Ski Bluewood, formerly known as "Bluewood Ski Area," is an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

in the northwestern

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 southeastern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Located in Columbia County, at the northern end of the Blue Mountains in the

Umatilla National Forest The Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington, covers an area of 1.4 million acres (5,700 km2). In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of Umatilla, Grant, Columbi ...

, the

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

at the base area is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, with a summit of for a vertical drop of . The northward-facing slopes are about north of the

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 ...

border and west of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, part of the headwaters of the

Touchet River The Touchet River is a tributary of the Walla Walla River in southeastern Washington in the United States. The Touchet River drains an area of about in Columbia County and Walla Walla County.Washington Road & Recreation Atlas, Benchmark Maps, ...

, the main tributary of the

Walla Walla River The Walla Walla River is a tributary of the Columbia River, joining the Columbia just above Wallula Gap in southeastern Washington (state), Washington in the United States. The river flows through Umatilla County, Oregon, and Walla Walla County, ...

. The only surface access to the base area of the mountain is through

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, to the northwest and nearly below on North Touchet Road. Though the summit is only about twenty miles (30 km) due east of

Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to: * Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named * Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...

as the crow flies __NOTOC__ The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliv ...

, Ski Bluewood is about an hour's drive as Dayton is northeast on

U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...

. In addition to Walla Walla, Bluewood is the closest alpine ski area (in mileage) to the Tri-Cities to the west, and the closest

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

-served area to Lewiston- Clarkston.

History

Originally conceived in the 1960s, and created by Skyline Basin Associates during the 1970s, the ski area's original name (as a concept) was "Skyline Basin." After years of planning, fundraising, and approval procedures, the ski area opened as "Bluewood Ski Area" in January 1980. The second season of 1980–81 was a very poor snow year,
Tri-City Herald
' - Bluewood area hardest hit by snow drought - 1981-01-13 - p.25 with only three days of skiing, and the fledgling ski area filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

protection in August 1981.
Tri-City Herald
' - Bluewood offer - 1981-07-05 - p.2 Auctioned off two years later and acquired by

Rainier Bank Rainier Bancorporation was the Seattle-based parent corporation of Rainier National Bank, a Washington state bank with branches throughout the state. Rainier traced its roots back to the National Bank of Commerce, which was founded by Richard Ho ...

, it was purchased for $550,000 in October 1983 by

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

executive Stan Goodell, a former president of the ski patrol at

Mount Hood Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...

. To distance itself from the past financial difficulties, Goodell renamed it "Ski Bluewood" and relocated to Dayton to run the area himself.
Tri-City Herald
' - Sale should keep Bluewood ski area operating all season - 1983-10-09 - p.C1 An expansion in the summer of 1986 added parking and the ''Triple Nickel,'' a triple chairlift to serve the instructional area with a vertical rise of . It joined the existing lifts, the ''Skyline Express'' triple chair and ''Easy Rider''

platter lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

, which was relocated.
Tri-City Herald
' - Work on Ski Bluewood lift beginning July 1 - 1986-04-04 p.D2

Alpine skiing

Of its 24 runs, Bluewood has 4 green circles (easiest), 12 blue squares (more difficult), and 8 black diamonds (most difficult). Additionally, there is one terrain park and six backcountry runs. The area is open five days per week, Wednesday through Sunday, plus holidays. Bluewood has a reputation for dry powder snow, tree skiing, and a family-friendly atmosphere. Will Brandenburg, a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

racer with the

U.S. Ski Team The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and ...

, learned to ski and race at Bluewood in the 1990s.

Base Facilities

Ski Bluewood facilities include a full-service ski/snowboard rental department, retail shop, patrol services, ski and snowboard learning center, cafe, and pub. Bluewood is one of the few resorts in the country that is 100% self-sufficient, generating all of its own electric power via

diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel Genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression- ...

s. There are two diesel generators in the basement, one that runs the lodge at night and the other that runs the lodge and the two electric chair lifts during the day. The main chairlift (''Skyline Express'') has its own separate diesel powered generator, connected via a clutch and fluid coupler. The ''Triple Nickel'' and pama lifts are electric and uses power from the main diesel generators, located in the basement of the lodge.

References

External links

*
Ski Bluewood Alpine Race Team

Ski Map.org
– trail maps – Ski Bluewood {{Washington Ski areas navbox Ski areas and resorts in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Columbia County, Washington Tourist attractions in Columbia County, Washington Umatilla National Forest