Park plows 19 miles up west side of Sun Road; on east side, Two Medicine Valley saw several more feet of new snow in past week

Glacier National Park plow crews in the past week are now at the 19-mile mark on the west side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, but on the east side, they continue to struggle with new snowfall.

Crews on the west side have made it through the big snow slide at Red Rocks. The 19-mile mark puts the plows about three miles or so east of Avalanche Creek, though the farther they go, the deeper the snow gets.

On the east side, several new feet of snow fell in the Two Medicine Valley over the past week. Crews were struggling to clear the Many Glacier area as well, as it saw new snow and high winds, Park spokeswoman Lauren Alley said.

On the east side of the Sun Road, crews have made a single-lane cut to Rising Sun, Alley said.

In both Many Glacier and Two Medicine, the snow depths exceed building heights in some locations, Alley noted.

Two Medicine will likely have to be plowed out again at some point.

The weather next week should help. By mid week, temperatures could reach the 70s, at least for a few days But it’s going to take some time to melt the snow. The Snotel site in Many Glacier has measured the snow water equivalent at 260 percent of the historical average. There is also the threat of flooding. Some towns in eastern Montana are already seeing flooding this spring as deeper than average snows have started to melt.

None of the east side secondary roads are open to vehicles, but people can hike them when plows aren’t working on the weekends. The Sun Road on the west side is open to vehicles to Lake McDonald Lodge and hikers and bikers can go beyond the gate when plows aren’t working on the weekends.

The Camas Road remains closed to vehicles, but is plowed and is open to hikers and bikers.

Most trails in the Park, even at low elevations like in Apgar, are snow covered with about a foot of snow. They’re still suitable for skiing and snowshoeing.

Saturday is a national fee free day, visitors can get into Glacier without paying a fee.