(Updated 8/4/09 Kevin)

Here is your chance to both see and dive in a nuclear missile silo. Personally I am incredibly excited about this opportunity.

Valhalla

First off, getting into the facility is strenuous. You need to be able to carry all your gear down a number of flights of stairs and the corollary of back up the stairs after the days dives. (75 stairs)

They will open the facility up for us as early as Friday afternoon and will close it as late as we stay on Sunday. Since we need to be there as a group, this needs some planning. I was not planning to be there till Saturday morning.

There shouldn't be a problem with you leaving early. We just all need to get there near the same time.

Tentative plan:
Drive up on Friday evening.
Be diving all day Saturday and Sunday. (9 am till we are tired)
Drive back on Monday.

Cost:
Ok here is the bad news, to dive here will cost more then most dive sites. $500 for the group. Whether that group is 2 people or 10 people. I much prefer 10 ($50 each). I am going to charge $50 for this through meetup. In the end, I may ask those who go to chip in a little more though.

Hotel or campground fees?

Training:
Haywood has volunteered to teach at least one specialty course while we are there. ;) I am for deep diver, but altitude diver might be nice as well. Ask nicely and he might be your instructor as well on this trip.

This dive can be used for any number of specialties, but remember you can only do 3 dives a day of training. Deep diving takes 4 dives, Altitude diving takes 2 dives and Night Diving takes ? dives.

Miscellaneous:
No air fill on site. Either bring enough air with us or arrange with dive store that runs it to have rental tanks their. Tank rentals are 7.50 a weekend.
They require a certified insured diver as part of the group. (I think Haywood qualifies us there.) ;)
Junior divers need at least their advanced to dive here. (I wasn't told if adult divers need more then their open water.)
Around a 7 hr drive each way.
Counts as a dive around texas site. (For those still looking for sites.)
Around 20 minutes SW of Abilene

Dive Site Information: (From Information Packet)
Altitude: 2,450 Feet by GPS
GPS Coordinates: N 32degrees 12.677minutes W 100degrees 03.097minutes
Surface Temp.- Avg. annual temp.- 64.5’ -hottest avg.- 83.9’ -coldest avg. 43.7’
Interior Temp.- 68’ avg. year-round
Water Temp.- 60’ year-round
Surface to staging/changing level- 40’ (2 set of stairs)
Staging/changing level to platform- 30’ (suspended stairs)
Platform to metal debris- 105’
Metal debris field- 105-130’
Overhead obstruction on side- 30-60’
Down-line from surface to metal debris field @ 100’
Stage bottle (safe second) regulator suspended from staging/changing level to 15’ for safety stops.

Suggested Equipment:
Drysuit or heavy (7 mil) wetsuit
Hood
Gloves
Primary & backup lights
Emergency Staging Bottles
Extra Oxygen Supplies
Back-board
Blankets/Thermal Blanket/Extras Towels Motorola walkie-talkies