Architects outline more details on Sperry Chalet rebuild

Architects for Sperry Chalet gave more insight into what a rebuild of the historic structure might look like during a meeting Tuesday in Columbia Falls.

Architects from Anderson Hallas, the same firm that spent 13 years on the Many Glacier Hotel restoration for Glacier National Park, released several design concepts for the chalet and one for an option that would replace the chalet with yurts and tents.

The main dormitory of the chalet, where guests and staff spend the night, was gutted last Aug. 31 in the Sprague Fire. Today, what remains is the stone walls.

“We’re thrilled to be part of this legacy project,” said architect Liz Hallas as she outlined each of the four alternatives being considered by the Park.

In addition to the Many Glacier Hotel, Anderson Hallas has completed about 80 projects for the Park Service over the years, as well as a host of other projects. Notables include the restoration of the Chief Hosa Lodge in Denver and the Alpine Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park.

“We know high elevation restoration,” Hallas said.

While the Park is still taking public comment on the alternatives, a full 86 percent of the public to date want the existing building to be rebuilt, either to its original historic standard, or modified to have quieter guest rooms, but still have the historic feel and atmosphere.

The first alternative would restore the structure to its historic state before the fire, with the same floor plan of guest rooms and staff rooms — 21 rooms in total, not including common areas. The building would be modified to meet codes and would be stabilized to be earthquake resistant. The second alternative would use more modern walls, but still have as much historic fabric as possible. The floor plan, however, has fewer rooms — 15 — though four rooms would have bunks. It, too, would be more earthquake resistant.

Both configurations would house 50 guests and 11 staffers.

The third alternative would be to build an entirely new chalet, which would be in less of an avalanche zone, just southeast of the dining hall, near the current hitchrails. It, too, would have an historic look, would have two stories and house about 50 guests.

The park could conceivably even quarry stone from the site for a new building, because the talus slope that was used in the original building of the chalet is not in recommended wilderness, it’s in a 25-yard zone excluded from the wilderness that includes the chalet complex.

The fourth alternative involves yurts and tents for guests, but in order to accommodate guests, they’d have to be scattered throughout the complex. That idea wasn’t very popular with the public.

Glacier is somewhat in a waiting mode until summer comes as to the exact future of the chalet. The stone remains were stabilized with big timber beams before winter set in. The hope is the stabilized stone shell survives the avalanche season, then crews will access the masonry and the quality of the mortar once the snow recedes.

If the stone survives, the plan would be to stabilize the structure further, with repairs to the masonry if need be, plus installing a superstructure of reinforced beams and steel that would hold the masonry in place. In short, the masonry would be a facade, while the actual superstructure would be inside the stone walls.

Ideally, the Park Service would also like to get a roof on it before snow flies in the fall.

The Park would then rebuild the interior the following summer.

But a lot of different pieces have to come together in a short period of time. The Glacier National Park Conservancy will play a key role in further stabilization, as private funding can garner contracts far faster than through a federal process. Having said that, most of the rebuilding costs are expected to be paid by the federal government.

The Conservancy hosted the meeting and streamed it live on Facebook. During the discussion, Conservancy Executive Director Doug Mitchell said a donor had pledged $30,000 toward the project.

The chalet has captured the national consciousness, more than 2,200 people viewed a Facebook live stream of the event. It can still be watched on the Conservancy Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/GlacierNationalParkConservancy/

To comment formally on the project, go to: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=78972

The Conservancy web site, where folks can donate to the project, is at https://glacier.org