Slip Sliding Away Ski club marks 88 years

Longview’s spirit of Do-It-Yourself applies to fun and games, too.

Early residents of the Planned City loved to form clubs and organizations and they spawned and grew rapidly despite, or perhaps because of, tough economic times and hardships.

In December 1935, the Longview Ski Club held its inaugural meeting of 37 charter members.

They dubbed themselves the “Ski-Larks,” with a mind to encouraging more people to take up the winter sport. A year later they were sponsoring weekend visits to Mounts

By Hal Calbom

Rainier, Hood and St. Helens. “They encouraged many others to come along,” said club historian Kathy Demarest, “offering instructions, a ride to the mountain, and good fun.”

Soon the club began lobbying the Columbia National Forest for a land permit to build a warming hut at timberline on Mt. St. Helens. With the license granted, six volunteers set to work and, according to Demarest, “By winter of 1938 folks began recording stays at the cabin, affectionately called Lumbago Lodge.”

This was recreation not for the faint of heart. “After a two-hour drive in snow to timberline, there was a three-mile hike with equipment and provisions on your back to the lodge,” said Demarest. Many times skiers had to dig into the lodge through the upstairs window to get inside.

“Oh, but the skiing on Mt St. Helens was worth it!” she recalled. “Miles and miles of untouched snow and vistas galore.” Members of the Longview Club were charged 10 cents a night to stay overnight, providing you brought your own bedroll and were willing to bunk on the floor. Gradually conditions were improved, with addition of a portable ski tow to get up the mountain. The ever-entrepreneurial Harry Truman even ran a sno-cat up the mountain in the 50s and 60s.

Fees were increased, but not dramatically: members could pay $10 a year to use the complete services of the now notorious Lumbago Lodge. Over the years the Club grew with the times, as destination lodges began to proliferate and their early passion for the slopes became more widespreadl. The club facilitated the birth of the Ski Jacks, Ski Scots and Ski Devils, and took longer trips to regional resorts.

But, alas, when rumblings of Mount St. Helens began, members became concerned about the future of Lumbago Lodge, which they’d expanded over the years to accommodate16 more skiers. “Members collected items including the ladder, the ski tow, and log books,” said Demarest, “and when St. Helens erupted, Lumbago Lodge was put to rest.”

The club itself shows no signs of resting, however, and proudly celebrated its 88th year looking to further boost the sport, their camaraderie, and the memory of beloved Lumbago Lodge.