August 2013

Is Lake Tahoe still clear?
On August 6th, the 7th anniversary of my PADI Open Water Certification, Carol and I finally went up to Lake Tahoe for a dive again. Over the years I have reported on the ins and outs of high altitude diving in great detail, and so I won't go into that again. This time, I wondered whether Lake Tahoe was still as clear as it used to be. [read more...] -- Posted Saturday, August 10, 2013 by chb

Juneau, Alaska, hyperbaric chamber closes
Alaska Public Media reports that after more than 30 years of operation, scuba diving emergencies can no longer be treated at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau. Now, the closest chambers for public use are in Anchorage or Seattle. One of the reasons the hospital decided to discontinue the program was the chamber hadn't been used since 2011, the other was cost. The hyperbaric chamber was moved out of Bartlett Regional Hospital three weeks ago, and now sits in NOAA storage in Juneau waiting to be shipped to Seattle. [Read why and how this happened] -- Posted Saturday, August 10, 2013 by chb