Businessman suggests privatizing Park plow crew

A West Glacier businessman last week suggested snowplowing on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park be privatized.

Darwon Stoneman claimed an independent road crew could get the road open sooner than government crews.

The plowing effort costs about $700,000 a year, Glacier Park superintendent Jeff Mow said during a meeting in Columbia Falls last week.

“You might do it cheaper (with a private crew),” Stoneman told Mow.

Stoneman said it seems as if the public has been “programmed” in recent years not to come to the Park until July 1. He said studies have shown that every day the Sun Road is open to Logan Pass brings $1 million to the local economy.

Snow plowing isn’t the only limiting factor to the road’s opening. Since reconstruction began on the alpine section in 2006, the earliest the road has opened was June 19 in 2012. The latest was July 12 following a winter with twice the average snowpack in the high country.

Hungry Horse businessman Alan Ruby noted that local businesses in Cooke City raised funds last year to pay for plowing on the Beartooth Highway.

The same happened here last year when Glacier Park fell short of funds due to federal budget sequestration, and the Glacier National Park Conservancy provided $10,000 to cover overtime costs for plowing.

Ruby suggested local businesses might be willing to raise money again if it meant the Sun Road would open sooner.

The Park’s snowplow crews are currently working four 10-hour days a week and won’t put in overtime until the final push to get the road open, Park spokeswoman Denise Germann said.

Mow said he was open to the idea of business support, but he also cited avalanches and public safety concerns. Crews often need to clear slide debris at the end of the day just to get out. If Park visitors were in the alpine section during an avalanche, that would be a problem.

“If we open it too early, we could trap people up there,” Mow said.

This year, Park plow crews have made good progress and are currently working on the west side close to Logan Pass.

On the east side, crews are in the Siyeh Bend area. Several new members on the east side needed to go through training, Germann noted.

Visitors won’t be allowed drive to Logan Pass until plow crews get through the Big Drift for safety reasons, Germann noted.

The Big Drift covers the Sun Road with deep snow just east of Logan Pass and is the last hurdle to opening the Sun Road.

Because of construction, east side access to Logan Pass won’t happen until June 21 at the earliest.