The best time for a winter vacation in Alaska is in late February and March, when Anchorage has between 10 and 11 hours of daylight. With the city's maritime climate, the average low temperature is 13 degrees and the average high is 35 degrees. If you are planning to drive outside Anchorage, it is important to have good winter driving skills, proper winter clothing and a winter survival kit in your car, including something to snack on if stranded for a few hours.
Weather can change quickly and avalanches can close roads for several hours.
Parts of the Kenai Peninsula have an annual snowfall of almost 600 inches. Always use the buddy system when skiing or boarding. Guided back-country adventures are taken at the risk of the individual. All outfitters issue an avalanche beacon, probe and shovel. Outside of cities, gas stations are few and far between.