Flying stoves landed safely

They are just simple, industrial gas cooking stoves, but there was nothing simple about getting them into Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park’s backcountry.

The feat was accomplished Monday with a Minuteman Aviation helicopter flying in the two stoves in an operation similar to one at Granite Park Chalet two years ago.

Whitefish resident Jim Stack was heavily involved in that project, and for that reason he was sought out to lead a technical team for the work at Sperry Chalet.

Kevin Warrington of Belton Chalets Inc., already had jumped through the regulatory hoops required by the park when he approached Stack in August. The success with the Granite Park project, which also involved flying in and installing new stoves, was repeated without a hitch at Sperry.

“Certainly with the success at Granite Park ... it smoothed the approval process,” Stack said Tuesday.

Stack and five others hiked the 6.4 miles into Sperry Chalet on Sunday.

“It was an intense 24 hours,” Stack said. “We were more nervous this time.”

That’s because any weather problems, including clouds and fog, could delay the operation and because the drop zone at Sperry Chalet is much tighter than it was at Granite Park.

The stove flights began at 7 a.m. Monday and were finished by 8 a.m.

“We had the whole technical team in there with our fingers crossed hoping for good weather and waiting for this pilot to land those stoves, which he did so perfectly.

The park limited total flights — including those to remove septic waste from the chalet — to seven at Sperry.

“Helicopter flights in the park are very sensitive,” Stack said.

Because of that, the chalet’s old stoves had to be dismantled to be packed out by livestock next week. And that couldn’t happen until the new stoves were safe on the ground.

It took about four hours to disassemble the new stoves to a size where they would fit through the chalet’s kitchen door — with less than an inch to spare. It took another four hours to reassemble and connect them inside.

The project is expected to provide a long-term and needed improvement at Sperry, where guests are served meals as part of the overnight package.

While the old stoves were at the end of their useful lives, Stack said, the new ones “look phenomenal. They are really, really nice.”

Sperry Chalet was built in 1913 by Louis and James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway. The chalet opened to guests in 1914.

To view a video of the stove project, go to www.digitalbroadway.com/2010_video

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.