Equipment needed for ice diving :
Dry suit – a full face diving mask – gloves so your fingers don’t fall off – you don’t want to be like sir Ranulph Fiennes – thermal clothing for both under and above the water, a harness and tether, tools to cut through the ice and in case of emergency, a weight belt with two buckles, hood, two regulators that are suitable for extreme water temperature, a good communication system and a good team of fellow qualified people to ensure your safety and recovery if necessary …. shelter for you to regain your body temperature, a cup for your cocoa, as alcohol will just exacerbate your hypothermia and possibly a psychiatrist just to check your state of mind for doing it in the first place.
Knowing your equipment and the science of how freezing temperature effects your gear is vital ….Watch out for the regulator freezing!
What to watch out for when ice diving – orcas – snow leopards seals – penguins – natural ice sculptures – crystal visibility (the colours on some marine life exaggerated due to the reflection of the ice.)
Where to ice dive
Some suggestions could be Antarctica – McMurdo sound where the waters can fall below -40* in the winter months so you will have to wait until the summer months which is September until Feb the water can be an eerily 300 metres clear.
Ice dive in Canada or Iceland, Siberia’s Lake Baikal is jam-packed of natural ice sculptures – Feb and March is the best time for diving here. The White Sea in Russia is the only European sea to freeze annually. Sweden the Melln Marviken lake. Denmark. Switzerland Poland. The Falkland’s or Finland.
