Driving the Alaska Highway in the winter

Thanks for all of your comments. I'm in Hinton for 12 days now, and had planned on some down time to catch up on some paperwork, but the sunshine keeps on keeping on, and I can't stay off the road! Went to Jasper on Saturday, down Highway 40 South to the coal mining area around Cadomin yesterday, may head to Brule today. There is some awesome country around here.

Explorenorth!

I just finished reading your blog and looking at all your pictures. We were on that same route last summer when we went to Alaska, heading north of course. Thanks so much for posting. Things look a bit different in the snow and ice, but I have several similar shots of things during the warmer months.

Loved the blog and will be looking forward to your next pictures.

Dale

Those Toyo Observes are great tires. Hav'em on two of our cars.

profdant139 wrote:
I have to ask - what in heaven's name do you do when you come upon a long stretch of glare ice? I assume you are not riding on chains. And although I have very aggressive "all terrain" tires on my truck, those tires will still slip on thick ice if I am not very careful.

Cold ice isn't nearly as slick as ice near the freezing point, a sad fact that most transplanted Yankees don't remember here in N. Texas. That's why they end up wrapped around phone poles. Plus you learn how to correct for slips and slides. But I damn near dropped my load when I got on some slick stuff in a vehicle with anti-lock brakes! My slick road conditions driving instincts didn't work one bit with those brakes trying to do my thinking for me.

I've acclimated since moving down here and I just stay home on ice/snow days. But I remember fondly taking my driving test for my first license on glare ice in Kenai, Alaska where I grew up.

Those aggressive ATs are not for ice - I have what used to be called "studless" Toyos (now Observe Garit KX), and they are for ice. Just slow down a bit more than normal for curves, don't slam on the brakes, and go - 100-110kmh is my norm on glare ice with my AWD Cadillac CTS (that's 62-68mph).

I have to ask - what in heaven's name do you do when you come upon a long stretch of glare ice? I assume you are not riding on chains. And although I have very aggressive "all terrain" tires on my truck, those tires will still slip on thick ice if I am not very careful.

I'm also assuming that you are not driving at 20 kph, right?

Wonderful pictures, by the way!!

I actually took several pictures of the inside of Rancheria, but they didn't make the cut for the blog. Linda is off - sounds like she was injured, though I didn't ask for details. Yes, hubby's breakfast was excellent as well.

In the old days, White River also had a burger of the sort that those sourdough breakfasts were - everything on them including a weiner and a fried egg! I could never quite finish one, but I sure came close :)

I was very surprised to find a Filipino woman running Toad River.

I am a little surprised not seeing any pictures on the blog of the remodeled and extended portions of Rancheria Lodge within the restaurant, as they did a surpurb job.

Linda is a great cook too (a person who will simply not take a vacation), and when her husband decides to help out in the kitchen man he can really cook some great grub.

Rancheria is one of the longest established roadhouses still goin at it today, as roadhouses along the Alaska Highway have become a dying breed of business.

I only wished Teslin was more distant from Rancheria as I generally will stop at the Yukon Motel Restaurant too, as when both places are open while passing thru during the day I will stop at Rancheria....if I roll in the area during the evening hours before 930pm I will stop in Teslin and have dinner there from either direction.....After an all day sidetrip affair in Atlin last August, I timed it perfectly to have dinner and overnight in Teslin (as they let me hang out and watch the CFL game on the big screen with them during closing hours) and had breakfast in Rancheria the following day.

When Pops in White River was running the lodge and restaurant in that era, he had this $8.95 sourdough breakfast on the menu that catered for two people to share.....Some younger big teenage kid had ordered it and Pops told him he might want to reconsider ordering the jr. sourdough instead as he warned him that was a two stomach serving, but the kid insisted on it stating he would eat it all....so Pops told him if he could eat it all in one setting, it was on the house.

Everyone laughed when the kid finally gave in and surrendered after eating roughly three quarters of the serving.

I still miss Toad to this day after he retired and sold Toad River Lodge in 1999 as for less than $30 you can have a comfortable room, bed, and a hearty hot breakfast which was the first lodge I ever stayed at in March 1985 (well before my RV days) as I learned real quick about budgeting more on future trips by eating a hot meal when travelling on the Alaska Highway summer or winter which is a must while building a better morale for your body, compared to stretching limited funds getting by with canned food and cold sandwiches on the road.

I sure appreciate the few roadhouses that are left in the far north that are runned by great people as they still provide for the traveler, despite the hard work and overhead they deal with on a daily basis, especially the places that are located without a grid whether seasonal or year round.

North of Haines Junction in Yukon last week...

JackD wrote:
Can you believe I once bought a lot in VIR for $22,000.

Yea, and I used to buy off road diesel for $0.12. Proves we are getting OLD.:B
OP, thanks for the great pictures but I'll take mine over yours.