The ice diving event in Finland
For over 10 years, Antero Joki has been organizing the ice diving event “ Päijänne on the Rocks ” in Finland especially for freedivers.
The “Lake Päijänne”
The “Päijänne” is at 120 kilometers the longest and at 95 meters also the deepest lake in Finland. The lake is about 40 km north of Lahti, the city of Olympic ski jumping, and about 150 km north of Helsinki. Thanks to its excellent water quality, the Päijänne actually supplies Helsinki with drinking water. Here you can find the Päijänne on Google Maps .
Finally back
After I took part in “Päijänne on the rocks” for the first time in 2019 and the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to corona, this year from March 16th to 20th I’m going again to “Lake Päijänne” for ice diving!
Do you have any idea how “cool” it is to dive under the ice? To be fair I have to admit that the first time I tried it 3 years ago I almost died from fear of diving under the ice. 2°C cold water and 30 centimeters of ice above me were a challenge that I only tackled on the fourth attempt. But then it was one of the greatest feelings ever! Not only that you have conquered your fear, it is also an incredibly beautiful impression that you get.
Diving under the ice
You dive in two different lengths, always from hole to hole: 15 meters or 25 meters. These are distances that would be fairly easy for a practiced apnea diver to dive – were it not for the head with the knowledge of the ice about itself. Personally, I’m not a fan of “permanently” pushing your limits, pushing the limits and so on. But what I like about freediving is holding my breath and then being completely free underwater for about a minute or two. I only feel myself and the water surrounding me. I feel my trust in myself and my body. And I can use that when diving under the ice. The surfacing at the second ice hole is an unbelievable feeling! Especially if you dive face up and slide your hand (in the glove of course) along the underside of the ice during the dive. This mightiness of the ice, and yet the feeling of being “somehow” one with nature, is difficult to describe, but incredibly overwhelming.
The cold and the neo
With the arctic temperatures in Finland, our FlipSoc will certainly help me to quickly get my Neo to dive instead of freezing outside…
By the way, we have also set up a ” Special Edition ” for this event!
A very impressive video
You can find various videos about the event on YouTube, I personally like this video here the best!
Have fun watching and maybe we’ll see you next year at and in “Päijänne”…
