Milwaukee Ski Bowl
Milwaukee Ski Bowl is located in the United States
Milwaukee Ski Bowl
Milwaukee Ski Bowl
Location in the United States
Milwaukee Ski Bowl is located in Washington (state)
Milwaukee Ski Bowl
Milwaukee Ski Bowl
Location in Washington
LocationHyak, Washington
Nearest major citySeattle
Coordinates47°23′24″N 121°23′49″W / 47.39°N 121.397°W / 47.39; -121.397
StatusDefunct
Vertical1,140 feet (350 m)
Top elevation3,740 feet (1,140 m)
Base elevation2,600 feet (790 m)
Lift system4 tows and
Ski-Boggan (1946)

Milwaukee Ski Bowl was an alpine ski area in the northwest United States in Washington, which operated between 1937 and 1950.[1][2][3] It was southeast of Seattle in the Cascade Range at Hyak, on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass.

Executives of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("The Milwaukee Road") built the ski area in the fall of 1937, including a large two-story day lodge and one surface lift near the east portal of the railroad's Snoqualmie Tunnel, just north of Keechelus Lake.

It was originally the "Snoqualmie Ski Bowl" until it closed at the start of World War II. It reopened in 1946 as the "Milwaukee Ski Bowl" to avoid confusion with The Snoqualmie Summit ski area, two miles (3 km) away at the top of the pass.[4] It was a major ski area for its era, comparable to but not as luxurious as Sun Valley, the Union Pacific Railroad's new resort in central Idaho.[5]

In early 1938, there was night skiing and lift tickets were a dollar a day, or ten cents per individual trip, for the cable surface lift, which vertically climbed 300 feet (90 m).[6] Five runs were in the bowl, named for the railroad's popular trains of the era: Hiawatha, Chippewa, Arrow, Pioneer, and Olympian;[3] additional lifts were added over time.[7]

The area proved to be popular when the Seattle Times newspaper sponsored a free ski school for high school students from Seattle and Tacoma. A round trip train ticket cost one dollar in 1940 with lift tickets for fifty cents. The 200-foot (60 m) lodge could hold one thousand people and concessions were operated by the Ben Paris complex of Seattle.[8]

A Class-A ski jump was built in 1941 and was said to be the largest in North America. National championship events in ski jumping were held here,[9] including the 1948 Olympic team tryouts,[1][2] held the preceding spring.[10][11]

In 1949, the lodge burned down in the early hours of Friday, December 2;[12][13][14] the ski area reopened a month later, and operated out of numerous railroad cars on a new spur line for the rest of the season,[15] its last.[1]

The ski area reopened under new ownership in 1959 as Hyak, and continues as Summit East.[1][2] It has the lowest base elevation of the four Summit at Snoqualmie ski areas, at approximately 2,600 feet (790 m) above sea level.

The railroad later went bankrupt; its former right-of-way in the Cascades is a rail trail, Iron Horse State Park.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lundin, John W.; Lundin, Stephen J. "Milwaukee Ski Bowl, 1938-1950: Snoqualmie, Washington". International Skiing History Association. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Galvin, Dave (July 28, 2013). "In search of the Snoqualmie/Milwaukee Road Ski Bowl of the 1930s and '40s" (PDF). Sahalie Ski Club. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Galvin, Dave (March 26, 2012). "Sahalie Historical Note #3: Early Skiing at Snoqualmie Pass" (PDF). Sahalie Ski Club. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ Lost Ski Areas of Washington, retrieved on July 25, 2009
  5. ↑ Music on Skis = Spills and Dents, retrieved on July 25, 2009
  6. ↑ ."Milwaukee will run ski train to Bowl Sunday". Ellensburg Daily Record. January 20, 1938. p. 6.
  7. ↑ Hyak Web Site, retrieved on July 25, 2009
  8. ↑ Lucas, Joy (1996). It Started in the Mountains. Seattle: Professional Ski Instructors of America - NW. pp. 10–11. ISBN 0-9650523-0-3.
  9. ↑ National Ski Jumping Championships At Snoqualmie, Washington (1941) British Movietone News at YouTube
  10. ↑ "Make Olympic team". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. March 24, 1947. p. 19.
  11. ↑ "Name six-man Olympic team". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. March 25, 1947. p. 10.
  12. ↑ "Fire destroys ski lodge in Cascades". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. December 2, 1949. p. 1.
  13. ↑ "Milwaukee's ski lodge at Hyak destroyed by fire; loss is $180,000". Ellensburg Daily Record. December 2, 1949. p. 1.
  14. ↑ "Fire destroys Milwaukee ski lodge". Ellensburg Daily Record. (AP photo). December 3, 1949. p. 1.
  15. ↑ "Milwaukee Ski Bowl will open Jan. 7". Issaquah Press. December 29, 1950. p. 4.
  • History Link - Milwaukee Ski Bowl, 1938-1950: Revolution in Local Skiing (essay 10060, 2012)
  • History Link - Milwaukee Ski Bowl (essay 1685, 2000)
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