Magic Mile

Aerial chairlift in Oregon, United States

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The Magic Mile is an aerial chairlift at Timberline Lodge ski area, Mount Hood, Oregon, U. S. It was named for its unique location above the tree line and for its original length. When constructed by Byron Riblet in 1938, it was the longest chairlift in existence, the second in the world to be built as a passenger chairlift, and the first to use metal towers. The chairlift has been replaced twice, in 1962 and 1992. Like its predecessors, the current chairlift loads near the lodge at 5,950 feet (1829 m) and unloads at 7,000 foot (2134 m), up an average gradient of 20%. Except for the very lowest part of the route, the lift is not protected by trees or land features and faces the full force of snow storms. Heavy winds frequently produce huge snowdrifts and copious and dense snow challenge lift crews to keep the lift open. The lift is generally closed when winds exceed or dense fog reduces visibility below about 25 feet (8 m) — in all, about 40% of winter days. The chairlift was the first built by the Riblet company, which drew heavily on its designs for aerial trams for mining companies. Completed in late 1939, it loaded its first passengers on November 17, 1939, (later King Olaf). The original chairlift was a single — each chair held one rider. The ride took 11 minutes and carried 225 passengers per hour. It was as popular a summer tourist attraction then as it is now. Timberline Lodge shut down for World War II and struggled financially through the 1940s and early 1950s. Mounting disrepair, vandalism, neglect and unpaid taxes closed it February 17, 1955, at which time the Magic Mile was nonfunctional. The lodge reopened late that year under the management of Richard Kohnstamm, whose family still manages the resort. The Mile was made functional again, and in the following summer, ski racing camps began.

By 1962, the Magic Mile had long been a challenge to maintain, so the Timberline's operator replaced it with a double Riblet lift. The new lift had a midway station for loading and unloading, which allowed the lower mountain to remain open when harsh winter weather closed the upper mountain, and the upper mountain to remain open for mid to late summer skiing when little snow remained on the lower mountain. The full ride up this second Magic Mile ride took about the same time as the original, 10 to 12 minutes, but tighter chair spacing and two riders per chair increased the capacity about 800 to 1,000 per hour. The bottom of the Mile was placed at the west side of the lodge for easy access, and for skier convenience from the top of the Pucci chairlift, which was installed in 1956. The Palmer chairlift, which opened July 1, 1980, was situated for convenient skier and snowboard transport from the top of the Mile. The Palmer was upgraded to a high speed quad in 1996.