Glacier Parks Going-to-the-Sun Road Fully Opens for Summer

[Ptah]

Despite being dusted with snow and ice just hours earlier,
Glacier National Park opened all 50 miles of Going-to-the-Sun
Road to vehicles Thursday night, heralding the arrival of summer
in Northwest Montana.

Park officials made the announcement just before 8 p.m. on social media.
Earlier in the day, road crews making their final preparations for the
opening were greeted with snow and ice near Logan Pass.

This year’s opening of the trans-mountain highway between West Glacier
and St. Mary was three days earlier than 2015 and more than
two weeks earlier than 2014.

Just a few weeks ago, plow crews were still wrangling massive rotary plows
through the snow to clear the road that was completed in 1932. Those efforts
to clear the road and install guardrails were temporarily delayed in late May
when heavy rains washed away beaver dams above the road near Apgar,
sending tons of mud and debris onto the roadway. Meanwhile, snow was
falling in higher elevations. That same storm resulted in 19 avalanches on the road.

http://flatheadbeacon.com/2016/06/16/glacier-opens-entire-going-sun-road/

[SCantiGOP]

1. I drive it twice in one week

In the mid-90s. Stunning, one of my favorites trips ever.
Glad to hear there's still snow. The year I went there didn't get the road open till late June.

[Wawannabe]

2. I haven't been since 2006.

Drove from west g to st mary.
So interesting.
Never saw an animal on the road but when we were at the ed center in the middle there was a family of rams. A baby too. Very cool!
It was hard not to turn out at every possible location to take in the view or take a picture! We switched drivers so one person could looky loo while the other was supposed to be paying attn to the road.
We rode horses on the west end too. Real nice trip.