Winter thrills

A man ice diving in the White Sea in Russia. Photo: Courtesy of Du Jin'en

Chen Long tip toed across the frozen surface of the White Sea, off the northwest coast of Russia, toward a triangular hole that had been dug through the thick layer of ice. Then, without a second thought, he plunged in.

The water was literally as cold as it can be - just a couple of degrees from being frozen completely. Chen had been a diving enthusiast for nearly seven years, but this was the first time he would be "ice diving." He spent roughly 15 minutes submerged underneath the ice.

"Compared with the colorful vistas you see when you're diving in the tropics, it was like watching a black and white film. At first, everything seemed so bleak," said Chen, a 38-year-old architect who runs his own business in Fujian Province. "But then I started to be able to make out a myriad of different creatures, aquatic plants floating ethereally, tiny deep sea butterflies on longer than 15 millimeters in length, beluga whales that have traveled thousands of miles to return to their natural habitat. I was really moved."

Under the ice

Before taking the plunge in the White Sea last February, Chen had mainly gone diving in the considerably warmer climes of Southeast Asia.

He said ice diving was significantly more challenging. "Unlike diving in the open sea, where you can just emerge from the water in an emergency situation, when you are ice diving, the only exit point is a triangular hole that you've dug in the ice, which can be difficult to find."

Consequently, ice diving is most often done in teams. The diver is tethered to a safety harness, which is secured and monitored by someone above the surface on the ice.

There were strict protocols around safety, said Chen. If the diver pulls the line once, it means everything is fine; twice means that something was wrong, and three times means to haul the diver up immediately. "It's the only way that divers can emerge to the surface rapidly in the case of emergency."

Another challenge, according to Chen, was managing the special equipment needed to be used for ice diving. "Because of the cold water, I had to wear a dry suit [a full-body suit that provides thermal insulation, and into which air is inflated to control buoyancy]," said Chen. "Divers need to remain completely balanced while wearing the suit underwater. If the diver moves his legs abruptly, the air will surge to that part, and the diver will lose his balance."

Although Chen underwent a month of training to acquire a Professional Association of Diving Instructors certification for using the dry suit, he was still taken by surprise when he entered the icy water for the first time.

"I raised my feet up a little, and because of the trapped air, I lost control and started ascending rapidly with my feet facing upwards. A lot of divers end up with punctured lungs in this way, because you're moving from a high pressure area to low pressure area in very short period of time," said Chen. "Luckily, I was only five meters under the water, [so I was fine]."

Du Jin'en, the founder of a diving organization based in Fujian called the Azure Club, said while ice diving remained a niche activity, interest was picking up. Since the first ice diving trip was organized by the club in 2012, said Du, the number of participants has grown from five to 20.

"More people are interested in ice diving now. In China, you can go ice diving in places like the Heilongjiang River and the Songhuajiang River in the northeastern provinces," Du said. "Ice diving enthusiasts can also go to Hokkaido in Japan [between February and April], or the Antarctic [between December and January]."

Winter drifting

Drivers are generally encouraged to drive more slowly when the roads are icy, but for participants of the Harbin Ice and Snow Rally Competition, it's the opposite.

The inaugural competition was held in February last year, and this year, more than 200 teams, both amateur and professional, have already signed up for the winter race.