Eagle Summit (Alaska)
{{Short description|Mountain gap through the White Mountains of central Alaska}}
{{About|the mountain gap in Alaska|the car|Eagle Summit}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name = Eagle Summit
| photo = Eagle Summit Alaska.jpg
| photo_caption = The east slope of Eagle Summit, seen looking north in summer 2008.
| elevation_ft = 3652
| elevation_ref =
| traversed = Steese Highway
| location = Southwest of Central, Alaska, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
| range = White Mountains
| coordinates = {{coord|65|29|04|N|145|24|13|W|type:pass_region:US-AK|display=inline,title}}
| topo =
}}
Eagle Summit is a {{convert|3652|ft|m|0}}-tall gap through the White Mountains of central Alaska.Geographic Names Information System. [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1401550 "Feature Detail Report for: Eagle Summit"], U.S. Geological Survey. Accessed March 12, 2009. The gap was named after the nearby Eagle River by prospectors from nearby Circle, Alaska.
Eagle Summit is the site of a convergence zone between the Yukon Flats to the north and the low ground of the Tanana Valley to the south. Any differential in the weather within the two valleys causes high winds and precipitation when there is moisture in the atmosphere.Balzar, John. Yukon Alone: The World's Toughest Adventure Race. Henry Holt and Co, January 2000. p. 253 In 1916, Hudson Stuck, who was one of the first people to climb Denali's South Peak, wrote, "The Eagle Summit is one of the most difficult summits in Alaska. The wind blows so fiercely that sometimes for days together its passage is almost impossible. ... The snow smothers up everything on the lee side of the hill, and the end of every storm presents a new surface and an altered route. ... there is no easier pass and no way around."Stuck, Hudson. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yPQUAAAAYAAJ Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled]. Second Edition. C. Scribner's Sons, 1916. p. 11
It was for this latter reason that engineers chose Eagle Summit as the route to build the Steese Highway, which connects Fairbanks, Alaska to the Yukon River at Circle. In 1927, just 11 years after Stuck became one of the first Americans to navigate Eagle Summit on dog sled, the highway was completed and road travel over the summit became possible. Today, Eagle Summit still is the highest point on the highway and tourism guides recommend its scenic views.Readicker-Henderson, Ed and Readicker-Henderson, Lynn. [https://books.google.com/books?id=viBJTYxKI7kC Adventure Guide to the Alaska Highway]. Hunter Publishing Inc., 2001. pp. 329–330. One side has one starring down cliffs, while the other resembles Antarctica in the winter months. Eagle Summit also experiences Midnight Sun around the time of the summer solstice despite being south of the Arctic Circle, due to its elevation.
The trail of the annual Yukon Quest 1,000-mile sled dog race also passes over Eagle Summit.Mowry, Tim. [http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/feb/23/kleedehn-stalls-eagle-summit-shuffles-yukon-quest-/ "Kleedehn stalls as Eagle Summit shuffles Yukon Quest front-runners"]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. February 23, 2009. Accessed March 12, 2009. The area's high winds, drifting snow, and steep terrain make it the most difficult section of trail in the race, and some competitors have called it the most difficult section of trail in any sled dog race in the world.Killick, Adam. Racing the White Silence: On the Trail of the Yukon Quest. Penguin Global, May 2005. p. 246. In 2006, a fierce storm atop Eagle Summit caused whiteout conditions that forced seven mushers and dog teams to be evacuated via helicopter from the mountain. Partially because of the storm, only 11 mushers finished the race — the fewest in Yukon Quest history.Saari, Matias. [http://newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/06/2006/ "2006"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007001216/http://newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/06/2006/ |date=October 7, 2009 }}, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. February 6, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2009.
Climate
{{Weather box
|single line = yes
|location = Eagle Summit, Alaska, 2001–2023 normals, 1991–2020 precipitation: 3650ft (1113m)
|Jan record high F = 48
|Feb record high F = 48
|Mar record high F = 55
|Apr record high F = 67
|May record high F = 73
|Jun record high F = 77
|Jul record high F = 75
|Aug record high F = 76
|Sep record high F = 65
|Oct record high F = 65
|Nov record high F = 46
|Dec record high F = 51
|year record high F =
|Jan avg record high F = 33.0
|Feb avg record high F = 36.4
|Mar avg record high F = 38.7
|Apr avg record high F = 52.0
|May avg record high F = 62.3
|Jun avg record high F = 67.2
|Jul avg record high F = 70.3
|Aug avg record high F = 66.3
|Sep avg record high F = 54.5
|Oct avg record high F = 46.3
|Nov avg record high F = 32.8
|Dec avg record high F = 35.3
|year avg record high F = 71.5
|Jan high F = 9.9
|Feb high F = 14.2
|Mar high F = 14.9
|Apr high F = 31.1
|May high F = 47.2
|Jun high F = 56.2
|Jul high F = 58.7
|Aug high F = 52.2
|Sep high F = 40.9
|Oct high F = 28.3
|Nov high F = 14.9
|Dec high F = 13.1
|year high F =
|Jan mean F = 3.0
|Feb mean F = 6.9
|Mar mean F = 7.4
|Apr mean F = 23.7
|May mean F = 40.1
|Jun mean F = 49.2
|Jul mean F = 52.4
|Aug mean F = 46.8
|Sep mean F = 36.2
|Oct mean F = 23.3
|Nov mean F = 9.0
|Dec mean F = 6.4
|year mean F =
|Jan low F = -3.8
|Feb low F = -0.3
|Mar low F = -0.1
|Apr low F = 16.2
|May low F = 32.9
|Jun low F = 42.3
|Jul low F = 46.0
|Aug low F = 41.4
|Sep low F = 31.4
|Oct low F = 18.3
|Nov low F = 3.1
|Dec low F = -0.5
|year low F =
|Jan avg record low F = -29.4
|Feb avg record low F = -27.0
|Mar avg record low F = -23.0
|Apr avg record low F = -5.1
|May avg record low F = 18.5
|Jun avg record low F = 32.2
|Jul avg record low F = 37.0
|Aug avg record low F = 32.5
|Sep avg record low F = 20.1
|Oct avg record low F = 2.1
|Nov avg record low F = -17.5
|Dec avg record low F = -23.4
|year avg record low F = -32.9
|Jan record low F = −40
|Feb record low F = −42
|Mar record low F = −37
|Apr record low F = −25
|May record low F = 1
|Jun record low F = 21
|Jul record low F = 29
|Aug record low F = 27
|Sep record low F = 12
|Oct record low F = −12
|Nov record low F = −29
|Dec record low F = −38
|year record low F =
|precipitation colour= green
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.75
|Feb precipitation inch = 0.87
|Mar precipitation inch = 0.64
|Apr precipitation inch = 0.70
|May precipitation inch = 1.27
|Jun precipitation inch = 2.33
|Jul precipitation inch = 3.52
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.07
|Sep precipitation inch = 2.16
|Oct precipitation inch = 1.23
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.89
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.68
|year precipitation inch =
|Jan snow depth inch = 13.6
|Feb snow depth inch = 14.1
|Mar snow depth inch = 15.3
|Apr snow depth inch = 17.1
|May snow depth inch = 14.0
|Jun snow depth inch = 0.4
|Jul snow depth inch = 0.0
|Aug snow depth inch = 1.1
|Sep snow depth inch = 3.6
|Oct snow depth inch = 7.7
|Nov snow depth inch = 10.7
|Dec snow depth inch = 11.6
|year snow depth inch = 19.4
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 5.2
|Feb precipitation days = 5.0
|Mar precipitation days = 4.5
|Apr precipitation days = 4.5
|May precipitation days = 6.0
|Jun precipitation days = 9.3
|Jul precipitation days = 12.5
|Aug precipitation days = 12.3
|Sep precipitation days = 11.3
|Oct precipitation days = 7.7
|Nov precipitation days = 6.2
|Dec precipitation days = 5.4
|year precipitation days =
{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS
|access-date = March 31, 2024
}}
|source 2 = NOAA (precipitation)
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USS0045Q05S&format=pdf
|title= Eagle Summit, Alaska 1991-2020 Monthly Normals
|access-date = March 31, 2024
}}
}}