Going to the Sun Unlikely to Open Before July 4th

[jamawani]

200-300 inches of snow. (5-7.5 meters for metric-heads)
Massive snow drifts and sheer drop-offs.

Video of recent plowing:
https://www.facebook.com/GlacierNPS/videos/10155811973194912/?hc_ref=ARSoVrydKJ3MvOu_efXmRBER9Uj5UwUMym29w4Z6Fy4T7N2r2XFF_VtSCmlh17yGugI&fref=nf

[jamawani]

Going to the Sun Road -
Plowing at the end of May

[J Griffin]

That's interesting!  We're planning a mid-August gravel ride from Whitefish out to the Merc, then across the river and down to Apgar or Fish Creek on Inside North Fork, then back onto the pavement with a stop at Glacier distillery in Coram (of course!), then on to C-Falls and Mudman Burgers, then back to Whitefish. Anyone interested, PM me; we could use the company, but we're a couple of seriously out-of-shape OLD GUYS!!!!

[jamawani]

Not even going to Bowman or Kintla Lakes??
If you are at the Merc, you really should consider Bowman, at least.

[J Griffin]

we'll stop at the Merc for the baked goods orgy, but haven't yet decided on hitting Bowman (most likely we will) or go down to Quartz or Logging Creek for that night.  Then it's on to the closed section to Fish Creek campground.

[BikeliciousBabe]

Current web cam view shows temps in the 30s at the pass with what looks like stormy weather.

[hikerjer]

FYI:

http://lastbestnews.com/site/2018/06/after-two-months-of-work-crews-finish-glacier-plowing/

[BikeliciousBabe]

Keep in mind that just because it's plowed doesn't mean it will be open right away. I was there last year. The road was clear and dry but the not fully open due to avalanche fears on the east side. Despite that, I was allowed to ride up the west side. (Cars were prohibited beyond Avalanche Campground.) Unfortunately, the NPS opened the entire road to vehicles that morning. Got passed by the first car just below the loop. That was on June 28th.

[hikerjer]

Very true. And  given our current weather, it could close even if it open temporarily. It's raining in the valleys and snowing in the mountains right now.  Ya just don't know.

[ggwbikemt]

Going to the Sun Road is now open to traffic as of June 23. See https://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm
for updates.

[John Nettles]

Yea! 10 days earlier than Jamawami prediction.

[J Griffin]

We'll give this another go this next summer, and having just bought a pair of e-MTB's, the ride up should be especially nice!!

[hikerjer]

 "just bought a pair of e-MTB's,"  ---

Ah, we've gone over to the dark side, have we?

[J Griffin]

absolutely!! 

[oldguybiker]

hikerjer - is it true that NPS and BLM are going to start requiring e-MTB's to carry fire extinguishers? Probably a good idea to help prevent forest fires caused by exploding e-MTB batteries.