Seward in Feb. (Anchorage, Whittier, Hope: home, most dangerous, car)

[aquariusmom]

Is the road to Seward from Whittier and/or Anch. generally open and drive-able in early Feb?

[warptman]

The roads are open year round. In the winter time its always good to see the current road conditions are. go here...

Alaska Road Traveler Information Service

[aquariusmom]

Thanks!! Trip planning time...

[Rance]

The road can be trecheous at times to Seward. But for the most part through Turnagain Pass and the Hope Pass are the most dangerous due to elevation. The highway deptment does an excellent job at plowing. So if it's not the middle of a blizzard you will have no problem. Feb is usually the coldest time of year down this way. The colder it is...the better the traction. There are many winding corners so just use caution.

[BudinAk]

Originally Posted by aquariusmom

Is the road to Seward from Whittier and/or Anch. generally open and drive-able in early Feb?

You shouldn't have a problem, but it can get whiteout conditions on occasion.
Turnagain Pass gets a lot of snow due to the elevation, but I think this just makes the drive more interesting. We drove through to Anchorage from Seward a week ago, and pulled off at mile 71 to snap a photo, which is posted below...view is looking towards Turnagain Arm to the north.

Bud

[warptman]

I like the drive to Seward in the winter, no RV's to get stuck behind and the scenery is great.

[tuxedocat]

Do cell phones work pretty well there when you are driving those roads? And is there anyone to call if you have an accident--like state troopers or something like that?

[User 2]

There's plenty of dead air zones, especially in amongst any of the mountain passes and there's plenty of those passes on the few roads on the peninsula.

Yes, we do have 911 calling in most of the state, but don't think the response time will be timely if you're very far from one of the larger towns.

Most of the time there's some traffic you might flag down for help, but late at night, or in bad storms, it can be a bit more sparse. (and don't count on people always being quick to come to your aid, it used to be said that it was illegal not to stop and render assistance, and in the past it was unlikely that anyone would pass you up, but that's coming to be a thing of the past what with people worrying about who's out there now and liabilities etc.)

There's some few emergency call boxes scattered about, but I'd hate to rely on that.

Best thing is to drive real cautiously and be prepared. Most folks carry extra gear in winter in addition to the basics that always are recommended, such as first aid kits, flares, and the like, (shovel for digging out, chains, extra warm clothes, blankets or sleeping bags, etc)

I recommend slowing down, studs all around and four-wheel drive for winter excursions on all of our highways.

Sure, I've been passed by a few two wheel drive beaters with thread bare summer tires, but often as not, they're off the road not too far up the road.

[tuxedocat]

Thanks much User 2. It's so incredibly gorgeous -- I'm going to have to drive that some day pretty soon.

[rotorhead]

Some good advice there in previous posts. I'd second the opinion about studs and four wheel drive, though a front wheel drive with decent winter tires is still much, much better than the typical pickup with all season radials.

Having a fairly new set of actual snow tires (better yet, studded snow tires) makes more difference than all the other factors combined, though, and is the best investment for winter driving that you can make.

Also, that route gets cold enough to re-freeze the slush pretty quickly once the sun goes down and that happens early down in those deep valleys. Your best bet for the drive home is probably not at the end of a full day in Seward, no matter how good your car is it's not good to be driving tired.