RED LODGE The Beartooth Highway closed five days earlier than usual this Friday as forecast snow raised safety concerns, giving travelers one last chance to enjoy the scenic mountain drive before winter sets in.Watch the full s tory here: Beartooth Highway closes for the season early as travelers make one last tripThe highway officially closed for the season at 2:30 p.m. Friday, ending more than four months of access to one of the regions most scenic drives.For Wyoming resident Brent Waldron and his girlfriend, the early closure meant making time for one more trip. The couple regularly visits the highway several times a year and had driven it about a week earlier. After learning it would close early, they decided to return before the gates shut. We did it during the right time of the day, and so the sun was perfect for us, Waldron said.Along the way, they spotted a moose and mountain goats, making the final drive even more memorable."It was wonderful," Waldron said. Waldron said his girlfriend even suggested he might be the last traveler to make it through if they timed their trip right.My girlfriend said that maybe she thought that I might be the last one if I held up, and so I held up, he joked. "I'd seen the white goats until I couldn't see them anymore."The Beartooth Highway typically opens around Memorial Day weekend and closes in mid-October, depending on weather conditions. This year, the closure came five days earlier than normal because of heavy snow forecast for the weekend.Duane Reisig, the Montana Department of Transportations section supervisor for the Red Lodge area, said the decision can be difficult when conditions at lower elevations remain pleasant.Its kind of tough when its nice and 60 degrees out and sunny out, but the weather can change rather quickly up here, Reisig said. "Especially at 11,000 feet up top." Conditions at higher elevations can deteriorate quickly, creating dangerous situations for drivers who are unprepared for winter weather. Safety is the primary concern, Reisig said.I have experienced it being very ugly up top when we havent closed it before, and a storm came in, he said. Weve got a lot of stranded motorists, and so we just try to prevent that.As the closure approached Friday afternoon, crews and the Montana Highway Patrol worked to patrol the highway and ensure travelers had cleared the route before it closed.Although the weather remained pleasant at the time, officials said the forecast made it important to get motorists off the highway before conditions changed. For those who made the trip, the final hours offered one last opportunity to take in the mountain scenery before winter settled in. Its kind of ironic today, the last day, I got to see a bull moose up on top of the plateau, and Ive never seen that before, Reisig said.Travelers will have to wait until next spring, when crews expect to begin preparing the highway for its reopening around Memorial Day weekend, weather permitting.Everybody, plan on next year, and in the spring, well be videotaping as we open up the pass, he said. ...read more read less