Old St. Francis History Pub
Presented by local historian Tor Hanson

Skyliners, Bend’s first ski club, was the brainchild of three Norwegians and a Swede: Nils Wulfsberg, Nels Skjersaa, Chris Kostol, and Emil Nordeen. The outdoor club was born out of a search and rescue effort in the Three Sisters area in September 1927. Within the first years, the club grew to 300 members and organized activities around mountain climbing and winter sports.

In December 1928, the club opened a winter playground eight miles west of Sisters on the McKenzie Pass Highway. From 1929 to 1934, the area featured ski jumps, a toboggan slide, and a small lodge. Ski jumping tournaments and cross country ski races brought the best Nordic athletes from around the Pacific Northwest.

In the mid-1930s, Skyliners decided to relocate its winter playground to 10 miles west of Bend adjacent to Tumalo Creek in order to have a longer steeper slope with more reliable snow. Club members built a ski jump (60 meters), two rope tows and a lodge. During World War II and the years that followed, the ski club went into hibernation. It resumed activities in the early 1950s. With the opening of Bachelor Butte in December of 1958, the club moved its activities to what is now Mt. Bachelor.

Under the leadership of Head Alpine coach Frank Cammack, several Skyliners went on to national and international prominence, including Kiki Cutter, Karen Skjersaa, Sherry Bland, Mike Lafferty and Mark Ford. Kiki was the first American to win an alpine World Cup and was a 1968 Olympian. Finally, in 1986, Skyliners was integrated into the Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation, now known as Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation. (MBSEF).

These monthly, free events are open to everyone interested in Oregon and Pacific Northwest history. Co-sponsored by like-minded historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers and historians who expound on topics from Lewis and Clark to shipwrecks, hop growing to women pioneers and far, far beyond. It’s like being back in the classroom – except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.