Photo: Greg Fortin Gliding Through Glacier National Park, Montana Highlights:
Includes:
Trip Number: 10416A Price: $2,445 Deposit: $200 Capacity: 12 Leader:
The Trip  Photo: Greg Fortin Join the Sierra Club and Glacier Park Ski Tours/Glacier Adventure Guides for a once in a life time opportunity to experience the wildness and spectacular scenery of Glacier National Park. Glacier National Park, the world’s first International Peace Park, is also a Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site. Glacier offers exceptional scenery, diverse wildlife and plant communities, and unbelievable skiing. Each day we’ll ski the trails and backcountry accompanied by Glacier Park Ski Tours' staff who will share their knowledge regarding the park's history, geology and natural features. In the evenings, we’ll retire to a luxurious lodge, eat delicious meals, and enjoy swimming in the indoor pool, relaxing in the outdoor hot tubs, and visiting with our fellow skiers. Most people visit Glacier because of its scenery. The combination of vertical, glacier-scoured banded mountains, pristine lakes and streams and dense ancient forests help provide Glacier with its majestic reputation. However, what sets Glacier apart and makes the landscape so unique are quite simply the glaciers themselves. Their blue ice and crevasses distinguish them from the snowfields and help remind us of the park’s antiquity. Glacier National Park also has a tremendous history. Recent archeological surveys have found evidence of human use dating back over 10,000 years. These people may have been ancestors of tribes that live in the area today. When the first European explorers came to the area, Blackfeet Indians controlled the vast prairies east of the mountains and the Salish and Kootenai Indians lived in and hunted in the western valleys.
 Photo: Greg Fortin Day 1: Arrive at the Glacier Park International / Kalispell (FCA) Airport no later than 3:00 p.m. Our van departs for the Grouse Mountain Lodge at 3:30 p.m. After arriving at the lodge, we’ll check in, get settled and then enjoy a delicious dinner. Following dinner we will have a welcome orientation/evening planning meeting. Day 2: After breakfast we will rent equipment, if needed, and then travel through the west entrance of Glacier National Park to the Lake McDonald Lodge trailhead. From there we will ski into Johns Lake (2 mi) and tour both the Dancing Cascades trail and Lake McDonald (6 mi). This trail wanders through old growth forests of Western Red Cedar and Hemlock and with clear skies will allow for views of the large mountains surrounding the Lake McDonald area and the Going to the Sun Road. The evening will be yours to enjoy a soak in the lodge’s hot tub, enjoy the company of your fellow travelers or take advantage of a good book. Day 3: We will travel up the North Fork of the Flathead River road (45 min drive) to the north entry of Glacier National Park and ski the Camas Creek Road. This road will take us 12 miles to Apgar Village in West Glacier if conditions and weather allow. This will be a full day with 800 ft of elevation gain over the first 8 miles and a downhill ride for the remaining mileage to Lake McDonald. This tour takes us through the burn areas of 2006 and affords views of the Livingston Range and the Higher Peaks of Glacier National Park. We will meet our shuttle at the Apgar Village. The evening will be yours to enjoy a soak in the lodge’s hot tub, enjoy the company of your fellow travelers or read a good book. Day 4: We will travel to Marias Pass at the south end of Glacier National Park to higher elevations on the Continental Divide (1.5 hour travel time). We will ski the Autumn Creek Trail Loop, starting at the pass and ending 8 miles to the west where we will meet our shuttle on Highway 2. This is an intermediate trip allowing us to traverse without retracing our steps. We will be surrounded by large mountains and have some exposure to avalanche danger on this trip. This trip will allow us to work on some downhill technique. Elevation gain is 1200-1400 vertical followed by a long decent to the shuttle. The evening will be yours to enjoy a soak in the lodge’s hot tub, enjoy the company of your fellow travelers or read a good book.  Photo: Greg Fortin Day 5: We will again travel to Marias Pass to the Fire Brand Pass trailhead. Today’s trip takes us into some steeper terrain with opportunities to ski some mild pitches in an alpine environment. This is an out and back so mileage is based on when we decide to turn-around. The vertical gain of this trip is 1200-2500 feet depending on our final destination. There will be some avalanche exposure on this trip and some skills work review. There will be great views of the large mountains around Marias Pass and the mountains surrounding the eastern Glacier area. If time and weather conditions allow we may also take a side trip to East Glacier entrance. The evening will be yours to enjoy a soak in the lodge’s hot tub, enjoy the company of your fellow travelers or take advantage of a good book. Day 6: We will travel back to the western entrance of Glacier National Park and ski into Snyder Basin via the Sperry trail. This is a more advanced trip with 1500-2500 vertical gain depending on our final destination. This trail will take us to the Snyder Lake Basin affording access to big mountain terrain and views of Mt. Brown and the Little Matter Horn. This trip will depend on current avalanche conditions. An alternate trip would be a 12 mile trip to the Avalanche Lake trailhead on the Going to the Sun Road. The evening will be yours to enjoy a soak in the lodge’s hot tub, enjoy the company of your fellow travelers or take advantage of a good book. Day 7: We will travel to West Glacier and drive to the McDonald Lodge trailhead. We will then ski the McDonald Lake trail to North Bridge and travel toward Trout Lake on the south side of Mt. Stanton. This trail has some nice ups and downs with 1200 ft of elevation gain and some options for ski descents to the Trout Lake Basin. This is a longer trip of 10-14 miles depending upon our turn-around point. This trip will provide views of Mount Stanton, Rogers Peak and some of the Livingston Mountain Range. This route typically has great snow with some exposure to avalanche terrain and great downhill opportunities. Day 8: After breakfast we’ll return any rented ski equipment and then depart for the Glacier Park International Airport or the hotel of your choice. Expect to arrive in Kalispell around 9:00 a.m. Note: Getting There Trip participants will be picked-up at the Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell, MT and shuttled to the Grouse Mountain Lodge at the start of the trip. Trip participants will be shuttled back to the airport in Kalispell, MT at the conclusion of the trip. Shuttle services will also be provided throughout the trip.
The trip includes seven nights’ lodging and all breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We will be staying at the beautiful Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, Montana. The lodge is approximately a 45 minute drive from Glacier National Park and offers a substantial list of services and amenities. All transportation is provided on the trip: van pick-up from the airport in Kalispell, Montana; all the travel to various ski destinations; and a final van drop-off at the Glacier Park International Airport at trip’s end. Standard arrangements are for double-occupancy rooms for all participants. Private rooms are also available, but numbers are limited so reserve yours early. The cost for a private room upgrade for the duration of the trip is $500. Please indicate your preference for private rooms to the leader and he will inform you of options and payment details.
A minimum skiing ability of intermediate to advanced is suggested. Skiers should be able to ski rolling terrain and control speed and direction with at least a basic snowplow. Most of the terrain we’ll cover is not too steep, but good balance and a familiarity with varied snow and trail conditions are necessary. Participants should be in good physical shape. As noted above, the various ski trips will range from 7-14 miles. Participants may also take non-ski rest days on their own at the lodge.
Rental x-country ski equipment (including boots) is available at Yellowstone National Park. Equipment & clothing needs include:
Conservation Glacier National Park is facing a number of conservation issues today. As in so many wild areas, the clash between wilderness preservation and human use is evident in many ways:
See the How to Apply for an Outing section for more details on registering for this trip and details about our Reservation and Cancellation Policy. The payment of a deposit does not confirm you as a member on the trip. Participants must be approved by the trip leader. After signing up for this trip, you will be sent a confirmation packet containing approval materials (Participant Approval Questionnaire, Medical Form, Liability Release Form). Each applicant (including those on the waitlist) must fill out these forms and promptly mail them to the trip leader. The leader will review the approval materials and notify you of your acceptance in a timely manner.
Leader: 
Rob White has been a member of the Sierra Club since high school and has been interested in preserving and protecting the outdoors for as long as he can remember. After obtaining a master's degree in park and recreation administration, he accepted a position at Rocky Mountain National Park as a ranger/naturalist. He now works with the Colorado State Park system as a park manager. Rob continues to hike a great deal in Rocky Mountain National Park.
E-mail: kerw1994@juno.com Greg Fortin is the Head Guide and Owner of Glacier Park Ski Tours/Glacier Adventure Guides and has a tremendous background in backcountry skiing and mountaineering. Greg has been backcountry skiing for almost two decades. He is trained in backcountry medicine and has been involved with numerous rescue groups over the last fifteen years. Greg is also a certified member of the Professional Ski Instructors Association and has extensive avalanche training and certifications. Greg has devoted his career to the backcountry of Glacier National Park and ensuring that his guests have the best possible experience while visiting Glacier and the surrounding area. General Notes About Sierra Club Trips
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