Showing posts with label Oslo Ice Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oslo Ice Challenge. Show all posts

Sunday, 15 March 2009

A cool experience

I must confess I had my doubts on weather or not I would be able to cope with the freezing water temperatures under the ice in Oslo. Most of my deep diving have been done in Egypt or Sweden in the summer, and the coldest I had previously tried was 7-8 degrees. This was on a short dip in Mjøsa, Norway's biggest lake, in May 2006.

But to look on the bright side, this would be a proof that I'm not so much of a chicken as I sometimes seem ;) And it would be an experience to tell the grandchildren about some day...


Luckily, I had just got sponsored a brand new suit from Elios sub. It is a 5mm Freedown suit with open cell inside. I also used a 2mm vest and shorts underneath, and stayed practically dry! The only place where I really could feel the cold, was on my face, hands and feet (the feet was okey after I put on a pair of socks with the tip cut off, partly over the monofin footpockets). It also helped alot to have some hot chocolate to keep warm :)

The cold water poses other challenges than simply keeping warm. Equalizing becomes much more difficult I realized. On the last dive of the competition on Sunday, I was focusing too much on getting down and the fact that it's really getting dark. I simply forgot to fill my mouth with air for the deeper equalization, called a mouthfill. On 35m I didn't have any air left, and even though I could see the light and the bottom plate clearly on 40m, I had to turn around. It was a new lesson learned about cold water diving!

I really felt that I moved some bounderies in Oslo Ice Challenge. I now know that cold water, no warm-ups, darkness and bad weather can not stop me from freediving. On my second dive, I was feeling the urge to turn around so many times. All the different excuses were passing through my mind, but I kept going down. Touching the bottom plate and starting swimming back up, I felt a great sensation of success. Seeing the light coming through the ice and the dark hole where I was returning to, is something I'll remember for a long time.

Thursday, 12 March 2009

Videos from Oslo Ice Challenge

Here's a look at the set up


And here's Thomas Grindevoll coming up from his 52m CWT dive

Tuesday, 10 March 2009

Oslo Ice Challenge report

Oslo Ice Challenge was indeed what its name implies, a challenge. The water was around 0 degrees on the surface and the ice was more than 30 cm thick. The weather conditions were far from optimal though, with wind and snow. The air temperature was 2-3 degrees, giving some problems with water on the ice.

Despite all this, the world’s first freediving competition under ice was a great success with good dives and happy contestants. The competition ran smoothly thanks to a job well done by the organizers, judges, helpers and the athletes who volunteered to help out with safety diving.

The results were quite impressing, taking the conditions into account, with strong dives and safe dives. The athletes were diving twice on Saturday and once on Sunday in whatever discipline they choose, with CNF giving 1,35 points and CWT and FIM giving 1 point each. The maximum depth was set to 52m, which made the top four athletes chase depth in CNF to gain the most points.

The winner was current world record holder in CWT, Guillaume Néry, doing a 45m CNF dive. On second and third place were Christian Earnest and Christian Maldamé, both doing a 42m CNF dive and therefore going head to head in the Frozen Viking Static competition. Maldamé surfaced after 3’38 and Earnest won the duel with 4’02.

For a couple of the freedivers, the water got just a little too hot, and they chose to take off their wetsuit and go diving in only a pair of Speedos. The Oslo Ice Challenge proved that freediving does not have to be a sport restricted to warm, tropical waters, but can be carried out under real Nordic conditions.

More pictures: Fredrik Naumann and Felix Features.

Sunday, 8 March 2009

In progress: Oslo Ice Challenge

Short update:
Despite some challenges out on the ice, the competition is running well. Alot of happy faces, cold feet, sensible dives and new experiences.

I completed a 35m CWT dive, which was a great feeling! It's something completely different than diving in warm water, but not as hard as one might think. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and another try. Pluss we're doing a static... Yes, we are a little crazy.

Check out cool pictures from Dan Burton here.

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

Press release: Oslo Ice Challenge

When: 7.-8. March 2009

Where: Lutvann (outside of Oslo), Norway

What: Freediving competition in the deep diving disciplines


Picture: Steinar Schjager

The frozen lake “Lutvann” just outside of Oslo will be the location of the first freediving competition in Norway, Oslo Ice Challenge. It will be an AIDA competition with ranking, which makes it the first internationally recognized freediving competition under ice. This special challenge will add a new aspect to the sport and give the competitors an experience to remember.

The ice provides extra challenges for both competitors and organizers, but also some advantages. The diving response, which allows freedivers to save oxygen, becomes much stronger in cold water. The ice will work as a platform for both judges and audience to view the performances close up, making it much more interesting to follow the competition. And most importantly, the ice creates a very special atmosphere under water, giving the diving a whole different dimension.

Picture: Domagoj Jakovak

Oslo Ice Challenge will gather freedivers ranging between local divers from Oslo Freediving Club to World Champions and World Record holders. The participants will have the chance to compete twice on Saturday 7th and once on Sunday 8th in their chosen discipline. Following a point system which levels the disciplines, the winner will be the freediver with the most points from a single dive. The maximum number of participants is set to 20, and there are still some spots left. There will also be a special static competition for the really hard core freedivers. They will compete in holding their breath in the cold water, and dry suits are not allowed.

The competition will be filmed and photographed by a couple of underwater photographers, among them Dan Burton.

Press contact: Elisabeth Kristoffersen, elisabethskn@hotmail.com

Organizer: Steinar Schjager, osloice@gmail.com

Official webpage: www.fridykking.net/osloice