June 4, 2020 - Thursday

Chalet visits in a season of Covid-19

Glacier National Park has announced they intend to begin the phased re-opening on June 8. This means that our chalet season can proceed on schedule.

We have organized our Covid-19 policies, procedures, and plans for you to review. For more information about how the pandemic will impact your plans for a chalet visit please review our Covid-19 information page.

Kevin

May 28, 2020 - Thursday

Planning to re-open Glacier

We are encouraged by news from the National Park Service that there is a phased plan for reopening Glacier National Park. You can find details of the re-opening plan here: https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/openingplan.htm

What we do not have are specific dates for any part of the opening process. We are optimistic that the park will begin opening sometime in June in time for the chalet operating season.

Do not expect all park services or facilities to be available this year. When you make your visit please come prepared:

• To maintain social distance from other visitors.
• Wear a breath mask when near others.
• Be self sufficient. Dining, camping and other amenities may have limited availability.

And please keep Glacier healthy. Do not travel if anyone in your party is ill or has been exposed to others who are ill.

Be safe out there.

Kevin

May 11, 2020 - Monday

Coronavirus planning

As we learn more from county and state health agencies and stay in communication with the National Park Service we are growing cautiously optimistic that the chalets will be able to open in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our guests should be advised that this will not be a typical season of chalet comforts in the wild. We will be on high alert for any illness or contagion. We are expecting a lot of changes in how the chalets operate. For example:

• Social distancing must be maintained with all other parties and staff. We will treat your party as a family unit that can interact and share rooms with each other.
• There will be restrictions on building access. To manage exposure the chalet structures will only be available to reserved guests and occupancy of common areas will be limited.
• Attractive nuisances that invite crowding or virus transmission will be removed. The fireplace will be cold and the books and games library will not be available.

If any visitor begins showing signs of illness while at the chalet the entire party will be evicted and must evacuate to the front country for medical attention. The chalets are to far from medical help and to close quarters to take any chances.

If any member of your party shows signs of illness in the days leading up to your reservation we ask that you cancel your trip. Please do a good service for the health of our National Park, our communities, and your fellow travelers by not spreading possible infections.

If you do not have a chalet reservation but are interested in visiting us on a day hike, be advised that the chalet structures cannot shelter you and food service will be limited or unavailable.

We will be fine tuning the details of our Coronavirus plan as summer approaches and we will work to keep our guests informed on what to expect. We are taking unusual and extreme measures because we hold the health of our staff and guests as our highest concern. It is unfortunate that safety measures prevent us from opening our doors to everyone. Thank you for the kind understanding. With this season of sacrifices we will be in a better position to offer the warm embrace of chalet hospitality in the future.

Be safe out there.

Kevin

March 17, 2020 - Tuesday

Business as usual, until it isn’t.

The communities around us are reacting to the Covid 19 virus in as many sensible and precautionary ways as can be arranged. Here in our (work from home) offices we have some advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, we will not be hosting people in our chalets for some months time yet, and when summer gets here a great many people will benefit from a mountain reprieve. On the other hand this deadly virus is sure to change many lives and plans. Our future is an unmapped trail that no one has ever hiked before and all trails have hazards.

We are aware that closing hotels and National Parks is within the realm of possibility as a protective measure against this disease, but our July through September season is over a hundred days away. Things may change by then. We want to be optimistic. So we will go into the next months assuming business as usual.

As for your chalet reservations, we will hold on to them as planned. National Parks and mountains will be valuable things after the stress we are all feeling. We understand if you need to change your travel plans. For now the worst consequence is our $10 administrative fee (the credit card companies are still charging us to process your refund.) And no, credit toward next year is not an option. Every year there are wilderness hazards like bears or fires; this year has a virus hazard. It is up to the individual in the wilderness to take responsibility for the outcome of any hazard you meet. First come first served next year will give everyone the same opportunity to have plans interfered with as this or any other year.

Should Mother Nature favor us with good health and a beautiful park we want you to join us in amazing mountain adventures. We would like to reassure you about visiting. We are veterans in the battle against virus. At the chalets we have annually confronted nemesis like haunta virus, norovirus, and girardia bacteria for decades now. We have learned the fine art of sanitation and it is built into our most basic training and operations. Our chalet crews have been using the phrase "whatever, just wash your hands" since before it was popular. When you visit Granite Park and Sperry Chalets be assured that you are among people that treat your health as the most important concern there is.

So we will hope for the best and continue with business as usual for now. And as with all wilderness adventures we know that plans can suddenly change. We go to the mountains to test our mettle against the wild after all. Like good mountaineers we know that should something force us to change our wilderness plans we will make a new plan, responding to the hazard safely, gracefully, and without regret.

Be safe out there.

Kevin

February 20, 2020 - Thursday

Sperry Chalet Celebration

For our friends in the Flathead Valley next week, please join us for a Sperry Chalet Celebration.

Glacier National Park, in partnership with Glacier National Park Conservancy, announces a public event to celebrate the reopening of Sperry Chalet. The event will take place on February 26 at 7:00 pm at the Red Lion Hotel, Kalispell, MT.

The event provides an opportunity to hear from key individuals who were instrumental in the project's success. The celebration is free and open to the public.

Kevin

January 13, 2020 - Monday

First day of reservations

Our office staff has been commenting all day on how great it feels to be taking Sperry Chalet reservations again. It feels like we have taken a first big step toward an amazing summer.

And you guys are obviously just as excited for Sperry Chalet as we are. In all of chalet history we have never seen a turnout like we have seen today. More reservation requests came in during our first hour this morning than we have ever seen before. Granite Park Chalet is seeing a huge turnout too, requests there are nearly double what we saw a year ago. We are humbled and grateful.

The unfortunate downside is that we know we will not be able to serve everyone. We are sad in the knowledge that some of our biggest supporters and friends may be receiving a declined request this week.

We are going to be backlogged all week long as we work through your reservation requests. We give each request personal attention and try hard to find the perfect room for you. Thank you for your patience as we get caught up. We do not know how long this will take. Please give us at least a week before you start to worry about hearing back from us. Check your Email (and your junk mail) for the reply from the office. Successful reservations will receive a statement by postal mail.

We are starting to update the availability calendar, but this information will not by fully accurate until we are caught up on the backlog. But we do want to share our progress in filling rooms and give you an idea of the most popular dates.

Thank you.

Kevin

January 6, 2020 - Monday

Making reservations

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about our reservations.

Reservations will be available beginning 8:00am Mountain Time Zone on January 13, 2020.

Using the website and the online form is the best, fastest, easiest way to request a chalet reservation. Reservations are not available by phone. The phone line is likely to be busy and by phone all we can do is enter the online form on your behalf.

The form will not be made available in advance. It does allow for a first choice and an alternate choice of dates and we recommend giving us a range of dates to improve your chances.

You can request to enroll in a workshop along with your reservation. Be advised that we will treat the workshop request as your first choice and the workshop fee is not refundable. Only check the box if you want to enroll.

All requests are handled first come first served. You only need to submit one request. Bombarding us with superfluous requests only slows down your notifications and makes it harder for you and everyone else to get the stay you want.

Chalet reservations are very popular and the chalets are small hotels with limited vacancy. We are sorry that we will not be able to host everyone that wishes to visit us. Here are some tips to improve your chances:

Smaller parties are statistically more likely to get rooms than larger parties.
Giving us a wide range of dates and being flexible will improve your chances.
The last week in July and the first week in August are usually the first dates to sell out. You may find better luck earlier or later in the season.
If you do not get a chalet reservation on the 13th, keep checking back periodically through the spring. Cancellations do happen and new opportunities may come up.

We are looking forward to helping your with your chalet adventure.

Kevin

December 23, 2019 - Monday

Sperry 2020 season

The Sperry Chalet re-opening date has been set for July 18, 2020. Thanks to the National Park Service and all the project planners involved in the Sperry restoration for this lovely Christmas gift.

We have also confirmed the 2020 fares with the National Park Service, details are on our website. We are looking forward to helping you plan your chalet adventure as reservations for the 2020 season open on January 13.

Merry Christmas!

Kevin