Ice Diving - Lake of the Woods, February 7 and 8, 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ice Diving Enthusiasts,
Ice Diving interested folks,
Divers from all walks of life,
Ice Diving Instructors, and
Potential Ice Diving Instructors

Currently we have an ice diving class and an ice diving instructor class scheduled for Klamath Falls OR (Lake of the Woods) February 7 and 8, 2009. Jody Olson will provide the classroom briefing between now and Saturday morning, February 7, 2009, for those folks in Klamath Falls.

Refresher and update discussions will be held at Elmer's on 6th street, starting at 8 am. Breakfast is on your own, but we will have enough time to eat, visit, and answer any questions. We will also be completing liability releases, medical forms, statements of understanding, and checking for proof of open water diver certification along with proof of experience in deep, navigation, and night diving.

Then we will had for the station at 9:30 am or so to gather last minute items, share rides, and caravan up to Lake of the Woods arriving around 10:30 am.

Jay Chancey, (Josephine Dive Rescue Team) will meet us there to assist with the ice diving instruction along with Jody.

Depending on interest we can dive on Sunday and you can leave from the Lake or we might even try a different location.

Driving Directions:

The only way to get into the Lake of the Woods resort is from Highway 140 to Dead Indian Memorial Road.

Please bring a long handled straight ended shovel, warm clothes, and a lunch and snacks. PLEASE. Bring food/snacks/water/hot chocolate as the resort will be closed.

Last weekend we had lunch at 1 pm and the first divers got in the water at 1:45 pm.

Please, bring warm clothes and boots suitable for tromping on the ice for three hours as it takes up to 3 hours to prepare the hole for ice diving then when you are not in the water you will be tending.

Bring extra gloves and your dry suits and if you really want to you can bring your wet suits as we usually have an individual each year that wants to try it in his/her wet suit.

Dry suits are not required. Several folks have used wetsuits and survived (Lyn, Joe, Jody, and Dale, to name a few).

My representatives in Klamath Falls are monitoring the ice conditions. On January 24, 2009, the ice was at least 18 to 20 inches thick, measured by the chain saw bar as we cut through the ice to open the hole.

We have asked Michael, OPB videographer, to join us again to take underwater video as we dive under the ice.

We will be diving further out in the lake this time and try to get a depth of 30 feet. This way Michael can get some different shots then he did last weekend.

Our plan is to dive three times on Saturday. If you would like to make any dives on Sunday, we can work that out also.

I was informed on Friday (yesterday) that due to technical difficulties OPB will not be able to film the class this weekend.

But I was assured that they will be here in full force next year. Wait for announcements early next year.

Cost for the class is $295 plus $35 for the book and $25 for the certification fee. If you wish an additional certification from your favorite agency please contact me to see if it available.

Klamath County Sheriff Dive Rescue (KCSDR) team members have their own fees and expenses.

All certified ice divers are welcome to get back under the ice.

We are also conducting an ice diving instructor course during the weekend, so if your are interested, please let me know and I can get you the additional information required and let you know the appropriate fees associated with this phase of the instruction.

As with all of my courses we enjoy having those already certified as ice divers to come along and get under the ice or help on top as a tender.

I have several links off of the ice diving page you may wish to look over.

www.omnidivers.com/ice.html

Drive Carefully as the roads in and out of the area can be difficult at times.

For those of you traveling from out of town the Econo Lodge is inexpensive but there are also other accommodations in town.

If you have any questions please feel free to email or call me.

Please RSVP.

phil
360-991-2999 cell
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Phillip E. Graf, Omni Divers Underwater Services, L.L.C.
ERDI Instructor Trainer
TDI Surface Supplied Instructor Trainer
Washougal, WA 98671
http://www.omnidivers.com/tdisurfacesupplied.html
http://www.surfacesupplieddiving.com
http://omnidivers.blogspot.com/