Welcome to the ITDA courses for Cave Diving 

Cave training has long been recognized as the most versatile training a diver can undertake. While this type of training is not for everyone, those who commit to it usually come away from it thinking that it is the most
useful form of training to which a diver can be exposed.

Not including its non-certification, experienced-based cavern diving course, ITDA´s cave diver training program is comprised of three very thorough overhead courses: Cave Mod1, Cave Mod2, and Cave Mod3. The goal of these courses is to ensure that students come away with the most information possible, all the while focusing on the development of practical skills and stress management.

What is Cavern and Cave diving?

Any time the diver is at a point in the underground, underwater environment which prevents direct and immediate ascent to the surface- our unlimited air supply- he is within a cave environment. In one sense, when the student departs the open water environment for the rock overhead, he is cave diving. You will discover that a cavern is the daylight zone of the cave. Because of the inability of the diver to freely access the safety of the surface, special techniques, skills and procedures apply. This series of courses is designed to provide the student with necessary information to safely dive in the cavern and cave environments.

Just as important as diver safety is the care and conservation of the unique environment you are about to discover. Our enthusiasm to explore the cavern and cave overhead must be tempered by a respect for the cave, its formations and the life found within our cave systems. By undertaking this course of training, you accept a high obligation to protect and conserve our caves for future generations. Damage to this environment- intentional or unintentional- will not be tolerated in any form. The course of training which you now seek requires a high skill and awareness level, one your instructor will demand from you.

Level of Training

Cave Mod1

The first in a three-part series of cave diver training programs. Cave Mod1 develops a valuable foundation of cave diving skills. Cave Mod1 training may be undertaken in single or double tanks, but requires nearly the same reserve equipment found in later cave diving courses, e.g. redundant valves. ITDA´s Cave MOd1 course is similar in format to a combined cavern and introduction to cave course offered by other training organizations, but differs in that it incorporates a more robust curriculum, smaller Student to Instructor ratios, and more training time. During Cave Mod1 training, penetration is limited to the larger conduit or main passage, and tends to average 150m.
Limits imposed on the Cave Mod1 course include:

- Penetrations are limited to one-third of a single tank or one-sixth of doubles.
As with all overhead penetrations, divers must maintain sufficient air reserves to allow for emergencies.
This limit is designed to simulate the volume of a single tank and encourage conservative penetrations. New divers should remember that they must not only complete cave-specific training, but must also focus on developing solid experience before venturing into the deeper recesses of the cave environment.
Proper training and experience can drastically improve a diver's ability to make life-saving decisions.



- No complicated dive plans.
New cave divers must keep their excursions simple by avoiding jumps into side passages, circuits, and traverses. The ability to safely navigate a cave System is a skill that a diver builds with experience.

- No deeper than 30m.
The increased complexity of deeper diving creates risks that the new overhead diver is ill-prepared to
manage. These include, but are not limited to, increased air consumption, narcosis, and increased risk of decompression sickness.

- Minimum starting visibility of 10m.
Limited visibility increases the risks of even the most basic dive. New cave divers are often sufficiently occupied with the rigors of cave penetration that additional stress from poor visibility can compromise the learning experience and increase the risk of separation or misdirection.

That´s less than 10m!

- Remain within the no decompression limits.
The complications inherent in decompression diving are best left to more experienced cave divers. New cave divers need to focus on the intricacies of the cave environment while developing valuable navigation abilities. Once a diver is better versed in proper cave diving techniques, he or she is vastly more prepared to manage the stress of additional task loading, such as decompression diving.

- No restrictions.
Navigating small, single file restrictions requires advanced skill and should not be attempted by the beginning cave diver. A restriction is an area that forces the team to travel single file. This formation may prevent team members from adequately assisting one another. Small passages may also complicate communication, make it more difficult to avoid line entanglements, prevent a diver from turning around, and increase the risk of low visibility.

- Minimum starting gas volume of 12l/200bar.
When diving in an overhead, the diver should always maintain ample air reserves to insure s/he can make a safe exit. This reserve must also include a sufficient volume to assist a dive buddy. Starting a cave dive without ample air supply puts the individual and the team at risk.

- No exploration.
New overhead divers must remember their limited experience and dive in popular, well-traveled areas. Exploring new caves frequently creates numerous unexpected problems that the novice cave diver simply does not have the experience to handle effectively.

min. 3 days, surface skills/Theorie, 5 dives/120Minutes BT, min. 18 years, 50 logged dives, Advanced Diver;
Price: € 450,- incl. manual, fees and C-card

Cave Mod2

The Cave Mod2 course is an intense, penetration-oriented course, with excursions sometimes in excess of 300m. This training requires excellent buoyancy control and proficiency in double tanks. The emphasis or extended penetration, advanced navigation, and refined equipment forms the basis of an excellent course for experienced divers of all disciplines. The Cave Mod2 course focuses heavily on stress management, extended penetrations, and advanced planning, and seeks to instill in divers an appreciation for the unique requirements of extended overhead penetration.

To allow new divers the opportunity to gain experience at a safe pace, the early stages of cave diver training are limited by several restrictions. Higher levels of training, such as those encountered in Cave Mod2 and Cave Mod3, place a greater burden on divers to personally limit their exposure. Therefore, the limits at advanced cave training levels are simple and concise:

- Maximum depth of 30m END (Equivalent Narcotic Depth).
- Maximum working PO2 of no greater than 1.4 and a resting/Deco PO2 of 1.6.
- Minimum starting visibility of 6m.
- Maximum penetration of one-third of available gas.

Cave Mod3

The Cave Mod3 course is a mastery-level course developed specifically for the proficient overhead diver seeking to amplify his/her cave diving techniques. This course represents the culmination of a highly focused desire to perfect advanced cave diving techniques. Participants must be accomplished cave divers with a sincere desire to reach a true level of mastery.

This level of training is highly specialized, with penetrations that will easily exceed 600m. Designed by accomplished cave explorers, this program contains a range of knowledge and information essential for extreme diving exposures.

- Maximum depth of 30m END(EquivalentNarcoticDepth).
- Maximum working P02 of no greater than 1.4 and a resting/Deco PO2 of 1.6.
- Minimum starting visibility of 3m.
- Maximum penetration of one-third of available gas.
 

Cave SCR/CCR