Diving in Anchoragge Alaska

[rcain1]

I am going to be going to Anchorage for about 6 weeks. (9 Oct - 19 Nov) I am a Texas diver with cold water diving experiance but don't have any of the gear anymore.
I assume i will have to dive in a Dry suit? If anyone has tips I would welcome them.

I did call Last Frontier Diving in Anchorage. It is about $1500 for the Dry Suit course and abut $80 to rent gear after the course.

I would like to know about:
LOCAL shore diving
Boat dive trips
Who to talk to up there. Who is the friendliest to out-of-towners!

 

[Jason B]

$1500 to take a class on diving a drysuit?

 

[rcain1]

$150 for the class! My fingers got carried away.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Whew! For a minute I thought the class would include purchase of the drysuit ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[OE2X]

You might want to PM Snowbear. She is a local and would probably be very helpful for info.
One dive shop that comes to mind is Dive Alaska. Never been to the store, just remember driving by it this summer.

 

[Snowbear]

Yep - I too would recommend Dive Alaska. Prices are about the same but the training is far superior.
Shore diving IN Anchorage is limited to a few low viz, usually contaminated lakes. It's a little over an hour to Whittier, where some good shore diving is available. It's about 2 hours to Seward, where there's some shore diving as well. Boat diving is dropping off due to the less than predictable weather, but the charters will still occassionally go out on weekends if they get enough divers to make it worth the trip.

PM me if you want a buddy

 

[OE2X]

Yep - I too would recommend Dive Alaska. Prices are about the same but the training is far superior.
Shore diving IN Anchorage is limited to a few low viz, usually contaminated lakes. It's a little over an hour to Whittier, where some good shore diving is available. It's about 2 hours to Seward, where there's some shore diving as well. Boat diving is dropping off due to the less than predictable weather, but the charters will still occassionally go out on weekends if they get enough divers to make it worth the trip.

PM me if you want a buddy

Snowbear - aren't those lakes frozen yet. I heard you had a bunch of snow a couple of weeks ago. BRRRRRRRRR.

Pug and I dove in tropical weather in Powell River BC last week. Hopefully it will be as nice in Jan. when we see you.

 

[LazyKevin]

I am going to be going to Anchorage for about 6 weeks. (9 Oct - 19 Nov) I am a Texas diver with cold water diving experiance but don't have any of the gear anymore.
I assume i will have to dive in a Dry suit? If anyone has tips I would welcome them.

I did call Last Frontier Diving in Anchorage. It is about $1500 for the Dry Suit course and abut $80 to rent gear after the course.

I would like to know about:
LOCAL shore diving
Boat dive trips
Who to talk to up there. Who is the friendliest to out-of-towners!

I did my drysuit class with Last Frontier Diving earlier this year.

I only got a chance to dive out of Whitier, and it was raining all day so it wasn't the best, but I had a good time anyway.

This was in mid June, the water temps were 55 at the surface, 46 at depth.

The only bad part was the pool session in a dry suit in 80F water.

 

[Snowbear]

Snowbear - aren't those lakes frozen yet. I heard you had a bunch of snow a couple of weeks ago. BRRRRRRRRR.

Pug and I dove in tropical weather in Powell River BC last week. Hopefully it will be as nice in Jan. when we see you.

Hehe - nope, not yet. The snows mostly gone and it's been raining. And raining. And raining. Soon as it's done raining it will surely freeze up. Maybe.

I saw your dive report. Sounds like a great trip.

By the time I get there in January, BC will seem tropical

 

[OE2X]

By the time I get there in January, BC will seem tropical

Don't forget to bring your sunscreen and bathing suit. It might get up to the mid 40's