Ice Diver

Ice diving can be a serene and beautiful aspect of scuba diving. As a winter activity, ice diving offers scuba divers the opportunity to enjoy diving all year round. Doing a dive under the ice presents hazards not common to the open water diver and special training is required. The purpose of this course is to acquaint the scuba diver with many of the hazards associated with ice diving and how to plan and execute an ice dive.

Who this course is for

• The certified diver looking to expand their diving season to all year round and experience the serenity of ice diving

Course prerequisites

• SDI Open Water Scuba Diver or equivalent
• A drysuit is required for this course and divers must have a minimum of 50 logged open water dives (including 10 cold water dives in a drysuit within the last 2 years).
• Students must be available for and phycially capable of assisting with snow clearing and hole preparation
• Minimum age 18

What you can expect to learn

• Effects of the cold including physiological and emergency aspects
• Ice diving equipment
• Surface support procedures
• Hole-cutting techniques
• Line tendering, securing, communicating
• Lost diver procedures, broken line procedures

Certification Requirements

• Classroom Training: Review of safety procedures, hole preparation planning, dive planning and other topics
• Open Water Dives: With a qualified instructor, students will complete two dives in an open water environment and engage in surface/safety support activities.

Course fees do not include gear, tanks, airfills, travel, accommodations, training materials.