Diving High Altitude Lakes of Nepal That's One Small Step
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Himalayan Heaven Diving high altitude lakes of Nepal text by Andrey Bizyukin photos by Maxim Gresko No One Else Will Ever Dive Higher or Report on this Unknown Expedition. Underwater Himalayas – these words, while absurd at first glance, began to make sense in 1999 when Andrei Andryushin (NAUI dive instructor) together with his friend and adventure companion, Denis Bakin, have been traveling in the area of Anapurna, one of Nepal’s eight-thousand-meter mountain peaks. At one of the passes, a sherpa guide told Andrei that not That’s one small step for far from their route lay Tilicho, the man, one giant leap for the highest mountain lake in the mankind. world. -- Neil Armstrong Tents are dwarfed by the Himalayan mountain peaks surrounding Tilicho, the highest mountain lake in the worldl. 1 X-RAY MAG 1 : 2 : 2004 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL EQUIPMENT & NEWS ECOLOGY PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED feature Himalaya Steep mountain passes make the trek up to Lake Tilicho difficult and trecherous. Different sources positioned the lake and made a presentation of his idea representative could not participate in at an altitude varying from 4,960 to – to set an unbeatable world record by the expedition personally. But neither 5,200m above sea level and described making a dive in the highest mountain this nor the lack of sponsors and high its size as 4 by 1.5 km across. Asking the lake in the world. Vadim strongly sup- cost of the expedition could stop the locals and guides about the lake as ported the idea. enthusiasts in their determination to set well as subsequent internet search con- Soon the following group of enthu- a new world diving record. firmed that no person had ever dared siasts started working on the project: In pursuit of their dream, the adven- to dive in the lake. Andrei Andryushin, Denis Bakin, Vadim turers decided to finance the expe- Belenikin, Maxim Gresko, Pavel Ruslanov, dition with their own personal funds. The Big Idea Guennadi Slobodanyuk, Dmitri Friedman All logistics issues were handed As it usually is with decisive people, and Svetlana Chistyakova. over to the Himalayan Club, whose the path from an idea to its practical To everyone’s disappointment, the president, Sergei Vertelov, decid- realization was not long. Upon his return representative office of the Guinness ed to join the expedition personally. to Moscow, Andrei met with Vadim Book of Records turned down the Belenikin, president of Sprout Dive Club, request to register the record since their Andrei Andryushin takes a break on the trail up the mountain side. 2 X-RAY MAG 1 : 2 : 2004 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL EQUIPMENT & NEWS ECOLOGY PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED A breathtaking view of the Himalayan mountans from the trail. 3 X-RAY MAG 1 : 2 : 2004 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL EQUIPMENT & NEWS ECOLOGY PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED feature Himalaya View from inside a tent overlooking the sparkling surface of Lake Tilicho. Challenges case of trouble was impossible, and the mum exposure of one minute. The task to bring over half a ton of equip- group could not get information on the Then, there was the flight to Katmandu, ment, including a compressor, and a availability of a single pressure cham- a transfer to a run-down local carrier, a group of divers to a remote region of ber in Nepal. It’s a well-known rule that flight to Manang — a village claiming Nepal located at the same altitude air travel should be avoided for some to have the highest dirt airstrip in the of that of the peak of Elbrus, looked period after diving. But the atmospheric world (3550m above the sea level), a complicated by any standard. Another pressure at the altitude of the lake of two-day stopover for acclimatization, a problem was the absence of proven Tilicho is 0.5 bar, which is much less than check dive in a local lake and getting a tables that would allow divers to calcu- in a cabin of any commercial airplane. blessing from a local lama, followed by late maximum duration and depth of a After some approximate calculations, an exhausting two-day climb to Tilicho. dive at such an altitude. it was decided that the dive depth On top of that, urgent evacuation in should be limited to 25m with a maxi- Members of the team huddle together on the shore as a diver submerges. 4 X-RAY MAG 1 : 2 : 2004 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL EQUIPMENT & NEWS ECOLOGY PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED feature Himalaya Andrei and the team members prepare for the record setting dive and help each other suit up. High atltudes make any task much harder to accomplish. Tilicho On September 23th, 2000, the expedition reached (headache, nausea, etc). It was then decided the lake. Tilicho astounded everyone with its pris- to follow the initial plan and begin diving the next tine beauty. The lake was absolute cyan in color. day. On the lake surface, huge pieces of ice were Sunny weather that everybody enjoyed during floating, sparkling in the cold rays of the sun. the day was replaced by snow, strong winds and Later, it became clear that the ice was brought temperatures at minus 10°C during the night. to the lake by avalanches, which rushed several In the morning, with the help of an inflatable times a day down the glacier covering the west- boat and an echo sounder, the first depth meas- ern slope of the mountain. urements were taken. The measurements showed The camp was set up on the shore opposite to that a narrow shallow band by the water’s edge the glacier. At the water’s edge, our GPS (global near the camp sloped abruptly into a sharp positioning system) was showing an altitude of rocky incline that was much deeper than what 5,000m. Due to insufficient acclimatization period, the echo sounder could measure (max. 75m). most of the group members were suffering from In addition, strange formations resembling sea- different symptoms of altitude sickness weeds were found at the depth of 50m. Divers use echo sound equipment to measure the depths of the lake. 5 X-RAY MAG 1 : 2 : 2004 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL EQUIPMENT & NEWS ECOLOGY PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED feature Himalaya Strong winds , whipping snow and extreme temperatures make for a very tough night on the shores of Lake Tilicho. Remote and pristine, Lake Tilicho is the highest mountain lake in the world. Preparations Any movement at such altitude can make With a lot of effort, a Colty Sub compressor a person short of breath. It causes suffoca- managed to fill the air tanks up to 100 bars. tion and requires time to regain normal But the weather started getting bad again, breathing. so the first dive was made from the shore Two kilometers north of the camp, they near the camp. This dive, even though chose a place with convenient access to a shallow one at 10m, plus exposure to the water. Friends helped Andrei to put on extreme temperatures during the following his gear, and then he went underwater. “I night, exhausted the team. The night was was moving down along a rocky slope. It very cold and gusts of wind and snow tore was quite dark under the water. Visibility was out two tents. no more that 1m. The water temperature at On the morning of September 25th, Andrei the surface was 6°C. My wrist computer was still willing to accomplish the goals of switched over to dive mode as I reached Team members rest on the shore of Lake Tilicho the initial plan. Together with Denis Bakin, the depth of 5m. That’s when it indicated which sits at an altitude of 5000m. Maxim Gresko and the sherpas loaded zero depth," said Andrei. with diving equipment, he went over to the "I went down to 21m according to com- northern shore of the lake where the profile puter. The water temperature there was of the slope and shoreline would allow them 3°C. The rocky slope kept going down, but I to make the record dive. turned around and started going up to the A diver checks his gear in the shore dive. 6 X-RAY MAG 1 : 2 : 2004 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL EQUIPMENT & NEWS ECOLOGY PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED feature Himalaya ABOVE: The Russian flag keeps vigil at a campsite dusted with snow in the early morning hours. PHYSICAL RISKS IN HIGH ALTITUDE DIVING Training in high altitude diving proce- Many people wrongly believe that surface following the slope profile. It was impor- dures is essential for safety in diving a headache at altitude is “normal” tant to go back to where I started from under the at altitude. when it is really a symptom of AMS. water, because swimming on the surface in full One must be willing to admit that There are normal physiologic chang- one has altitude illness. diving gear at the altitude of Elbrus peak requires es that occur in all individuals who inhuman effort. My dive lasted for 10 to 15 min- adventure to high altitudes: According to the High Altitude Medi- utes and brought no surprises. Afterwards, I felt • Hyperventilation (breathing fast) cine Guide by Thomas E. Dietz, MD great satisfaction that I reached my goal, and I • Shortness of breath during exertion Emergency & Wilderness Medicine, experienced a rush of energy, probably thanks • Increased urination there are two rules to follow: • Night time changes in breathing to breathing oxygen-rich air from the tank. I did pattern GOLDEN RULE #1 not discover any forms of underwater life, but this • Awakening frequently at night It is OK to get altitude illness.