LOGAN PASS – The end is in sight for plow crews on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. This week, plows from the west had rounded the final bend before Logan Pass and are expected to reach the summit parking lot before Friday. The east side plow crew is also near the summit, but first must clear a massive drift just below the pass.
June 21 is the earliest the entire route from West Glacier to St. Mary will open. Currently, vehicles can drive as far as Avalanche Creek on the west side and Jackson Glacier Overlook on the east side. Hikers and bikers can also travel on the closed section of the road in the evening and on weekends, depending on roadwork. Besides plowing snow, road crews must remove debris and install guardrails along the alpine section of the road.
Stan Stahr has worked at Glacier National Park for almost 20 years and began working on the plow crew 15 years ago. As road and auto shop supervisor, Stahr helps manage the two plow crews that start on either end of the road and work toward Logan Pass. Stahr said progress has been good this year, but conditions can change in an instant in Glacier. Despite those challenges, Stahr said he loves his job.
“It’s like a paid vacation,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want to come up here and work?”
A plow crew usually consists of an excavator, a bulldozer and a rotary plow. The excavator clears a “pioneer cut,” which loosens the snow on the first pass. Then a bulldozer gathers snow and feeds it to the rotary that blows it down the mountain. Weather and snow conditions determine how long it takes to clear a section of road.
Road crews also work closely with avalanche specialists who monitor the 34 avalanche paths along the road below Logan Pass. Avalanche technician Eric Knoff usually hikes above the road to watch snow conditions and warn the crew below if an avalanche is imminent. In 1958, two people died when an avalanche hit the plows they were operating.
“I can’t think of another road in the country that is as difficult to plow,” Knoff said.
For more information about the Going-to-the-Sun Road and Glacier National Park, click here.
Plows Reach Logan Pass