Glacier National Park opens Going-to-the-Sun Road to Jackson Glacier Overlook on east side to vehicles
High avalanche danger has caused delays and continues to be a concern for road crews clearing both sides of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.
High avalanche danger has caused delays and continues to be a concern for road crews clearing both sides of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.
West Side crews re-cleared the snow that slid at Triple Arches over Memorial Day weekend and cleared almost to Rim Rocks. It is the third time snow has slid at the location this spring. The Park Service was able to capture video of the clearing operations.
Rimrocks is about a half mile from Logan Pass.
But even when crews reach the pass, they still have to clear the east side, in a region called the Big Drift, which in many years is 80 to 100 feet deep.
On top of high avalanche danger and low visibility concerns, officials are keeping an eye on additional hazards expected to crop up over the weekend and into early next week, including increased rockfall due to a predicted atmospheric river and large amounts of rainfall.
Going-to-the-Sun Road continues to be closed to vehicle traffic beyond Avalanche Creek on the west side with the hiker/biker avalanche hazard closure still set at the Loop.
The high country of Glacier could see another foot of snow by Tuesday.
East Side crews have cleared up to No Stump Point and are working toward the East Tunnel. The east side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road is open to traffic to the Jackson Glacier Overlook with the hiker/biker closure currently set at the same point.
According to the park, there is currently no estimated date for the full opening of the Going-to-the-Sun Road this season.
Hiker/biker avalanche hazard closure points are reassessed each week on Thursday while the road crew closures are updated on a daily basis.
Road crews typically work Monday through Thursday, between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. MDT.
For more information about visiting the park, check one of the park’s several new updated web pages, including:
Trail status webpage:
https://home.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/trailstatusreports.htm
Road status, hiker/biker closure and snow plow status page:
https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/directions.htm
Campgrounds: