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A Century Later, Glacier’s Backcountry Oases Endure

Granite Park and Sperry chalets offer remote shelter and service a century after they were built inside Glacier National Park

By Justin Franz

GRANITE PARK – Hiking along the Highline Trail, while taking in the stunning views of the Livingston Range and Heaven’s Peak, it is easy to see why Louis Warren Hill, the “godfather of Glacier National Park,” selected this spot to build the Granite Park Chalet, one of a dozen hotels, chalets and lodges constructed in and around the park between 1910 and 1914.

Nestled on a rocky ridge just below Swiftcurrent Pass, the Granite Park Chalet has welcomed hikers and visitors for a century. Today, it is one of two surviving backcountry chalets in the park operated by Belton Chalets, Inc.

“Our key role is to preserve the past and prepare for the future,” said Granite Park concessioner Kathie Larson Aasheim. “The reason we’re all here is because we have a passion for the wilderness and a passion for this place.”

Shortly after Glacier National Park was created in 1910, Great Northern Railway president Louis Warren Hill commissioned the construction of nine chalets. Hill’s motives in developing the park were dually purposed. While he appreciated the park’s natural beauty, Hill also realized having a national park along his railroad would be a boon for its passenger service.

Granite Park was built just west of the Continental Divide at a location personally selected by Hill. The spot was picked because of its scenery and because it was a half-day’s ride from the Many Glacier Valley.

The Great Northern obtained a permit to build the chalet in 1913 and began construction the following year. It took the entire summer just to build the first, one-story, six-room dorm before construction could begin on the second, larger building. The chalet’s remoteness hindered construction and it took 47 days just to haul all of the supplies in, including a large cook stove that had to be brought over the 17 switchbacks of Swiftcurrent Pass. The main building opened in 1915.

All of the chalets offered luxurious accommodations in a remote location; however, most of them closed by the middle part of the 20th Century. Only Granite Park and Sperry, located about seven miles east of the Lake McDonald Lodge, survived and were eventually sold to the National Park Service. In 1955, Ross and Kathleen Luding’s Belton Chalets, Inc. were awarded the concession contract for both locations.

Both chalets were temporarily closed in the 1990s because of inadequate wastewater facilities. In 1996, following an extensive renovation, Granite Park reopened as a hiker shelter that can host 35 visitors a night. Guests to Granite Park have to bring their own supplies and food, whereas visitors to Sperry only have to bring a toothbrush.

Larson Aasheim came to the chalet in 1975 and has been the concessioner at Granite Park since 2004, when she first sent her son, Lars Phillips, to work at the remote outpost. At first, the 15-year-old high school student was hesitant to spend a summer working in a chalet so far removed from the conveniences of modern life, but those concerns didn’t last long.

“Once you spend a summer up here, it’s easy to come back,” Phillips said. “It gets in your blood.”

Phillips is now the manager of the chalet and he and three others help run the facility from June until August, when another group comes up for the final few weeks.

Luke Caddell, 26, has been managing the kitchen for three seasons. Although they don’t offer meals at Granite Park, Caddell said making sure the kitchen space is clean for visitors and hikers who stay overnight is a fulltime job.

Caddell’s day usually starts at 6 a.m. when he cleans up the space from the night before and boils water for the morning coffee. He also helps lead tours and presents educational talks at night. The crew at the chalet also helps respond to nearby emergencies. While the job keeps him busy, Caddell said there is still plenty of time to enjoy it.

“You really get to shed a lot of your extraneous distractions,” he said. “You do what you need to do to live and then you have a good time in the moment.”

Even though 100 years have passed since the chalets were first built, Larson Aasheim said little has changed since and that with continued work, these shelters in the wilderness can withstand the test of time.

“I want Lars’ children’s children to be able to come here to Granite Park Chalet and to do that we need to be good stewards of this place,” she said.