steve2281
July 2nd, 2006, 03:16 PM
Yet another Mine LaMotte report. Our plans were to dive Cannonball this weekend, however the monthly rainfall data in the area near the spring caused us to put it off a couple more weeks. With Jeff at work and no one else showing any interest in diving this mine, Dennis and I sat off by ourselves.
The plan for dive one was a bit bolder than usual. We planned to dive past the third T down the Hall Rd, farther than we had ever been and add to our "rough survey." Our entry to the Bat cave was torture since pond-like algae was starting to cover the open water area and the water level was down, leaving part of the swim in 6" of water. Once inside the "air over water" cave, we dropped on the Hall Rd line to find only about 5' of vis. As we past the first T, the vis had improved to 15' and continued to improve to 25' as we past the second T. We dropped the stage bottles at 1200' and pushed on. Passing the third T, the line, which had been running straight for hundreds of feet, made a 45* turn where we found a 4th T about a hundred feet later. At about 1800' the big rooms turned into a classic mineshaft looking tunnel, about 7'x7' with ore cart tracks down the center. The shaft, which initially looked inviting, seemed to go on and on and on. At this point, we were a long way from home, the scenery wasn't changing, the cold was penetrating my drysuit, my diaper was wet, and the thoughts running thru my head were not all good. I called the dive at 56 min, well short of thirds, about 2200'.
As soon as we turned, the demons departed from my thinking; we both took advantage of a few pull and glides on the cart tracks to pick up our pace. Coming back on the 4th T we paused to shine our lights down the line and take a bearing. Picking up the bottles was less than perfect on my part, but I'm sure the silt will settle before anyone discovers it. Exit was uneventful. Max depth 50. Water temp 51*. Dive time 106 min.
The sun felt good on the SI; the music and party were getting cranked up over on the quarry side.
Plan for dive two was much tamer. We entered the old section at the main entrance heading for the elevator. With our doubles half full/empty, we dived a stage on this dive too. Dennis would make his first attempt at shooting video in the mine as I led; I would take the camera at the turn. Again, the vis was poor near the entrance, about 5'. As we made the first turn, Dennis, burdened by the stage bottle and camera, asked me to slow the pace. As we neared the first T the vis improved, and by the time made it to the big rooms past the 2nd T, we were looking at 40' vis (the best I've seen in the mine). Reaching the 4th T, we took the vertical line which took us from 60' to 38'. Our first time on this line; lots to look at, wish I knew what all the stuff was. When the line T ed for the 5th time, I chose a path that turned out to be a dead end and we turned the dive at 28min. Dennis gladly handed over the camera; we exited at a snails pace while taking in the sights. Max depth 60, dive time 53 min, penetration 850, water temp 50.
The plan for dive one was a bit bolder than usual. We planned to dive past the third T down the Hall Rd, farther than we had ever been and add to our "rough survey." Our entry to the Bat cave was torture since pond-like algae was starting to cover the open water area and the water level was down, leaving part of the swim in 6" of water. Once inside the "air over water" cave, we dropped on the Hall Rd line to find only about 5' of vis. As we past the first T, the vis had improved to 15' and continued to improve to 25' as we past the second T. We dropped the stage bottles at 1200' and pushed on. Passing the third T, the line, which had been running straight for hundreds of feet, made a 45* turn where we found a 4th T about a hundred feet later. At about 1800' the big rooms turned into a classic mineshaft looking tunnel, about 7'x7' with ore cart tracks down the center. The shaft, which initially looked inviting, seemed to go on and on and on. At this point, we were a long way from home, the scenery wasn't changing, the cold was penetrating my drysuit, my diaper was wet, and the thoughts running thru my head were not all good. I called the dive at 56 min, well short of thirds, about 2200'.
As soon as we turned, the demons departed from my thinking; we both took advantage of a few pull and glides on the cart tracks to pick up our pace. Coming back on the 4th T we paused to shine our lights down the line and take a bearing. Picking up the bottles was less than perfect on my part, but I'm sure the silt will settle before anyone discovers it. Exit was uneventful. Max depth 50. Water temp 51*. Dive time 106 min.
The sun felt good on the SI; the music and party were getting cranked up over on the quarry side.
Plan for dive two was much tamer. We entered the old section at the main entrance heading for the elevator. With our doubles half full/empty, we dived a stage on this dive too. Dennis would make his first attempt at shooting video in the mine as I led; I would take the camera at the turn. Again, the vis was poor near the entrance, about 5'. As we made the first turn, Dennis, burdened by the stage bottle and camera, asked me to slow the pace. As we neared the first T the vis improved, and by the time made it to the big rooms past the 2nd T, we were looking at 40' vis (the best I've seen in the mine). Reaching the 4th T, we took the vertical line which took us from 60' to 38'. Our first time on this line; lots to look at, wish I knew what all the stuff was. When the line T ed for the 5th time, I chose a path that turned out to be a dead end and we turned the dive at 28min. Dennis gladly handed over the camera; we exited at a snails pace while taking in the sights. Max depth 60, dive time 53 min, penetration 850, water temp 50.