Bonne
Terre, Missouri
Deep Earth Mine Diving
May 5
-7, 2006
Past
Trip Report
The
second trip to Bonne Terre Mine was as exciting and out of
this world cool. Five Divers from Divers Incorporated were treated to some
incredible diving in the most bizarre dive site many of us have ever seen.
The experience will be one that we are looking forward to doing again. It
was an amazing place.
Not a quarry but an actual underground
lake lit from above with
electric lights.
The
day starts at the dive center with a very structured
dive briefing. Just like previous years, The guide used a map to take through our tours every step of the way. Because
it was easy to get lost, each dive we had a predetermined check point and there were two
guides.. one leading and one
as a safety diver to the rear of the group.
Safety is the key to the whole operation.
Entering
through the mines old Mule trail, the steps and trails took us over 160
vertical feet down
to the platform. The trip down was not too bad with gravity helping us
on our way. At the platform we each picked a spot on the
benches where we could leave our equipment between
dives. There were a number of people joining us from all over so the deck
was actually crowded. Anxious to get in the water, we were all
looking forward to a fantastic day of diving.
We start on trail one. All divers have to demonstrate
a mask clearing and an out of air with an alternate before being allowed to dive
the mine. No lights or cameras were allowed on trail one. Even
without lights the electric lights in the mine made for some dramatic and
surreal view. With visibility over 100' it was something
so cool that you just have to experience it to believe
it. The super clear
water was a bit chilly at 58degrees but it was cool and refreshing
after the long hike down into the mine.
We did trails 1, 2, and 4 on
Saturday seeing a number of underwater sites including the famous Structure
pictured in all of the literature of the area.
In
between
dives we had an opportunity to leave our equipment in the mine and
travel topside to warm up
and dry off our wetsuits. Climbing the stairs was not as
difficult as I had thought but it was still a little
bit of a workout after a long winter.
Sunday we did trail 3 in the morning and
similar to last year the guides at the mine were so impressed with the caliber
of the Divers Incorporated divers they took us on a very special Trail 9 tour,
including an opportunity to see the train and the time keepers shack. The Sunday dives were the most spectacular with
incredible rooms, views and underwater sights. It is easy to see why this site is listed as one of America's top 10 greatest adventures by National Geographic.
The pictures show you some of the underwater
artifacts that were in the mine, but the most spectacular underwater
sights were the incredible canyons, caverns and views many cameras can never
take.
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