Glacier National Park. Early May. Prepare to be alone.

I have found the best time to visit Glacier Park. Although the snowpack was on the low side this spring compared to prior years, all that white stuff fell up high and saw new accumulation well into spring. And with the cool weather, very little has started to melt off. So, let’s take a post-training week pre-season tour.

Singleshot Mountain’s ridge of East Flatop looks much different from when I climbed up there two seasons ago. And the aspens down at Beargrass have barely started to leaf out.

The Saint Mary Valley looks like something out of Alaska. It’s hard to believe that in less than a month, this place will be filled to the brim with people and traffic jams.

The Hudson Bay watershed/drainage is incredible. Although those peaks look close, there are not many access trails to get back there. Fighting through a twenty-year-old forest fire burn is always slow, in open sun, and miserable.

The only time I have ever been at the Wild Goose Island pull-out when I was the only car. It was nice to park right in front of the viewpoint.

There were a few moments of clearing, but the clouds and wind kept that chill in the air. Just enough to remind you that winter does NOT turn into spring in Glacier. It skips straight to summer. Divide Mtn is still holding its share of snow.

I’m not sure how long the hula hoop decal as been on the Pedestrian sign near Sunrift Gorge. But it makes me grin every time I see it. And for those of you who are in the know, I’ll give a shout out to the String Cheese Incident for this stupid but smile inducing moment.

With the Sun Road currently closed at the Jackson Glacier Overlook, I can still get high enough to see a couple of old friends who are not prepared to let go of winter’s cloak. At least tiny Heavy Runner is under the cloud ceiling. But there will be no views of Reynolds today.

Going to the Sun Mountain is not getting climbed any time soon for the 2024 season. Maybe by July some of the standard routes might open up. But that westface gully will be packed with snow much longer.

Fullisade is a mountain that always falls on and off my future climbing list. When you see it in early May, it actually looks like the effort would be worth the bragging rights.

Dusty Star looks as formidable as ever. That one scares me in deep summer, let alone early spring, with its constant avalanches.

But let’s show the Two Medicine area a little love, too. Bison, Appistoki, and Henry patiently wait for the sun to warm their slopes as they tower over Lower Two Medicine Lake.

Sinopah is one of my favorite climbs in this region of the Park. Seeing it still in the peaceful sleep of winter is magical. It won’t be long before the parking lots are full and people are crawling all over her.

The monster Rising Wolf Mtn sits there with a take-no-prisoner attitude. And can you blame it? There are no fast approaches to the summit of this mountain. It will make you earn every step and extract tribute in the form of toenails.

Running Eagle (aka Trick Falls) is flowing at full volume. The NPS still needs to put in the bridges, but people will still cross and get their feet wet for a closer view. To each their own.

But there is nothing more majestic than entering the Many Glacier Valley. The aspens are even more behind in budding out here. I wish all the people who say, ‘Where are all the glaciers?’ could visit during this early season window. The snow contrasts the sheer mountains and cliffs to perfection.

Wow. Just plain wow. No traffic. No people. The road is open. And I’m driving into the heart of the place in Glacier Park that I love the most.

Damn. I don’t see anyone going up into the Windy Creek drainage or the Appikunni valley complex anytime soon. A good month plus out.

I always like stopping at this kiosk, which has been there for about the last five to ten years. It offers good views and good information. And I get to claim this as my first bear sighting for the season.

It’s one of the most iconic views when coming into the MGV. Directly ahead is the backside of the Garden Wall (you have to take my tour to find out where that name came from), which is also the Continental Divide. Buried in that mess of snow are three named glaciers. It’s an incredible time to visit Glacier.

Back six miles into that valley, there is one of the coveted 10k footers to climb in the Park. Mighty Mt Siyeh. Its 4300-foot north face is (pending on which sources you believe) the longest sheer mountain face in North America—only climbed three times. Base jumped once. I’ve been up there twice. But none of that will you see today.

Mt Allen. That was a great hike (a poor choice of the summit). Seeing it this early makes me feel like I climbed K2 (without the bragging rights). Few people know this is the largest mountain in Glacier Park by volume. Yeah, it is a BIG pile of rock with a BIG base.

Back to the Nataki/Appikuni/Henkel/Alytn valley drainage complex. Many mountain lions like this area, mainly because of all the limestone caves where they can store their kill above treeline. Please, please, don’t ask me why I know this. There is some PTSD there.

Just in the back of that point are Fallen Leaf and Hidden Moon Lakes. Just making a smart guess and saying those little lakes in those deep sunless cirques are still frozen over.

Wow. Mt. Gould sleeps in the cloud. Tourists are still two months from hiking up to Grinnell Glacier, which is a great hike if you know what to expect. And start well before noon. And don’t take your family of eight with three 16-ounce bottles of Avion.

Yeah. Remember my Easy Altyn post from the past? That drainage doesn’t look easy to climb when it is full of snow. But bonus: clearly not bear activity up in the snow zone.

I’ve been hiking in the Park for coming up on forty years. I have never, I mean never, seen Grinnell Point with not only this much snow on it but an actual wind cornice up on the lip. Crazy.

I’m sorry that this viewpoint has been pictured and videoed to death. It is pretty cool when you are in the first week of May. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it. Being there when the motel wakes up is almost a going back-in-time kind of moment that all die-hard fans of Glacier should experience.

It’s time to make the eight-hour, 380-mile drive home. I was in this snowstorm for two of those hours. Note to self: Wait until after May to take the winter snow tires off the Dodge. I’m tipping my hand that I might be doing this summer gig for a couple more seasons.

A lot of driving. But that is what GoatBoy does. But what will the next excellent vehicle for all of these long miles be?