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INTRO TO CAVE DIVER

Transition from cavern to cave environments
In a Nutshell

The Intro to Cave Diver course marks the first step beyond the daylight zone and into a true overhead cave environment. Building on the skills developed during cavern training, this course focuses on conservative cave diving practices, precise team control, and disciplined execution along a continuous guideline.
 

Divers learn to manage increased task loading, reduced visibility, and the psychological demands of diving in darkness. Emphasis is placed on situational awareness, communication, and conservative gas management while maintaining precise buoyancy, trim, and propulsion.
 

This course prepares divers to plan and execute limited-penetration cave dives safely and responsibly, and forms the foundation for more advanced cave training.
 

Minimum course duration: 3 days.

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for certified Cavern Divers who are ready to move beyond the daylight zone and begin true cave diving under conservative limits.
 

You should already be comfortable with:

  • Fundamental cavern skills

  • Continuous guideline procedures

  • Team positioning and communication

  • Basic gas planning

  • Stress management and problem-solving
     

Intro to Cave training refines everything you already know and exposes weaknesses that must be addressed before progressing further.

Prerequisites

  • Minimum age: 18

  • TDI Cavern Diver (or equivalent)

  • TDI Nitrox (Nitrox 32 used as standard gas)

  • Appropriate configuration certification (Backmount or Sidemount)

  • Minimum 50 logged dives

Skills & Challenges Ahead

The Intro to Cave Diver Course introduces divers to:
 

  • Complete darkness and loss of natural light

  • Increased psychological pressure

  • Higher cognitive load and task management

  • Greater consequences for small errors
     

Training focuses on maintaining control, discipline, and sound decision-making as penetration distances increase. Divers are progressively exposed to these realities in a controlled environment designed to build confidence, awareness, and consistency.

Training Content (overview)

In-water training includes:

  • Refinement of fundamental cave diving skills

  • Continuous guideline following as a team

  • Advanced team communication

  • Precise propulsion and positioning

  • Touch-contact communication in low or zero visibility

  • Lost line and broken line procedures

  • Lost diver and team separation drills

  • Missed intersection scenario

  • Line entanglement scenario

  • Emergency management under increased task loading

Land-based training covers:

  • Route awareness and orientation

  • Line cut and repair drills

  • Lost line, lost diver, and missed intersection scenarios

  • Line entanglement simulations

  • Thorough briefings and structured debriefings after every exercise

Academic presentations explore:

  • Gas management strategies (rule of sixths, conservatism)

  • Cave environments and navigation awareness

  • Psychological and physiological stress factors

  • Decision-making under pressure

  • Cave etiquette and conservation

Course Combinations
 

Minimum durations shown

Intro to Cave

3 days

Cavern + Intro to Cave

7days

Intro to Tech + Cavern + Intro + Full Cave

9 days

Sidemount + Cavern + Intro to Cave

10 days

Divers who have not trained with CDT Mexico previously, or who have been inactive beyond defined timeframes, may require a 1-day skills assessment.

Get Ready

Training is not about collecting a card.
It’s about earning real autonomy, safety, and confidence.
The objective: divers who can plan and execute dives independently.

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