Over the course of the next few miles, we entered the Brooks Range, a wide range of mountains running east and west that separated the North Slope from the Alaskan Interior. Hanging in the southern sky, the sun dropped behind the mountains as we approached. The temperature plummeted, and the air grew ever colder as we began our climb up the long slope to Atigun Pass, the highest point on the Dalton Highway between Deadhorse and Fairbanks. Aileen turned up the heater. The mountains rose on our right and the Atigun River lay below us in the ever-narrowing valley on our left.
Even though it was still August, within a few short miles, the steady rain turned into large wet flakes of snow. At first, the flakes melted as soon as they landed, but it didn't take long before they'd covered the road
