The first stretch of the Alaska Highway proper. Despite snow on the ground, up to this point - something like five days into the drive - the weather has been mostly sunny, and the high temperatures have always been above 70 degrees.
But when I got to Ft. Nelson, the radio reported that the temperature had plunged to -10 F, -20 F, or -5 F (depending whether you got the information from one of two radio stations, or the TV news). The wind had kicked up to almost 30 mph as well. I still had my springweight jacket out and the winter gear was stuffed in a duffel. I did have a medium jacket on hand, though, which I used. For my troubles, I froze my ass off. That's my van at the end of the row of cars, getting snow blown onto it.
This is the road approaching Summit Pass on the Alaska Highway. We had snowfall overnight, but the temperature was low enough that the snow wasn't in the least bit slick.
More Alaska Highway in the neighborhood of Summit Pass.
I didn't realize this shot was blurry until I was hundreds of miles past the location, but this might give some hint of how pretty things are when they are covered with fresh snow.
A major hazard on this stretch of the Alaska Highway are the bison. Hitting one would not be a good thing, of course. But the bison near the road to dig into soft plants at the berm, and use the road as an easy walking path (since it is plowed). This means that you can round a bend, and be bearing down on a herd of bison, so caution is advised....
Fifteen feet from the driver's side window.
This is the only time I was truly concerned about the weather. Visibility kept dropping to a couple hundred feet at best, and snow was falling thickly at times. The road was nearly covered, with substantial stretches revealing no really clear sign about where the roadbed was. This was an ambitious day's drive (Ft. Nelson, B.C. to Teslin, Yukon Territory), and I got this weather during the last two hours. A bit nerve-wracking....
The following day, however, dawned mostly clear. It was cold, but there was absolutely no wind. A gas station clerk told me that I had pumped gas at a temperature of -17 F, with no coat on, just a fleece pullover (and a pair of gloves to keep my hands freezing to the pump - I'm not stupid). But given the absolute dead calm, it seemed much more like 40 degrees to me. The mountains are the beginnings of the St. Elias.
More of the St. Elias Mountains. This section of road has the best mountain scenery that I've ever driven through.
Jeff Medkeff's home page.
Copyright © Jeff Medkeff, 2004, All Rights Reserved.