You are going outdoors in Alaska without your rifle and you ae afraid you might run into a bear.
The big revolver is accurate at long range, and has as much stopping power as some long guns. And you won't need more than a few rounds, either the beast will go down, or you will, before you can empty it.

It makes sense to have a big bore revolver on your hip for just such an eventuality, but the 2" barrel Rob talks about is pointless. A small gun is for concealble personal defense, but a cartridge that powerful is simply unmanageable in a gunfight, not to mention most of the power gets wasted, blown out the muzzle as unburnt powder. There's a reason .44 Mag pistols have long, long barrels, it gives all the powder time to burn and produce propellant gas.

I've seen snub nose .44s and they are for Dirty Harry wannabees. Something that small will have hellacious recoil, blinding muzzle flash, and make an awful racket. You will never regain your composure to get off a second shot.