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Diving in the Foothills Mine: "The success is moderate, the record was not our goal..."

Listen to this article With these words Michał greeted me, a moment after finishing the dive and coming to the surface. We are already after the weekend, so it is worth summarising what electrified the whole diving Poland in the past week. It is, of course, about the dive conducted by Michał Rachwalski from Deep
Published: April 29, 2015 - 14:13
Updated: July 22, 2023 - 10:43
Diving in the Foothills Mine: “The success is moderate, the record was not our goal…”
Listen to this article

With these words Michał greeted me, a moment after finishing the dive and coming to the surface. We are already after the weekend, so it is worth summarising what electrified the whole diving Poland in the past week. It is, of course, about the dive conducted by Michał Rachwalski from Deep Silence.

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I don’t think there are any among us who have not heard the news of his 157m plunge into the Podgórze mine and the record he set in the process, which unfortunately overshadowed the real purpose of the dive.

It is used to say that Advertisement is a lever of trade and we usually have good connotations with this saying. Unfortunately, in this particular case, there was a distortion of the sense and motivation of the efforts made by the diving team. This was visible, for example, in the titles of news items in various mainstream editors, reporting on the dive, but also in the discussions held on diving forums and in the comments under the texts about the “new Polish record in underground diving”.

kpnr2002

The lion’s share of commentators (as happens in the case of various milestones) congratulated for setting the record, some (malcontents also have the right to an opinion) laughed and hounded Michał, because what is the Polish record, if “Starnaś” dived much deeper? Among all these statements, only here and there voices speaking about the real purpose of the dive appeared, and it seems that they were not strong enough. That is why we decided to write this text.

During a telephone conversation with Michał, as they say “on the spot”, right after leaving the mine, I did not hear excitement in his voice, but rather tiredness and a feeling of inadequacy. In addition, he stressed several times that he did not understand the pumping of the balloon marked “record”, because no record was at stake here. No one went into the depths of a mine for fleeting fame, or out of a desire to be the best, deepest and most technical diver, warming the little ones with the glow of his newly won glory.

What drove all the action and its participants was the same feeling that (I think) made man decide to go underwater in the first place, and then start developing the technology so that he could stay under the surface longer, deeper and safer. It is about curiosity and the desire to know. To find out what hides in the nooks and crannies that were inaccessible until recently, and what waits for us behind the next barrier?

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Photos are best viewed in full-screen mode – the icon in the upper right corner of the gallery

But let’s get down to business. The aim of the dive, which Michał and his team undertook, was to get to a mine gallery located at a depth of +/- 150m. Although after the media reports and the hype created on the web, we might get the impression that we are dealing with a great success, in fact… it is very moderate.

Reporting on the dive by phone, Michael confirmed finding the entrance, which is unfortunately boarded up. Another piece of bad news is that the boards are in great condition and the blockade is extremely tight. This means no more, no less, that in order to make an attempt to break through further, it will be necessary to put up a habitat.

Keep in mind that working at a depth of 150 m, poses problems far beyond just reaching that depth and poses a significant challenge to the diver’s physical and mental condition.

An additional risk is the possibility of a dry glove/skinsuit being damaged in the process, which, in the absence of a habitat, could result in all the worst. So now the biggest challenge for the whole team, will be to plan and create a habitat in the mine that will enable them to overcome the blockade and move on.

kpnr2003

Achieving the planned objectives was possible thanks to the appropriate preparations. A few days before descending into the Foothills Mine, the whole team travelled to Austria, where training dives were carried out reaching depths of 100-150m.

What made everyone involved most happy was the technical execution of the dive itself. All the support divers were at the designated place at the designated time and… this was the biggest success that was achieved during this very difficult and demanding dive.

This is an extremely valuable experience, which certainly allows you to look to the future with optimism and plan further dives. During this type of exploration, there is nothing more valuable than a well-coordinated and experienced team. And speaking of the team…

The starring roles were:

Diver: Michał Rachwalski – Deep Silence
Underwater support: Filip Długosz and Dariusz Skrobol
Surface support: Paweł Pasko and the team from Adrenaline Addicts and Podgórze Mine.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for a speedy return and another attempt to get to the blocked mine gallery!

Photo: Deep Silence

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About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis
Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.
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