Ski Bluewood

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Ski area in Washington, United States

title: "Ski Bluewood" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ski-areas-and-resorts-in-washington-(state)", "buildings-and-structures-in-columbia-county,-washington", "tourist-attractions-in-columbia-county,-washington", "umatilla-national-forest"] description: "Ski area in Washington, United States" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_Bluewood" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Ski area in Washington, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox ski area"]

FieldValue
nameSki Bluewood
locationUmatilla National Forest
Columbia County,
Washington, U.S.
nearest_cityDayton - 22 mi
Walla Walla - 52 mi
pushpin_mapUnited States#Washington
pushpin_relief1
coordinates
map_captionLocation in the United States##Location in Washington
vertical1125 ft
top_elevation5670 ft
base_elevation4545 ft
skiable_area530 acre
number_trails24
[[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-green circle.svg13px]] - 27% easiest
[[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-blue square.svg13px]] - 43% more difficult
[[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond.svg13px]] - 30% most difficult
longest_run2.2 mi
Country Road
liftsystem2 triple chairs - (fixed-grip)
2 Magic Carpet
lift_capacity3,950 / hr.
terrainparks1
snowfall300 in
snowmakingnone
nightskiingnone
external_linkbluewood.com
::

| name = Ski Bluewood | logo = | picture = | caption = | location = Umatilla National Forest Columbia County, Washington, U.S. | nearest_city = Dayton - 22 mi Walla Walla - 52 mi | pushpin_map = United States#Washington | pushpin_relief = 1 | coordinates = | pushpin_label_position = | map_caption = Location in the United States##Location in Washington | vertical = 1125 ft | top_elevation = 5670 ft | base_elevation = 4545 ft | skiable_area = 530 acre | number_trails = 24 [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-green circle.svg|13px]] - 27% easiest [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-blue square.svg|13px]] - 43% more difficult [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond.svg|13px]] - 30% most difficult | longest_run = 2.2 mi Country Road | liftsystem = 2 triple chairs - (fixed-grip) 2 Magic Carpet | lift_capacity = 3,950 / hr. | terrainparks = 1 | snowfall = 300 in | snowmaking = none | nightskiing = none | external_link = bluewood.com

Ski Bluewood, formerly known as "Bluewood Ski Area," is an alpine ski area in the northwestern United States, in southeastern Washington in Columbia County. Located at the northern end of the Blue Mountains in the Umatilla National Forest, the elevation at the base area is 4545 ft above sea level, with a summit of 5670 ft for a vertical drop of 1125 ft. The northward-facing slopes are about 4 mi north of the Oregon border and 50 mi west of Idaho, part of the headwaters of the Touchet River, the main tributary of the Walla Walla River.

The only surface access to the base area of the mountain is through Dayton, 22 mi to the northwest and nearly 3000 ft below on North Touchet Road. Though the summit is only about 20 mi due east of Walla Walla as the crow flies, Ski Bluewood is about an hour's drive as Dayton is 30 mi northeast on U.S. Route 12. In addition to Walla Walla, Bluewood is the closest alpine ski area (in mileage) to the Tri-Cities to the west, and the closest chairlift-served area to Lewiston-Clarkston.

History

Originally conceived in the 1960s, and created by Skyline Basin Associates during the 1970s, the ski area's original name (as a concept) was "Skyline Basin." After years of planning, fundraising, and approval procedures, the ski area opened as "Bluewood Ski Area" in January 1980.

The second season of 1980–81 was a very poor snow year, with only three days of skiing, and the fledgling ski area filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 1981. Auctioned off two years later and acquired by Rainier Bank, it was purchased for $550,000 in October 1983 by Portland executive Stan Goodell, a former president of the ski patrol at Mount Hood. To distance itself from the past financial difficulties, Goodell renamed it "Ski Bluewood" and relocated to Dayton to run the area himself.

An expansion in the summer of 1986 added parking and the Triple Nickel, a triple chairlift to serve the instructional area with a vertical rise of 400 ft. It joined the existing lifts, the Skyline Express triple chair and Easy Rider platter lift, which was relocated.

Alpine skiing

Of its 24 runs, Bluewood has 4 green circles (easiest), 12 blue squares (more difficult), and 8 black diamonds (most difficult). Additionally, there is one terrain park and six backcountry runs. The area is open five days per week, Wednesday through Sunday, plus holidays. Bluewood has a reputation for dry powder snow, tree skiing, and a family-friendly atmosphere.

Will Brandenburg, a World Cup racer with the U.S. Ski Team, learned to ski and race at Bluewood in the 1990s.

Base Facilities

Ski Bluewood facilities include a full-service ski/snowboard rental department, retail shop, patrol services, ski and snowboard learning center, cafe, and pub.

Bluewood is one of the few resorts in the country that is 100% self-sufficient, generating all of its own electric power via diesel generators. There are two diesel generators in the basement, one that runs the lodge at night and the other that runs the lodge and the two electric chair lifts during the day. The main chairlift (Skyline Express) has its own separate diesel powered generator, connected via a clutch and fluid coupler. The Triple Nickel and pama lifts are electric and uses power from the main diesel generators, located in the basement of the lodge.

References

References

  1. (March 5, 1969). "Bids being accepted for new ski resort". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
  2. Tripple, Frankie. (January 15, 1971). "Ski area near Dayton to feature easy drive, challenge". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
  3. (July 11, 1973). "Ski area permit planned". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  4. Campbell, Gay. (December 17, 1979). "Uphill racer". Spokesman-Review.
  5. Levenson, Bob. (December 10, 1979). "Legislators blast loan guarantee". Spokesman-Review.
  6. Earl, Larry W.. (December 28, 1990). "Ski Bluewood is one of the state's best-kept secrets". Spokesman-Review.
  7. Baechler, Phil. (March 8, 1980). "Schuss! The blues are gone from Bluewood". Spokesman-Review.
  8. ''[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8HAhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HYgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1464,4090760 Tri-City Herald]'' - Bluewood area hardest hit by snow drought - 1981-01-13 - p.25
  9. Loftus, Bill. (January 19, 1982). "Regional ski operators giving this winter warm reception". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
  10. (November 11, 1982). "Effort underway to save ski resort". Bend Bulletin.
  11. ''[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GHsuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=04cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4620,729388 Tri-City Herald]'' - Bluewood offer - 1981-07-05 - p.2
  12. (May 11, 1983). "Bluewood ski area to be sold". Spokesman-Review.
  13. ''[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tV0hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=A4YFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5838,2088311 Tri-City Herald]'' - Sale should keep Bluewood ski area operating all season - 1983-10-09 - p.C1
  14. (November 16, 1983). "New Bluewood owner out to make resort go". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
  15. (April 3, 1986). "Ski Bluewood to add lift, parking". Spokesman-Review.
  16. ''[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=618hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=noYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4156,4224413 Tri-City Herald]'' - Work on Ski Bluewood lift beginning July 1 - 1986-04-04 p.D2
  17. Halstead, Jeff. (March 20, 1987). "A gem in the Blue Mountains". Spokane Chronicle.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

ski-areas-and-resorts-in-washington-(state)buildings-and-structures-in-columbia-county,-washingtontourist-attractions-in-columbia-county,-washingtonumatilla-national-forest