Avalanches damage Glacier Park trails

Lingering snow, cool weather and debris from snow slides are challenging trail crews at Glacier National Park.

Numerous trails are still snow-covered and Park staff are reporting damage to trails and backcountry campsites due to snow slides.

Extensive avalanche debris has impacted the Trout Lake Trail below Mount Vaught. Hikers are not encouraged to use this trail, or it is recommended that hikers have route-finding skills to traverse the debris.

The Ptarmigan Falls Bridge and Twin Falls Bridge have been removed due to winter damage. Temporary bridges are expected to be installed by early July.

The Iceberg Lake Trail is closed to stock use until permanent repairs to the Ptarmigan Falls Bridge are complete. Permanent repair work on both bridges is anticipated to begin this fall.

Snow slides also impacted Going-to-the-Sun Road.

A snow slide in the Alps area about five miles west of Logan Pass wiped out about 20-30 feet of rock wall along the road. Several new slide paths across the road have been encountered this spring, including the need for extensive snow and debris cleanup.   

Snow removal operations on the Going-to-the-Sun Road continue with road crews working near the Big Drift and Lunch Creek areas east of Logan Pass. Above average snow accumulation and cool June temperatures have provided challenges for plow crews. The snow depth at the Big Drift is estimated to be about 80 feet, larger than recent years. Once the snow is removed, a thick layer of ice on the road is anticipated.

Frozen and damaged sewer and water lines also caused some delays in seasonal opening activities for utilities park-wide.

Rising Sun and the Swiftcurrent cabin areas experienced damaged water lines. The Apgar and Lake McDonald areas experienced issues with frozen sewer lines, and some broken water lines.

The Cutbank, Many Glacier and Two Medicine Campgrounds experienced delayed openings due to abundant snow accumulation and slow snow melt.