The planning process to rebuild Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park is underway/NPS

Rebuilding Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park won't be easy. There are water issues to resolve, a relatively short construction season, unknowns about the usability of stones in the foundation, and avalanche slide paths.

All that is being considered as the National Park Service moves forward with an environmental assessment to examine all issues involved with rebuilding the iconic backcountry lodge that burned last fall from flames of the Sprague Fire.

The Park Service's goals are fairly straightforward:

* Restore the dormitory to as “close to as it was,” reflecting its period of significance (1914-1949). Such an approach would provide for some critical updates to current building codes and improve life safety. The visitor experience would be very similar to what it has been for decades.

* Restore the dormitory “in place, but modernized” using as much of the historic fabric as possible. This type of approach would provide the best opportunity to ensure its use is well-suited for a visitor experience for the next 100 years. This would include code upgrades, insulation between interior walls and some additional engineering and design work.

* Construct an entirely new structure, complementing the historic landscape, in a slightly different location to avoid recent avalanche activity. This alternative would also stabilize the remaining walls and provide visitor interpretation of the original structure.

* Consider an entirely different approach to providing the Sperry Chalet visitor experience such as canvas wall tents or yurts, which could be taken down each season. Tent cabins were used in the early years of the Sperry Chalet operation. This option would still utilize existing structures such as the historic dining hall. The remaining walls of the dormitory would be stabilized and visitor interpretation of the original structure as a ruin would be provided.

Come June, the Glacier staff hopes to have schematic alternatives available for public review. By September, they hope to have the environmental assessment with its options ready for public review.

You can comment on this plan now through April 2 at this site. 

The skeletal remains of the Sperry Chalet photographed this winter/Glacier Conservancy