Hoodoo is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in the central

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Located near the summit of

Santiam Pass Santiam is a place name of the U.S. state of Oregon, referring to the indigenous Santiam people. It may refer to: * Santiam Academy * Santiam Hospital * Santiam Junction, Oregon * Santiam Junction State Airport * Santiam Pass Santiam is a place nam ...

on U.S. Route 20, the ski area operates on federal land through agreement with

Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are designated wilderness which include seven ...

Hoodoo Butte Hoodoo Butte is a cinder cone butte in the Cascade Range of northern Oregon, located near Santiam Pass. Immediately to the east lies Hayrick Butte, a prime example of a tuya; the two mountains' names were likely mistaken for each other, but stu ...

, a volcanic

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...

. Hoodoo's slopes primarily face northeast.

History

The ski area was built in 1938, by a group funded by Ed Thurston of Bend. The group wanted to build on

Three Fingered Jack Three Fingered Jack is a summit of a shield volcano of the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed during the Pleistocene Epoch (geology), epoch, the mountain consists mainly of basaltic andesite lava and was heavily glacier, glaciat ...

but could not secure funding for a road. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the ski area embarked on improvements, including lodging and chairlifts. Its three-story main lodge at the base was built in the late 1940s from World War II

surplus Surplus may refer to: * Economic surplus, one of various supplementary values * Excess supply, a situation in which the quantity of a good or service supplied is more than the quantity demanded, and the price is above the equilibrium level determ ...

structures and included sleeping quarters for 100 guests. It was threatened by a forest fire in the summer of 1967, but was spared by the use of back fires. An antiquated chairlift, with wooden towers, was destroyed. Less than a year later and unoccupied at the time except for a family dog, the lodge was destroyed by fire in April 1968. A new two-story day lodge was constructed later in the year, and the use of pickup campers became popular at the Hoodoo parking lot. In the 1960s, the ski area was purchased by Hoodoo Ski Bowl Developers, Inc., which later built the Manzanita chair lift. In the fall of 1985, the ski area took over the management of historic Santiam Lodge, which was built in 1940 by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC). Formerly operated by the United Presbyterian Church, it provided dormitory-style lodging for up to 80 guests. In 1999, Hoodoo Ski Area was acquired by real estate developer and Umbrella Properties owner Chuck Shepard of Since then, Hoodoo has built the Hodag chair lift, a lodge, the Autobahn Tubing Park, and replaced the green and red double chair lifts with quad chair lifts.

Skiing

Hoodoo has a full service lodge. Hoodoo's flagship Green lift—a fixed grip quad chair—services the entire hill providing access to all and of vertical. Green is a 2001 replacement for the old double chair. The Ed chair, named after Hoodoo's founder, Ed Thurston, replaced the aging Red lift in 2001. The Manzanita triple chair serves the bowl, terrain park, and is open for night skiing. The Hodag lift was built in 1999 and services the backside terrain. The beginner area consists of a double chair (named Easy Rider) and is isolated from other terrain. Hoodoo also has a large selection of

Nordic Skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the Ski binding, binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe ...

trails, both at high and lower altitudes. The tube hill, called the Autobahn Tubing Park, is on the northwest flanks of

Hayrick Butte Hayrick Butte is a tuya, a type of subglacial volcano, in Linn County, Oregon. Located in the Willamette National Forest near Santiam Pass, it lies adjacent to the cinder cone Hoodoo Butte, which has a ski area. Hayrick Butte likely formed wh ...

. The long runs are serviced by a handle tow.

has a handle tow servicing the long tube lanes. Hoodoo offers RV camping on the south side of the parking lot.

Stats

Lifts *Green Chair - Quad chair *Manzanita Chair (formerly known as blue) - Triple chair *Ed Chair (formerly known as red) - Quad chair *Hodag Chair - Quad chair *Easy Rider - Double Chair *None of these chairs are detachable Runs *Longest Run - Over Easy (from summit) *Steepest Run - Chuck's Backside *34 Runs total *20% Easiest *39% Difficult *41% Most Difficult

Photo gallery

Image: Hoodoo-Ski-Area-Central-Oregon-Resort-Big-Green-Machine-Chair-Lift.jpg, Hoodoo Ski Area's Big Green Machine chair lift takes skiers and riders from the base to the summit Image: Hoodoo-Ski-Area-Central-Oregon-Resort-Mascot-Harold-The-Hodag.jpg, Hoodoo Ski Area's mascot, Harold the Hodag, is based on the folkloric creature from Rhinelander, Wisconsin Image: Hoodoo-Ski-Area-Central-Oregon-Resort-Lodge.JPG, Hoodoo Ski Area's 60,000 square foot lodge includes a restaurant, full bar, powder shop, rental area, meeting rooms, arcade, daycare and locker rooms.

References

External links

*
History of Hoodoo and the Santiam Pass Ski Patrol
{{Oregon Ski Areas Ski areas and resorts in Oregon Buildings and structures in Linn County, Oregon Tourist attractions in Linn County, Oregon 1938 establishments in Oregon