Alaska in May

[branners]

I am riding from South America and have decided to go for broke and ride to Alaska . Problem is I would get there about 10 May. Is it practicable to ride there at that time?

[MountainMan]

Depends on the year, but May is generally pretty early in the riding season. You can do it, but be prepared to wait out very bad weather and be prepared for cold riding. The further north you go, the longer the winter though. How far north do you want to go in Alaska?

[branners]

Thanks. I was originally just going from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and then North to LA then shipping bike back to OZ
However I'm having such a great time I thought I would do the whole thing.

Trouble is I will get there a bit early and can't hang around till June. Trying to decide whether it's worth the try.
Would you expect roads to be icy? Understand it depends on year.

[branners]

Sorry Mountain Man didn't answer your question. if I do it I assume my goal is Dead Horse. Any suggestions?

[MountainMan]

Hmmm, hard to say but for most folks probably not recommended to head all the way up to Deadhorse at that time of year.

One way to think of the trip is in two sections, the highway up to Fairbanks and the the haul road to Dead Horse. On the highway, the road can be clear as long as it hasn't snowed recently and the plows have been out clearing and sanding.

On the haul road, it's mostly a gravel road used by heavy trucks and you will be very far north and winter lasts a long time up there. The trucks that travel that road will still be carrying chains to deal with the weather and that far north you can have winter and spring weather all in one day. Not saying that it might be an early spring and the road could be soft with melt, but ideally you should also be prepared for winter riding as well.

[branners]

Thanks Mountain Man. Appreciate your advice. Sounds like Dead Horse in May is A Dead Duck literally! I think I might try for Fairbanks though.

[MedPlt]

If you need to kill some time and want a place to work on your bike Stop in Las Vegas for a few days. We have some great people, fun rides and a load of support for the traveling type...

I even have a couple of bottles of Bundy which need to be consumed

[GordYukon]

MM has it right. spent 33 yrs in Yukon and early May, although quite dry, is also cold. daytime highs of low double digit C and nightime of minus single digit Celsius. Weather unpredictable and can fluctuate widely from normals (+-7C). Can snow any day, many tourist lodges not open until late May. Usually snow still in campgrounds. By May 21, much improvement and would say is fair travelling for hardy souls. Daylight has lenghtened to nearly 18hrs, spring runoff is happening, life has returned :-)
If you forgo AK then try and make a run up through Kananaskis-Banf-Jasper parkway in Alberta Rockies. Primo viewscapes, easy roads. - Ciao

[Sam I Am]

Branners...

Check out the historical climate data at History : Weather Underground . For May, 2011, the highest high at Deadhorse was 8C and the lowest low was -24C. Also, remember that weather reports are most commonly available for towns and airports which tend to be at lower elevations and roads go over mountain passes (such as Atigun Pass in this case) where conditions can be much worse. As you can see from the graphs at the bottom of the page there, things improve rapidly the later you go.

[maja]

Three years back I did a ride up to Fairbanks late May/early June using weather and road reports on a daily basis the idea being to creep north during the nice bits. When you get to Fairbanks the truck agencies should have some idea about the state of the haul road. Anyway, the road through the Rockies, northern BC and the Yukon is magic and if you get into Alaska so much the better. Seeing the bears along the verges with mouthfulls of dandylions is a picture that will stay with me for ever and seeing the first RV convoy heading north as I was going south was also nice. Go for it gently and carefully would be my advice, if you get away with it, it will truely be a memory that will stay with you. Ride safe.

[Chris of Japan]

I left Seattle for Alaska on about May 10 back in 2004.
It was a bit cold at times, but nothing too bad. The open road without the the RV traffic I had heard so much about was great. Some services such as gas stations and campgrounds were not open, but it was not too much of a problem.
If you aren't on a tight schedule, I would say to go for it and take some side trips along the way while things warm up.
Come to think of it, I may have been unexpectedly early in the season. The Canadian border officials almost refused me entry because I couldn't give them a clear itinerary...

[Lucky Explorer]

Do you have electrical gear and heated grips? And I agree on the gas stations being few and far as most are attached to camps/resorts along the routes. Towns will have everything. I did it in May of 79 and it was goo everywhere, but not as much paved in 'them' days. Did it again in '07 June and it was really cold at Deadhorse. Thought my battery froze! I wore everything I could find. But the Haul road was only bad for a dozen miles of Calcium C spread. Go for the Circle at least and or Coldfoot and hold on a day or two for drying if wet.
Allen.

[sahtt]

Originally Posted by GordYukon

MM has it right. spent 33 yrs in Yukon and early May, although quite dry, is also cold. daytime highs of low double digit C and nightime of minus single digit Celsius. Weather unpredictable and can fluctuate widely from normals (+-7C). Can snow any day, many tourist lodges not open until late May. Usually snow still in campgrounds. By May 21, much improvement and would say is fair travelling for hardy souls. Daylight has lenghtened to nearly 18hrs, spring runoff is happening, life has returned :-)
If you forgo AK then try and make a run up through Kananaskis-Banf-Jasper parkway in Alberta Rockies. Primo viewscapes, easy roads. - Ciao

I will second GordYukon's advice, stick to Banf/Jasper areas or at least consider it. Lower British Columbia in general is also quite beautiful and with excellent roads.

I did texas to alaska round trip in 2009, I was still in Alaska at the end of August. People encouraged me to leave before winter came. I expect May will be more 'winter' than late August/early sept. Temps were fine during the day but expect some very cold nights and mornings, especially if you are caught in the rain. If all your gear gets wet and you are forced to camp in alaska/northwest yukon, you could freeze. Coming down through the Yukon territory I had a couple nights I could not sleep due to the low temps (I camped). I wore my full leathers to stay warm one night, including my boots, if that gives you an idea of how cold it can get at night.

The alaskan highway is generally good tarmac but there are some gravel patches and random potholes. I hit one at 85mph and almost met my maker. That combined with the substantial amount of wildlife the size of motor vehicles means you need immense concentration at all times. Riding in the cold always reduces one's ability to focus.

I cannot, however, tell you it would not be worth it. Destruction Bay in alaska is one of my favorite places in all of North America.

banf

the nat park in banf

between anchorage and tok during the rain (it rains "fairly" often in alaska during the summer)

the ride to haines, alaska is also quite incredible.


Hope that helps. If you need any route advice, please let me know. I rode just about every inch of the rockies from texas to alaska and took the pacific on the way down.

[taigaak]

Took me three+ weeks to ride back home (Fairbanks) from Seattle via Alcan , Cassiar and Top of the World last May (didn't make it all the way home last fall . . . winter happened ) Left Seattle May 5. Start was a slog. End was great. It was icy, snowy, rainy, windy, cold, very cold, really cold, foggy, then sunny . . . but never warm. Slippery, muddy and slow except when it was dry 'n fast ! Couple of moment of WTF! In other words . . . it was great. If you can't deal with ice and snow (cause it will !) . . . and/or don't have the sense or the will to stop, turn around and/or wait it out . . . start last half of May. Unless of course you are bullet proof . . . and gonna do what your gonna do. I'd do it again . . . when the ride is more important than the destination . . . and the time spent riding doesn't count in the total time left to you . . . this time around.

PS Never did catch up to the DR 650 riders in front of me.

[sabadi]

COmo estas amigo? yo estoy en Mexico mañana cruzo a EEUU y voy para Alaska,nos podemos ver en la ruta?? jjaja vendo desde Ushuaia hace un año y medio que viajo.
Un saludo