Free-Diving at Lake Powell

Have you ever tried to swim to the bottom of a 10 foot swimming pool? For a long time it seemed impossible to me because I either had severe ear pain or the feeling of running out of air while flailing around just 3-4 feet under the water.

After years of trying (and becoming scuba certified) I learned how to "equalize" the pressure in my ears. I also have a little better breath and body control, making the bottom of the pool an easily attainable target.

During one of several trips to Lake Powell in southern Utah, I wanted to swim to the bottom of the lake right behind the back end of the house boat. According to the depth meter on the boat, the 20 foot bottom seemed as far away as the 10 foot pool bottom seemed years earlier.

I came up with a brilliant idea (when you hear me say that...get nervous). I tied a large rock to one end of a rope and dropped it into the lake, allowing it to settle to the bottom. The other end was tied to the boat, making sure it was good and snug. I took several deep breaths, and with several of my close friends cheering me on, my head and then my feet disappeared into the murchy water.

Kicking with my feet, I literally used the rope to climb down toward the bottom, pulling against it with my arms. Finally, I actually touched the rock at the bottom of the rope with my hand and let out a silent cheer (remember I was still holding my breath). I let go of the rope and rotated my body so I could press off the bottom and rocket to the surface 20 feet above.

In an instant I realized a MAJOR flaw in my plan. Each time I had pulled "up" on the rope, the rock raised slightly off the bottom. Each pull lifted it further and further until, by my estimate, the rock was about two feet off the bottom. This allowed the rope above my hands to go loose. During one of of my grabs of the rope on the way down, I had actually reached through a loop that had formed in the loosening rope. When I reached the bottom and let go of the rope, the rock fell toward the bottom and tightened the rope around my arm. The rock was too heavy for me to carry to the surface...and that breath of air I too was almost exhausted. Panic instantly gripped me.

After several moments of panic, and six or seven attempts to tug my arm out of the noose, I got smart. Standing on the bottom of the lake, I lifted the rock off the bottom of the lake which allowed the rope to loosen. Pulling my arm free, I let go of the rock and pressed my legs on the rocky bottom and rocketed toward the surface. About half way up I wondered if I was going to slam into the bottom of the house boat in the cloudy brown water.

On a later trip, my brother and I were free-diving to around 40 feet (without the rope). It was a lot of work getting to the bottom, but it was very enjoyable. I later learned that free-diving, using a rope to pull on, actually has a name. In the free-diving world it is called "Free Immersion Apnea", but I am sure the rock they tie to is much bigger than mine!