TIMBERLINE LODGE SKI AREA

'Timberline Lodge ski area' is the ski and snowboarding area of Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark. It is one of a few ski lodges in the United States which is above ski-permissible terrain—''ski in, ski out''. It is located on the south face of Mount Hood in Oregon, about 60 miles (95 km) east of Portland, accessible through the Mount Hood Scenic Byway.

Contents

History

Early days

Future

Statistics

Vertical

Terrain

Lifts

Summer skiing

Summer camps

Events

Photo gallery

References

External links

History

The lodge was constructed between 1936 and 1938 as a Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression. That year, Timberline opened as Oregon's first destination ski resort with a portable rope tow. The next year, the Magic Mile chairlift opened, as well as Silcox Hut, 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.^[2] Before the Palmer chairlift, which provided access above the level, the conditions at Timberline allowed skiing from November through August.

Early days

Main articles: Magic Mile

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

Future

The Hydro Express detachable high speed quad chair proposal was approved. This lift will provide lower mountain advanced and expert terrain and improve circulation between Stormin' Norman and the rest of the ski area.^[3]
The expanded ski area boundary greatly increases beginner terrain and adds new snowshoeing and nordic trails. Timberline intends to open it for the 2007-2008 season.^[4] In anticipation, several new trails were cut during the summer of 2006.

Statistics

Vertical

★ 3,590' Winter

★ 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:

'Terrain categorization by acres and comfortable guest usage
based on industry standard terrain density'

Full ski area (Winter) Upper mountain closed (40% of Winter days) Terrain type Terrain definition slope gradient Acres Rider capacity † Capacity distribution Acres Rider capacity † Capacity distribution Beginner 8% to 12% 1.4 42.6 1% 1.4 42.6 3% Novice to 25% (30% short pitches) 37.6 677.2 14% 37.6 677.2 48% Low Intermediate to 30% (35% short pitches) 136.8 1,914.8 40% 23.6 329.8 23% Intermediate to 40% (45% short pitches) 55.5 555.3 12% 19.0 189.7 13% Advanced Intermediate to 50% (55% short pitches) 223.5 1,564.4 33% 24.1 168.6 12% Expert over 50% 1.3 3.9 0% 1.3 3.9 0% ''Total''   ''456.1'' ''4,758.2'' ''100%'' ''106.9'' ''1,411.8'' ''100%''

[5]

'†' 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

★ 6 chairlifts, including 4 high speed detachable quads, one triple and one bunny slope double

★ 1 rope tow for public use

★ 1 magic carpet for ski school use

'Chairlift detail'

Lift Name Type Top elevation (ft) Bottom elevation Vertical rise Length (ft) Slope (%) Capacity (rides/hr) Speed (fpm) Lift Manufacturer Year installed Bruno fixed double 5,885 5,840 45 368 12% 630 300 Poma 1987 Molly's Express detach quad 5,835 4,990 845 5,244 16% 1200 1000 Doppelmayr 2000 Pucci fixed triple 5,920 5,350 570 3,398 17% 1,330 450 Poma 1987 Stomin' Norman detach quad 6,245 5,460 785 4,396 18% 1500 1000 Doppelmayr 2000 Magic Mile Express detach quad 6,990 5,915 1,075 5,359 20% 1600 950 Poma 1992 Palmer Express detach quad 8,470 6,940 1,530 5,468 29% 1800 1000 Doppelmayr 1996 'proposed' ''Hydro Express'' detach quad 6,020 4,850 1,170 6,506 18% 1800 1000 Doppelmayr 2007

Summer skiing

Timberline is the only ski area in North America to offer year round skiing. It is scheduled for two weeks closure each September for maintenance.^[6]
Skiers, snowboarders, and sightseers ride up the ''Magic Mile'' chairlift to the Palmer Glacier 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.^[7]
Virtually every snow sport is offered in camps. Ski racing is the most popular, but snowboard camps like High Cascade (HCSC) and Windell's Camp are very 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.^[8]

Events

★ The ''Golden Rose Ski Classic'' is an annual race which began in 1936. It is the oldest known organized ski race in America, and is the only USSA-sanctioned summer race.^[9] It normally occurs early June^[10] as part of the Portland Rose Festival and attracts the world's top skiers. Previous winners include ski safety binding inventor Hjalmar Hvam (1937)^[11], 1948 Olympic gold medalist Gretchen Fraser (1938), John Frazer (1950), Howard Hermanson (1952)^[12], Christian Pravda (1954), Chris Ditfurth (1956), Ron Hebron (1957, 1961, 1963 and 1965), Kiki Cutter (1968), Steve Mahre (1974), Bill Johnson (1979 and 1981), Mary Mathews (1982), Phil Mahre (1983), Debbie Armstrong (1983), Eva Twardokens (1984), David Lyons (1984), and Tamara McKinney and David Lyons (1985).

★ The ''Masters Summer Fun in the Sun'' is a ski race held mid-July.

Photo gallery

References

1. Rates and Info
2. Timberline and a Century of Skiing on Mount Hood, , Jean, Arthur, , , ISBN 0-9645477-0-8
3. Northwest Skiers update
4. Coming Winter 2007: Timberline opens Still Creek Basin and the new "Hydro" Express
5. Appendix G: Mountain Specifications Summary, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for The Timberline Express Proposal
6. Frequently asked questions
7. Beat the Heat: Summer Skiing on Oregon's Mount Hood
8. Summer snow
9. Golden Rose Ski Classic
10. Events Calendar
11. Hjalmar Hvam
12.
The year of 1952 is cited by the main reference, but 1954 is given by Stay & Play in Oregon—Don't leave now, the winter fun is just beginning! Bridget Lynch

External links

★ Webcam at Timberline Lodge, from the KGW website

★ Video short of Palmer snowcat in winter on YouTube

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