Beartooth Highway (US-212) between Long Lake barricade, near Top of the World Store, and the Montana/Wyoming state line will close on Saturday, September 30th at 3 p.m. due to forecasted winter weather conditions. Crews will evaluate conditions and will reopen the highway as conditions allow.
(Heads Up!) The Beartooth Highway (US-212) between Long Lake barricade, near Top of the World Store, and the Montana/Wyoming state line will close on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 3 p.m. due to forecasted winter weather conditions. More: https://t.co/sTNm84fzaj pic.twitter.com/VWMyxgCKx0
— Yellowstone National Park (@YellowstoneNPS) September 28, 2023
The pass also closed last Friday due to snow, high winds, and ice and remained closed through the weekend as crews cleared 5-foot-high snow drifts.
The first major snowstorm of this winter is expected to hit California Friday afternoon before moving east and dropping snow on Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Higher elevations could see 12-18″ of fresh snow.
Check the Montana and Wyoming Departments of Transportation websites for road updates and status.
The NOAA has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook:
This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Western and Central Wyoming. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Locally elevated fire weather conditions over portions of Natrona, Sweetwater and southeastern Fremont Counties. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. Saturday...Elevated to critical fire weather conditions expected over central and southern portions. Sunday...An increasing chance of precipitation over western portions, spreading over northern portions Sunday night. Monday and Tuesday...Showers remaining possible , with snow levels dropping to around 8500 feet. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed today.
The high-elevation Beartooth Highway, US 212, connecting Yellowstone National Park with Red Lodge, Montana, opened for the season on May 26th. Beartooth Basin ski area, the nation’s only summer ski area, opened the following day. The pass then closed on June 24th for 24 hours after a summer storm dumped four feet of snow.
The 68-mile road, which peaks at 10,947 feet, typically closes from early Fall through April or May as a result of deep snow. After opening for Memorial Day last year, the road had to close for 5-days at the end of June due to snow. It then closed on September 11th for the winter.
The road was cleared on the Montana side on May 22, but a blizzard at the summit caused it to be reclosed. Crews work tirelessly through the spring to clear the highway, often encountering snowdrifts well in excess of 20 feet deep.
The Beartooth Highway is an All-American Road on a section of U.S. Route 212 in Montana and Wyoming between Red Lodge and the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park, passing over the Beartooth Pass in Wyoming at 10,947 feet (3,337 m) above sea level. It has been called “the most beautiful drive in America,” by late CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt. Because of heavy snowfall at the top, the pass is usually open each year only from mid-May through mid-October, weather conditions permitting.
Beartooth Basin Ski Area is a cash-only ski area located at Beartooth Pass in the Shoshone National Forest on the Montana-Wyoming border in the United States. It is the only ski area in North America that is only open in the summer, generally from late May through early July, since U.S. 212 is closed in winter. It opened in 1962 and totals 600 acres at an elevation of 10,900 feet. The area is served by two platter lifts.
Every year from late May to early July, the mission of Beartooth Basin is to keep the spirit of skiing alive with two surface lifts atop the iconic 10,000-foot elevation Beartooth Pass, MT-WY. Formerly known as Red Lodge International Summer Racing Camp, Beartooth Basin is one of North America’s oldest alpine ski training areas.
Ownership changed in 2003 when an adventurous group of Red Lodge locals invested in the race camp and opened the door to a younger generation of skiing enthusiasts – freestyle skiers, big mountain riders, terrain park jibbers, and of course, anyone keen for summer skiing.
Beartooth Basin is not your average ski hill. You could describe it as backcountry skiing with a lift. Similar to traditional lift-served ski facilities, the Basin is staffed with professional ski patrollers and skillful lift attendants. And just like other ski areas, it faces extreme economic challenges – aging infrastructure, high equipment costs, expensive insurance policies, and rigorous engineering inspections. All of these obstacles are made even more difficult with the access issues experienced due to its remote location at the whim of multiple surface owner-operators of US Hwy212.
