Activities - Ice Diving
contemplating!
Bye Bye
weird bubble formation
me underwater
I've seen the light
bubble ring
emerging
That's what I thought until I tried it....!
Not only was I warm and cosy - well okay my hands got a bit cold, I was totally seduced by the whole experience!
After spending a good half an hour togging up and listening to the briefing I was suddenly sitting on the edge of a hole cut into a metre thick layer of ice over a freezing lake! As a beginner I was one on one with Rodolphe, the instructor but experienced divers can go down in pairs with one instructor.
'Roll in head first!' he said.
Submerged under the water many things went through my mind, but gradually the rythmic sound of my breathing and the peacefulness of the water, like a great gentle giant enveloping me, calmed me down.
Relaxed and (still hard to believe) warm, we watched as our bubbles took on an alien life form of their own; metamorphosising into rings, blobs and tubes as they rose upwards looking for the surface. Trapped by the ice roof, they rolled accross it like giant beads of mercury, sometimes finding the exit and releasing themselves into the atmosphere to join the rest of their civilisation, sometimes content to rest hanging on to the ice.
We explored an underground igloo with a tapestry of greens, yellows and blues sparkling through the ice and then continued on a tour of the lake before finally emerging from this strange but marvellous world back to reality!
It's a unique experience - very humbling and very beautiful.
The lake is just off one of the pistes in Orcieres 1850 so you can ski there easily and non-skiers can be collected by snowmobile!
It takes about two hours altogether to do the ice dive although you are probably only under the water for 20 minutes.
All equipment is provided - dry suit, tank, masks and even a very sexy giant babygrow! I would recommend gloves and warm socks as well as long johns and three layers to wear under your babygrow (that's what I wore and was toasty!)
The dive is just under the surface of the ice and goes no deeper than about 3 metres. You are always attached to a rope and your instructor is by your side the whole time.
You don't need to have had any experience of diving - anyone over the age of 16 can do it.
As long as there is enough ice on the lake it's fine - so between December and mid April.
All the instructors are fully qualified PADI diving instructors.
If you would like more information or would like to try ice diving as part of your skiing holiday or as part of a multi activity winter holiday, please contact us.
We can also organise the PADI Ice diver course for experienced divers.
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