Alpenglow Ski Mountaineering History Project Home
Fred McNeil - Wy'east, "The Mountain"
p. 75: In the spring of 1889, the road to Tilly Jane creek on the NE side of Mt Hood was improved. This area had been the site of a tent camp for tourists since 1883. The Cloud Cap Inn was constructed during that summer at 5,837 feet and opened in early August, 1889. The author writes: "Building of the inn, next to construction of the railroad through the Columbia gorge, was considered the major project of the valley."
p. 77: The winter of 1889-90 was harsh and many feared the Cloud Cap Inn would be blown away or crushed by heavy snows. To see how it fared, Will and H.D. Langille set out on homemade skis in February, 1890, to visit the inn. They reached Elk Beds cabin the first day and the inn the next. This was the first recorded skiing trip to the north side of Mt Hood. Lewis H. Adams, the Langilles, Theodore Dallas, and photographer A.B. McAlpin went to the inn in March to photograph winter scenes. "The success of these winter trips induced others to follow, and this recreation became increasingly popular." The inn had eighty-eight registered guests that summer season.
p. 88: In 1907 an automobile reached the Cloud Cap Inn for the first time and motor stage service was instituted.
p. 94: The Mazama club was organized on the summit of Mt Hood on July 19, 1894.
p. 144: The first winter ascent of Mt Hood was made on March 8, 1915, by Charles E. Warner and Elijah Coalman. At the end of that year, Warner and William W. Evans climbed the mountain on New Years Day, the first party to do so. They climbed the Cooper Spur route and descended the south side.
p. 218: The 14,800 acre Mt Hood primitive area was approved on February 13, 1931.
p. 219: In 1926, application was made by L.L. Tyler and associates for construction of a tramway from near Cloud Cap Inn to the summit. This caused the biggest controversy ever at Mt Hood. At the time this book was written, the tramway was still a possibility.
p. 221: In the 1920s a Portland group proposed to supplant the Cloud Cap Inn with with a major hotel development. This was never completed, but the Forest Service built a "high gear" road connecting the site to the Mt Hood Loop highway. The author writes that although there has been intermittent agitation to make the Mt Hood region a national park, few who frequent the area desire this.
p. 229: The south side spur road from Government Camp to timberline was constructed in 1930-31.
p. 232: In 1903 a Mazama party including Colonel Hawkins, Martin W. Gorman and T. Brook White set out for Government Camp on skis. The expedition received a great deal of attention, despite the fact that Dick Maupin had, as a forest ranger, been skiing about Summit Prairie for several years. Colonel Hawkins made ten-foot skis and each man carried a nine-foot pole for balance. This was the pioneer winter outing of the Mazamas.
Brook White stated: "While at Yocums I prophesied that the time would soon come when more people would go to Mt Hood in winter for the sport than now go in summer, and I believe that my prophecy will soon come true. As soon as people find out what a delightful trip it is, they will all want to go. The aspect of the mountain is infinitely finer than in summer."
p. 233: It was easier in the early years to get to Cloud Cap Inn than to Government Camp. Since the inn was built, winter parties visited it almost every season. J. Wesley Ladd of Portland led groups to the north side of Mt Hood during most winters from 1901 to 1909. The recreationalists on these trips formed the Portland Snowshoe Club and constructed a cabin near Cloud Cap Inn in 1910. They were the first to use Norwegian-made skis on the mountain. The first club organized for skiing was the Portland Ski Club, formed in 1907. They made an annual winter trip to Government Camp.
p. 234: The state highway department began plowing the Mt Hood Loop highway to Goverment Camp in the winter of 1926. This opened the mountain to winter sports for the masses. Following construction of Timberline Lodge, the road to timberline was kept open during the winter.
p. 238: On September 28, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Timberline Lodge, constructed by the Works Progress Administration.
Return to the Alpenglow Ski Mountaineering History Project home page