Which first - the Cassiar or the Alcan?
We're planning a Seattle to Alaska and back trip for the summer of 2015. I read through the 2013 roll call thread's summary and am reading the 2014 one now, but since I haven't come across the info I ...
Forum Discussion
Northbound - start of spring or summer season - Alaska Hwy.
Southbound - late summer or fall - Cassiar Hwy.
As mentioned before by Sue, Alaska Hwy. is in better shape and maintained year round, compared to the Cassiar....
Cassiar Hwy. areas have more coastal weather, which means more snow in winter, more rainfall in areas during summer than what a lot of the Alaska Hwy would get in comparison....
In spring or early summer, the snowmelt from the mountains along with any heavy rainfall that might occur during May-June can be subjected to have more potential intermittent washouts along the Cassiar, as the road will not be in it's better shape in the usual spots until they are patched up or improved by August and September where the Cassiar Hwy. is in it's best shape generally during that timeframe.
With washouts and forest fires that can and do occur, the Cassiar Hwy. is on the more potential closure with these factors during the summer months so do take note when travelling in the far north as mentioned - you might have to take the alternate routes that occur due to your travel status location upon what events have occurred if there is a road closure, happens almost every year.
The past two Septembers I driven the Cassiar Hwy. along with July 2010 with no issues, as in 2011 I could not drive the Cassiar because it washed out in two places in which the Alaska Hwy. was real busy in 2011 with all the industrial traffic and extra traffic combined which I hated when I driven it in both directions.
Sue gave me the bad news when she asked me if I was driving the Cassiar or Alaska Hwy. as I answered the Cassiar, no question, until she said um no you're not, it washed out in two places yesterday, and she knew how sickened I was when I mentioned having to deal with the industrial gas well traffic and all the other extra traffic along with it....
So I planned on the new option routes to take from my initial routes according to my three week vacation plan, as I decided to visit Edmonton and Calgary for the first time and made the best of it - which really worked out better for me as I opened a Canadian bank account in Edmonton which took only 45 minutes, compared to two previous attempts of opening an account in Whitehorse which was always a two or three week scheduled appointment, and of course never making it back in time for that particular day of the appointment.
As long as the daytime temps are above freezing where you are located, snow wont be a factor on the roads....as mentioned you might wait a day or two at the most if there is a lot of snowfall that might occur in the higher elevations that might stick on the roadways during September, and I estimate that happens only less than 5 percent of the time.
Once the ground is frozen solid, then it's over as the next snowfall will stay on the ground and the roads will get icy....which happens in Fairbanks on average first or second week of October.
Southbound - late summer or fall - Cassiar Hwy.
As mentioned before by Sue, Alaska Hwy. is in better shape and maintained year round, compared to the Cassiar....
Cassiar Hwy. areas have more coastal weather, which means more snow in winter, more rainfall in areas during summer than what a lot of the Alaska Hwy would get in comparison....
In spring or early summer, the snowmelt from the mountains along with any heavy rainfall that might occur during May-June can be subjected to have more potential intermittent washouts along the Cassiar, as the road will not be in it's better shape in the usual spots until they are patched up or improved by August and September where the Cassiar Hwy. is in it's best shape generally during that timeframe.
With washouts and forest fires that can and do occur, the Cassiar Hwy. is on the more potential closure with these factors during the summer months so do take note when travelling in the far north as mentioned - you might have to take the alternate routes that occur due to your travel status location upon what events have occurred if there is a road closure, happens almost every year.
The past two Septembers I driven the Cassiar Hwy. along with July 2010 with no issues, as in 2011 I could not drive the Cassiar because it washed out in two places in which the Alaska Hwy. was real busy in 2011 with all the industrial traffic and extra traffic combined which I hated when I driven it in both directions.
Sue gave me the bad news when she asked me if I was driving the Cassiar or Alaska Hwy. as I answered the Cassiar, no question, until she said um no you're not, it washed out in two places yesterday, and she knew how sickened I was when I mentioned having to deal with the industrial gas well traffic and all the other extra traffic along with it....
So I planned on the new option routes to take from my initial routes according to my three week vacation plan, as I decided to visit Edmonton and Calgary for the first time and made the best of it - which really worked out better for me as I opened a Canadian bank account in Edmonton which took only 45 minutes, compared to two previous attempts of opening an account in Whitehorse which was always a two or three week scheduled appointment, and of course never making it back in time for that particular day of the appointment.
As long as the daytime temps are above freezing where you are located, snow wont be a factor on the roads....as mentioned you might wait a day or two at the most if there is a lot of snowfall that might occur in the higher elevations that might stick on the roadways during September, and I estimate that happens only less than 5 percent of the time.
Once the ground is frozen solid, then it's over as the next snowfall will stay on the ground and the roads will get icy....which happens in Fairbanks on average first or second week of October.
