 Good Morning, Today marks day one of the 2023 season! The crew is looking forward to welcoming the first night’s guests. Operations begin at noon today when we open our gift shop. As it stands, service hours will start out similarly to last season, but be aware that the new changes to the Smokies’ parking regulations could have an effect on traffic patterns at the lodge; thus modifications to visitor service hours. The gift shop will be open from 12:00-4:30 PM this afternoon then begin including morning hours tomorrow from 8:30-9:30 AM. Beverages for overnight guests will be available from 2:00-5:00 PM, after supper, then coffee an hour before breakfast. Guest supper will be served at 6:00 PM and breakfast at 8:00 AM. Checkout is still 9:30 AM. The frigid temps continue this morning after experiencing a low of 1°. There is patchy snow around the mountain top and trails will definitely be icy a few more days. Traction devices and extra warm layers are a must for ensuring safe passage. Thankfully we’ll get to enjoy sunny skies today. And a spring heat wave appears to be coming later this week. Talking highs near 60° at the lodge in a few days! What a change that will be after what we’ve endured the last week. Have a great day. 
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 Good Morning,
So much for that heat wave of recent days sticking around. We’re back in our ice palace! A fresh half inch of powder is coating all surfaces. It’s currently 12° with wind chills close to 0. And the thing is it’s supposed to get colder throughout the weekend. US HWY 441 (Newfound Gap Rd) is temporarily closed due to the wintry conditions and hazards presented. According to Park Dispatch, the roads start to get rough around the Alum Cave trailhead all the way up to Newfound Gap. Unless temps at those lower elevations allow, and if the sun breaks through, it could be difficult for them to safely open the road to visitors today. Right now the lower elevations are socked in, but the lodge is sitting just above the top ripples of a cloud sea enjoying a brisk and beautiful sunrise. We still have plenty of cleaning and organizing to do this weekend before the lodge opens on Monday. Wish us luck that we can all do so without turning into popsicles! Have a great day.  Good Morning, We’re wading through wet and windy weather this Friday. Temps are holding steady in the upper 30s while the region is under a Wind Advisory through 2:00 PM this afternoon. Gusts of 55mph may not be cutting through camp, but it sure sounds like they’re roaring above the peaks. Yesterday’s sunshine and spring-like temps, which almost tapped 50°, allowed us to wrap up this season’s airlift. Now the crew is hard at work prepping every building, nook, and cranny for Monday’s first official visitors. Now that flying is done, the grounds are accessible to the public, but all buildings remain closed and no services provided until March 20th. After today, temps are going to plummet the lodge into another frigid cold spell deep into next week. We could see some more snow flurries fly leading into the weekend, but thankfully sunny skies will follow. Count on the return of icy trail conditions and the need for traction devices and warm layers in the coming days. Back to work! Have a great day.   Good Morning, We have a few more hours of flying to knock out before wrapping up this seasons resupply, but yesterday was a full and productive day. The weather will be clear again this morning and significantly warmer than what we endured yesterday. It’s already above freezing and it feels like a heat wave. The thermometer might even tap the mid 40s this afternoon. Come tomorrow we have some more turbulent weather and frigid temps on the way. Trails still have a fair amount of ice hanging out in the shady places, so use caution.  Special thank you to one of our sister properties, Tazikis Mediterranean with two Knoxville locations, for providing us delicious food to keep our team fueled when flying. Not only are they catering all-stars across East Tennessee, but even deliver tasty goods at all elevations! Have a great day.   Good Morning, The clouds and flurries refused to let go of the mountaintop yesterday until it was too dark to fly. We added another fresh half inch of powder to our total that saw no melt, bringing our total depth to 1.5” around the lodge. Temps also never got above 14° and the mercury fell to 7° during the night. The strongest of gusts placed windchill values down near a bone chilling -10° at times again. We’ll start out cold this morning, but thankfully by tonight temps could climb back above freezing. Except for when working directly underneath that helicopter wash, it’ll feel like a heatwave after where we’ve been in recent days.  Trails are very icy in numerous places up and down the mountain. Because recent foot traffic will have compacted any powder into ice, traction devices will be a must to ensure safe passage. With clear skies expected, we’ll be looking to fly in supplies all day. Reminder that lodge grounds are closed to all visitors, but Cliff Tops and Myrtle Point are always open and make great spots to sit down for a rest or snack. Have a great day.   Good Morning, Life in the icebox continues. We’ve gotten down to 7° this morning, with light breezes kicking the windchill down to around -10°. The clouds refused to let go of the peaks during the night and flurries continue to fill the air, having added another half inch to our accumulation. There is now a solid inch of powder blanketing the mountaintop. Temps will remain frigid throughout the day, but we’re hopeful that skies will begin to clear this afternoon. And if we can get in a few hours of flying, that would just be the cherry on top. Wednesday is calling for sunny and beautiful skies but still very chilly temps. Trails have plenty of ice on them now, so have the traction devices ready if looking to make an ascent. And lots of layers! Have a great rest of the day and stay warm.    Good Morning, Well we were under a bright moon and stars at breakfast making time. We even had superbly clear skies shortly after sunrise looking out over a cloud sea in all directions, but it didn’t last long enough to rev up the helicopter. It’s currently life in a snow globe with intermittent glimpses of sunlight, everyone full of anticipation about the first load of supplies. As soon as there’s a break, we’ll be hard at it until the job is done. Reminder that all lodge grounds are now closed to all public access. Visitors will have access to the pit privies at the far west end of camp only. Water will need be fetched from the natural spring where Trillium Gap exits the lodge east of camp. That’s it until the airlift resupply is completed. Yesterday we saw the thermometer climb above freezing, with the rain gauge collecting another near half inch. Early this morning a light dusting of snow coated the ground and we’ve slowly crept up to an inch of accumulation. It’s 20° currently with slight breezes making it feel cooler. We could be looking at sub zero wind chills in the coming days, so anyone looking to brave the conditions will need to come prepared for spending the entirety of your trek outside in the elements. Have a great day.    Good Morning, The rain clouds have taken over the skies. To this point we’ve collected over one inch of rainfall. Temps are hovering right around freezing allowing for some slight ice formation on a few surfaces, but no sign of snow yet. The worst of the weather should finish up by lunch time, including a Wind Advisory for our area calling for gusts of 55mph at times. The thermometer is expected to stay around the 30s today, but once skies clear come Monday, temps will plummet toward the single digits. It was a productive first Saturday prepping the lodge. Plenty of scrubbing and reorganizing took place with more to come. And our hardworking staging team took advantage of the great weather yesterday to ready our supplies destined for flying. As soon as we get an opening in the clouds, our favorite “bird” will be in the air slinging our precious cargo. Today, our crew will be staying dry while tackling indoor projects. Have a great day.   Good Morning, Commence deep cleaning! Our crew and airlift workforce are arriving and prepping the lodge in earnest for our annual resupply and reopening. There’s a lot to accomplish in a short time, but our team is motivated to get this place in top-top shape for the first guests of the coming season. It’s a superbly sunny day over the mountain to start this weekend, but temps are frigid. We bottomed out at 20° last night, but the wind gusts had chills down in the single digits. We’re in sub-freezing conditions still, but the sunshine is helping to warm the spirit. Sunday looks rough, calling for rain and possibly snow in the forecast. It’s possible the NPS temporarily closes a road or two due to hazardous conditions. Thankfully the start of the next work week is showing a return to sunshine…a good sign for full days of flying. Reminder that even though the lodge grounds are back to becoming a beehive of activity, we are still closed. No visitor services, no access to buildings, and the property will be closed off entirely save for the pit privies once flying begins. Visitor services won’t begin until Monday, March 20th. And a special thank you to Wildcat for tending to the lodge these past winter months. Back to work. Have a great rest of the day.   Good Morning, Y’all! After several days of nice weather we’re back to foggy and rainy! The temperature this morning was 41 degrees. We received 0.35 inches of rain last night. The roads are open today, but we may receive some snow at the higher elevations tonight. Preparations for the airlift are underway at the lodge! A couple of the crew members came up yesterday to beat the rain. We are expecting more to arrive today. We are hoping that the weather will cooperate on Monday. Mt LeConte Lodge is scheduled to reopen on Monday, March 20th. From High On LeConte! WILDCAT/Bert  |
LeConte LodgeWelcome to the official blog of LeConte Lodge. We hope you find the information provided here both helpful and enjoyable. Thank you for visiting the site, and we hope to see you on the mountain! Archives
January 2025
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