Page 56 - Flathead Beacon // 3.30.16

OUT OF BOUNDS 57 Outdoors
Plow Crews Embark on Monumental Task
TBY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
HE TRUE MARK OF SPRING’S
arrival in the Flathead Valley, the
plows in Glacier National Park are rumbling to life this week to embark on the monumental task of clearing Going- to-the-Sun Road.
Park crews are slated to start April 1 with the Camas Road before turning their attention to the park’s iconic 52-mile thor- oughfare. Clearing the narrow two-lane road is a challenging task that usually takes 10 weeks depending on weather conditions and snowpack levels. The mountain high- way is considered one of the most di cult roads in America to plow. In years past, crews have been hampered by avalanches and signi cant obstacles, such as the Big Drift, a one-mile section of Sun Road near
THE CURRENT SNOWPACK LEVELS ARE AT 96 PERCENT OF AVERAGE, ACCORDING TO THE FLATTOP MOUNTAIN SNOTEL SITE.
Logan Pass where typically over 100 feet of snow accumulates in winter.
The current snowpack levels are at 96 percent of average, according to the Flattop Mountain SNOTEL site, a U.S. Geological Survey site sitting at 6,300 feet elevation in the park.
Last year, following a warmer- and dri- er-than-normal winter, crews buzzed up the road and allowed the National Park Service to open Logan Pass on June 19, two weeks earlier than the previous year.
Opening the Sun Road to vehicle traf- c is an accomplishment that draws a signi cant amount of interest because of its impact on the region’s tourism sea- son, which erupts when the road opens to Logan Pass Visitor Center. Record crowds are expected yet again this year as the NPS celebrates its centennial and Glacier Park’s popularity reaches an all-time high; the park has broken annual visitation records two years in a row.
Roads remain closed to hikers and bik- ers while plows are working, but the roads are generally open when plows aren’t working.
Crowds will not be hampered by any major rehabilitation projects this summer. On the east side, contractors will work on some updates at Many Glacier Hotel.
of Clearing Glacier Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road Over the next 10 weeks, plows will clear a path over the Continental Divide as summer approaches
SUN ROAD STATS
MAY 16, 1987 JULY 13, 2011
The earliest opening for the The latest opening of the entire
10
Weeks it typically takes for plows to clear the scenic route
96
Percentage of average snowpack this spring at Flattop Mountain in Glacier Park.
80-100
Feet of snow that typically accumulates at Logan Pass.
6,647
Elevation at Logan Pass Visitor Center, the highest point along the Sun Road.
thoroughfare since its inaugural date of July 15, 1933.
1932
The year construction of Going-to-the-Sun Road was completed. Crews broke ground on the iconic 52-mile road in 1921. Original predictions were that the project would cost $600,000 but the eventual price tag surpassed $2.5 million, the equivalent of $43.2 million today after adjusting for in ation.
entire Sun Road.
“Today, for the rst time in my life, I have seen Glacier Park. Perhaps I can best express to you my thrill and delight by saying that I wish every American, old and young, could have been with me today. The great mountains, the glaciers, the lakes and the trees make me long to stay here for all the rest of the summer.”
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressing the nation in a radio broadcast on Aug. 5, 1934 after visiting Glacier Park and traveling the Sun Road.
Plowing operations along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. COURTESY GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
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MARCH 30, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM