Atigun Pass is a high mountain pass across the Brooks Range in Alaska, located at the head of the Dietrich River, at an elevation of 4,739 feet (1,444 m) and it’s a part of the infamous Dalton Highway. At Atigun Pass is where this Highway crosses the Continental Divide (at mile marker 244), and is the highest pass in Alaska that is maintained throughout the year.
Atigun Pass, at the head of the Dietrich River, connects the oil-producing areas of the North Slope with interior Alaska and the south.
Atigun is the only pass in the Brooks Range that is crossed by a road.The pass has been responsible for taking many drivers off the road and is also home to avalanches during the winter.
While clawing your way 2 miles up the washboarded 12% grade, watch for downward-bound trucks and try to ignore the guardrails mangled by rockslides and avalanches. The view from the top - with the Philip Smith Mountains to the east and the Endicotts to the west - will steal your breath away.
Atigun is known among bush pilots for the difficulty of crossing the pass with small planes; Anaktuvuk Pass is favored as the safer flying route.
The pass is often shown on the third and fourth seasons of the History Channel reality series Ice Road Truckers, which focuses on the challenges of driving on the Dalton Highway.
