Outdoor News
Approach Snowplows with Care, MDT Urges
The Montana Department of Transportation would like to remind motorists of two tips to follow when approaching a snowplow: slow down and be patient.
“MDT’s snowplows are very large,” said Jim Lynch, MDT director. “Their size is deceiving. The plow on the front of the truck weighs more than a compact car. It’s just not something to collide with.”
Snowplows travel at around 35 miles per hour to be as effective as possible with both sanding and clearing the road. The large size, slow travel speed and warning lights may make distance from the plow seems more than it actually is. When approaching a snowplow from behind, motorists are advised to slow down immediately.
Meet the Mountain Hosts
Exactly what does a Mountain Host do?
Each shift and each day is different for the hosts since every shift brings different experiences and requests. The term good will ambassador is an accurate description.
Although the Mountain Host position was envisioned in the mid-1980’s, it didn’t come to be until 1997. Doug Kremer, director of lower mountain operations got the program going with eight hosts. One of the original hosts, Detroit Red Wing Hall-of-Famer Marty Pavelich is still on-board today as are Jane and DH Ward, who joined the program in its second year. Today the yellow-jacketed hosts are led by Guest Services Manager Maggie Tar.
GNFAC avalanche advisory
By Doug Chabot
This report was issued Wednesday, February 12th
Mountain Weather:
Under sunny skies temperatures remained cool and only rose into the teens before dropping to the single digits last night. Yesterday, strong west to southwest winds picked up, most notably in the northern mountains. They’ve been blowing 25-30 mph and will likely increase during the next 24 hours. Sunny skies will cloud up later today with temperatures reaching the low 20s. Tonight, scattered snow showers will drop a trace to one inch of new snow with flurries continuing tomorrow.
Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion: