[ EXPLORING & ADVENTURE ]

COLD RUSH: Ice diving In Lake Superior

by J. Childs winter in Northwestern Ontario represents the perfect time to try a truly unique winter activity — ice diving. Situated on the north shore of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, Thunder Bay is a perfect setting for ice diving. Superior’s shallow bays and inlets begin to freeze as early as November with ice typically reaching its maximum depth during late February and early March. David Shepherd, lead instructor at Thunder Country Diving on May Street in

Thunder Bay and the principal coordinator of our dive, organizes ice diving trips during ving i the winter depending on ice conditions and the demand for courses by divers. He has been D ice diving for the last five years and is a qualified Advanced Open Water instructor for Scuba Schools International (SSI). Following an early morning review of safety procedures David introduced me to the other divers who would be joining us – Jeff Peterson, a certified Dive Control Specialist instructor for SSI, Andy Fountain, an Open Water Instructor, and

Learmont “Larry” Doe, a student at Lakehead University interested to see what ice diving Photos: Thunder Country

30 THUNDER BAY EXPERIENCE 2013 [ EXPLORING & ADVENTURE ] “W ith everything in place and a tap on the shoulder indicating that everything was ok, I slipped off the side of the ice and into the water”.

was all about. We are standing on the ice at Wild Goose Beach, about 15 minutes north of Thunder Bay. It’s a balmy -12 but with the wind chill it feels more like -20. The sun is bright and the sky is a rich blue against the snow and ice. Our dive site is about 200 metres offshore and despite the frigid conditions Jeff Peterson, one of the dive instructors, comments on the relatively constant +4C of the water saying it’s “better down there than it is up here”. Considered an advanced form of , ice diving offers its own unique challenges and rewards. enters a closed environment with only a small entry and exit point and, as such, special precautions must be taken before each dive. As with all types of diving, safety is paramount but even more so with ice diving since situations can occur that don’t happen in warm water dives. Each diver wears a harness over their attached to a 100 ft. rope held their line. The diver communicates with astonishing clarity of the water. Looking by their tender, a person on the surface the tender through a series of pulls on up, the ice had formed a beautiful crystal of the ice responsible for the diver on the rope – one tug signals “ok”, two tugs ceiling that shimmered as the changing means “give me some line” so I can keep pattern of sunlight refracted through exploring, and three tugs tells the tender the ice and water creating an amazing “we are coming back”. Four or more tugs interplay of diffused light and shadow on the rope means “emergency - get me over the sandy, rippled lake bottom. out of here”. On the surface Ice divers may appear crazy When my turn came to take the plunge I but my team disagrees. David finds ice sat for a moment staring at the dark water diving to be a “very tranquil and holistic with a nervous energy. With everything in experience” and although there are risks place and a tap on the shoulder indicating to diving under the ice, with the proper that everything was ok, I slipped off the training and knowledge, safety is virtually side of the ice and into the water. guaranteed. Andy summed it up nicely, The ice formed a barrier between two stating that it was a good way for a group vastly different worlds. Earlier that of friends to go out together and challenge morning, David had described the themselves while having a great deal of fun. experience of ice diving as “diving in Ice diving is a truly breathtaking twilight”. And now, as I kneeled on the experience that will push your physical lake bottom, four metres below the ice, and mental boundaries. For all those I understood what he meant. Everything interested in experiencing the thrill of under the surface is peaceful and this uniquely Canadian winter activity serene. The first thing you notice is the contact Thunder Country Diving.

31 visitthunderbay.com