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Having lived in northern California my entire life I have not spent a real winter anywhere. I am awaiting news of a transfer to the north slope and plan to live in the matsu-sustina valley. The distance from there to anchorage says 48mi. How is that route during winter? Driveable? I'm assuming it is a major commuter road and that it's well taken care during winter. I'm asking because I dont like to assume. Also, I'd like to know about how travel by air from anchorage to the slope is affected during the winter. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks
OK. Plainly stated. The road is well maintained. At commute times it is busy. If an accident occurs you can be on the road still for hours. During winter it is icy, and can be dangerous even though the plows get out early.
You will want to have winter tires dedicated to your commute. If you have a vehicle with AWD/4WD you will have it easier. Low profile vehicles (Subaru) do best I think though I drive a 4Runner. You will want to carry a down sleeping bag and water for your commute and snacks in case you get stuck on the road (or off it).
If you are able to consider Eagle River the commute is much easier all times of the day and you can avoid the accident slowdown. Winter lasts a long time. Invest in your vehicle and you will be warm and happy. Make sure you have anti freeze and windshield wash rated to -40 or below. Put synthetic oil in your oil and gear oil. Consider a remote start or have a engine heater put it once you get up here. People who get around up here know that winter is a force to be reckoned with. Be prepared.
There's thousands of people who drive from the Valley to Anchorage everyday for work. Yes, some days the commute is a little slick, or an accident happens and the highway becomes a parking lot. But this is more an exception than the norm. The biggest key is to slow down and drive for the conditions.
An AWD or 4WD vehicle helps. I personally don't run studs and I haven't had a problem in 15 years.
Having lived in northern California my entire life I have not spent a real winter anywhere. I am awaiting news of a transfer to the north slope and plan to live in the matsu-sustina valley. The distance from there to anchorage says 48mi. How is that route during winter? Driveable? I'm assuming it is a major commuter road and that it's well taken care during winter. I'm asking because I dont like to assume. Also, I'd like to know about how travel by air from anchorage to the slope is affected during the winter. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks
It is the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, or the Mat-Su Valley, or just the Valley. There is no such thing as the Matsu-Sustina Valley.
I would highly recommend that you take a winter driving course. Those that do not take such a course and are new to winter driving conditions are an accident waiting to happen. When most people who are unfamiliar with winter driving lose control of their vehicle their first reaction is to stomp on the brakes. That is the last thing you want to do on an icy road. A winter driving course will not only teach you how to maintain control on ice, it will also teach you how to drive defensively and how to spot trouble before it happens.
A lot of people like to rely on 4x4s and AWD vehicles, thinking that they will make the drive "safer." They could not be more wrong. These are the vehicles you are most likely to see in the ditch during the winter. The drivers that have no winter driving skills rely on their vehicles to compensate for their lack of skill. Just remember that AWD or 4x4 vehicles do not stop any faster or any better than FWD vehicles.
Studded tires from October 1st through May 1st are also highly recommended. While the road from Palmer/Wasilla into Anchorage is plowed and kept free of snow, it is not kept free from ice.
There is also the added problem of moose on the road, particularly during the winter when it is dark and the snow gets deep. Hitting a moose is not like hitting a deer. Moose are about four times heavier and almost twice as tall. As a result, if you hit a moose you will take out its legs and the body of the moose will come right through your windshield. If it does not kill you, it will certainly total your vehicle. On average, there is one moose killed by vehicle in the Mat-Su Valley on a daily basis, most during the winter.
It is the Matanuska-Susitina Valley, or the Mat-Su Valley, or just the Valley. There is no such thing as the Matsu-Sustina Valley.
I would highly recommend that you take a winter driving course. Those that do not take such a course and are new to winter driving conditions are an accident waiting to happen. When most people who are unfamiliar with winter driving lose control of their vehicle their first reaction is to stomp on the brakes. That is the last thing you want to do on an icy road. A winter driving course will not only teach you how to maintain control on ice, it will also teach you how to drive defensively and how to spot trouble before it happens.
A lot of people like to rely on 4x4s and AWD vehicles, thinking that they will make the drive "safer." They could not be more wrong. These are the vehicles you are most likely to see in the ditch during the winter. The drivers that have no winter driving skills rely on their vehicles to compensate for their lack of skill. Just remember that AWD or 4x4 vehicles do not stop any faster or any better than FWD vehicles.
Studded tires from October 1st through May 1st are also highly recommended. While the road from Palmer/Wasilla into Anchorage is plowed and kept free of snow, it is not kept free from ice.
There is also the added problem of moose on the road, particularly during the winter when it is dark and the snow gets deep. Hitting a moose is not like hitting a deer. Moose are about four times heavier and almost twice as tall. As a result, if you hit a moose you will take out its legs and the body of the moose will come right through your windshield. If it does not kill you, it will certainly total your vehicle. On average, there is one moose killed by vehicle in the Mat-Su Valley on a daily basis, most during the winter.
I deal with many deer hits being an auto claims adjuster and they can total a vehicle very easily... GEEZ... a moose or bear... elk... yikes!! Great graphic to show reality on the roads in Alaska..
I would tend to disagree with the comment about 4WD vehicles being in the ditches more. While it is true some overestimate their 4WD to go to fast and the issue in previous years were the ruts in the highway and there are easily as many 2WD sedans in the ditches.
Last year due to the fact that the Glenn was repaved from Eagle River to Anchorage fewer higher profile (and higher center of gravity) vehicles in the ditch and more 2WD vehicles. As stated slow down and you will be fine. Thousands of people commute from Wasilla and Palmer and therein to me lies the obvious problem.
Here is another link on studded tires. If you want the best go with these.
Having lived in northern California my entire life I have not spent a real winter anywhere. I am awaiting news of a transfer to the north slope and plan to live in the matsu-sustina valley. The distance from there to anchorage says 48mi. How is that route during winter? Driveable? I'm assuming it is a major commuter road and that it's well taken care during winter. I'm asking because I dont like to assume.
LOL. That commute during the Summer is miserable enough due to all the idjits on the road, never mind the winter!
Quote:
Originally Posted by demartile
Also, I'd like to know about how travel by air from anchorage to the slope is affected during the winter. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks
Deadhorse (SCC) is about 630 air miles from Anchorage (ANC). However, most flights going to and from there (Commercial - Alaska Air or Shared Services - Conoco/BP) stop in Fairbanks, so the entire trip often takes 2 - 3 hrs.
The primary service by Alaska Air is flown on the 737-400 Combi - half cargo / half passenger. People sit in the Back half of the plane. Some of the flights also make a big loop picking up and dropping off cargo and passengers at each point: ANC -> Fairbanks -> Deadhorse -> Barrow -> Fairbanks, then back to ANC. So the return leg can be even longer than going up!
Flying on Shared Services is like flying on a school bus full of foul mouthed juvenilles. Even the return flight on Alaska Air can get pretty raunchy due to all of the slope workers returning after their 2 (or more) week shifts. I've been on flights where it was half oil workers, and half tourists returning from one of their Princess Tour excursions. By the time we got back to ANC the poor old-folks were horrified and practically in shock by what they had heard! The fact that they serve alcohol to the knuckledraggers on the return leg doesn't help either (they don't serve it on the way up for obvious reasons).
The service is pretty reliable regardless of weather. It takes a pretty good blow or really dense fog to delay the flights. Occasionally a crew change gets delayed by a shift or so due to weather, and it sems like one or two times a year a white-out gets going good enough to keep the planes grounded for a few days (sucks bad when you are the guy waiting to get relieved). But its prety impressive what those guys can fly through.
The airport up at Deadhorse is super small. There are no heated jetways, you get off the plane the old fashioned way via stairs. You learn real fast to take your arctic coat with you on the plane when you have to step out of a warm plane directly into -40 F and 20mph wind. Wakes you up from the trip real fast! And wear good boots too. On the layovers the cabin door is open while people are boarding. Near the floor it can get so cold your feet can turn to blocks of ice even though it feels comfortable in the rest of the cabin. I've watched the poor flight attendents freeze their feet because Alaska Air uniform policy doesn't let Women wear appropriate foot gear for Arctic conditions.
Once you get to Deadhorse, everyone piles into a tiny little waiting room where a forklift off loads baggage. Then you are usually hearded like cattle into a shuttle bus for a short trip past the security checkpoint and into the fields. If you are lucky, you have yor own vehicle waiting, often droppend off by someone going off shift. The parking lot at the SCC terminal when a flight lands is a sea of diesel pickups all idling 24/7.
Era also offers service from ANC/FAI to SCC, but I can't see being crammed into on one of those tiny Dash 8's for that entire trip!
Last edited by Moose Whisperer; 06-26-2011 at 01:31 PM..
I would tend to disagree with the comment about 4WD vehicles being in the ditches more. While it is true some overestimate their 4WD to go to fast and the issue in previous years were the ruts in the highway and there are easily as many 2WD sedans in the ditches.
Last year due to the fact that the Glenn was repaved from Eagle River to Anchorage fewer higher profile (and higher center of gravity) vehicles in the ditch and more 2WD vehicles. As stated slow down and you will be fine. Thousands of people commute from Wasilla and Palmer and therein to me lies the obvious problem.
Here is another link on studded tires. If you want the best go with these.
Between Palmer/Wasilla and Eagle River well over 90% of the vehicles in the ditch are AWDs and 4x4s. It is only between Eagle River and Anchorage that you begin to see more FWDs in the ditch. Some of that, no doubt, comes from the ratio of 4x4 and AWD owners versus FWD owners on the road. But some of that is the result of idiots who do not know how to drive in winter conditions. Particularly Eagle River commuters. Many, I suspect, are military personnel who recently transferred and know nothing about driving on ice. Eagle River is always the biggest bottle-neck on the commute into Anchorage, even when it is not during "rush-hour." First, it is a poorly designed on-ramp. Second, most do not bother to accelerate to the same speed as the traffic when they attempt to merge, and thereby causing a chain-reaction that slows everyone down, sometimes for miles.
Between Palmer/Wasilla and Eagle River well over 90% of the vehicles in the ditch are AWDs and 4x4s. It is only between Eagle River and Anchorage that you begin to see more FWDs in the ditch. Some of that, no doubt, comes from the ratio of 4x4 and AWD owners versus FWD owners on the road. But some of that is the result of idiots who do not know how to drive in winter conditions. Particularly Eagle River commuters. Many, I suspect, are military personnel who recently transferred and know nothing about driving on ice. Eagle River is always the biggest bottle-neck on the commute into Anchorage, even when it is not during "rush-hour." First, it is a poorly designed on-ramp. Second, most do not bother to accelerate to the same speed as the traffic when they attempt to merge, and thereby causing a chain-reaction that slows everyone down, sometimes for miles.
Agree with you. Also, AWD and 4x4 systems boosts the drivers confidence, and these in turn drive faster.
In the interior we drive pretty much on ice between Delta Junction and Fairbanks. And most of the vehicles in the ditch or ones that skid the farthest off the road usually are pickup trucks and other 4x4 and AWD vehicles. I drive a FWD Civic most of the time, and have never skidded off the road because I adjust the speed to road conditions, but drivers with AWD and 4x4's pass me like I am standing still When they skid off the road, they do so for longer distances. Driving on ice requires practice, since one has to "feel" the road through the tires of the vehicle. For example, if I ever feel the slightest skid I know that I am already pushing the speed in relation to road condition. On a vehicle with AWD (or 4x4) plus traction control, the computer "feels" the road for the driver, and by the time the driver realizes that he or she has gone too fast, it's too late to do anything about it.
Last season there were more 2WD vehicles in the ditch tween Eagle River and Anchorage 3/1. Surprised me. Agree with you on the marketing of the prowess of 4WD SUV which in fact does not exist. However, when stuck in snow, deep snow and a ditch the gearing on the competent SUV will allow one to get out while the Subaru will be calling a tow. I tend to suspect that the ruts hit the SUV's harder than the lower center of gravity cars. That would certainly explain the change in ratio. Honestly if I was taking Ray's drive I would want a lower center of gravity vehicle, but in Eagle River I would stick with the 4Runner any day of the week.
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WHOA... I can only imagine...
When they skid off the road, they do so for longer distances. Driving on ice requires practice, since one has to "feel" the road through the tires of the vehicle. For example, if I ever feel the slightest skid I know that I am already pushing the speed in relation to road condition. On a vehicle with AWD (or 4x4) plus traction control, the computer "feels" the road for the driver, and by the time the driver realizes that he or she has gone too fast, it's too late to do anything about it.
