Wow! I think that has to be highly unusal. Considering the number of guys that run taller than stock tires on trucks with hundreds of thousands of miles with the stock tie rods and no problems. Worst case I've heard is bent tie rods from reefing on the steering wheel after a tire got wedged in between rocks.

Were these the tie rod ends themselves that snapped off or the rods? And were they factory or aftermarket? I wonder if the extreme cold of Alaska could have some unforseen affect on them. Of course 320K miles and if that was all in Alaska....

Man, I'm sure glad you didn't get hurt!