The Atigun Pass is the highest road pass in Alaska, 1,444 metres above sea level, and it carries the Dalton Highway through the Brooks Range, the last great barrier before the North Slope and the Arctic Ocean. The mountains here are bare, with jagged grey rock and green tundra, and the continental divide runs across the top, so that rivers on one side flow to the Pacific and Arctic waters on the other. The trans-Alaska pipeline climbs beside the road, running above the ground on steel supports so that its heat will not thaw the permafrost, and it is both a marvel of engineering and a reminder of how remote this country is.
The Dalton Highway was built in 1974 as a haul road for the pipeline, and it remains a working road, with heavy trucks hauling supplies north to the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay. It is more than 400 miles long and mostly gravel, and it is not a road for casual riders. The surface can be loose, rutted and slick when wet, and in summer the road is often treated with calcium chloride to control the dust, which turns to a greasy mud and coats the bike. Stone chips fly from passing trucks, which have right of way, so ride defensively and move over for them.
Atigun's steep grades and tight bends demand attention, and snow can fall any month of the year, so carry warm layers and waterproofs. The wildlife is a bonus. Dall sheep graze on the slopes, caribou cross the tundra, and musk oxen may be seen north of the pass. Mosquitoes in July are fierce, and a head net is a good idea. In summer, the sun scarcely sets, and the landscape glows in a soft light at midnight.
The nearest is Coldfoot, about seventy miles south, which has fuel, food and a basic lodge, and the next fuel to the north is at Deadhorse, roughly a hundred and seventy miles beyond the pass. Carry spare fuel, tools, a spare tyre or repair kit and a satellite messenger, as there is little phone coverage. It is a serious ride, and a rewarding one.