---
title: "Watch an Old Jeep CJ-7 Cross an Earthquake-Buckled Road in Alaska"
description: "Alaskans are nothing if not unflappable, and this video of an old Jeep C7-J scrambling over an utterly destroyed road shows how a little thing like one of the region's strongest tremblors in half a century won't stop them from getting where they're going."
date: "2018-12-07"
modified: "2018-12-07"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/25362/watch-an-old-jeep-cj-7-cross-an-earthquake-buckled-road-in-alaska"
categories:
  - "Jeep News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "Alaska"
  - "Earthquake"
  - "Jeep"
  - "Jeep Wrangler"
  - "Off-Road"
  - "vintage"
---

# Watch an Old Jeep CJ-7 Cross an Earthquake-Buckled Road in Alaska

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/12/jeep-cj7-alaska.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Alaska is hard at work piecing itself back together a week after [a 7.0-magnitude earthquake](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/25278/7-0-magnitude-earthquake-cripples-alaskan-roadways-leaving-cars-stranded-and-sunken>) rocked Anchorage even as moderate aftershocks continue to roil the ground. But Alaskans are nothing if not unflappable, and this video of an old [Jeep](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/24771/2018-jeep-compass-trailhawk-test-drive-review-a-crossover-thats-grown-from-rental-car-to-off-road-suv-star>) C7-J scrambling over an utterly destroyed road shows how a little thing like one of the region's strongest tremblors in half a century won't stop them from getting where they're going—or having some fun along the way.

No serious injuries were reported, thankfully, but last Friday's seismic shock damaged hundreds of buildings and twisted numerous roads into grotesque gardens of jagged pavement. Bizarre photos of cars trapped on single slabs of level asphalt amidst the madness spread around over the weekend, but somehow this clip of a Jeep driver turning Vine Road in Wasilla into his personal Rubicon Trail escaped attention.

https://youtube.com/embed/U7q10yxYq2w

The video starts out showing the weathered, lifted Jeep CJ-7—forerunner of the [Jeep Wrangler,](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/19393/2018-jeep-wrangler-rubicon-review-taking-a-winter-dip-in-the-renewed-off-road-icon>) of course—nosing up to the edge of the buckled section of road under forebodingly gray skies. It's maybe 100 yards across to even ground, with no obvious line across the chasm. You can hear a small child shout *No, don't do it!* off-camera as the driver makes his final approach. Everything suggests this is not a well-considered idea, including the fact that it's all taking place a few hours after the initial earthquake on November 30.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1070748059448078336

Still, the old Jeep sets out, making consistent progress despite a few solid undercarriage whacks. Less than a minute later, man and machine are on the other side of the ruins, driving away victorious; all the more striking is the stranded Buick he passes along the way. The CJ-7's inherent toughness and obvious modifications certainly helped, but it should be noted that the driver managed to essentially improvise the only conceivable line through the course

Really, that's what the road is at this point, an off-road course. He had to pick his way diagonally across to the far left corner—there was no other way to get over that final ledge. Seems like Alaska could save some money just leaving the whole mess as is. Knowing their road crews, though, [it'll be fixed soon enough.](<https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/05/us/alaska-earthquake-road-repair-trnd/index.html>)

https://twitter.com/_/status/1068637386572161024

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)