Replacement of two elevators inside the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center will change access into the building this winter.
Visitors will have to use the outdoor ramp or the stairs until February when the elevator replacement is expected to be complete, the visitor center said in a release.
“Our elevators are strained by extensive use during summer,” John Neary, the center’s director, said. “They have needed replacement for a few years.”
The visitor center had 570,000 visitors this year, and the elevators frequently halted on busy days due to overheating, the release stated.
The visitor center will remain open on its normal winter schedule of 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, except federal holidays.
“Since the visitor center will remain open to the public on its normal winter schedule … more effort will be devoted to removing snow from stairs and the accessible ramp,” Laurie Craig, lead naturalist and Fireside Lecture host, said. “There are 77 steps to the main entrance and I have a favorite shovel for that task.”
The Fireside Lecture series will begin on Friday, Jan. 6 and run each Friday night through March 24.
For more information, call 789-0097.
