Mt. Adams ski resort?

An inactive group that's firing up an email list fast will be Friends of Pah-to. Contact Darryl Lloyd This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. He recreated this photo/graphic from the BIA map of MHM's plan and it was reprinted in the Hood River paper:<br> Meadows looks for more real estate... <br><br>Fixed this link -- Sorry!<br> Full size photo (500kb) of Resort Plan <br><br>

Would-be resort developers have the gall to call this planned sprawling city stretching to 11,000 feet, proposed for the gorgeous and largely unspoiled Bird Creek Meadows area, an "eco-resort."

<br><br>From Thursday's (9/30/04) Seattle Times:<br>Ron Judd / Times staff columnist<br> Trail Mix: A Northwest Mailbag full of bad news <br><br>Q: What's the buzz we're hearing about a new ski resort on Mount Adams? <br><br>A: It's basically just that at this point &#8212; buzz. The Yakama Tribe, which owns a huge chunk of the east side of Mount Adams, is being pitched by Mount Hood Meadows Development Corp. to build a major, 11-lift ski resort complete with 36 holes of golf, a restaurant, a casino, a spa, various shops, a night club and 2,500 hotel and condominium lodging units, The Oregonian and Yakima Herald-Republic both reported this month. <br><br>Would-be resort developers have the gall to call this planned sprawling city stretching to 11,000 feet, proposed for the gorgeous and largely unspoiled Bird Creek Meadows area, an "eco-resort." <br><br>The pitch hasn't even gone before the full Yakama Tribal Council yet, but it's already being dissed by tribal religious leaders, who call it a blatant, money-grubbing desecration of sacred tribal grounds. <br><br>"I feel that that would be a terrible violation of our people if they open that up," Regina Jerry, assistant minister of the White Swan Shaker Church, told the Herald-Republic. <br><br>Hear, hear. <br>We love the idea of a new Northwest four-season mountain resort as much as anyone else with skis quivering in the garage. And heaven knows the Yakamas have reasons to be tempted by the potential payout. <br><br>But get real, and keep Mount Adams wild. <br><br>To contact Ron Judd: (206) 464-8280 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I find it less humorous than some that a bunch of us white guys (not my words) are concerned about what happens here.<br><br>Some of the greatest environmental attrocities are committed on reservations, the best examples coming from extractive industries that prey upon economically-poor-but-resource-rich Native American nations such as this.  Beyond the rhetoric, it's a means of skirting otherwise difficult issues they face on public lands - often to the detriment of the environment.  Call me suspicious, but I tend to question statements like "it will be the most environmentally sensitive development in the history of resorts" when it involves the creation of multiple golf courses, thousands of housing units, and the need for "road improvements".<br><br>When I lived in Wisconsin, where the relationship between the largely white public and Native Americans is much more strained, a unifying battle sparked when a metallic sulphide mine was proposed on/near Native lands.  People from all over the state worked together to ensure the best decision was made for all involved, because no matter whether the mine was on or adjacent Native land, it impacted everyone.<br><br>This may be a less destructive use of lands, but it's destructive nonetheless.  And since this development would impact more than the Yakama nation, I feel we as individuals and/or communities most certainly have a right to voice our opinions to them.  Being respectful and being silent are not the same thing.<br>

One of the greatest human atrocities was the creation of reservations.

As I expected there would be a lot of "knee jerk" reactions to this proposal. The southern climbing route on Mt Adams lies outside the Yakima Indian Reservation. I hike, mountain climb, backpack, am an avid downhill skier, and am of Native American ancestry. I have longed envisioned a ski area on Mt. Adams with a tram climbing to the upper reaches of the mountain reminiscent of the Klein Matterhorn tram at Zermatt, Switzerland. Being father east than Mt. Hood, or Mt. Bachelor; Mt. Adams would have drier snow than other Cascade ski areas. the ski resort would incorporate the Yakima culture in all aspects of the resort. I agree with the Yakima Nation that it be "the most environmentally sensitive development in the history of resorts." with this in mind those behind bringing a ski area have to Mt. Adams have every intention of doing exactly this. I wish Dave Riley and all others involved this proposal Godspeed.

Mr Coldsmoke, are you familiar with the ski resort named in the article that is said to have been dismantled by the Yakima Nation in the early 70's? Through all my research I have heard of no resort, especially in the 60s or 70s that resided on Adams. <br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Jack

Coldsmoke's post is cut-and-pasted from his post on this thread, as skierguy:<br><br> www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat...5/o/all/fpart/1/vc/1

...sounds like marketing-speak.