I and a friend drove to AK in the winter (1958) and it was a blast. Used the "Alcan Highway" the whole way. No dust, but we did hit some muddy spots (no pavement in '58).
We had a '56 Ford Fairlane Stn Wgn. (How 'bout that for an expedition vehicle?) Oh, we had chains and a shovel though, so we were prepared. Yeah, right. We made it though, and with very little trouble.
We were doing a favor for a buddy in the USAF who was going to homestead in the Anchorage area. Matanuska Valley to be exact.
Oh, I neglected to say that we were pulling the buddy's 24' house trailer to boot.
What a blast! I've thought about that trip on each of the subsequent drives to AK and the YT. We were young, fearless, and pretty naive--maybe dumb is the correct word.
For those of you considering the Cassiar Route, don't expect dirt anymore. Last summer we counted less than 60 mi of unpaved road, and they were busy working on that stretch too. That route remains my favorite connection and it's a bit shorter than the route up through Dawson Ck. Can just imagine that area in winter.
