Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, MT 6/7/03

Jay Silveira

New member
A few weeks ago, we headed up to Glacier National Park to get in some skiing <BR>at Logan Pass. Pictures are available through the link at the end of the report. <BR> <BR>One of the most accessible places for late season skiing in Montana is Logan <BR>Pass (elevation 6,680') on "Going to the Sun Road" in Glacier National Park. <BR>There is convenient access to low angle snowfields right above the Logan <BR>Pass Visitor Center, and further up, the slopes of Clements (8,760') and <BR>Reynolds (9,125') mountains provide higher angle slopes. Once again, just <BR>like last year when I was planning our trip to ski Beartooth Pass, I found <BR>very little information available on the Internet about skiing at Logan <BR>Pass. Aside from a couple of mildly informative articles that mentioned <BR>that there WAS skiing there, the potential ski routes remained a mystery. <BR>We were going to have to go on our own experience, or hope that the park <BR>rangers might offer suggestions. One new twist on this backcountry outing <BR>was the addition of our 4 1/2-month old son Tyler. Although he'd been up to <BR>the lodge numerous times while we'd skied at our local ski area, Lost Trail <BR>Powder Mountain, he'd never actually been out on the snow with us. Now that <BR>he was old enough to regulate his body temperature well, and the weather was <BR>warm, he was going to join us. <BR> <BR>Last year, we attempted to ski Logan Pass in late July, but we were about a <BR>week too late. When I spoke with the park rangers, they indicated that the <BR>snowpack was just a bit too thin to protect the vegetation underneath. <BR>There were some short pitches of snow higher up, but they were disconnected <BR>from the main snowfield, they looked potentially sketchy due to undermining, <BR>and the hike up to them didn't look safe at all. I decided that it wasn't <BR>worth it, and chalked the idea onto my "ski trips to do" board. <BR> <BR>Flash forward to late spring 2003, and due to warm temperatures, crews have <BR>been able to get rid of "The Big Drift" on Going to the Sun Road, and Logan <BR>Pass has opened earlier than usual. The previous year, due to late snows, <BR>including one storm that dropped four feet of snow in mid June, the road <BR>didn't open until nearly the end of the month. This year however, due to <BR>warm temperatures, the road opened on May 30th. It was exciting to hear <BR>this news, and it immediately had me thinking of the prospect of getting up <BR>to Logan Pass early in the season and getting the best snow options. As I <BR>looked ahead to the forecast for the following weekend, things were looking <BR>good with temperatures in the 70s for the valleys, and no rain predicted. I <BR>was worried when a landslide closed the road early in the week (some huge <BR>house-sized boulders had fallen on the road) but the road was quickly opened <BR>with the help of explosives, and our trip was back on. <BR> <BR>Friday came around, and we were off. On the way up to Glacier, I picked up <BR>an inclinometer at Pipestone, a local mountaineering shop. Since we'd <BR>obtained such little information off the internet about skiing in the area, <BR>I was both curious about the slopes we'd be skiing, as well as excited to <BR>contribute to the knowledge base of Glacier National Park skiing with my own <BR>report. I'd entertained suggestions of building my own inclinometer, but I <BR>wanted something that was quick and easy to use. From previous experience <BR>on steep slopes, the last thing I wanted to do was fumble around with some <BR>homemade contraption when hanging on the side of a snow covered wall. I <BR>wanted a bomb-proof device that would deliver on the spot. So, I went with <BR>a Slope Meter from Life-Link. It was fairly inexpensive (~$15), and it <BR>looked like a nice slick unit. You place your pole on the snow, stick the <BR>card shaped meter on your pole, and a little weighted needle gives you your <BR>angle. It seemed pretty simple to me. <BR> <BR>Friday night, we grabbed a campsite at the Sprague Creek Campground along <BR>the shores of Lake McDonald. Last time we tried to camp in the park, and <BR>arrived in the evening, everything was full. I think that June might be a <BR>little less crowded than July and August, since the road might not be open <BR>and people aren't likely to plan a big trip in advance. It was a nice cool <BR>night, temperature dropped to 49 F in the tent, and although I don't know <BR>what it dropped to outside, it's generally about 10 degrees colder. <BR>Although we generally keep track of the tent temperature out of interest, we <BR>keep very close attention when the baby is with us. Although he's past the <BR>stage at which body temperature regulation most difficult, we always keep <BR>track of the tent temperature and regulate his clothing/coverage <BR>accordingly. Depending on how he feels, he may even end up in one of our <BR>sleeping bags on cooler nights, as he did in mine the first night. It's <BR>nice, but I don't sleep quite as well since my positions are limited (I <BR>don't want to squash him). <BR> <BR>The next morning, we headed a few miles back to West Glacier to pick up some <BR>sandwich food for lunch, as well as few other supplies in the Apgar area. <BR>One of the items I was getting was a spool of nylon cord. I wanted to <BR>attach my slope meter to my pack for easy use on steep pitches, but I also <BR>needed the cord to attach Tyler's pacifier to his carrier. We wanted to <BR>make sure we weren't going to lose this priceless article out in the middle <BR>of some snowfield. When I can, I'll try to bring up some of the other <BR>interesting things we had to deal with when it came to backcountry skiing <BR>with an infant. I'm sure there are other parents out there (or future <BR>parents) that might be interested in this topic as well, so I'll mention <BR>things we've discovered along the way. <BR> <BR>After gathering our new equipment, we headed back up the road to Logan Pass. <BR>No matter how many times I head into the park, the vistas still stand out <BR>as extraordinary. As you approach the pass, the surrounding mountains with <BR>5,000-6,000 feet of vertical relief are stunning. With all honesty, a <BR>convertible vehicle is a huge benefit here because many of your views are <BR>out the TOP of your car. E and I laughed at one point as we were on the <BR>road along McDonald Creek (~3,300') looking up at the slopes of Mt. Cannon <BR>(8,952'). Looking out the front of our Subaru, we couldn't even see the top <BR>of the peak. Maybe I could if I jammed my head between the dash and the <BR>windshield, but that's about it. It's no wonder that the famous "Red <BR>Jammer" Busses that are used to give tours of the park are convertibles. <BR>Another stunning sight was Heaven's Peak (8,987) to the west. It always <BR>seems to have a ton of snow, and it's a good thing I wasn't driving when I <BR>looked or I might have gone off the road. There must have been over 3,000 <BR>vertical feet of skiable snow. If one could work out the logistics of <BR>finding a way over there, and then finding a skiable line, it would be quite <BR>a ride. My friend Jon said he knew some people who had hiked it (not skied <BR>as I recall) but it's not near the road and access is difficult. <BR> <BR>It was impossible to gauge how much snow would be at the pass based on the <BR>views from the lower part of the road. We'd never been to the park this <BR>early, but aside from the massive amount of snow on Heaven's Peak, things <BR>didn't look all that different. Even after we passed the famous "Loop" <BR>section of the road and approached the Weeping Wall, things still looked the <BR>same. We did notice a lot of people stopped along the road looking up at <BR>something, and soon saw that they were looking up at some skiers hiking up a <BR>drainage to the east of Haystack Butte. The only snow we could see from <BR>this point was a bunch of undermined stuff, covering the local stream with a <BR>sign warning of "Unstable Snow, Keep Off". The people we saw were hiking on <BR>firm ground to the right of this area, already a couple hundred vertical <BR>above the road. We had to assume they knew where they were going and that <BR>there must be some great skiing up there. As we finally approached the <BR>pass, we could tell that the snow was deeper than we'd ever seen. One <BR>lookout point just before the pass (a common place that mountain goats like <BR>to hang out) still had over 5 feet of snow. I'd never really been to the <BR>park early enough to see any snow there. About a half mile later at the top <BR>of the pass, the snow was about 10 feet deep, but fortunately the parking <BR>lot to the visitor center was plowed out. It was sort of strange to be in a <BR>nice paved, dry parking lot amidst all the deep snow. <BR> <BR>Next, it was time to figure out how we were going to carry our gear. Since <BR>this was the first time backcountry skiing with Tyler, we knew it was going <BR>to be a learning process. We decided that E would carry Tyler in the child <BR>carrier, which was probably the more desirable job. We bought one of those <BR>Kelty Carriers a while back, and since it is so new, it has all these <BR>features that our regular packs don't even have. Most importantly, it has a <BR>sun/rain hood for the baby. <BR> <BR>The sun was one of our biggest concerns on this trip. Hanging out on <BR>snowfields at 7,000-8,000 feet on a bright sunny day, only a couple of weeks <BR>from the summer solstice, was a recipe for a lot of exposure. Although we <BR>have special sunscreen for babies, E has generally refrained from using it <BR>because it's not been tested for children less than 6 months of age. A <BR>previous test of this sunscreen indicated no adverse reactions for Tyler, so <BR>we decided that we would go for it today. Sunscreen, combined with a <BR>wide-brimmed hat (E's usual method of baby sun protection) as well as the <BR>carrier's hood would give him the best sun protection we could provide. The <BR>only remaining concern was his eyes. We didn't have sunglasses for him (not <BR>that he would keep them on anyway) so we had to just keep the hat low and <BR>hope he didn't stare out at the snow too much. As previously mentioned, one <BR>other concern was his temperature, but since it was a bright sunny day with <BR>temperatures around 60 F, his usual layers would be fine. <BR> <BR>Aside from Tyler and the carrier, E's only other major load would be her ski <BR>boots. Fortunately, the model of carrier we bought (Pinnacle) has extensive <BR>extra space for additional materials (~2000 cubic inches). We knew we would <BR>need this for a multi-day backpacking trip that we're planning for July in <BR>Utah. There's now way I'd be able to carry all the gear for the three of us <BR>on a multi day trip, storage on the carrier will be the only option. Her <BR>ski boots fit easily into one of the extra compartments, so we looked to be <BR>in good shape. It was my job to carry both pairs of skis, as well as my ski <BR>boots. I wasn't too psyched for this chore, but after consulting with a few <BR>other skiers in the parking lot, we decided to forego the hiking boots and <BR>just wear our ski boots for the entire trip. Snow started right at the edge <BR>of the parking lot, and hiking on snow with alpine boots was easy (and <BR>actually more stable than in many other kinds of boots). We were both <BR>thankful to drop a little weight. <BR> <BR>Although we'd been to Logan Pass a number of times, we'd never been with <BR>this much snow, and never actually had the chance to ski. We knew that at a <BR>minimum, we could ski the broad beginner slopes of the area called "Hanging <BR>Gardens". This area is about 1-2 miles deep and 1-2 miles wide. It rises <BR>up from pass level (6,880') to maybe 7,300' or so, before the slopes become <BR>steeper. A stream runs down from Hidden Lake Pass (~7,120') through a low <BR>point in the middle of Hanging Gardens, which was mostly frozen or snow <BR>covered at this point. Above Hanging Gardens however, the ski options were <BR>a big mystery. <BR> <BR>As we passed through the visitor center area, people were amazed by the guy <BR>with two pairs of skis on his back and the woman with a baby on her back. <BR>We weren't actually all that out of place, as there were dozens of other <BR>skiers in the area, but I think the few minutes I had to wait with Tyler and <BR>the carrier while E used the restroom, drew extra attention from the <BR>tourists. When E returned, one guy even asked us to pose for a picture. I <BR>have to think he wasn't from ski country. <BR> <BR>The hike up the Hanging Gardens snowfield went very smoothly. E had <BR>readjusted the skis for me with the help of an extra carabiner. With little <BR>of substance in my non-frame pack (i.e. no ski boots) it didn't have a lot <BR>of structural integrity. The new setup in the form of an X worked well, and <BR>I was able to follow her up the slope. Tyler seemed to be having a blast, <BR>with blah, blah, blah talk and lots of looking around. We were ever <BR>conscious of the sun angle, but fortunately it was very high at this midday <BR>hour, and he was well shielded. <BR> <BR>There are a series of shelves that rise up as you hike out on the snowfield, <BR>and we chose one near the top (~7,200') to have lunch and assess our ski <BR>options. The snowfield in the Hanging Gardens area seems to be a very safe <BR>environment for even inexperienced snow travelers. Since it is so long and <BR>flat, there is little if any concern about falling debris from the steeper <BR>slopes above, and undermining of the snow doesn't seem to be a problem. We <BR>even saw one family dressing in fairly casual gear heading up with their <BR>sleds for some snow sliding fun. For anyone that is unfamiliar with snow <BR>conditions and wants to get their feet wet, the access and safety of this <BR>area make it very appealing. It's much like visiting the bottom of the bowl <BR>at Tuckerman Ravine, without any hike, and without the danger of falling <BR>rocks, ice, and skiers from above. <BR> <BR>I thought that steep skiing options might be limited above the snowfield, <BR>but this is totally not the case. Starting from the far looker's right, I <BR>could see a huge snowfield below Mt. Oberlin (8,180') with lots of tracks, <BR>as well as a couple of skiers on it. It seemed to offer at least 800' of <BR>vertical at probably 35 degrees of pitch or more. It was out beyond some <BR>cliffs, and I couldn't quite tell what the access was like, but obviously <BR>people were skiing. Moving left, I could see a couple of steep couloirs on <BR>the slopes of Clements Mountain. The first looked sick. It was maybe 30 or <BR>40 feet wide, with what looked like a 40-foot cornice at the top. I <BR>couldn't tell how steep it was, but it was sick looking enough that I <BR>wondered if anyone skied it. The shot next to it was a bit wider, although <BR>perhaps just as steep. It didn't have the huge cornice, and there was even <BR>a guy hiking his way up the thing. That was about it for the main options <BR>on Clements Mountain it seemed, most of the rest was just sheer rock (on the <BR>side I could see). Moving left some more we came to the area of Hidden Lake <BR>Pass. There were some fairly steep open slopes in this area, maybe offering <BR>500 vertical or so. Some snowboarders had set up a backcountry kicker in <BR>this area and were launching themselves off it. Moving on, I could see what <BR>appeared to be a shoulder of Reynolds Mountain maybe a mile long. It had a <BR>lot of options. There was a nice snowfield along the close edge that looked <BR>attractive, then some treed areas that also looked fun. Next, there was a <BR>huge bowl-shaped area with a bunch of steep options, one that looked to be <BR>over 1,000' of vertical towards the far end. I was intrigued by a chute at <BR>the close end of the bowl. I couldn't tell quite how steep it was, but <BR>something made me want to ski it. It just looked good. Below Reynolds <BR>Mountain proper, there was once again the issue of simply sheer rock, but <BR>there may be some lines that people ski. It just seemed that a lot of the <BR>snow ended in cliffs. To the left of Reynolds Mountain, at the far end of <BR>the Hanging Garden, there also appeared to be some gentler snowfields for <BR>skiing. These probably meant the longest hike though. <BR> <BR>After lunch, I convinced E that we should go check out the chute that <BR>intrigued me. I had thought of doing a couple warm up runs on the slopes at <BR>the top of the Hanging Gardens Snowfield, but due to the time, we decided to <BR>move on. The hike over towards the shoulder of Reynolds Mountain was <BR>generally not a huge elevation gain, but we did have to traverse steeper <BR>slopes in a couple of areas. The steepest slope I measured on the traverse <BR>over was 32 degrees just above us. Although it was a bit steeper below <BR>(maybe 35) the pitch only lasted for about 40 feet before it flattened out <BR>nicely into the Hanging Gardens. Still, with Tyler on her back, E was very <BR>cautious with her steps. All told, the traverse took about 30 minutes, and <BR>we settled in at a nice treed spot below our desired run. The elevation was <BR>around 7,400'. <BR> <BR>It was time to feed Tyler, so E took care of that while I prepared to hike <BR>up. Now that I was right below the chute, I could get a good sense of it. <BR>It was about 500 feet high, 40-50 feet wide at the throat, and I guessed a <BR>pitch of maybe 35 degrees. The plan for video was that E would be shooting <BR>from the bottom, and I would be getting head cam footage on the way down. <BR>Just before I started my hike, a snowboarder came down the chute. I believe <BR>she had hiked up along the ridge instead of the chute itself, but seemed to <BR>have no issues with riding the chute. I had seen no sign of slides, <BR>icefall, or crevasses all day, so it seemed that the snow here was generally <BR>safe. The closest thing I saw to dangerous snow conditions were a few areas <BR>close to the rock walls of the chute that had melted out early. During my <BR>hike, I stayed clear of this snow, peering down to see that the melt out had <BR>only gone down a couple of feet. <BR> <BR>I had to form my own boot ladder from our place at the bottom of the chute, <BR>but the beautiful corn snow made it easy. I checked slope angles with my <BR>new slope meter, which was incredibly easy. I just laid my pole down like <BR>the directions indicated, and took the angle. After about 100 vertical feet <BR>of hiking, I got a reading of 35 degrees, followed a few minutes later by a <BR>reading of 38 degrees. As I entered the throat of the chute, I got a <BR>reading of 42 degrees, and finally a slope of 45 degrees at the steepest <BR>part a bit higher than that. From there, it began to mellow out back to <BR>essentially flat ground. I couldn't believe that it was actually 45 <BR>degrees; it certainly didn't feel that steep. I'm not sure if this was <BR>because I was making my own steps or what, but I never even started to use <BR>my hands for climbing. Generally, on slopes of 45 degrees or so, I've found <BR>I begin to use my hands. <BR> <BR>I forgot to take an elevation reading at the top, but the topographic map <BR>says it was around 7,800', suggesting a vertical of around 400'. While at <BR>the top, I could hear, but not see, two other guys taking about the snow on <BR>the ridge. They sounded very surprised at how good the coverage was (for <BR>whatever run they were going to do). My own run had perfect coverage, and <BR>the appearance of a golf ball. It started out shallow for about 20 or 30 <BR>feet, then bam! It rolled over very quickly into what looked like oblivion. <BR>I could see E far below me, ready for video. After getting a few shots <BR>from the top, I turned on the head cam, and I was off. The corn snow was <BR>smooth, and not sticky, but it had been so long since I'd skied good corn, <BR>I'd almost forgotten what it was like. My skis bit in well, and I able to <BR>carve some big sweeping arcs through the wide chute. As I approached the <BR>spot where E was located, the pitch lessened and I was able to pick up the <BR>pace a little more. When I finally reached E, we switched roles. However, <BR>she was worried about Tyler getting colder as the day wore on, so she <BR>decided to hike about 1/4 of the way up the chute, then ski the slopes below <BR>which provided some nice blue/black terrain for a few hundred more vertical. <BR> <BR>My job was to get Tyler down, and the easiest way to do that was to ski. I <BR>didn't feel comfortable skiing anything with pitch with an infant on my <BR>back, but fortunately they were plenty of green options as we worked our way <BR>back to the Hanging Gardens. I simply took the easy traverses and filmed <BR>with the camera, while E got in some good skiing on the steeper pitches. <BR>Soon, we found ourselves in the streambed that bisected the Hanging Gardens, <BR>and it was a generally flat traverse back to the visitor center. The snow <BR>in these flatter sections was unfortunately stickier, and sun cupped. So <BR>although the trip back to the car was flat, and even generally downhill, we <BR>had to pole along most of the way. Still, it beat having to carry skis. <BR> <BR>Once back at the car, we still had to set up a few more shots for the video, <BR>mostly car-related stuff that we hadn't had the chance to shoot on the way <BR>in. We also got to have a fairly close encounter with some of the mountain <BR>goats, who decided that with all the deep snow, the road was the easiest way <BR>to get around at times. When we'd finally got the shots we needed, it was <BR>back to the Sprague Creek Campground. <BR> <BR>We were glad we'd left our tent and registered for another night, because by <BR>the time we got back, the campground was full. I'd managed to get some dry <BR>firewood at the Lake McDonald Lodge complex, and dinner for the evening was <BR>burgers over an open fire. Interestingly, some folks with a VT license <BR>plate were now occupying the site across from us, so we went over to chat. <BR>It turns out some of them were recent grads of UVM, moving out to Seattle. <BR>Sometimes I wished we didn't have to give up our VT plates for MT plates, <BR>because we would often be greeted by people when they saw the good ol' green <BR>plates on our car. It's common around here to see folks from Vermont, <BR>probably due to the similar lifestyle. The next morning, we stopped at the <BR>West Glacier Restaurant for breakfast. I'd passed by it many times, and <BR>wanted to see what it was like. It was fun to have breakfast and listen to <BR>the talk of the dozen or so park rangers at the table next to us. <BR> <BR>My overall impression of the skiing at Logan Pass is that you can get an <BR>incredible variety of spring skiing with just about the easiest access you <BR>could hope for. I still can't figure out why this place isn't more popular. <BR>Even though there were a few dozen other skiers in the area when we were <BR>there (on a prefect blue sky day for spring skiing), it was far less than I <BR>would have thought. Hopefully this report will serve as a good source for <BR>people interested in taking a trip to ski the Logan Pass area, there's <BR>plenty of terrain to keep everyone happy. <BR> <BR>Pictures and Links at: <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.JandEproductions.com/2003/06JUN03.html" TARGET="_top">http://www.JandEproductions.com/2003/06JUN03.html</A> <BR> <BR>J.Spin
 
Back
Top