Lost River - Karst Information Portal

2007 NSS Convention Guidebook
to get to work. After 30 feet the passage started
to open up, but it didn’t last long. Now it got
lower, about 2 feet. They cut the line at the 100foot
mark, tied off, and worked their way back
to the bigger passage. Upon reaching their drop
tanks in the main tunnel, they checked their air
supply and the time limit until a decompression
stop. The main tunnel looked very clear—but
surely Mark and Ralph had already entered
the cave. Dave and Noel went on to the third
constriction, enjoying the easy dive. On the
way out Noel passed Dave, who was taking in
the old line they had installed in 1990. By now
the visibility was down to 3 or 4 feet, so Dave
had to keep a close eye on the good line while
removing the old one. After about 100 feet,
Dave ran into Mark on the line, and then into
Ralph. Dave and Noel felt bad about trashing
the visibility for them.
After getting back into clearer water and
dropping their third tanks off at the 450-foot
tie-off point, Mark and Ralph went up and over
the breakdown that led to the rest of the Cold
Water Passage. From this point the passage
averages 5 feet high by 7 feet wide. Mark was
in the lead, so at least he could see what was
ahead; all Ralph could see was about 6 feet
and Mark’s fins. At the end of the line, 900 feet
from the entrance, Mark tied off the first line
reel. Now the passage lowered to 4 feet high at
a depth of 75 feet. The first reel with 150 feet
of line went smoothly and the passage stayed
the same, with only a little more silt. Checking
their air supply and decompression time limit,
they found they had plenty of the first and a few
extra minutes of the second, so they continued
on, with only a bit of breakdown to get around.
Another easy 150 feet of line was laid but by
now the cold water was starting to take its toll
on them. While exiting the cave the visibility
was only around 5 feet. After almost one hour
both divers were getting cold, and they still
had to do a 20 minute decompression stop at
10 feet. When Mark stopped shaking, he said
that the passage stayed about the same shape
and was still heading north. Once they warmed
up, they said they had enjoyed their dive.
Team 1. Dive time: 70 minutes;
68
Decompression time: 11 minutes. Warm
Water Passage: New line: 100 feet. Total line:
450 feet.
Team 2. Dive time: 75 minutes;
Decompression time: 15 minutes. Cold Water
Passage: New line: 300 feet. Total line: 1,200
feet.
Dive 19, October 15, 1995: Leaking
Pressure Gauge
Dave decided to do a solo dive up the
Warm Water Passage to see if he could get past
the breakdown that stopped him and Noel on
the last dive. Mark and Noel are headed for
the end of the line up the Cold Water Passage.
Dave took a ten-minute head start. Using a
pair of 80s and a 72-cubic-foot tank as a drop
tank, he was able to get 400 feet back before
switching to the 80s. The last 100 feet of line
was the worst, 2 feet high with sharp rock on
the floor and ceiling. At the end of the line it
was obvious what had stopped Noel on the last
trip—breakdown. A long piece went to the left
wall 15 feet away; you could see over it but you
could not get over it. Going to the right 10 feet
from the line, the slab had broken into several
pieces and Dave was able to move enough rock
to squeeze through. The passage went on but
Dave had spent 10 minutes at a depth of 65
feet trying to get past the breakdown and it was
time for him to exit the cave.
Mark was diving with a pair of 100-cubicfoot
tanks and with an 80 that had nitrox (a gas
mixture to shorten decompression time). Noel
was diving with a pair of 95s and an 80 with
nitrox; both 80s were their drop tanks. Leaving
the 80s at the third constriction made the dive
go a little faster. Mark was in the lead until they
got to the end of the line at 1,200 feet; Noel
got to lead after that. By now they have been
underwater for 35 minutes at a depth of 75 feet.
Air supplies were checked and both divers were
in good shape for the push into new cave. As
they made their way up the passage the ceiling
started to lower to about 3 feet, with silt about
2 inches thick on the floor. Finally, they reached
the end of their line reel and, after finding a
place to tie off, were ready to leave the cave. The