May 12, 2006, Mountaineers Snoq Lodge burns down

Fire destroys historic Mountaineers Lodge

www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_0512...fireLJ.341189cc.html

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. - An early morning fire destroyed the historic Mountaineers Lodge at Snoqualmie Friday.

The lodge, located in a heavily forested area five miles west of Snoqualmie Summit, was burned to its foundation, according to one fire crew member at the scene. Crews had difficulty reaching the lodge, which is located 2,000 feet from the nearest road in steep snow covered terrain. It took crews about an hour to reach the lodge after they used a snow cat to transport firefighters and hoses to the scene.

Washington State Patrol has closed State Route 906 in both directions as fire crews battle the blaze.  Witnesses driving along Interstate 90 said they could see thick black smoke rise above the trees.

A Mountaineers spokesperson said the lodge had been closed for the past month, so it was unlikely there were people inside. There were no reports of injuries.

A witness captured photos of the fire at the Mountaineers Lodge at Snoqualmie on his digital camera.

The Web site for the Seattle-based Mountaineers Club says the 57-year-old lodge is on the state Register of Historic Places. Located near the Snoqualmie ski area and the Pacific Crest Trail, it was used by club members and rented to others as a base for skiing and hiking.

What a sad end. Here is a link to my February trip report on the Mountaineers Patrol Race tour, which began at the Mountaineers Snoqualmie Lodge:

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...dex.php?topic=4150.0

I tried to post this message on that old thread, but there didn't seem to be any "post reply" controls on the page. Is that deliberate, Charles?

Lowell, the reason you couldn't post in your February TR is that the monthly boards get "closed" to new posts after they are a couple of months old. This policy was chosen because it seemed unlikely that there would be much reason for continued posting after that time, and this helps keep the active boards down to a reasonable number. If there was widespread support for having monthly boards open longer we could consider changing the policy, but personally I kind of like not having new activity in dozens of boards. I have copied this post of yours to your February TR, minus your question about posting.

I heard about the fire on the radio this morning, and this is very sad. When I have stayed in the Mountaineers lodges I have felt the strong presence of many decades of skiers and the wonderful times they must have had there. I wonder if rebuilding will be a possibility (not that it would bring back the aura of the place)?

Thanks Charles. No need to change the policy. I figured it must be something like that, and it makes sense to me.

I doubt that the Mountaineers will rebuild the lodge. My sense is that it has been sort of hanging on by its fingernails in the Byzantine world of club politics, of which I'm blissfully ignorant. The fire is especially poignant to me, because the Patrol Race tour was the first time I ever went to the Snoqualmie Lodge. Having Wolf Bauer there and everything, it was a memorable experience.

Here's a picture of Wolf telling stories by the old fireplace. I like the painting of Mt Index in the background.

The world of the "Mountaineers" was first introduced to me by the sign at the road in front of the Snoqualomie Mountaineers lodge. That must have been 25 even 30 yrs ago. Little did I know then being fresh off the boat from Kentucky. Nor did I guess what a great part of my life the Mounties would be.
I for one would be for rebuilding in the same spot.
I think its a strategic location and a new lodge with full time help along the lines of some of the Europeon huts would be appropriate. A special thanks to Lowell at this point for fostering the history of Mountain skiing ,the club and adventuring in the NW .

This is hugely sad.  I think we need more frontcountry lodges up against the snow not less.  I wonder if rebuilding will be too much of a financial challenge.  I always hoped that the Mountaineer Lodges could be open in the winter every day, especially now with the price of gas.  Get two days of touring for the price of one drive trip and enjoy the lodge atmosphere.
Anyway the point I actually want to add is that the Mountaineers land at the lodge is coveted by the Summit-At-Snoqualmie management in their grand scheme of making crossover access from West to Central more easy and skier friendly.  Now that there is no lodge you can bet they will up the pressure for the Mountaineers to sell the property.  A big loss to the non lift ticket crowd.
And there was some talk of moving the PCT down the Mountaineers property to get it off the Summit West land it currently traverses.  The lodge could then have served throughhikers in the Summer months. 
I love historic wood lodge structures even though I stay there quite infrequently.  There was something about just knowing it was there...

I work for the Seattle Fire Dept and just noticed that the 2007 union calender has a picture of one of our loaned fire investigators and accelerant sniffing dogs combing through the remains of the dear old lodge. Don't know if the picture is available online but you can probably get a calender, (no - no hunks or babes on this one) at the website: www.iaff27.org . or call the business office. 206 285-1271.