Rebuilding the Sperry Chalet: Part 2

The backcountry Sperry Chalet was constructed over several summers in the 1910s using timbers harvested within Glacier National Park. The stone was quarried from the talus slope just uphill of the chalet. Over two feet wide at the base and tapering to sixteen inches wide at the roof level, the masonry walls consist of two interwoven leaves of argillite, a fine-grained sedimentary stone consisting primarily of lithified muds. The masonry is purposefully laid in random ashlar coursing, and the massive exterior leaf stones project by varying degrees conveying a natural aesthetic and textural ruggedness. Around the perimeter, log knee braces are supported on projecting exterior stones that act as corbels. Smaller stones and thinner mortar joints on the walls’ exposed inside faces define a more uniform finish than the exterior. Opening heads are supported by unreinforced concrete lintels on the interior and arched rowlock stone coursing on the exterior (Figure 6). Only the fire-damaged masonry chimneys and perimeter walls remained after the historic building was lost to the Sprague Fire in 2017, as described in Part 1 (STRUCTURE, May 2021). [Note: Figure numbering continues from Part 1.]