Bear Gulch Ski Basin - Idaho Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This history sign is located on Idaho Hwy. 47 east of the community of Warm River and deals with the history of the Bear Gulch Ski Basin.

Marker Name: Bear Gulch Ski Basin Marker Type: Roadside Marker Text: Eastern Idaho’s First Ski Resort Look around you. You are standing amid a faded dream -- a dream to create a premier ski resort out of the wilderness. Much of eastern Idaho during 1938 was considered a frontier when Forest Ranger Rufus Hall searched for a location to build Idaho’s second ski resort. Idaho’s first resort -- built in 1936 was in Sun Valley. The dream was shared by Alf Engen a world-class skier from Norway who eventually went on to coach the 1948 U.S. Olympic Ski Team. Looking upon a wooded hillside in the spring of 1939, Alf sketched on paper three ski runs that later became known as Bear Gulch Ski Basin. Passenger trains traveling to Yellowstone just a few hundred yards from where you are standing brought skiers to Bear Gulch when the resort opened during the winter of 1940. Powered by a simple gasoline engine with cables rapped around large drums, anxious skiers paid 10 cents to ride a toboggan to the top of the hill. Skiers coined the phrase “If you could ski the Bear, you could ski anywhere.” For the next 20 years Bear Gulch was regarded as Eastern Idaho’s premier resort. When new ski resorts with longer runs began to open, appeal in Bear Gulch faded. Bear Gulch Ski Basin disappeared into the shadows after several attempts failed to revive the resort during the mid-seventies. County: Idaho Group Responsible for Placement: Mesa Falls Scenic Byway City: Not listed Date Dedicated: Not listed Marker Number: Not listed Web link(s) for additional information: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new, and if you took any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark. If possible please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Idaho history please include that in your log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/26/2010 Volcanoguy visited it