Location Hyak, Washington Top elevation 1,220m (4,000ft) Nearest city Seattle | Vertical 457m (1,500ft) Base elevation 762m (2,500ft) | |
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Lift system 4 tows and a Ski-Boggan (1946) | ||
Milwaukee Ski Bowl was an alpine ski area that operated in Washington state between 1937 and 1951.
Executives of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad built a ski area at Hyak, Washington in the fall of 1937, including a lodge and one lift. It was originally called the Snoqualmie Ski Bowl until it closed at the start of World War II. The area reopened in 1946 as the Milwaukee Ski Bowl so it was not to be confused with The Snoqualmie Summit ski area located 2 miles away. It was considered to be a major ski area at that time, comparable to but not as luxurious as Sun Valley. Additional lifts were added over time and in 1939 the main run was lighted for night skiing.
The area proved to be popular when the Seattle Times newspaper began to sponsor a free ski school for high school students from Seattle and Tacoma. A round trip train ticket cost $1 in 1940 with lift tickets for 50ยข. The 200-foot lodge could hold 1000 people and concessions were operated by the Ben Paris complex of Seattle. A Class-A ski jump was built in 1941 and was said to be the largest ski jump in North America. National championship events were held here, including the 1948 Olympic jumping team tryouts.
On December 2, 1949 the lodge burned down, but the area continued to operate out of train cars until 1951.