Trail crew leader falls 200 feet onto Sun Road
A female trail crew leader in Glacier National Park was severely injured July 3 after she slid down a snowfield while crossing the Highline Trail and landed on the Going-to-the-Sun Road about 200 feet below.
Morgan Bell, 31, was initially treated by Three Rivers EMS. She was then airlifted from the Park by the ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where she is recovering from the fall. She is said to have severe injuries, including injuries to her head, but is in stable condition at the hospital.
The accident happened about 2:30 p.m. as trail crew workers were hiking back to Logan Pass after a day of shoveling snow and building tread on the trail. Several snow-covered parts of the trail must be shoveled or blasted out with explosives before they can be safely crossed.
The slope where the accident happened is just past the Rimrocks, about a quarter mile from Logan Pass. The snowfield drops nearly straight down to the Sun Road, including a 15- to 20-foot vertical drop made by snowplows.
Bell tried to self-arrest, but she dropped her tools to do so when she fell, Park spokeswoman Denise Germann said. Germann said trail crew workers are trained to self-arrest on snowfields, and Bell’s attempts to use her boots, arms and legs helped break her fall.
The Park will hold a complete investigation into the accident, Germann said. The Park temporarily suspended all employee travel over snowfields immediately following the accident.
The Highline Trail, one of the most popular trails in the Park, remains closed. The trail runs along the Continental Divide from Logan Pass to Granite Park and then north to Goat Haunt.
This is the second incident this year where a hiker has been injured after sliding down a snowfield. In June, a 21-year old female climber fell on a snowfield and was unable to self-arrest with an ice ax while climbing Mount Sinopah in Two Medicine.
The woman slid about 200 feet across the snow and down a 10-foot cliff band. She received only minor injuries, although she required medical attention.