974 Inches of Snow

The Thompson Pass Alaska Story

Notice the horse-drawn sleds going over Thompson Pass in the photo above. Year unknown.

Can you even imagine what 974 inches of snow (which is over 81 feet) in one year would look like?

Thompson Pass is the snowiest weather station in Alaska. In 1952–1953, the snowfall that year was measured at 974 inches. The most snow ever recorded in one location in Alaska.

Note:

But wait, believe it or not, 974 inches of snow in one season at one location is not the most for the entire United States.

Mount Baker Ski Resort in Whatcom County in Washington state holds that record with 1,140 inches of snow (around 95 feet), recorded in 1998-1999. Mount Baker is located about 52 miles east of Bellingham, Washington, in the Cascade mountains near the Canadian border.

The Challenge

Ok, Alaska, Washington state’s 1,140 inches is only 166 inches or 13.8 feet more than Alaska’s 974 inches.

So, come on, Thompson Pass weather, you can come up with that, plus a few inches more for a new United States record.

Now back to Thompson Pass

You’ll find Thompson Pass northeast of Valdez, Alaska, 2,678 feet high in the Chugach mountains.

The pass also holds the Alaskan record for the most snow in a single day at 62 inches, which is over 5 feet. That record was set on December 29, 1955. Talk about a white Christmas.

They Were First

The Alaska native Ahtna people were there first. They had trails over the region for centuries.

Enter U.S. Army Captain William Abercrombie

Then, in 1898, U.S. Army Captain William Abercrombie led an expedition seeking "an all-American route from coastal Alaska to the Klondike during the gold rush.”

Abercrombie gave it the name “Thompson Pass” in honor of Frank Thomson, whose last name was spelled without the letter “P”. However, Abercrombie wrote the name as Thompson instead of Thomson on his sketched map of the area.

Note:

Frank Thomson was a prominent Pennsylvania financier, railroad executive, and philanthropist.

Yes, You Can Share This Edition

And when you do, your friends and family will be so happy that they will discover a new pass and name it after you… well, it could happen.

The Klondike Gold Rush

Thompson Pass was used by the Klondike Gold Rush stampeders. However, after it had been in use for a while, it became known as a treacherous route.

Later, the trail became the Valdez-Eagle Trail.

Because of the Klondike Gold Rush, Valdez became a port for 1800s miners, who used Thompson Pass to get to the gold fields.

Keystone Canyon

In 1898, the U.S. Army created a trail through a section of Thompson Pass called Keystone Canyon.

Note:

The canyon location also helped to create another route to Alaska’s interior. That route would later become the Richardson Highway, the first long-distance road into Alaska’s interior.

They Had a shoot-out

In the 1900s, railroad companies wanted to control the area.

But conflicts caused a tense atmosphere. In 1907, an actual shoot-out between rival railroad companies ended hope that Valdez would become a railroad town.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline

Photo by Luca Galuzzi

The early 1970s saw thousands of workers putting together the Alaska pipeline.

Thompson Pass provided the overland transportation link to Valdez, which is where the pipeline ends.

Thompson Pass

Today, Thompson Pass is a modern, paved highway connecting Valdez to interior Alaska. However, it’s still a challenging, snowy drive.

Great Memories

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Take a look at The Anchorage, Alaska Memories Club and enjoy.

Connect with Mike and Mary

But I say this… an Alaska winter can come up with 1,140 inches of snow in one year up in Thompson Pass, plus a measly 14 inches more, so we can take that record away from the state of Washington. What do you think?

Have you ever been to Thompson Pass? We want to hear about it.

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Until Next Time

Mike and Mary

Alaska Stories