Castleguard Cave dive

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Castleguard Cave dive

Postby ian mckenzie » Apr 8, 2010 11:22 am

The 20km long Castleguard Cave floods unpredictably in summer, so trips are normally undertaken at Easter. A 20km ski over the Saskatchewan Glacier gets you to the entrance, then a 1km crawl gets you to the sump at the end of Boon's Blunder. First dived in the mid-1980s, a joint Canadian-UK team put a diver in the sump last year, and returned again this year. This year's exped is now complete, and the sump has now been been successfully passed. 845m long, it emerges into dry, low-angle, 3m wide phreatic tube but no dry exploration was undertaken. A return is tentatively planned for 2012.
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Re: Castleguard Cave dive

Postby Phil Winkler » Apr 8, 2010 11:42 am

Ian, that is one hell of an accomplishment!

Way to go.
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Re: Castleguard Cave dive

Postby wyandottecaver » Apr 8, 2010 7:10 pm

a 1km crawl (3280 ft) after 20km of skiing? With dive gear? I'm glad you guys are up to it, cause that sump would have remained the end of my map! :yikes:
I'm not scared of the dark, it's the things IN the dark that make me nervous. :)
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Re: Castleguard Cave dive

Postby Squirrel Girl » Apr 8, 2010 7:10 pm

Hats off to the team! What temp was the water? Whatever your answer is, it'll be too cold for me to join in the fun!
Barbara Anne am Ende

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Re: Castleguard Cave dive

Postby l lambert » Apr 9, 2010 11:41 pm

Wow! You folks are stout! Or crazy! Or both! :clap: Shivering just thinking about it. My helmet's off to you.
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Re: Castleguard Cave dive

Postby ian mckenzie » Apr 24, 2010 3:11 pm

Squirrel Girl wrote: What temp was the water?

About 5C, warmer than expected. The sump must be static enough to warm up over the winter. In summer it'd be colder.
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Re: Castleguard Cave dive

Postby harrym » Jun 5, 2010 1:55 am

Masochists, all of them
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