Snoqualmie
Ski Bowl / Milwaukee Ski Bowl (1937-1951) (renamedMilwaukee
Road Ski Bowl
from 1946-1951 so it wouldn't be confused with Snoqualmie
Summit ski area)
Vertical Drop:1,500' Top: 4,000' Base: 2,500' Lifts: Ski-Boggan, 8 Tow's Note: The ski area was the first resort on
Snoqualmie Pass built by the Milwaukee Road Railroad. The resort operated as the Snoqualmie Ski
Bowl from 1937-1942 when it closed during WWII. The resort re-opened after the war in 1946 and
was renamed The Milwaukee Ski Bowl so it would not be confused with Snoqualmie Summit ski area.
The Lodge burned down Dec. 2, 1949 and was operated out of train cars until 1951. Boasted
the first lift service on Snoqualmie Pass and the largest ski jump in north america and hosted the ski jump Olympic
trials in 1947. See description from 1949 Sportsman Guide.
Area Trail/Lift Map from 1946 season. The first lift was built in November 1937 by the Ben Paris Sporting
Goods and Recreation Company. Read about a lawsuit
against Ben Paris CO. that followed.
January 1938 - Music
on Skis = Spills and Dents- Dedication ceremony for the Snoqualmie
Ski Bowl
American Ski Annual -1938 "Snoqualmie
Ski Bowl" The PTA, business college operator Samuel Racine and sportswriter Ken
Binns proposed a ski area accessible by train so not to subject skiers
to the hazards of winter driving. Executives of the Chicago, Milwaukee,
St Paul and Pacific Railroad were convinced of the idea and in the fall
of 1937 built a lodge, a 1,400' ski lift (along with other misc. facilities)
at Hyak. Seattle high school students were reserved a Saturday train, sponsored
by the PTA and 2 trains were scheduled on Sundays, open to the general
public. Over 11,000 people visited the Snoqualmie Ski Bowl during the 10
weeks of operation in 1937-1938.
The ski area facilities and runs were rough the first winter due to
the short time of development, but improvements were made during the summer
of 1938.
Big Jump Realized A
Dream!11/17/1939 from the Seattle Star newspaper
American Ski Annual -1947 Milwaukee Road Ski Bowl Developments for 1946-47
season 1947 - Olympic Tryouts 1948 Olympic jumping team tryouts were held March 22-23, 1947 on the
Olympian Hill at Milwaukee Ski Bowl, said to be the biggest and most well-designed
ski-jumping hill available in the United States.
American Ski Annual -1948 "The
Seattle Times Ski School" Skiing in the Northwest gets a boost as the Seattle Times prepares
for the second postwar season of ski schools (1947-48) for Seattle high
school students at the Milwaukee Road Ski Bowl. The school is run by Ken
Syverson. The instructors include veterans of the 10th Mountain Division.
Ski instruction is free, but students must pay their railroad fare, $1.40.
American Ski Annual -1950 "Skiing Activities
in the Pacific Northwest" New developments include:
*Ski Acres, east of Snoqualmie Pass, is newly developed. The Seattle
Post-Intelligencer will operate a free ski school for youngsters there.
*The University of Washington, headed by Buster Campbell, has cleared
a 160-acre tract just east of Stevens Pass for a ski area.
*On December 2, the lodge at Milwaukee Road Ski Bowl burned down. This
200-foot building, which also served as railroad station, sat at the bottom
of the giant Olympian jump hill.
*With the closure of Paradise Valley as a resort, the Park Service
has permitted development of the Cayuse Pass-Tipsoo Lake area. Four tows
in series, 3,000 feet long, taking skiers 1,000 vertical feet, have been
installed by the Naches Company, headed by Don Adams and Webb Moffett.
