Hey thanks Mark. The hiking I did was in the Fairbanks area that is super cold, doesn't get any wind, and minimal snowfall. Depths were about knee high. Denali area is another story. Can be 30 degrees warmer or more, with open tundra, lots of wind with a bit more snow. The worst road conditions were in the city of Fairbanks. I don't think they plow, but drop gravel every night. During the day as heat from car travel, (traffic?) exhaust and hot engines, especially at stops and intersections, the roads become iced up again. They never melt but seem to accumulate more ice. I thought from driving in snow here in NY that I was a pro, but it definately takes a couple days to get used to the road conditions there. It is different... I was very surprised at the driving conditions on the roads north of Fairbanks and towards Denali. Most days the roads were mostly clear. Also, the few roads they have are in wide flat valleys without twisting winding hills. My daytrips past the park entrance were about 370 miles round trip with little trouble. They do sometimes get foggy ice over night that coats trees, roads, mountains, everything(you can see it in one of the photos). Very pretty, but made for about 75 miles of totally covered roadways toward Denali. Again though, very straight and flat driving at speeds of 50mph. I was also surprised that when I stopped to take pics, a car almost always passed by. I know this is the only road to Anchorage but didn't think anyone used it in winter. I saw only two accidents while I was there. One at an intersection in Fairbanks, the other a flipped tracktor trailer avoiding a moose. Maybe I was lucky, but I wouldn't hesitate to return and drive there in winter.
