in for long, but it was fun to get back in!

Bottom Time ~ 21 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 57′
Water Temp ~ 40
Vis. ~ Great!

I think this one is the picture of the day… Jay got a little crabby…

We headed over to Jean Burger for a quick nibble, and then headed back to our place.

We tinkered with gear for a while, then I uploaded the pictures from the day’s adventures. Then it was time for BBQ! Jen had brought up the most succulent sirloin steaks, fresh from the butcher, and fresh bacon to wrap around them. Holy smokes, we were eating like kings and queens tonight! While I played around with the pictures, Jen and Steve got the food together. We had filet mignon, baked potatoes, and.. well.. we forgot the veggies, but we had other add ons! Kevin and Jenn E. also joined us for dinner.

After filling our bellies, it was time to sit back, relax, and watch the “WKPP Push For The Connection” DVD. What a way to wind down a most excellent day of diving goodness and fun with friends!

Stay tuned for Part 2!

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Tags: DIR, GUE, Ice Diving, Morrison's Quarry, We Go Down
Categories : Diving In 2009!

The Quarry Is Melting!

11 03 2009

Sunday, March 8th, 2009 ~

Another busy and gorgeous day at the quarry, and we headed up to meet Kevin and Jeremy. There were many people taking advantage of the beautiful weather today, and getting their gear wet. There were many courses going on as well.

Kevin ran the line today, and we headed out to the plane.

Kevin tied off the line, and we worked on some skills. Steve and I paired up, as did Kevin and Jeremy. We played around a bit, and avoided being landed on a couple of times, by some of the course candidates.

Steve even worked on his “Upside Down Frog Kick.”

We practiced valve drills, finning techniques, as well as picked up some of the “Police Line” that had fallen in the melting water, from the courses.

Kevin even tried the Upside Down Frog Kick…

We looked above, and noticed the big, gaping hole in the ice. We knew there had been a bit of melting, but weren’t sure how much. We made our way to the surface, to check it out… It was a massive open water hole!

Before descending again, Steve pointed out to me, how well you could see the plane from the surface.

We descended again, and did some more playing around the plane.

We finally decided to head in, as it really started to get busy, and we did have to duck a couple of times…

This shot was kind of neat, as it wasn’t until we got home, that I noticed the two people in the ice hole above! It has now been dubbed, “The Alien Picture.”

On the way in…

Bottom Time ~ 60 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 35′
Water Temp. ~ 39
Vis. ~ Great!

When we returned to the hole, we were greeted by other friends about to gear up as well!

We doffed our gear, and Steve wanted to go and play in the big, melted hole, where he got a couple of pretty cool shots…

I came over to say hello, and… lo and behold, my leg went through… Trust that camera to be ready… lol…

We finally packed up and headed over to Jean Burger, for Poutine and chicken! Ok.. chicken for me… Poutine for the fellas!

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Tags: DIR, GUE, Ice Diving, Morrison's Quarry
Categories : Diving In 2009!

A Trip To The Quarry

5 03 2009

Sunday, March 1st, 2009 ~

We headed to the quarry this past Sunday, and we were able to drag Jeremy out, despite the fact that he has been accustomed to desert weather, over the last 9 months (welcome home, Jeremy).

It was a busy day at the quarry as well, and the visibility wasn’t as great as it has been recently.

Here are a few pics from the day’s events…

A shot of Jeremy in his brand spankin’ new TLS…