Everest is littered with dead, exposed bodies

Re:Everest is littered with dead, exposed bodies by rdl on Tuesday December 07, 2010 @05:18AM (#1978606)

I'm betting we'll switch to hypoxic hydrogen ("Hydrox") for deep (>40m) diving then, or use atmospheric dive suits and ROVs only.

Hydrogen is a pain to deal with on the surface and in transport, but if you're putting it into something like 95/5 hydrogen/oxygen bottom gas, is not going to explode. At >30m, that's quite breathable. Some kind of hydrogen-based trimix is probably acceptable at that point. Continue to use nitrox and 100% oxygen for the shallow stops.

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Re:Everest is littered with dead, exposed bodies by nradov on Tuesday December 07, 2010 @03:26PM (#1980450)

Hydrox might see some limited use for deep commercial diving (there have already been limited experiments) but it will never be rated safe for sport diving. The explosion risk at tank fill stations is ridiculous.

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Re:Everest is littered with dead, exposed bodies by evgen on Tuesday December 07, 2010 @03:51PM (#1980550)

Definitely. There is already enough risk running high pressure oxygen given how some o-ring lubricants can react, I cannot imagine adding an additional fuel to the mix.

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