2010 Going-to-the-Sun Highway Opening Date

Excerpts from The Daily Interlake March 23 edition:

Glacier National Park road crews are starting spring snow plowing, and Going-to-the-Sun Road will not open over Logan Pass any earlier than June 18 because of construction that requires two-lane closures.

Mountain snowpack in Glacier is below average this year, but park officials stress that is not a good indicator of conditions that plow crews may encounter over the next few months in the push toward Logan Pass.

Plowing on Sun Road’s west side beyond Lake McDonald Lodge is scheduled to start April 1. The plowing will provide access for the park’s construction contractor to continue drainage and sub-base road rehabilitation along Upper McDonald Creek.

Crews started plowing in Apgar Village and on the Chief Mountain Road last week. Plowing on other east-side routes, such as the Two Medicine Road and the Many Glacier, will get under way next.

Because of the lack of snow this spring, Camas Road will be plowed beginning April 1. Snow on this road normally is allowed to melt out.

Information on current park road conditions is available on the park’s road status Web site, http://www.nps.gov/applications/glac/ro ... status.cfm. This page is updated as conditions change.

Travelers also may call park headquarters at 406-888-7800 for current road and weather conditions.

Erich Peitzsch, a U.S. Geological Survey avalanche specialist, looks on as crews move snow off of Going-to-the-Sun Road on Tuesday morning. Plowing crews were digging their way through an avalanche that crossed the road at Red Rock Point.

Another good link, esp for those biking the road before it opens to motor vehicles:

http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/gttsroadplow/gttsroadplowstatus.cfm

It doesn't look like they've started plotting the plow locations on the map yet. The description below the map is handy for daily updates...
West Lakes crew is already through the 30 ft deep, 100 ft wide Red Rock slide.

Friday, April 9, 2010 2:00 am

Daily Inter Lake

Portions of Glacier National Park roads are beginning to open up, according to a weekly road report from the park.

Going-to-the-Sun Road is open for vehicles for 10 miles to Lake McDonald Lodge on the park’s west side and six miles to Rising Sun on the east side


The road into Two Medicine Valley is open for vehicle traffic as far as Running Eagle Falls. Kintla Road is open to Big Prairie.

All other park roads remain closed to vehicles due to snow and ice.

Plowing is complete on the west side of Sun Road from Lake McDonald Lodge to about one mile past the Avalanche Campground, but parts of the road are covered with ice and won’t be opened to vehicle traffic until the ice melts off.

Crews cleared an avalanche slide at Red Rock Point that left a debris field about 30 feet deep and 100 feet long. Hiker and biker access is currently allowed from Lake McDonald Lodge to one mile south of the Red Rock slide.

Vehicle traffic is not allowed on the Many Glacier Road until the third weekend in April at the earliest, weather permitting.

The Camas Road has been plowed but five miles of the road surface is covered with ice. The road remains closed to motor vehicles until the ice melts out.

Road status is dependent on weather, and a storm on Thursday was expected to bring 2 to 6 inches of new snow plus high winds to Glacier.

Through April, the Apgar Visitor Center is open weekends only from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. During the week, visitors can stop at park headquarters in West Glacier for information and backcountry permits. Headquarters is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors also can phone 406-888-7800 for general park information, including the specific location of hiker/bicycle closures.

Current road conditions for Glacier National Park are available by calling 511 or 1-800-226-7623. Select “Glacier Park Tourist Information” from the main menu to hear Glacier’s road report.

An interactive map showing current vehicle access points is available online at: www.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm.

It's probably worth mentioning at this point that the sections of the Sun Road currently open are the low-elevation portions. Plowing becomes considerably more difficult (and dangerous) from here on out, with progress being substantially slower. There have been very few times when the road has even managed to open in May. It's almost always June, sometimes early July.

Thanks Vernon...I have just been posting updates as I read them in the local newspaper.

FlatheadNative wrote:Erich Peitzsch, a U.S. Geological Survey avalanche specialist, looks on as crews move snow off of Going-to-the-Sun Road on Tuesday morning. Plowing crews were digging their way through an avalanche that crossed the road at Red Rock Point.

Wow, that looks like fun! To heck with hiking peaks, I could spend the day operating that equipment. I especially like the giant roto-snow blowers (though not pictured here).

sarah.simon wrote:

FlatheadNative wrote:...

Wow, that looks like fun! To heck with hiking peaks, I could spend the day operating that equipment. I especially like the giant roto-snow blowers (though not pictured here).

Yeah, and I got to operate one once. Great fun, although I wasn't all that good at it...

sarah.simon wrote:I especially like the giant roto-snow blowers (though not pictured here).

My favorite feature of the giant rotary snowplows:



Yup, that's an arm flying through the air... graphic.

(Photo shot spring 2009 while cycling the GTTS Road)

Great pics! At the risk of getting more off topic:

Here's one from the Beartooth Highway:


And the "snow canyon" it cut (from May 2009):


And, FWIW, here's my own "mini" version:

great photos..thanks for sharing.

Rotary Plow At Work

This shot is taken near the tunnel on the west side of GTTS below the Loop.

Photo from NPS archives.

FlatheadNative wrote:Rotary Plow At Work

This shot is taken near the tunnel on the west side of GTTS below the Loop.

Wow!

From article in Daily Interlake April 17, 2010


Glacier National Park got nearly a foot of snow over the last week, sending snow plows back to areas that had already been cleared.

Park officials say it’s a reminder that plowing progress — and subsequent road openings — are weather dependent and change day to day.

Going-to-the-Sun Road currently is open to vehicles up to Lake McDonald Lodge on the west side and up to the Rising Sun area on the east side.

The road into Two Medicine is open to vehicles up to Running Eagle Falls. The Inside North Fork Road is open from Polebridge to Big Prairie. Many Glacier Road opens to vehicles today.

All other park roads remain closed due to snow and ice.

Plows have cleared Sun Road from Lake McDonald Lodge to about a mile beyond the Loop, but parts of the road are covered with ice. There are no restrictions on hikers and bikers in effect over the weekend.

On Monday, spring construction starts on the west side of Sun Road, with work concentrated between the Logan Creek Pit and the West Tunnel. Construction, plowing and weather will determine where vehicle and hiker-biker access are allowed.

The Camas Road has been plowed but a few miles of road are covered in ice, so the road remains closed to vehicles.

April 17-25 is National Park Week, a period when all entrance fees will be waived.

The Apgar Visitor Center will be open on weekends through April. Until it opens on weekdays, visitors can get information and backcountry permits at park headquarters in West Glacier.

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I spoke with someone who had ridden bikes to the Loop last weekend and the ice on the road made the riding difficult.

From April 23 Daily Interlake

More roads are opening in Glacier National Park this week, and the vehicle gate on Going-to-the-Sun Road has been moved from Lake McDonald Lodge to Avalanche.

People also can visit the park for free through Sunday as part of National Park Week, a program intended to encourage families to go to national parks.

While vehicles are able to travel to Avalanche, hikers and bikers can travel beyond the gate to the Logan Creek area during weekdays and most weekends, depending on construction schedules on the road.

Spring construction is under way, with crews currently working between Logan Creek and the West Tunnel.

On the east side of the park, Sun Road is open to vehicles up to Rising Sun, and hikers and bikers can travel beyond there.

The Two Medicine Road and Many Glacier Road also are open.

Other roads on the west side that now are open are the Camas Road, the Quarter Circle Bridge Road and the Kintla Road from Polebridge to Big Prairie.

Vehicles can travel to the Rocky Point Trailhead on the Inside North Fork Road, but the road is closed between Fish Creek and Polebridge.