A recent flyover showed the walls of the Sperry Chalet still standing/Glacier Conservancy
It truly is no more than a skeleton of its former self, but the walls of the Sperry Chalet are still standing in Glacier National Park, where optimism is high that the iconic backwoods way station will be rebuilt.
The Glacier Conservancy has scheduled three flyovers of the chalet with a fixed-wing plane to see how the structural stabilization project is holding up. The first flight was completed early last week and revealed good news.
Perched at 6,560 feet above sea level and near the lip of a glacial cirque, the chalet greeted thousands of visitors since it opened in 1913, and withstood heavy snows of winter and drenching summer rains. But it could not escape the Sprague Fire, which had been ignited by a lighting bolt on August 10. For days the fire mostly smoldered on the mountainsides above Lake McDonald, but as the days turned into weeks the fire took new life and became much more active.
The chalet burned last September, caught up by the flames of the Sprague Fire.
The Glacier Conservancy, however, raised funds to stabilize the walls of the chalet before winter hit, and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has talked of seeing the iconic structure rebuilt.
Later this month the National Park Service will host a community event, The Sperry Chalet Experience: Past, Present, and Future, to engage with the public, explore the nature of the Sperry Chalet visitor experience, and hear about what pieces of that experience are important to retain as the agency rebuilds Sperry Chalet.
The program will be held February 28 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Flathead Valley Community College Arts and Technology Building, Room 139 in Kalispell, Montana.
“Rebuilding historic Sperry is a priority, and I’m excited the work is moving along,” said Secretary Zinke. “The Conservancy and the park put in a lot of work to stabilize the building for winter, and now we can start to rebuild for future family adventures at Sperry.”
“We’re excited to kick off our schematic design process for the Sperry Chalet rebuild,” said Glacier Superintendent Jeff Mow. “This is the first of several opportunities for the public to engage and comment and we hope it will be informative to our selected architects as they engage in the design process. Come and tell us your Sperry Chalet story.”
The first part of the program will feature a 20-minute informative conversation about the park’s chalets, their national historic significance, and the Great Northern Railroad’s influence on tourism and park infrastructure, still in evidence today, with Park Museum Curator Deirdre Shaw.
Following the history program, the park will introduce preliminary concepts to rebuild the Sperry Chalet dormitory building and host a question-and-answer session with Superintendent Mow and Deputy Superintendent Eric Smith. Glacier National Park Conservancy Executive Director Doug Mitchell will share an update on fundraising efforts and opportunities in support of rebuilding the Sperry Chalet.
The ruins of the Sperry Chalet/Glacier Conservancy
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Comments
Glacier NP has a deferred maintenance of $153,838,276 I would guess this wasn't a priority until the fire. It is great to see the Conservancy support the project. I havne't seen how much the NPS is going to contribute. I wonder if the hard questions are ever asked - should we rebuild at all?
"should we rebuild " is not a hard question. The question is when do we start. Thousands of visitors from every state and dozens of countries I'm sure would agree. My family and grandchildren have all thrilled to go there. I hope it will be there for my greatgrandchildren. When I was there in 1986 a guest asked "What is it like to work in Paradise " and then continued "that is self answering." I fully agreed.
Have you had the great privilege of staying there? If so, you'll understand why so many donated to rebuild it. If not, there is something just so magical about being there. No "modern" building has the character of Sperry, especially after the hike up. Even rebuilt, it will retain that character. If you don't care, don't go there. It's booked well in advance, almost a lottery, and you'd not be missed.
My family was fortunate enough to spend the first night that Sperry was open for the summer of 1974. We were ill-prepared for the hike, Our girls were 14,12 and 9 and we were being transferred from Hawaii to N Carolina. There was deep snow most of the way up and we had only Keds on our feet. I will always remember the beauty and serenity of that 7 1/2 mile hike. We were cold and exhausted when we reached the Chalet but supper was ready and there was a big fire going. the next morning we were awakened by Mountain goats running up and down the porch outside our window. We have travelled the world but I have never forgotten Sperry. I shed many tears as the fire consumed the building. NEVER think that it should not be rebuilt. It is truly a special place and it is a privilege to stay there.