Alaska in October
 

Hi guys and girls,

I am planning a trip from Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia this autumn. Unfortunately I can’t start until 1 October. How cold and snowy will it be in Northern Alaska by then? Is it possible to do it that late?

I am prepared to ride on studded tires, with heated clothing etc. if necessary

Thanks in advance

arriving in Alaska aroun october
 

Hi,
thats a good question. We will make the trip the othe way around, starting in jauary 2012 in Argentina and hopefully arrinving by october somewhere in Canada. Also we would be glad to get more info about the wether & temperature.

kind regards
Johan & Ils

Hard to say exactly, but in general it is transition season from fall to winter so if unlucky you can have snow and if lucky it'll be just cold but clear.

In the far north, winter comes early. If you look up the average temps for October for Prudoe, it something like -10 for lows and -5 for highs, Fairbanks is about 5 degrees better and Anchorage about another 5. Of course as the month progresses the days are colder.

From Fairbanks south, if you have time to wait out bad weather, you can pick your way down to warmer temps. The run to Prudoe is really dependant on the weather on the days you are thinking. If really bad, then you might want to consider skipping that last leg if that's an option.

In regards to heated gear, it'll be useful at that time of year all the way down to the 49th parallel and beyond anyways so a good idea to make your ride more enjoyable. Studs could be useful, but a person should ideally stud new tires so it gets expensive and a bit time consuming if you decided gear up in Fairbanks just for the 800km ride to Prudoe and then try to pick them out afterwards.

What you may want to consider is to make sure that your bike is shipped ahead of time as far north as possible (Anchorage or even Fairbanks if you can organize) and start as close to October 1 as possible. If the weather is at all co-operative, a quick run up to Prudoe and then meander south based on weather windows. If the weather was already bad up to Prudoe, you may
not want to bother with the hassle of winterizing to head north (costly, time consuming) and just ride south.

Happy riding.