In the winter, millions come to Colorado for the snow, the mountains and the X-Games. As the weather warms up, they go camping, fishing and backpacking. Colorado isn’t however known as the state with the highest per capita rate of certified Scuba divers in the nation.
In Grand Junction, a place not normally associated with Scuba diving, there are a number of locations which offer Scuba classes. Mesa State College recently added two Scuba classes to its Kinesiology Department’s curriculum.
“Ten or 12 years ago, Mesa’s original dive instructor left, but we got the program going again with the college’s new pool,” said Darren Cook, the dive instructor for MSC’s Scuba I class.
According to Cook, in Scuba I students can learn their basic open water diving skills. After the class, students can travel to Homestead Crater in Midway, Utah to get their open water certifications. The Crater is a natural hot springs cavern in which the water stays at a temperature near 96 degrees Fahrenheit year round.
“I loved it. The people in the class were a lot of fun and breathing underwater was great,” said junior Alicia Crespin. “The crater was also really amazing. There was snow on the ground everywhere outside but the water was really nice.”
In Scuba II, students learn the skills they will need to get their Advanced Open Water Diver certification. The AOWD certification trains divers for deep diving, underwater navigation, night diving and two electives of their choice. The electives include choices such as underwater photography, diving at altitude and nitrox diving, which is diving with a mixed gas that has a higher concentration of oxygen than air.
Adventure Sports, located at 2863 North Ave., offers a number of classes and certifications as well. From the shop, classes offered include the Basic Open Water and Advanced Open Water certifications as well as the Master Diver certification. Adventure Sports also teaches scuba classes through Western State College and Colorado Northwestern Community College.
In addition to classes, Adventure Sports organizes and escorts scuba diving vacations.
“At the end of March, we’ve got a group of 17 people that are going to Belize,” Joe Adams of Adventure Sports said.
Adams also mentioned that a student group from CNCC was taking a scuba diving trip to Key Largo, FLA.
According to Cook, MSC used to have a scuba society that planned similar activities.
“It would be great if Mesa got a club or something like that together for diving trips,” Cook said.

bwells@mesastate.edu