No tundra travel clearance yet

Kristen Nelson

The companies don’t have winter tundra travel clearance on the North Slope yet and probably won’t until the end of December of beginning of January.

Leon Lynch of the state Division of Mining, Land and Water said Dec. 19 that he had been out measuring frost depth and it was at about nine to 10 inches; 12 inches of frost are required for tundra travel.

Six inches of snow is also required, and Lynch said that part of the problem this year is that there are about 12 inches of snow which came early and has been insulating the ground and delaying the frost.

It also hasn’t been cold enough to help develop enough frost, he said.

Lynch said that both Phillips and BP have been given permission to pre-pack the trails they need to get to their National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska prospects. He said they take summer approved tundra vehicles like rolligons out and pack the snow, which helps drive the frost depth down.