UER Forum > Archived UE Main > DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) (Viewed 1578 times)
Therrin This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL Gender: Male
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DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) < on 4/26/2013 3:54 AM >
So last week I realized I had nothing to do for a little bit, and made the decision...to proceed.
Pulled out all the gear, checked and rechecked everything. Tested everything. New battery in my dive computer, tested it. New batteries in the lights and picked some up for the GoPro on the way to the location.
Took my normal large dive light, and took out the eight D cells and the reflector and everything, then put some weight in it and filled it with modern LED handhelds and my GoPro. Instant huge amount of light and waterproof housing.
Sadly, when we got to the location and I put the new batteries in my GoPro, a little red light blinked and then nothing happend. LCD wasn't working, nothing would record. Toast. So no actual underwater footage. Which is probably fine because there was too much going on for me to have shot decent footage anyway. She got some footage of me heading down and coming back up that turned out alright.
The PLAN: Go down 20ft and "see what's up" (In this location, you can't see but the first 8 feet or so from the "surface", which is already 1/3rd a mile inside the mine)
Assess if the location has potential for further diving.
Use up 1/3rd of air supply and leave. (I was using a 19CF cylinder @ 3000 psi)
This was very much a short, exploratory dive to see what the situation was. It starts off with a 45deg slope which drops vertical.
The Backup Plan: - Brandi, my assistant, had been with me to the mine before and has seen 100% of the workings which you are able to get to without ropes. - My dive reel line was clipped to her (nothing else to clip to) - I notified 2 people before hand, with a strict time schedule for when they should receive return calls. - The notified people had directions on how to get to where I was in the mine, and the turns inside the mine were marked with glowsticks. - The emergency phone list had members of the local SAR Dive team on it, who are personal friends. - I have been in this mine over 20 times and have swept it numerous times with a 4 gas monitor.
These pictures are based off of several trips to this mine that I've made over the last 3 years.
The Entrance
But we got there in the dark
Crawling in
Main Drift (most of the mine is about 20" deep with standing water)
The first flooded vertical you come to, skirt around, and head through the continuing drift on the left side of the chamber. This one is 200ft deep and leads to an entire lower level.
Through here
Through here
Hang a left, walk a 30ft lateral drift to a small parallel drift where you find this on the left, and about 50ft of semi-dry drift on the right.
Gear up. Check everything. Go over the plan once more.
Getting ready to enter the water. You can see the lateral drift we came in through on the left of this pic, and my empty wellies at the bottom of the pic.
Water was 60*F.
The Plan: Get in. Decide if it's a workable temperature. LOOK... see what you can see. If all systems are go, clip off to my partner and... dive dive dive.
Get in
Take a look
Dive dive dive
Air bubbles coming up through the water with me below
It was at this point my partner thought to herself "what have I just gotten myself into". So she took a selfy while she was waiting.
Coming back up, about 10 minutes later.
I had quite a bit of adrenaline pumping through my system at this point. Can you tell? We packed up and safely exited the mine to make our follow-up calls to the backup team.
It is indeed a stope. It drops down at least 60ft, that I could see with my lights. Beyond that was more inky darkness. At about 20ft down it opens up a bit wider to either side, and I passed several timbers on my way down to my hover level at 18ft, which is maybe 30ft in with the lateral distance included.
I realize this seems like a short dive, and it was. But it was a cornerstone achievement for me, out of all of the other diving I've done.
I planned my dive, and dove my plan. And there is considerable potential for future exploration underwater not only in this specific spot, but in other parts of the mine as well.
Videos:
Going down
Coming back up
Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =)
Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 1 on 4/26/2013 4:14 AM >
OMG! You did that dive in a shorty? Grats, man, because you ARE the man! Loved the pics and flicks, keep them coming. Just celebrated the birth of my third girl, an exploration all in its self.
Therrin This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL Gender: Male
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Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 2 on 4/26/2013 4:15 AM >
I did it in workout shorts and a black tshirt, actually.
Thanks! Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =)
Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 3 on 4/26/2013 4:22 AM >
Well that's pretty much the most extreme exploring I've ever seen. Congrats on pioneering your way into the world of mine diving. Glad everything went well, I look forward to seeing more mine diving footage!
Also, I know you're very well acquainted with the mine, but how did you decide where to dive?
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Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 4 on 4/26/2013 5:07 AM >
Posted by DawnPatrol Well that's pretty much the most extreme exploring I've ever seen. Congrats on pioneering your way into the world of mine diving. Glad everything went well, I look forward to seeing more mine diving footage!
Also, I know you're very well acquainted with the mine, but how did you decide where to dive?
Thanks!
There are basically 4 locations which are dive-able.
1. The one shown with the yellow glow sticks. There's lots of "stuff' around that one, and I think the water quality would likely be poor. It's also 200ft deep. From what I can tell there isn't much between the top of it, and the drift level at the bottom (but I could be wrong about that).
2. There's one not far from that, but its UP a stope, which is already a difficult climb without 80lb of gear hanging off you; and it starts with a 9ft vertical wall. And then it's a squeeze through a very narrow area, then a sharp sandy decline to a 20ft straight drop to the water. Pretty much a no-go in my book.
3. The third one is the one I did.
4. The fourth one I would also like to do an exploratory on. It's a vertical shaft that goes down about 60 to 80 ft. Nice and clear. It's at the far back end of the mine though.
Here's a pic of it: https://sphotos-a....21_300927566_n.jpg Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =)
Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 7 on 4/26/2013 1:11 PM >
Really awesome.
I listened to a great audiobook about cave divers. Much respect, regardless of depth. "Great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men." - Richard Nickel
Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 11 on 4/26/2013 5:14 PM >
Great job, doing something new. I've seen people dive into flooded bunkers, but never in natural caves, which are much more unpredictable I guess. Be safe! www.basdemos.com
Therrin This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL Gender: Male
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Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 12 on 4/26/2013 7:27 PM >
Thanks for the comments everyone! Hah, and yes, a wetsuit would be nice. I need to buy a new one.
Posted by sirpsychosexy Great job, doing something new. I've seen people dive into flooded bunkers, but never in natural caves, which are much more unpredictable I guess. Be safe!
Just want to point out here, since it doesn't matter how many times I say "mine" "mine" "mine" "mines" "mines" "Mine" "mines"
Someone always responds with "cave".
Caves are natural formations, mines are man-made. There IS a difference, the terms aren't interchangeable. Sometimes abandoned mines are found in caves, and sometimes caves are found in mines; but the two are not the same thing.
Posted by thetrainguru thats some pretty intense shit. good work! did you get any shots of the submerged parts or was this just a test of your system.
I didn't! As the story says, my GoPro is dead I need to get/borrow one for a followup dive. This was very much a test dive. There's only so much you can practice in a pool. Last summer I purchased a bunch of pvc pipe and connectors and built huge frames in the pool covered with tarps and practiced navigating them. There's really only so-close you can get to the real thing.
[last edit 4/26/2013 7:33 PM by Therrin - edited 2 times] Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =)
Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 13 on 4/26/2013 10:22 PM >
Congrats! The next one is going to be awesome.
Makes me want a little hobby ROV that would take a gopro out for a swim.
Edit: too small for fins in there maybe? [last edit 4/26/2013 10:23 PM by FastEddy - edited 1 times]
Therrin This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL Gender: Male
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Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 14 on 4/26/2013 10:40 PM >
Posted by FastEddy Congrats! The next one is going to be awesome.
Makes me want a little hobby ROV that would take a gopro out for a swim.
Edit: too small for fins in there maybe?
I chose not to use fins for *this* dive, though I will in the future. I had no idea how constricted or silty the passage would be, and I didn't want to stir things up right away.
In the event of an uncontrolled descent, they'd be handy; but I had weighted myself to the bare minimum to achieve negative buoyancy for this dive.
I was mostly wall-crawling though; and actually ended up dropping beam to beam till I reached the level I wasn't going past, then hung out there and used breath control to maintain neutral buoyancy and used my lights to look around as much as possible till I reached my pre-planned air limit.
Funny you should mention the other part, I'm actually on an ROV builder's forum as well! I'm very much interested in using ROV's for zooming around the flooded areas to get a look at things. Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =)
Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 16 on 5/1/2013 2:48 AM >
Hey Buddy! You've been talking about it and now you've gone and done it. I'm impressed. You have your wreck cert, right? What size tank is that? It looks more like a bail-out bottle.
I could loan you my dry suit but it would be more like waders on you.
Nice photos and video! You should email Speedy with those pics.
Abby Normal
"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
Therrin This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL Gender: Male
*Therrin puts on the penguin-suit
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Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 17 on 5/1/2013 3:01 AM >
Posted by Abby Normal Hey Buddy! You've been talking about it and now you've gone and done it. I'm impressed. You have your wreck cert, right? What size tank is that? It looks more like a bail-out bottle.
I could loan you my dry suit but it would be more like waders on you.
Nice photos and video! You should email Speedy with those pics.
Abby Normal
Oh you're right! I should send some of that stuff to him.
It IS my bailout bottle. 19cf. My dive plan didn't call for tons of air because of my relatively shallow depth and time. Hence the 'just get under the water and take a look, see if it keeps going, use gathered info to come back later with better plan' Plan.
I only used like 7cf in 10 mins @ 20ft. Well I don't know if I should say "only", I was suckin' it down pretty good. But 2/3rds of my cylinder was my reserve air. In the event of both regulators malfunctioning, or a first stage malfunction, or a blown BC reservoir, busting a valve, etc... I could still ditch and get back over to the surface with relative ease.
I had originally intended to use both my reel AND a climb rope, but decided that the climb rope would rub too much sediment and cause an unknown amount of silting; or it could tangle with the reel and my other equipment.
Most of the driftway is shorter than I am tall, I didn't wanna lug my 80cf or 100cf in there if the thing petered out after 30ft or so. It's a good 1/3rd mile of slogging through 20" deep water to get to that spot.
I think on the second dive, I'll drop a weighted reel line (or possibly a 3/8" climb line) and see how far it goes. Then use it for a down-line and immediately head down to my planned depth. I'm thinking about 60ft. Should give me time to get there quickly before the silt catches and get a good view. See what there is to see, hang out for a bit, then head back up. Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =)
Re: DIVE THE MINE - Mammoth Mine (pic heavy w/ videos) <Reply # 18 on 5/1/2013 3:49 AM >
Sounds like you really thought through things. I think your decision not to use the climbing rope was a good one. You really don't want to deal with a silt-out if you can possibly help it, plus the increased risk of tangling with your safety line. I think taking it slowly and incrementally makes sense as well.
I always wanted to get full cave cert, but just couldn't afford it. I have tech level gear but would need about twice as much as I already had. Recently divorced I just didn't have the $$$ to pursue it. At my age I doubt I'll ever get the chance.
Be careful!
Joanne "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
order your copy of Access All Areas today!
I need to get/borrow one for a followup dive.
