Within two weeks of the 2024-2025 winter season opening in Yellowstone National Park, two Xanterra snow coaches slipped off the same section of road near Mammoth Hot Springs this week.
Cowboy State Daily confirmed both incidents, the first of which happened about 7:30 a.m. Monday when a snow coach returning to the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel lost traction and slipped off the road. The only occupant, a Xanterra employee and experienced snow driver, was not hurt.
The second crash happened around noon Wednesday with a driver and seven passengers onboard. Emergency responders were called to the scene to treat some passengers for minor injuries.
“Both incidents are still under investigation by Xanterra and the National Park Service (NPS),” said Todd Walton, director of marketing and sales at Yellowstone National Park Lodges-Xanterra. “Any incidents with snow coaches are rare, but if we can work with the National Park Service to be safer out there, we will do it.”
Stopping, Sliding, Slipped
A passenger on the snow coach that slipped Wednesday described the incident to Cowboy State Daily. It was part of one of the daily convoys of snow coaches returning to Mammoth Hot Springs from the Old Faithful Snow Lodge.
“We were in the final stretch, about half a mile from Mammoth, when the snow coach in front of us started sliding,” said the passenger, who declined to be identified. “Our driver hit the brakes and started sliding with enough momentum to slip off the road.
The snow coach landed on its right side and slid several feet down an embankment alongside the road. The passengers had to climb out of the roof hatch to exit the vehicle.
The passenger doesn’t blame Xanterra or the snow coach drivers, who were “very upset” about what happened. His primary concern was that the same thing had happened at the same spot in three days.
“That’s bizarre,” he said. “If that happened a few miles earlier, it could’ve been much worse.”
Winter Hazards
Several concessionaires offer snow coach tours of Yellowstone between mid-December and March. Xanterra is the only concessionaire offering trips from the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, while the others operate out of West Yellowstone, Montana.
Walton confirmed that both incidents happened along the same section of the Mammoth-Norris Road, between the Upper Terrace of Mammoth Hot Springs and The Hoodoos. The section is near a gate that’s kept locked to prevent visitors from taking their personal vehicles into the park during winter.
Walton said that section of road was particularly treacherous after several freeze-thaw cycles over the last week. While the NPS regularly grooms the Mammoth-Norris road to ensure it’s safe for over-snow travel, Yellowstone’s ever-changing landscape is tricky.
“The NPS grooms the roads regularly, but that section was particularly icy,” he said. “The snow coaches lost some traction and recovered as best they could.”
Neither incident was severe enough to stop the regular flow of traffic between Mammoth and Old Faithful. Dozens of snow coaches drove through the same slick spot without incident, and drivers throughout the park were cautioned to drive slower and more cautiously in that area.
Design And Driving
Yellowstone’s snow coaches are specially designed to safely transport visitors across the snow-covered roads in its interior. Xanterra’s fleet of coaches is made up of modified Turtle Top VanTerras with raised suspensions and massive snow tires.
Each of Xanterra’s coaches can carry 13 passengers. The 3-foot by 4-foot tires are inflated to exactly 12 psi to roll along and grip the snow-covered roads.
Walton applauded the experience of the drivers Xanterra hires to transport people through the park. Some will travel between Mammoth and Old Faithful multiple times a day, and incidents are “pretty rare.”
“With such controlled traffic, incidents with any snow coaches in the park are rare,” he said. “They’re designed for over-snow travel, but weather systems and road conditions can challenge the vehicles and drivers. Black ice can show up anywhere.”
Both snow coaches were driven by experienced drivers, which shows the hazardous state of the road on both days. Walton confirmed that the NPS returned to groom the problematic section of the road after both crashesand would continue to monitor the area.
“They’ve salted several times and tried to mitigate the icy patches,” he said. “They’re doing some shoulder work to ensure the roads are as good as possible, especially with this freeze-thaw cycle we've been having.”
Meanwhile, winter travel will continue. Accidents happen, but Walton, Xanterra and the NPS are confident they can ensure visitor safety for the rest of the winter season.
“The most important thing is the safety of our guests and employees,” Walton said. “Our safety protocols are very tight, we work very closely with the NPS, and we have a good record. However, incidents can happen, just like on any highway in winter.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
