Tamarack Ski Area is a former ski area in the western

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 ...

, located in north central

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 ...

, northwest of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

Latah County Latah County ( ) is a county located in the north central region of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,517. The county seat and largest city is Moscow, the home of the University of Idaho, the state's flagsh ...

History

The ski area opened in January 1966, just below the summit of East Moscow Mountain on Tamarack Road, its slopes faced east and southeast. The area had various owners and, due to varying snowfall, was open intermittently for several decades. The land on which the ski area operated was owned by the city of Troy. Known as "Moscow Mountain Ski Area" during its first few months, it was renamed Tamarack in the fall of 1966. It operated two surface lifts: a

T-bar 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 ...

and a

rope tow 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 ...

, with a vertical drop of . The lift-served summit was at an elevation of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

; a three-story A-frame structure served as the day lodge. Tamarack's target market was

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Pullman, Washington Pullman () is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, and estimated to be 34,506 in 2019. Originally founded as Thr ...

, and primarily its respective students at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

and

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

. The elevation at the lookout atop East Moscow Mountain is and the absolute summit of the mountain to the west is .

Termination

Owed back taxes, Latah County seized the leasehold improvements (equipment & buildings) and put up for auction in February 1992, but there were no takers for the minimum bid of $21,000. The city of Troy sued the leaseholders and entered in an agreement with the county to pay the back taxes after the sale of the T-bar lift in April, which started at a minimum bid of $1,900. The lift was purchased by Cottonwood Butte ski area near Cottonwood; Tamarack's A-frame day lodge was later demolished and its foundation removed.

References

External links

Latah County Historical Society
- Tamarack ski lodge
Summit Post.org
- East Moscow Mountain
Yo Idaho
- ¡Viva la Palouse! - East Moscow Mountain {{Idaho Ski areas navbox 1966 establishments in Idaho Ski areas and resorts in Idaho Tourist attractions in Latah County, Idaho

History

Termination

See also

References

External links