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JHH60 wrote:RE diving vs. climbing - In the past I've thought about the parallels between diving and climbing. E.g., there is some similarity in the post-activity process of getting back to where you started in technical diving vs. techncial climbing, insofar as the post-climb descent, especially if it involves rappelling, and the post dive ascent, especially if involves a long decompression with gas switches and open water drifting, often seem easy but in fact are often the most likely part of the process to get you killed if you get sloppy. But this weekend, after doing a deep dive with a long decompression, I realized there's a big difference - you hardly ever get to play with curious and friendly wild animals on a climbing descent:

http://www.baue.org/images/galleries/v/local/DolphinsAtNixies/_DSC8812.jpg.html

http://www.baue.org/images/galleries/v/local/DolphinsAtNixies/_DSC8778.jpg.html

Mountain Impulse wrote:Being two risky activities there are lots of parallels. Lack of concentration can get you in big trouble quickly in both. But one big difference I think is that in climbing your partner is likely to be a lot more useful in an emergency than the normal recreational diving partner. You wouldn't rope up on a glacier with someone unless you knew he had basic rescue skills like knowing how to construct a Z-pulley system, but I don't think recreational divers use the same standards when picking dive partners. Wow, this thread got off-track big time.

JHH60 wrote:

Mountain Impulse wrote:Being two risky activities there are lots of parallels. Lack of concentration can get you in big trouble quickly in both. But one big difference I think is that in climbing your partner is likely to be a lot more useful in an emergency than the normal recreational diving partner. You wouldn't rope up on a glacier with someone unless you knew he had basic rescue skills like knowing how to construct a Z-pulley system, but I don't think recreational divers use the same standards when picking dive partners. Wow, this thread got off-track big time.

That's true at the purely recreational diving level, but the climbing analogy of this would be class 1, 2 or maybe 3 stuff, where most people choose their climbing buddies casually as well. When you get into technical diving, you (or at least I) choose buddies more carefully. If you're cave diving, for example, and have a catastrophic gas failure a half mile from the exit, or are doing a gas switch on an ocean decompression dive and accidently grab the oxygen regulator at 120', your buddy's training and skill is what stands between you and death.

Apologies for the thread hijack.

Gator wrote:The only site that I enjoy as much is a couple of racing forums I'm on. I love road racing coarses on my cbr 1000rr. Another fun sport.