Weather may help Sun Road work
Glacier Park plowing vehicles return Friday afternoon from a day’s work on the Going-to-the-Sun-Road. The Garden Wall and Haystack Creek are seen in the background. Sun Road is just below the snow line. Craig Moore/Daily Inter Lake
The Daily Inter Lake
With warm weather on the horizon, Glacier National Park officials are anticipating the potential for avalanche activity above Going-to-the-Sun Road during the next few days.
That's good news, actually.
Once the snow slides from the steep slopes above Sun Road, plow crews can more safely proceed with the task of clearing the path to Logan Pass.
"There haven't been any real big slides yet," said Dave Dahlen, Glacier's chief of interpretation, after being briefed on road-clearing progress Friday afternoon. "Most likely, with the warmer weather, we can expect that to happen."
Spotters have observed "quite a few glide cracks" emerging in the snowfields above the road and "there are cornices up there that could break loose with the warmer weather and reach the road."
The National Weather Service's recreational forecast for Glacier calls for highs in the 70s today, climbing into the 80s by Sunday. High temperatures are forecast to be in the 70s or 80s throughout next week.
The park's road crews are diverted to tasks at lower elevations when avalanche hazards are high. But typically, once the major slides have occurred, the drive toward Logan Pass resumes full throttle.
As of Friday, the park's west-side crew had pioneered into the Triple Arches area, encountering snow depths of up to 20 feet below the larger avalanche chutes.
A crew approaching Logan Pass from the east is cutting through 15 to 20 feet of snow just below the East Side Tunnel.
Vehicles can go as far as Avalanche Campground on the west side and Jackson Glacier Overlook on the east side. Hikers and bikers can travel beyond those points.
Dahlen said all other park roads, including the Inside North Fork Road, are now open. The St. Mary Visitor Center is scheduled to open on Sunday, and visitor services are now open in Apgar Village.