SDI Ice Diver Course

SDI Ice Diver Course: Discover the Serene Beauty Under the Ice

Extend your diving season and experience the truly unique, serene environment beneath the ice! The SDI Ice Diver course provides the specialized training needed to plan and execute dives safely in this overhead environment. While beautiful, ice diving presents unique challenges, making proper training essential.

This course covers everything you need to know to become a competent ice diver:

• Cold Water Considerations: Understand the physiological effects of cold water and specific first aid procedures.
• Specialized Equipment: Learn about essential gear like harnesses, lines, dry suits (highly recommended!), and hole-cutting equipment.
• Surface Support: Master the critical procedures for surface support teams, including line tending, communication signals, and hole preparation.
• Safety Procedures: Practice lost diver drills, safety diver responsibilities, and emergency management specific to ice diving.
• Under-Ice Techniques: Learn about navigation, dive light use, and managing buoyancy in an overhead ice environment.

You'll practice skills on land before moving to in-water exercises, including familiarization dives, exploring under the ice, line handling, and rotating through different team roles (diver, tender, safety diver).

Who should take this course? Certified Open Water divers looking to experience the unique aspects of ice diving and extend their diving opportunities into the winter months.

Prerequisites:

• Minimum age 18
• SDI Open Water Scuba Diver certification or equivalent

What You Get: Upon successful completion, you'll be certified to engage in ice diving activities within the limits of your training and experience. This certification also counts as one specialty towards the SDI Advanced Diver Development Program.

Ready to safely explore the captivating world under the ice? Enroll in the SDI Ice Diver course today!

Key Topics

• Effects of cold (physiological, emergency, first aid)
• Equipment for ice diving (harness, lines, dry suit, hole-cutting)
• Surface support procedures (duties, hole-cutting, line tending, communication, signals)
• Lost diver procedures
• Safety diver procedures and equipment
• Navigation under ice
• Dive light use and care
• Practical skills practice (land and water) including rotating team roles
• Prerequisites: Minimum age 18, SDI Open Water Scuba Diver or equivalent
• Outcomes:
  • Certification to engage in ice diving activities (within training limits)
  • Counts as one specialty towards SDI Advanced Diver Development Program
  • Counts towards Master Scuba Diver