SPORT Meet the Cool Kids: A Deeper Dive into Ice Diving
Explore the chilly depths, with an introduction to the extreme art of ice-diving...
Chill Out: Some Like It… Cold.
If you’ve made it through the ‘wellbeing’ ritual of cold showers, or even dipped your toe into the restorative properties of the cryo-chamber – perhaps we can entice you below the ice. One of the most adventurous forms of diving, this extraordinary discipline not only pushes the body to its limits, it can also offer chances to experience unique underwater environments and marine life rarely seen by human eyes!
Ice divers usually enter the water through holes cut into solid ice over lakes or other large bodies of water – even Arctic ice sheets! Usually equipped with drysuits and several thick undergarments, most ice divers work as part of a team while tethered to a harness, with plenty of safety gear, scuba equipment, and a strict communication protocol. With the water hovering at bitter temperatures just above freezing, staying below the ice for too long can very quickly become dangerous; it’s decidedly not for the fainthearted.
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Next Level: Athletes Pushing the Limits
But what if you were to combine the challenges of freediving with ice-diving? Impossible, you might think… but this gruelling combo is a viable (if extreme) sport, and athlete Arthur Guérin-Boerï is one of its most prolific heroes. He holds a world record for the longest free dive under ice with a 175m swim beneath the surface of a Finnish lake.
Why Try It?
Ice divers, whether free or tethered, say that the beauty and peace of the watery world beneath the ice is unlike anything else on earth. But apart from crystalline wonder, icy water also means that cold-blooded aquatic creatures are required to slow their metabolisms dramatically – so they don’t move unless absolutely necessary.
The upshot? Divers are able to get unusually close. Trying a free-dive (after plenty of training and with expert support!)? You’re likely to be pushed to your physical and mental limits – creating a feeling of euphoria and accomplishment unparalleled by any other form of diving.
Whether you’re free diving for pearls, trying out a scuba lesson in the carribean, ice-diving beneath the Finnish frost or just taking your very first 30-second cold shower… time your attempts with the best tools horology has to offer. TAG Heuer offers several models for divers, pool sharks, and mermaids alike – check out our selection of TAG Heuer Aquaracer here.
