Magic on the Mountain

A panoramic picture of the Silcox Hut, complete with transportation out front. Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers

With plans set for six months to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday at the historical Silcox Hut, a rugged cabin that sits at 7000 feet (high above Timberline Lodge), who could have imagined mother nature providing as she did? Indeed, between the Friday and Sunday (with Sunday being the day of our arrival), it snowed over 3 feet and never got above 12°. Then, after being delivered via snowcat and spending the night in whiteout conditions, we woke up to crystal clear blue sky, no wind, and the best ski/snowboard conditions I have seen in the 40+ years I have been enjoying Mt. Hood. Some may call it serendipity, others blind luck. Me? I call it “Magic on the mountain.”

A closer look at the historic Silcox Hut...what an amazing place to spend the night, drink, eat great food, play guitars, etc. Doesn't get much better. Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers

If you have never stayed at the Silcox Hut before, which is part of the Timberline Lodge Ski Resort, it is special indeed. Able to sleep 24 people, the experience comes with an excellent host who not only takes everyone up and back via snowcat, but also cooks a 5-star dinner and breakfast. Further, stories of Mt. Hood history abound. 

This was the beauty we woke up to the other morning. Above the clouds, climbers in the distance. Amazing. Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers

It's smart to bring your skis or snowboard up to the hut on the chance that you might wake up to good conditions for a ride back down. But to catch it as we did the other day (specifically February 26th), well, it’s just something for the record books. It was what we call a “bluebird day,” with amazing powder and near zero crowds. After all, it was a weekday and the roads had been rumored to be treacherous.

Another look down the mountain from the "front porch" of the Silcox...this time the sun has come up a bit more and we were getting ready to depart on skis and boards. You can see Timberline Lodge down in the distance. Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers

Here is a shot of some tracks a buddy and I laid down on the first run. His ski tracks on the left, my snowboard tracks on the right. Oh to just relive it! Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers

Another "check out our tracks" pic taken on the very next run. It just doesn't get any better than this. Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers

Timberline Lodge in general is a very special place for us In the Northwest. There is so much history on the mountain and so much fun to be had. To boot, excellent food awaits in several spots at Timberline, with one such option shown below:

This heaping nacho plate from the "Y Bar" (in the Day Lodge at Timberline) was just the thing to recharge three of us for the rush back out to “find more un-tracked” and close out the day. Epic indeed. Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers

Silcox Hut Details

For details on booking the Silcox Hut check out this page on Timberline's website. All-in-all, if you can get a sizable group together you can get the place all to yourselves. You can also stay, at times, with other people already up there. It's an intimate experience and one you'll never forget. I know I won't anytime soon.