Not long after the first pioneers found their way to the Cascade Range, they started dreaming up ways to climb – and ski – Mount Hood. It’s a rich tradition of ingenuity that continues to this day. This timeline should give you an appreciation for the rich history associated with Oregon’s tallest mountain.

700,000 BC: Volcanic eruptions form the Cascade Range and the mountain called Wy’East by the Klickitat people.

1792 AD: Mount Hood is named after British Admiral Samuel Hood, who never set foot on the mountain.

1889: Cloud Cap Inn opens on the north side of Mount Hood.

1890: The Langille brothers ski the north face of Mount Hood to Cloud Cap Inn.

1894: 100 people climb Mount Hood together and form the alpine club Mazamas.

1899: Oliver Yocum builds the first hotel in Government Camp.

1903: Three Mazamas shred Hood wearing 10-foot wooden skis and carrying nine-foot balancing poles.

1905: Tourists visiting Portland for the Lewis and Clark Exhibit sign up for $5 guided tours to the peak of Mount Hood.

1914: First solo car trip up to Government Camp.

1915: Climbers build a fire lookout at the mountain’s peak.

1926: Plan to connect Cooper Spur to the summit with a cable tramway are rejected.

1926: State begins plowing Highway 26 regularly in winter.

1927: Snow clubs formed on Mount Hood.

1928: Summit opens as first ski resort on Mount Hood.

1928: The Mutorpor ski jumping hill is developed (the photo below from the Digital Public Library indicates the popularity of early jumping events).

1931: Andre Roch, Hjalmar Hvam and Arne Stene summit on skis.

1933: Fire lookout at the peak is torn down.

1935: Plan announced to build Timberline Lodge, a Works Progress Administration project, part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s economic recovery plan.

1936: Timberline foreman Ira Davidson invents the modern Snow Cat.

1937: FDR travels to Oregon for the dedication of Timberline Lodge.

1937: Russ McJury and Joe Leuthold (pictured below, photo courtesy of Daniel Becker) complete the first ascent of the Sandy Glacier Headwall.

Last modified: June 15, 2013