Diving under ice at 2,200 meters high is now possible in the Catalan Pyrenees
The Port Ainé ski resort offers diving under a frozen lake. This pioneer activity in the Lleida Pyrenees wants to be a complement to skiing and between 300 to 400 people are expected for this first season.
Rialp (ACN).- As from February 25th, the Port Ainé ski resort, located in the Catalan Pyrenees, offers courses of diving under ice at an altitude of 2,200 meters high. The activity is thought out for scuba divers who want to dive under an atmospheric pressure that differs from the sea. The idea is to turn the Port Ainé ski resort, which is less than 2 hours away from Barcelona, into a training centre for this activity, with the support of the Catalan Federation of Scuba diving.
Customers can stay at the “Port-Ainé 2000” hotel, which is the highest in the Pyrenees and is only 5 minutes away from the artificial lake where people will be able to dive. Groups will be small, with a maximum of 8 people per day.
Those pioneers who have already tried this peculiar type of diving have all agreed that it has been a very gratifying experience. Most of them had scuba dived in the sea and now they wanted to try out new sensations under ice. Pep Fillat, one of the clients, explained that diving under ice started 10 years ago in Switzerland and in the United States. Now it has arrived to the Lleida Pyrenees, in north-west Catalonia.
The activity will be available throughout the whole year: in winter, under ice, and in the summer, in ordinary scuba diving conditions.