Mount Shasta Ski Park
| Mount Shasta Ski Park | |
|---|---|
 View down to the lodge and parking lot, with the Douglas Chair on the front slope | |
| Location | Mount Shasta Shasta-Trinity National Forest |
| Nearest major city | Mount Shasta, California |
| Coordinates | 41°19′12″N 122°12′13″W / 41.32°N 122.2036°W |
| Vertical | 1,390 ft (420 m) |
| Top elevation | 6,866 ft (2,093 m) |
| Base elevation | 5,476 ft (1,669 m) |
| Skiable area | 425 acres (172 ha) |
| Trails | 32 total  20% beginner  55% intermediate  25% advanced |
| Longest run | 1.75 mi (2.82 km) |
| Lift system | 3 triple chairlifts, 1 surface lift |
| Lift capacity | 6,200 passengers/hr |
| Snowfall | 280 in (710 cm) |
| Snowmaking | 277 acres (65%) |
| Night skiing | 14 trails, 3 lifts |
| Website | http://www.skipark.com |
Mount Shasta Ski Park is a ski resort located in northern California, just east of Interstate 5 along SR 89 between the city of Mount Shasta and the town of McCloud. The ski area lies about 6 mi (9.7 km) south of the summit of 14,179 ft (4,322 m) Mount Shasta, the second highest volcano in the Cascade Range. It straddles several small volcanic buttes on the lower southern flanks of the massive stratovolcano, with chairlifts running to the top of the 6,567 ft (2,002 m), Douglas Butte, and the 6,150 ft (1,870 m) Marmot Ridge. The total skiable vertical is 1,390 ft (420 m), with 20% of the terrain rated beginner, 55% intermediate, and 25% advanced.
History
The Ski Park was the second ski area constructed on Mount Shasta, but the only one which now survives. The old Mount Shasta Ski Bowl had been built in 1958 in a huge open cirque much higher up on the southern flank of the volcano, with a lodge at 7,800 ft (2,400 m) and lifts topping out above timberline at 9,200 ft (2,800 m). However, the ski area had often been in financial trouble over the next two decades, and a massive avalanche in January 1978 which destroyed the main chairlift was the finishing blow. The Ski Bowl closed permanently after that, and there was no more lift-served skiing on Mount Shasta until 1985, when local businessmen and developers finally began construction of a new ski area lower down on the mountain, in an area well below timberline and safe from avalanches. The Mount Shasta Ski Park opened on December 14, 1985, and has been successfully operating for over two decades since then. The ski area is located entirely on a 1 sq mi (2.6 km2) single section inholding of private land within the checkerboard pattern of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and road access is via Forest Route 88 across national forest land.
References
- Selters, Andy; Michael Zanger (2006). The Mt. Shasta Book (3rd ed.). Wilderness Press. p. 131. ISBN 0-89997-404-X.
- College of the Siskiyous (11 February 2009). "Skiing on Mount Shasta". Mount Shasta Companion. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- Zanger, Michael (1992). Mt. Shasta: History, Legend, Lore. Celestial Arts. pp. 115–116. ISBN 0-89087-674-6.
External links
Media related to Mount Shasta at Wikimedia Commons- Mount Shasta Ski Park official site
- Mount Shasta Avalanche Center (USDA Forest Service)
- Ski Lifts.org photos of lifts at Mount Shasta Ski Park
- Topographic map & aerial photo from USGS via Microsoft Research Maps
