Christine Pit
Originally we wanted to start again in November to the Lot: Enjoying some sun and photographing was the actual plan. But in the Lot there was plenty of rain, as Oli and Tim - they were there live - told us. So we changed our plans at the height of Besancon, briefly stocked up on cheese, wine and baguettes and then headed back towards Germany.
In order not to have to drive completely unfulfilled things home, have called with Oliver Hecht and a visit with him and in the mine Christine clarified. Fortunately, a vacation apartment was free and Oliver was so spontaneous to allow us to dive at such short notice. When we arrived at the accommodation in the evening, the key was in the door, as previously discussed, and we could settle in. Not much later Oliver also came by and we discussed the diving procedure with him. Since we are both Cave 2 certified, nothing stood in the way of a nice dive the next day in the Christine! So the romantic stove was fired up, some cooking was done, the feet were put up and, a bit exhausted from the trip, we quickly fell asleep.
The next morning after breakfast we met with Oliver and he showed us the way to the pit. Fortunately, we were the only divers here that day and so we were able to use the rodeo tables for ourselves.
Sensitized by Oliver again, we entered the water with extreme caution, so as not to spoil our own visibility. After the obligatory check, we slid down the brake hill and let the slate corridor have its effect on us: Although the visibility was good at about 10m, the dark slate seems to virtually suck up the light. Together with the not very large dimensions of the corridors and squat ceilings of this mine, a slightly oppressive atmosphere results. And even though the rebreathers release much less gas into the water compared to the open unit, this was enough to further cloud the view by perlocation: a fine white haze descended from the ceiling. Therefore, we proceeded as follows for our photo session: In front Peter swam as photographer, behind him Manu as model. If an interesting spot came into view, Peter swam around it in the bottom, already showing Manu how she should position herself, and then photographing her after a 180° turn.
But after only a few photos at one point the view clouded and we had to go further. Also nice to see were stratifications created by floating layers of dust in the water. The artifacts left behind by the miners, such as pipes, signs, and tools, give the mine a haunted feel. In some cases, details are so well preserved that you can still see the nail trim of the soles in the boot prints in the clay!
On our first visit to the Christine, we took our time looking around the first sole, but didn't dive down the 2nd brake hill, preferring to follow the tracks on the first sole quite a bit further. The next time we will take the deeper part.
After a hearty dinner - Peter was the maitre de cuisine that evening - and a glass of French red wine and cheese, we still reviewed the photos and made a first selection.
The next morning started with bad news: Peter had been a bit careless with the protection of the ears: in any case, no pressure compensation was possible. So we had to cancel the planned dive in the Willingen pit and went straight home.
In this sense,
Your Cavebase