The nation's northernmost truckstop will be serving truckers biscuits and gravy, eggs and hash browns all winter this year, and longer hours.
Alaska's Coldfoot Truck Stop on the Dalton Highway is 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 240 miles south of Prudhoe Bay. Coldfoot is the only place to stop on a 470-mile stretch of the Dalton between the Hilltop Truck Stop just north of Fairbanks and Deadhorse.
Two years ago, the truckstop shut down its restaurant and hotel rooms for the winter, and was open only eight hours a day to sell fuel, with a small vending machine for snacks and a soda machine. Although the facility had stayed open year-round in the past, it was just not profitable enough to stay open in the winter. The closing left no restaurant or lodging services on a 350-mile stretch of the Dalton Highway.
Last year, however, the truckstop kitchen opened 16 hours a day, and along with the truckers, more winter tourism is helping the operation make a living during the winter. This year, the kitchen will be open from 5 a.m. until midnight, and the rest of the facility will be open 24 hours a day.
"We expect about as much truck traffic as last year," said Manager Linda Stanford, "and we are working to develop more winter tourism, both for independent travelers and package tours." The truckstop was bought last May by Sukakpak Inc. of Fairbanks, which also owns Northern Alaska Tour Co.
Last winter, Doug O'Harra from the Anchorage Daily News visited the Coldfoot as part of a ride-along trip with trucker Fred McMillan, who drives for Lynden Transport. Blizzards and bitter cold can hit without forecast. McMillan has waited full days for state snowplows to punch through snowdrifts as high as the windshield of his Peterbilt.
The Dalton, built to haul supplies to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay, can be dangerous. Alaska State Troopers have recorded 30 fatalities in the last three decades. McMillan survived one head-on collision that ripped open the cab right through the driver's seat. When a cloud of dust cleared to reveal on oncoming rig straddling the middle of the road, McMillan dived to the right, saving his life.
The trucker carries tools to repair hoses and lines and filters and motors, enough food for two or three days, Arctic gear and an $800 sleeping bag. The truck has been modified for the extreme conditions, with fuel heaters, special filters and tires. To pass the time on the long lonely drive, McMillan listens to books on tape, and checks the trapline he maintains along the foothills with a powerful spotlight mounted on the cab.
With the recent surge in oil field activity, McMillan told the paper, there are a lot more truckers on the road that don't have the experience driving in these unique conditions. He pointed out shiny stripes on the road surface where inexperienced drivers had ridden the brakes during steep descents. Those slick patches could make other rigs lose traction.
"Driving the Dalton," writes O'Harra, "especially in the winter, requires a level of independence and road savvy not often seen," even by truckers who run the northern tier of the 48 states.
Alaska's Coldfoot Truck Stop on the Dalton Highway is 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 240 miles south of Prudhoe Bay. Coldfoot is the only place to stop on a 470-mile stretch of the Dalton between the Hilltop Truck Stop just north of Fairbanks and Deadhorse.
Two years ago, the truckstop shut down its restaurant and hotel rooms for the winter, and was open only eight hours a day to sell fuel, with a small vending machine for snacks and a soda machine. Although the facility had stayed open year-round in the past, it was just not profitable enough to stay open in the winter. The closing left no restaurant or lodging services on a 350-mile stretch of the Dalton Highway.
Last year, however, the truckstop kitchen opened 16 hours a day, and along with the truckers, more winter tourism is helping the operation make a living during the winter. This year, the kitchen will be open from 5 a.m. until midnight, and the rest of the facility will be open 24 hours a day.
"We expect about as much truck traffic as last year," said Manager Linda Stanford, "and we are working to develop more winter tourism, both for independent travelers and package tours." The truckstop was bought last May by Sukakpak Inc. of Fairbanks, which also owns Northern Alaska Tour Co.
Last winter, Doug O'Harra from the Anchorage Daily News visited the Coldfoot as part of a ride-along trip with trucker Fred McMillan, who drives for Lynden Transport. Blizzards and bitter cold can hit without forecast. McMillan has waited full days for state snowplows to punch through snowdrifts as high as the windshield of his Peterbilt.
The Dalton, built to haul supplies to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay, can be dangerous. Alaska State Troopers have recorded 30 fatalities in the last three decades. McMillan survived one head-on collision that ripped open the cab right through the driver's seat. When a cloud of dust cleared to reveal on oncoming rig straddling the middle of the road, McMillan dived to the right, saving his life.
The trucker carries tools to repair hoses and lines and filters and motors, enough food for two or three days, Arctic gear and an $800 sleeping bag. The truck has been modified for the extreme conditions, with fuel heaters, special filters and tires. To pass the time on the long lonely drive, McMillan listens to books on tape, and checks the trapline he maintains along the foothills with a powerful spotlight mounted on the cab.
With the recent surge in oil field activity, McMillan told the paper, there are a lot more truckers on the road that don't have the experience driving in these unique conditions. He pointed out shiny stripes on the road surface where inexperienced drivers had ridden the brakes during steep descents. Those slick patches could make other rigs lose traction.
"Driving the Dalton," writes O'Harra, "especially in the winter, requires a level of independence and road savvy not often seen," even by truckers who run the northern tier of the 48 states.
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