Bear Gulch Ski Basin
Ashton, Idaho1939-1985
Shop Bear Gulch Ski Basin tees, long sleeve tees, hoodies and crewnecks. Alf Engen laid out the first runs in spring 1939 and named them the Bear Cat, the Dipper and the Teddy Bear. The first lift was two flat-bottomed sleds on a cable, pulled by a tractor engine, and locals called it the Red Assed Lift. Pick a style below, then read the full Bear Gulch history further down. We are an American small business bringing back the signs and logos of places and teams that are long gone but remembered fondly.
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Bear Gulch Ski Basin History
Bear Gulch Ski Basin near Ashton, Idaho, sat on the Mesa Falls road, Highway 47, about twelve miles east of town in the Targhee National Forest. Forest Service rangers looked at four sites along the highway in 1938 and picked Bear Gulch. In spring 1939 the Norwegian ski jumper Alf Engen laid out its first runs, which were named the Bear Cat, the Dipper and the Teddy Bear, and Civilian Conservation Corps crews cleared the slopes that summer. It was set up as a nonprofit effort among the Ashton Dog Derby Association, the Forest Service and the Ashton Ski Club.
The first lift was two big flat-bottomed sleds linked by a cable, pulled by a tractor engine, carrying about 14 skiers at a time. Locals called it the Red Assed Lift. A rope tow went onto the Teddy Bear in fall 1940, at five cents a ride. The hill shut during World War II. In winter 1945 the Forest Service issued a permit to a new company, Bear Gulch Ski Basin, Inc., and in 1948 a T-bar replaced the sleds and a log lodge went up, with a double fireplace, a big kitchen and a dumbwaiter. A double chairlift on the Dipper followed in 1965, after the local electric co-op ran power lines to the area. The museum puts the drop at 600 feet, with terrain for intermediates and experts.
The hill's story after the 1960s is one of changing owners. Grand Targhee opened and drew skiers away, and insurance and safety rules got more expensive. Bruce Black, Ernie Andrus and Vern Kelch of Idaho Falls bought the area in 1970, and the early 1970s were good years, with a ski shop in the lodge basement and a ski school. A retired Los Angeles fireman bought it in 1978 and lived on site with his family. By 1983 the lender was moving to foreclose on a debt of about $33,000, and a local group's $5,500 bid was turned down. Cousins Tom and Jim Harward bought it for $12,000, skipped the 1983-84 season and reopened for 1984-85.
The Harwards did not make the repairs the Forest Service asked for, and the area did not open in 1985-86. The agency declined to renew the permit for 1986-87. The museum says the Forest Service burned the lodge in late October 1989 and bulldozed the rubble, fireplace included; other accounts give 1986 or about 1997. The old lift towers still stood in 2020, and the base is now a busy snowmobile and trail parking area.