Perfect Diver Magazine 19 issue

Slate Mines in Germany

Text ANDRZEJ ZALEWSKI

Photos MICHAŁ ANTONIUK

Willingen and surroundings. Although the area is mostly known for skiing and ski jumping, there are other reasons for trips there! For several years I have been visiting the mines in West Germany in the autumn.

It started modestly, I don't remember exactly when. Grześ said: come, it's not deep, but it's fun. He wasn't wrong. This time the goal was four mines. Three I already knew, the fourth, deepest was a new item on our agenda.

The first mine we visited was Schwalefeld. Authorizations of IANTD, GUE, NSS-CDS and NACD organizations are accepted here. Having others you have to reckon with verification diving. The maximum depth in this beautiful and probably the most difficult mine is 70 meters. There are three entrances to the water, but reaching the maximum level is optimal from the first one. From the others it is best to aim for the shallower levels. Schwalefeld is quite a complicated system, where we will definitely meet with crossings, do some traverses. It is definitely recommended for full cave divers and those with higher skills. We entered in three teams for two reasons. First of all, the space in open water is comfortable for only two divers, with three it gets cramped, which requires some empathy from the team. Four people is already an extreme, but it's also doable. We had different plans. My team focused on the 20 m and 37 m levels, the others decided to go down to 70 m. Visibility is an important aspect for a diver. At the 20 m level it is usually good or very good. And this time it was so, the halcyon lights proved their power by illuminating the entire chamber. Visibility at a level of 37 m is unfortunately not so kind to divers.

One can often encounter the so called "cappuccino", i.e. about 1 m of visibility. This time it was quite clear, as for this place it was about 3 m. The best visibility is at the level of 70 m, where the water seems to disappear, of course not literally. The site has great potential, certainly not just for one dive but for many more.

The next day we went to Christine. Authorizations are the same as at Schwalefeld. The galleries in this mine are on the level of 25 and 50 m. The place is a little different than all the mines we have visited. Navigation at level 25 m is easy, but difficult at the same time, because during the dive, if we want to see not only the corridors, but also the spaces from where the slate was extracted, we have to reckon with the saw-type profile. Our ears were exposed to great strain. None of the chambers, despite the fact that some go to the surface, allow

us to go outside. Keep this in mind when planning the route you want to take and don't overestimate your ears. I left level 43–50 for another visit. It is different from the shallower ones and resembles caves. Another advantage of this place is the visibility, if not for the walls it would be over 30 m. Christine is the smallest facility, but you can still spend a lot of time there.

Felicitas, you hear about it and you can already imagine the machinery there. First, however, you have to cross the "milky way" in the descent shaft, which this time stretched for about 15 m. The main gallery was located at 30 m depth. However, it is worth checking beforehand, because the water level changes depending on rainfall, and this is important for OC divers, so they could choose the optimal gas. The mine is divided into two parts, the left one, where we find machines and evenly drilled chambers, and the right one, which was exploited by blasting. This one looks like a cave in places, but of course is not devoid of traces of the infrastructure from years of exploitation. Visibility in the corridors is usually good, reaching about 10-15 meters. Navigation is not really complicated here, the ropes are placed in a very orderly manner. We can do some small traverses. The place is good for both mastering the skills of diving in the overhead environments, as well as for diving tourism. Felicitas has a very well organized infrastructure, and a full "blender room" provides filling of any gas we need.

Finally, our last stop was Nuttlar. This is a multi-level mine with various routes, where you can spend a lot of time exploring the corridors and passages between them. The entrance, like Christine and Schwalefeld, is a real gateway to Narnia. Outside we have a yellow shipping container with tables for equipment, and then the actual entrance to the mine. It is spacious and gives an idea of what we can expect from the dive. In the water there is a platform that makes it easier to attach additional cylinders. A narrow tunnel leads from the large space into the mine, which at about the 13th meter ends with a fork to the different routes. The mine is characterized by wide and high corridors. If you deviate a bit from the rope while diving, you can see objects left behind by the miners. In many places the walls are stacked with mined stone, which looks very nice. There are several places in the mine where we can emerge, but none of them are exits. However, there are at least two places on the red line for emergency exits closed during normal dives, so it is important to sign in on the information board.

Willingen and the surrounding mines were generous with good visibility to us. The water temperature was more pleasant than most lakes at this time of year in our latitude, ranging between 8–10 degrees Celsius. Although for most of the participants of the expedition it was not the first time in these mines, we will certainly be back. These are places with potential, where there is still much to discover.

PERFECTDIVER No. 1(19)/2022 / 47 under the ceiling