GREAT FALLS — The record-setting snow that fell over the weekend across parts of Montana may have started to melt away, but one company in East Glacier says they'll be feeling the impact of the storm for weeks and months.
Ed DesRosier has been operating Sun Tours with his wife Toni for 27 years. The provide bus tours of Glacier National Park and Blackfeet Country.
He says they received more than 40 inches of snow near St. Mary over the weekend; the combination of weather along with park closures has forced them to close their season several weeks early.
More than three feet of snow fell in several communities along the Rocky Mountain Front and to the east, including Browning, East Glacier, and Heart Butte. Topping them all: the community of Babb just north of St. Mary, which recorded 52 inches of snow.
“We kind of dodged a bullet this year with no (major) fires in Glacier National Park,” he said. “And then it kind of turned around and hit us right between the eyes with unheard of amounts of snow for September.”
They're having to refund future trips and looking at losing more than $10,000 in revenue.
"We have a fleet of eleven coaches and so our season goes normally from the end of May to the first couple weeks of October, and every day counts, you know?”
Ed says they're hoping to get back into the park come spring, where they'll be exploring the east side of Glacier.
