Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Late winter sun in Glacier, Front

Old Man of the Hills  in the Front looms over a Dupuyer area ranch

Middle Two Med Lake in Glacier Park was below me as I skied

At the end of her shift at the Two Med Grill Laurie Lintner went for a workout on Looking Glass Road


This is how East Glacier Park looks.  Sears Motel is marooned by snow.
I could see this coming in the weather forecast for several days.
Everything aligned and off I went for a drive on U.S. 89 up the Front for a scenery tour and then on to East Glacier Park and a 9 mile out-and back ski on the Looking Glass Highway (to the Pass).
Although there was some fog in the morning, the weather cleared Tuesday and it was bluebird all day, with no wind and temperatures that rose from the high teens to the mid-50s.
On the way up to Glacier I made numerous stops for photos of the Front ---- Choteau, Guthrie, Old Man of the Hills, Walling Reef, Feather Woman, Round Butte, Half Dome, with the scenic ranches out on the Plains giving those mountains some perspective.
I had wondered about the snow totals and shape of the roads given the record winter.
I found the roads in pretty good condition, except in East Glacier and north of that town to Looking Glass.
There were snowplows out in force creating vast mounds and walls of snow. 
There was some concern about flash flooding, but I didn't see any indication of that.
There was snow up to and over the rooftops in East Glacier and higher mounds of snow at Marias Pass in the Burlington Northern parking lot than I had ever seen.
Laurie Lintner at the Two Med Grill told me the best bet was to try Looking Glass, and I'm glad I did.
It is also known as Montana Highway 49 and goes from East Glacier through a mountain pass to the Kiowa Junction on U.S. 89.   It is a shortcut from East Glacier to St. Mary. The road is blocked off in the winter because of the heavy snows.
The pass is four miles from where the road to Two Med Campground comes in.
The highway department plows a parking spot at this "Y."
Lintner said the scenery is beautiful on this run, and she is right.
It looks down on Lower Two Med Lake below Scenic Point, with Rising Wolf Mountain the dominant mountain at the flank of Middle Two Med Lake.  The Badger-Two Med is within view, as Mount Sinopah at the head of Middle Two Med.
The snow was not great, a three-inch wind crust on top of about four feet of packed snow, but it softened up with the heat of the day.  The road rises gently, some 250 feet per mile, for a total of just over 1,000 feet.
At the top of the pass I noticed a rough road to the west and took it another half mile or so, just short of the Park boundary, where the views were magnificent and I had lunch.
The road is not steep enough to make tele turns worthwhile, but it was an enjoyable run nonetheless.
Then back to Great Falls along the Front, watching the sun sink and cast shadows and colors over the Front.
What a day!



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