Timberline Lodge ski area is the ski and snowboarding area of

Timberline Lodge Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local artisans during the ...

, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. It is one of a few ski areas in the United States with most of the skiable terrain below the main lodge. It is located on the south face of

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 ...

, about 60 miles (95 km) east of

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 ...

, accessible via the

Mount Hood Scenic Byway Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

History

The lodge was constructed between 1936 and 1938 as a

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

project during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. That year, Timberline opened as Oregon's first destination

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 ...

with a portable

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 ...

. The next year, the

Magic Mile , The Magic Mile is an aerial chairlift at Timberline Lodge ski area, Mount Hood, Oregon, United States, U.S. It was named for its unique location above the tree line and for its original length. When constructed by Byron Riblet in 19 ...

chairlift opened, as well as

Silcox Hut The Silcox Hut is a small rustic mid-mountain lodge located at elevation on Mount Hood, Oregon, United States. It is approximately vertical above Timberline Lodge and roughly one mile distance directly up the mountain. Silcox Hut was built by t ...

, which sits about one thousand vertical feet (300 m) and a mile (1.6 km) above the main lodge, and was the original unloading and warming hut. Summer skiing and summer race camps began at Timberline in 1956. Before the Palmer chairlift was constructed in 1983 (which provides access above the level), the conditions at Timberline allowed skiing from the Mile November through July or August. With the Palmer, a skiable surface is available year-round. Timberline is the only ski area in the states with lift accessed skiing and snowboarding all twelve months of the year. Ski and snowboard camps draw thousands of people to the slopes during the months of June, July and August.

Early history

The Magic Mile chairlift was the longest chairlift in the world, and the second chairlift, of those built to be a chairlift when it opened in 1939. Financial troubles operating the Lodge and

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 ...

closed it for several years during the 1940s and 1950s. The ski area has successfully operated since 1956.

Palmer chairlift

The original Palmer chairlift opened for 1978 summer ski season on May 8th. It was a fixed double chair in basically the same location as the present chair, with the base station near Silcox Hut. The current Palmer chairlift was completed in 1996, and is built to withstand wind gusts of over and of snow. Its construction time was less than six months due to a limited building season imposed by the local weather conditions.

Recent history

The Jeff Flood Express detachable high speed quad chair opened for the 2007-2008 ski season. With the new lift, Timberline added the Still Creek Basin to skiable terrain on the lower mountain which almost doubles the area below the timberline, which provides much needed capacity on days with wind or limited visibility when the Magic Mile and Palmer are unable to open. Jeff Flood also improves connectivity to Stormin' Normin and Magic Mile lifts from the lower mountain. Thanks to the added terrain accessible from Jeff Flood, if the Palmer lift is open, it is possible to ski a non-stop run over in length with elevation change of about . As of 2019, information has been leaked that there will eventually be a

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...

that connects

Summit Ski Area Summit Pass (formerly Summit Ski Area) is a small ski area located on Mount Hood, alongside the Mount Hood Highway (U.S. Route 26) in Government Camp, Oregon. Built in 1927, it is the oldest ski area in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to dow ...

to Timberline Lodge. Not much is known about this project, except for the fact that it could be completed in the next 10 years.

Statistics

Vertical

* 4,540' Winter (using chairlifts, Palmer SnowCAT and Resort Shuttle Service) * 2,166' Winter (only using chairlifts) * 2,500' early Summer (April - July) * 1,530' late Summer (July - October)

Terrain

Timberline categorizes the terrain as beginner 20%, intermediate 50%, advanced 30%. However, the Forest Service published an environmental impact statement containing more detailed information: † Rider capacity is the number of snowboarders and skiers the terrain area comfortably handles, and is not a measure of lift capacity. Page 7 of the reference details the industry standard, which ranges from 2-5 expert skiers per acre up to 25-35 beginners per acre.

Lifts

* 7 chairlifts, including 5 high speed detachable quads, one triple and one bunny slope double * 1

magic carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One o ...

for ski school use

Summer skiing

View from Magic Mile Ski Run in August 2020

Timberline is one of two ski areas in North America to offer year round skiing, the other one being the indoor ski area

Big Snow American Dream Big Snow American Dream is an indoor skiing and snowboarding park within the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that opened on December 5, 2019. Big Snow American ...

in New Jersey. It is scheduled for two weeks closure each September for maintenance. Skiers, snowboarders, and sightseers ride up the ''

'' chairlift to the

Palmer Glacier Palmer Glacier is a glacier on the south slopes of Mount Hood in the U.S. state of Oregon. The glacier is situated at an elevation range of , and was named for Joel Palmer, an Oregon pioneer. Palmer Glacier is the most well-known of the twelve g ...

and its lift, where most of the summer skiing takes place, particularly later in the season. In contrast to winter operations, the lifts are the busiest during the summer ski season Monday through Friday, mostly due to ski and snowboard camps. Besides organized clinics and camps, any intermediate or more advanced member of the public is welcome to ski or snowboard. Summer ski hours are 7 am to 1:30 pm. During summer ski season, there is no novice or beginner terrain; low-intermediate terrain is available along the Mile. After approximately mid-June, it is necessary to walk at least part of the way to reload the Magic Mile, and feasible to ski to within a few hundred feet of the parking lot until mid-August. On warm days, most skiers leave by late morning due to soft and wet snow conditions. Public skiing is available, but rental gear may be limited. The Palmer lift is limited to skiers and snowboarders only (no foot passengers), with intermediate or greater skills.

Summer camps

Timberline hosts dozens of summer camps enrolling thousands of athletes throughout the summer: a busy mid-week, mid-season day has as many as 1,500 riders. Virtually every snow sport is offered in camps. Ski racing is the most popular, but snowboard and freeski camps are also popular. Mount Hood Summer Ski Camps have been a mainstay in the summer, hosting campers since the 1970s. The summer camps are mostly organized as week-long sessions, with on-snow activities in the morning and a variety of other activities in the afternoon, such as river rafting, mountain biking, hiking, trampoline, wind surfing, etc.

Events

* The Golden Rose Ski Classic is an annual race which began in 1936;

called off the event between 1942 and 1945. It is the oldest known organized ski race in America, and is the only

USSA Ussa is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, local government area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Lissam. Ussa borders the Cameroon, Republic of Cameroon in the south; the Donga River forms its northern boundary. U ...

-sanctioned summer race. It normally occurs early June as part of the

Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region. It inclu ...

and attracts the world's top skiers. Previous winners include ski safety binding inventor

Hjalmar Hvam Hjalmar Petterson Hvam (16 November 1902 – March 30, 1996) was a competitive Norway, Norwegian-Americans, American nordic skiing, Nordic skier and inventor of the first safety ski binding. Early life Hvam was born in Kongsberg, Kongsberg, Nor ...

(1937), 1948 Olympic gold medalist

Gretchen Fraser Gretchen Kunigk Fraser (February 11, 1919 – February 17, 1994) was an American alpine ski racer. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing. She was also the skiing stand-in for ice skater Sonja Henie in the movies ' ...

(1938), John Frazer (1950), Howard Hermanson (1952), The year of 1952 is cited by the main reference, but 1954 is given by

Christian Pravda Christian Pravda (8 March 1927 – 11 November 1994) was an Austrian alpine ski racer. He was born in Kufstein, Austria. At age 20, he participated in the 1948 Winter Olympics in the slalom, but was disqualified. At the 1952 Winter O ...

(1954), Chris Ditfurth (1956), Ron Hebron (1957, 1961, 1963 and 1965),

Kiki Cutter Christina "Kiki" Cutter (born July 24, 1949) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She was the first American to win a World Cup event, a slalom race in Oslo, Norway, on February 25, 1968. Although Cutter competed on the ...

(1968),

Steve Mahre Steven Irving Mahre (born May 10, 1957 in Yakima, Washington) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and younger twin brother (by four minutes) of ski racer Phil Mahre. Career Mahre won the silver medal in slalom at the 1984 Winter Olympics in ...

(1974), Bill Johnson (1979 and 1981), Mary Mathews (1982),

Phil Mahre Phillip Ferdinand Mahre (born May 10, 1957) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer, widely regarded as one of the greatest American skiers of all time. His total of 27 World Cup race wins is fourth among Americans, only behind Lindsey Vonn, Mik ...

(1983),

Debbie Armstrong Debra Rae "Debbie" Armstrong (born December 6, 1963) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Seattle, Washington. She was the first gold medalist from the U.S. in women's alpine skiing in 12 years, winning the giant slalom at the 1984 Wint ...

(1983), Eva Twardokens (1984), David Lyons (1984),

Tamara McKinney Tamara McKinney (born October 16, 1962) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She won four World Cup season titles, most notably the 1983 overall, the first American woman title holder for a quarter century. McKinney's o ...

, and David Lyons (1985). * The ''Masters Summer Fun in the Sun'' is a ski race held mid-July.

Photo gallery

Image:Timberline skyway loading P1447.jpeg, Loading area for the Skiway, an aerial tramway which connected Government Camp and Timberline Lodge from 1951-1956 Image:Timberline skyway P1458.jpeg, Skiway departs from the lower terminal Image:Rope tow overview.jpeg, Rope tow on bunny hill with hotel visible at top. Image:Timberline lodge brunos lift bunny hill.jpeg, Bunny slope with chairlift. The top and the bottom are both visible as well as the wide, gentle slope. image:Timberlinelodge front winter.jpeg, Front of ''Timberline Lodge'' in winter with 202 inches (5.1 m) snow image:Silcox Hut front P1550.jpeg,

near the top of the

sometimes provides hearty lunches and overnight accommodation for small groups image:Magic mile lower terminal P1442.jpeg, Lower terminal of Magic Mile image:Restraining bar and happy kid P1439.png, The Bruno's chairlift is a favorite among kids and parents alike image:Magic carpet uphill loaded P1437.jpeg, Children from 4 to 8 enrolled in Timberline ski school's Bruno's Kids Club often start on this

image:Wintersports terrain park P1391.jpeg, The first three jumps of the easiest of the terrain parks at the top of ''Conway's Corner'' image:Mount hood rescue teams 2006-12-17 P1373.jpeg, Timberline offers convenient access for search and rescue teams setting out on December 17, 2006 to search for three missing mountain climbers. image:Pacific crest trail route overview.png, The

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

passes through Timberline's ski area

External links

History Web Site of the Mount Hood Area
www.mounthoodhistory.com

References

{{Oregon Ski Areas Buildings and structures in Clackamas County, Oregon Ski areas and resorts in Oregon Mount Hood Mount Hood National Forest Tourist attractions in Clackamas County, Oregon 1938 establishments in Oregon