In early March 2020, Lamar and I joined a group of friends from Dive Rite Mexico to dive Plura Cave in Norway. Plura landed on my dive site bucket-list when I saw the premiere of Diving Into the Unknown at Eurotek 2016. Though the film surrounded a tragic accident, I was intrigued by the pristine beauty of such a remote and dangerous cave. Plura came to my attention once more when it set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Dive Access Only Wedding in 2019.
Located near Mo i Rana, Norway, Plura is situated in a remote valley in the central part of Norway just a few miles south of the Arctic Circle. The cave itself was formed by an underground river which carved its way through limestone which eventually turned to marble. The entrance to Plura Cave sits where the underground river breaks through to the surface and continues to flow downwards through the Plura Valley.
When we arrived on March 6th we were the first group to visit the cave since it had closed for the Winter months. Winter temperatures in Northern Norway can be brutally low and the area receives impressive snowfall. Even in March, we experienced sub-zero surface temperatures with snow almost daily. To access the cave, a trail had to be made through the snow down a steep embankment which led to the water’s edge. A hole was cut through the ice which gave us access to the basin formed at the caves entrance.
Prepping for a week of cold-water cave diving is not simple for a North Florida cave diver. Our normal water temperature is 72 degrees year round, which is tropical compared to the 36 degree water in Plura. We had to pull out our thick undergarments, and hope that they would fit under our “cave cut” drysuits. Even worse, the dreaded drygloves were going to be making an appearance.
Using drygloves is huge inconvenience to those not familiar with diving them. Simple tasks become noticeably more difficult, and often equipment modifications are necessary. When preparing for a trip like this, we always go for a few shakedown dives in our local springs. This is when I fine-tune my harness to match the thick undergarments, find out which clips need to bigger, adjust my goodman handmount for use with drygloves and get used to diving with my new setup. Simple skills such as deploying a reel or line markers need to be practiced repetitively to ensure we are competent when we need to use them.
Besides the adjustments needed for drygloves, it is important that all your other gear is in good condition for cold water diving. Any small leak or issue will be amplified by frigid water. With it being our first time to Plura, and knowing that we are not built for long dives in cold water, we chose to dive open circuit doubles.
Plura Cave is massive, stretching approximately 2.3 km (1.5 mi). During our week of diving in Plura, we mainly stayed in the first 450 m (1500 ft) of the cave. This section before the air filled “Wedding Chamber”, is considered the shallow section, with a max depth of around 33 m (110 ft). The cave in this section is enormous. Even with our extremely bright EX35 lights, it was hard to get a perspective of the size until we had 5 divers lighting it up together.
In addition to the large main passage, there are several side passages and loops that can be done. There in upper route that keeps you shallower. This allows you to shave off some decompression time, which makes a big difference in 36 degree water. This section of the cave is smaller and really shows off the features in the Marble.
Exiting the cave you are welcomed by a blue glow of light piercing through the ice and snow on top of the water. Then comes the hard part, climbing out of the water and back up the steep embankment wearing a set of doubles, all while trying to avoid freezing in the arctic air.
After we had done our diving for the day, there were plenty of other activities in the area. We went on hikes through the snow and enjoyed hot chocolate with breathtaking scenery. We spent one night on the local ski mountain and it wouldn’t have been a proper trip to Norway without several nights relaxing in a traditional sauna. On the last night we even got to see the Northern Lights while relaxing in a wood burning hot tub.
Here at Dive Rite we love doing trips like this. Not only does it allow us to push ourselves as divers and do something out of our comfort zone, it allows us to personally test our equipment under extreme conditions. Having personally taken the equipment we manufacture to some of the most extreme places on the planet lets us have confidence in our products when talking to potential customers and divers.
Thank you to Ina and Jani from Visit Plura for being our gracious hosts for the week. We can’t wait to get back to Plura for some dives in the deep section!
Thank you to the Dive Rite Mexico crew for allowing us to tag along on the trip. It’s always more fun to travel with friends, and a special thanks to Ricardo Castillo for all of the great photos.
