Winter driving demands extra care... but is well worth the effort!

First snowfall of winter on the Seward Hwy near Canyon Creek this week

The late fall is one of Alaska's best kept secrets.  Beautiful weather, long daylight and uncrowded roads and restaurants make for some local magic.  This week in Seward has been particularly beautiful, with warm sunny days and bright white capped mountains appearing each morning with a few more inches of "termination dust" somehow deposited invisbly overnight.

The slow, almost languid, shift from summer to winter tends to lull one into a false sense of comfort.  As the frenetic pace of the summer tourism season eases off, its easy to lose sight of the need for ongoing vigilance on, off and near the road. While there are nowhere near as many RVs and cars to contend with at this time of the year, the nature of road use changes dramatically with the seasons. Many late season photographers seem to think nothing of pulling up without warning to get that once in a lifetime shot of a sleeping trumpeter swan or wandering across the road laden down with a massive SLR and tripod that somehow makes them oblivious to traffic...
Equally importantly, the nature of the road itself is changing.  Rain is now ice and slush, snow is beginning to creep down to the road verge and mornings are darker... soon we'll be in full winter driving mode.
In preparation for that transition, the center requires all staff to undertake a winter driving course and test.  Over the past two years that has had the very positive effect of promoting safer winter driving of ASLC and personal vehicles.  For any staff members who have not yet undertaken the test, please check in with Jon Gage.  For our volunteers and visitors, the Alaska Department of Public safety (see http://www.dps.alaska.gov/PIO/TrooperTimes/ArchiveStories/12.06.07%20Winter%20Driving.pdf) and the Municipality of Anchorage offers some great guidance (see http://www.muni.org/Departments/police/traffic/Pages/WinterSafeDriving.aspx).

Snowmobile skiing on Summit Lake - Winter 2011

Few people I talk with in Anchorage seem to appreciate just how beautiful the drive down to Seward in winter can be or even the amazing recreation opportunities available along the way.  I strongly encourage visitors to make the trip down and experience a journey that is so very different to the summer drive.... but I also urge all winter travelers to take the time to prepare for the trip and drive carefully as the above websites recommend.  Safe travels!