Scenes from Glacier's 2011 historic winter

As the northern hemisphere approaches another winter season, I thought this would be a good time to take a look back at last year's historic winter in Glacier.

The amount of snow that fell in Glacier during the 2010/2011 season was massive. On average, the Going-to-the-Sun Road usually opens by early June. In 2011, however, it didn't open until July 13th, the latest ever. Road crews estimated that the Big Drift area at Logan Pass had roughly 50-60 feet of snow in early July, a depth normally seen on Memorial Day weekend!

Earlier in the year the park reported that USGS snow surveys measured 106 inches of snow on the ground at the 5,900 foot level near Siyeh Bend on the Going-to-the-Sun Road at the end of April. 166 inches were recorded at the 7,000 foot level.

Here are a few photos from the National Park Service to give you an idea of what the conditions were like in early July as the crews worked to clear the Going-to-the-Sun Road:

Here's the Logan Pass Visitor Center:

And the restrooms at Logan Pass:




Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com