A couple of times over the winter season, we visit the StepsAway cabins to assure ourselves that the harsh West Glacier cold and snow haven’t done any unexpected damage, and to perform regular inspection and maintenance. These are usually fun trips for us. We get a chance to visit one of our favorite places, catch a few glimpses of the peaks in Glacier National Park and do some vigorous work outside in the snow. As you can see, there is always plenty of snow in February! This was an especially pleasant visit. We had been monitoring the weather and postponed our trip until this weekend. We timed it perfectly – lots of sunshine and temperatures well into the 40’s!!!
During the outside inspection, we have to check the snow loads, decide which of the gutter heaters to activate (yes, that’s a thing), remove the weight of large icicles and knock down any snow-slides that are threatening windows. As you can see, there were a few snow overhangs and a few too many large icicles that needed our attention.
We also had some snow removal to do. Even though our cabins are kept warm and available to rent year-round, there are some spots that need extra attention to keep all of them accessible to our guests. This is our first winter with StepsAway 121 – “The View” – and we were a bit anxious to see how it was handling the Glacier winter. We were relieved to discover, although this was its first winter with us, it had weathered plenty of years before we became caretakers and looks even better in the snow. The snow field in back was covered with deer and snowshoe hare tracks! After removing a couple of piles from roof snow slides and cutting an improved path to the propane tank, we were able to relax and enjoy the tremendous views.
It took only about three hours to wrap up our chores. As usual, we were just not that eager to leave. One would think we would know by now – always stay as long as you can. The crisp cool air, the smell of the pines, the pure white snow… We’ll be back up next month for another check and, soon after that, it will be time to for the Spring clean-ups! Even the work is something we look forward to! See you in Glacier this summer!