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Technical diving at Baikal

We invite you to practice and to study technical diving here at Baikal. You’ll get outstanding experience learning technical diving here in Baikal conditions, in dry suits, in cold water under the supervision of our experienced staff. Our experience shows us that people who have learned technical diving under these conditions has proven to have a highest level of preparedness.
In the data of “BaikalTek” we have the best characteristics for Baikal dive-sites, it was made by Gennady Misan. Gennady has been doing deep-dives for more than 10 years, and constantly hold technical classes, organizes and provides safety during deep-dives at Baikal both on air (in the way of Deep Air and Extended Range) and on trimix mixes.

Come and try out technical classes with the instructor who actually dives as deep in cold water. Get acquainted with Baikal’s abyss and its beauty.

Our club specializes in technical diving. It seems like the lake was made special for those divers who love extreme. The black abyss is almost like calling. Baikal has a lot of object for deep diving. Wall is a usual landscape for Baikal underwater world. There are a lot of deep-water canyons, caves, and different formations on rocks. Also we have places where you can be the first explorer. At those places either none has dove before or dove but not deep enough, 
Technical dicing at Baikal requires high level of preparedness and skills. Deep-dive at 0-4 degrees requires very good equipment, good skills in technical procedures and self-discipline. Both in Russia and in the world there are not a lot of technical divers, and the majority of those prefer warm seas. On the warm sea 50 meters on air and 100 meters on trimix cannot be considered even a depth. Come and try out 50-100 meters at Baikal and you’ll be able to experience all the joy of extreme diving.  

Diving conditions:

• Season: January –May –for the depths up to 50 meters under ice and up to 90 meters in port Baikal, where there is deep open water. Mid-may – beginning of January – no limits .
  
• Water temperature below 10 meter: July-November +3-4C. December – June +0.5-2C.
  
• There are no currents and waves. These conditions are really comfortable for decompression stops.
  
• Comfortable places for practicing exercises (procedures) at 3-9 meters.
  
• Dives done to 105 meters right form the shore, Walls at Baikal start at 5-300 meters away from the shore.
  
• Vertical wall are 45-110 meters.
  
• Visibility is up to 45 meters. Even with water temperature +15C (upper water layers in July-August) visibility lower than 30 meters is rarely below 25 meters.
  
• Variety pf landscapes at the depth. Canyons (60-90 meters), caves (at 57, 90 meters), grottos, underwater mountains, walls.

Recommended equipment:

• Dry suit 2-3 under-armor
  
• Dry gloves
  
• Only winter regulators, including winter oxygen ones
  
• Technical BCD with steel back powerfull flash-lights rope

The technical equipment of our dive-center: double-tanks with manifold (24 l), deco-tanks (10,12 l), technical BCD, oxygen regulators, technical flash lights. Oxygen, helium, argon, blending system to prepare nitrox and trimix. 

Approximate program for technical Diving at Baikal (Daily diving):

One dive a day using trimix or 2 dives on air or nitrox.
Day 1. Meeting in Irkutsk. Transfer to Listvyanka. Accommodation in the village house. Lunch. Check dive “Second Destroyed Deck”. 30-50 m. Stepped wall, sponge, grottos. Checking the equipment, configurations, and weights. Excursion to Limnological museum. Banya, Supper.
Day 2. Breakfast. Dive “Chapaevka”, 40-90 m. Wall, and sponge. Lunch. Dive “Krestovka:” Canyons, grottos, and destroyed deck. Free time. Banya. Supper.
Day 3. Breakfast. Going on ship to Bolshie Koty. Dive “Srednyaya, caves”, 40-100 m. absolutely vertical wall, cave, and grotto, sponge. Returning to Listvyanka. Lunch. Dive “Sennushka”. 40-60 m. Wall, tunnel, sponge. Free time. Banya. Supper.
Day 4. Breakfast. Going on the ship to the dive sites of old railroad. Dive “Katorzhanka, wall”, 40-110. Vertical wall, remainders of the sunken train-car. Getting off at port Baikal and accommodation in guest hall “Yahont”. Lunch. Dive “Yahont”, 30-45 m. Rock-sandy wall, and a lot of fish, sponge. Banya ceremony. Supper.
Day 5. Breakfast. Transfer to Irkutsk. Departure or accommodations in Irkutsk. 

EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR ADVANCED TECHNICAL DIVERS.
SPECIALIZED TECHNICAL SAFARI.
ONLY DEEP DIVING.

Level – from Advanced Nitrox. Technical classes during safari. One dive a day with using trimix or 2 on air (nitrox).
Route 1 (7 days): Listvyabka – western shore of Baikal – eastern Olkhon – Ushkanii Isles – “shore of brown bears” – eastern Olkhon – western shore of Baikal – Listvyanka. The route is not fixed and is a subject to change due to weather conditions or clients’ choices.
Route 2 (4 days): Listvyanka- Bolshie Koty – eastern Olkhon – western shore of Baikal – old railroad – Listvyanka.
Conditions: Ship “Mif” (June-September), “Valery” (May-Desember). Full meals. Accommodation in 2 people rooms. Satellite connection during entire safari. 15 l steel tanks with 2 vents, 24 l double tanks, 10 and 12 l deco-tanks, weight belts. Any type of nitrox. Trimix. Argon. Services of technical instructor.
Possibility of making diving insurance at place. There is baro-center in Listvyanka and Irkutsk.

Approximate program for technical Diving at Baikal (Liveboard):

Day 1. Meeting in itrkutsk. If necessary transfer to dive center for equipment rentals. Transfer to Baikal (Listvyanka, 68 km away from Irkutsk). Accommodation aboard the ship. Breakfast. Check-dive “Chernaya Rechka”,20-30 m. Series of canyons, wall, sponge. Lunch. Dive “Sennaya”. 40-60 m. wall, canyon, tunnel, sponge. Supper. Night move to Olkhon.
Day 2. Breakfast. Dive “Uhan-Zyun-Kugun”, 40-80 meters, trimix or air, depending on depth. Wall, “finger” (separate rock), fish. Lunch. Dive “Burun-Bude”, 40-60 m. Canyon, cave, wall, and sponge. Supper. Night at cape Izhimei. Fire.
Day 3. Breakfast. Dive «cape Izhimei” (next to the highest mountain at Olkhon and the deepest place in aikal), 40-100 meters. Trimix or air, depending on depth. Lunch. Move to Ushkanii Isles. Dive “Isle Kruglyi”, 40-50 m. volcanic wall, grottos, and canyons. Night on anchor next to isle Big Ushkanii.
Day 4. Breakfast. Excursion to nera habitat at isle Tonkii. Move to «the shore of brown bears” (north-west Baikal). Lunch. Dive “Ledyanaya”. 40-90 m, trimix or air, depending on depth. Supper. Night next to Ledyanoe. Fire.
Day 5. Breakfast. Dive «Ledyanaya”, 40-90 m. Excursion to crack Ledyanoe. Lunch. Move to cape Izhimei. Supper.
Day 6. Breakfast. Dive «cape Izhimei” (next to the highest mountain at Olkhon and the deepest place in aikal), 40-120 meters. Trimix or air, depending on depth. Move to Burhin dive sites. Dive “Hoboi-Hushun”, 40-60 m. wall, huge stones, and sponge. Supper. Move to “Bolshie Koty”.
Day 7. Breakfast. Dive “Chayachii (Hell Bridge)”, 40-100 m, trimix and air, depending on depth. Wall, interesting geological structure. Excursion around village Bolshie Koty, visiting biological museum. Lunch. Dive “Skripper”, 40-60 m. Stepped wall, canyon-crack, towers (separated rocks), and grotto, sponge. Returning to Listvyanka. Supper. Night in Listvyanka to Irkutsk