Beartooth Highway Closes for Season

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By Nicole Grigg
By wikipedia

Story Published: Oct 9, 2011 at 5:39 PM MDT

Story Updated: Oct 10, 2011 at 12:44 PM MDT

BILLINGS - Yellowstone Park officials closed their section of the Beartooth Highway for the season Sunday.

They say blowing and drifting snow has caused hazardous road conditions.

The road from Red Lodge to the Montana-Wyoming state line will close Friday at 8:00 a.m. unless extreme weather occurs before then.

The Beartooth Highway is the section of U.S. Highway 212 between Red Lodge, Montana and Cooke City, Montana. It traces a series of steep zigzags and switchbacks, along the Montana-Wyoming border to the 10,947 ft (3,337 m) high Beartooth Pass. The approximate elevation rise is from 5,200 ft (1,600 m) to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) in 12 mi (19 km) in the most daring landscapes.

When driving from the east to the west, the highest parts of the Beartooth Highway level off into a wide plateau near the top of the pass, and then descend to where the Beartooth Highway connects to the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway near Cooke City, which forms the northeast gateway to Yellowstone National Park. En route, one passes numerous lakes typical of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area which borders the highway along much of its route.

The highway officially opened June 14, 1936.

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