Permit System in Rogers Pass

Hey folks,

Just a heads up that if you are planning to ski or board in Glacier National Park (Rogers Pass) you should know about the Winter Permit System up there. Because it’s a National Park, you need a parks pass to ski up there, but you’ll also need a Winter Permit to ski in most of the areas that are facing the highway. The permit system is related to the avalanche control work that goes on up there.

Basically any slope that faces the highway through Rogers Pass gets bombed for avalanche control using a howitzer (picture a big gun that would normally be attached to the top of a tank). They actually have the Canadian army up there doing the bombing. Obviously they don’t want any skiers on the slopes while they’re shooting at it with a howitzer, so they’ve got a permit system for these areas. If there’s no chance of avalanche control happening on a given day, then you’ll be able to get a permit to ski in that area. If there’s any chance that they might need to control the slope, or sight the targets, then the area is closed. The forecasters announce which areas will be open every morning and permits are therefore good for the day they are given out.

Permits are free and you can get them at the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre, which is located right at Rogers Pass. You can check out loads of other info at the Discovery Centre as well – avalanche forecasts, photos of ski areas, maps and lots of cool historical/ natural history stuff as well.

Hopefully the conditions calm down and we can actually ski without fearing for our lives out there soon!

Cheers,
Nerd