New Operator Chosen To Revive Oregon Ski Area
Oregon — A local business owner, along with help from a major Oregon ski resort, is planning to revive a defunct ski area.
The East Oregonian reports that the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners voted on June 17th to approve Trevor Abell as the new operator of Spout Springs Ski Area. The site last operated for skiers and riders in 2016, and the years that followed were marked by disputes between the operator and the U.S. Forest Service.
The new operating group is being led by Trevor Abell. He owns various local businesses, which include Tollgate Crossing & Gas Station, 5052 Mountain Bar, Tamrack Lodge, Tollgate Mountain Chalet Resort & Cabins, Ponderosa Cabin at Tollgate, and the Candy Land Winter Experience. Other members of this group include Dennis Murphy of Hayden Homes and John Kohmmstann, the President of Timberline Lodge.
They envision a three-phase process. The first phase would fix up the facilities over a six-month period. Phase two, which would encompass the first year, would see a limited opening, with some lifts and facilities reopening over that period. Phase 3, which would occur over years two and three, envisions expanding their winter operations, introducing summer activities, and using marketing to grow their community.
For skiing and riding, the plan is to refurbish the existing lift and facilities. After that, the plan is to expand its appeal to more skiers and other recreationists. New backcountry snowcat operations would offer more tenured skiers options. This would also allow backcountry skiers to skin up to higher elevations. There would also be a snowcross course and a sledding/tubing area.
Summer activities are another focus. The plan is to add activities like disc golf, mountain biking trails, an archery course, a motocross track, and a year-round restaurant. All of these changes, though, would be subject to U.S. Forest Service approval. However, you’d have to imagine they’d be eager for someone to have a successful operation there.
This announcement raises the slight possibility of a reopening during the 2026-27 season. A lot needs to happen to make it a functional ski area again, so we’ll see when or if this revival happens.
The Other Proposals
The other two bids came from the operator of Anthony Lakes Outdoor Recreation Association and Tollgate local Geoffrey LeGault.
As the name implies, the operator of the Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort would have taken over Spout Springs. Their timeline was a bit more spread out. The first year would have seen the repairs to the existing facility. Years 2-5 would have added some hiking and biking trails, and a disc golf course. A beginner lift would be added, but the focus would be on having the backcountry, human-powered ski area. Years 5-10 would see lift-served operations return to the top, adding a campground, adding more hiking and biking trails, and growing the Nordic ski network. While their timeline is a bit longer and their decisions on downhill skiing a bit odd, I do think they have a better sense of how much work needs to be done to revive it.
Legault’s proposal was the least comprehensive. He intended to make the ski area a non-profit, but didn’t provide many future plans. His plan called for refurbishing the facilities and analyzing potential summer activities, such as mountain biking and ziplining.
Situated in Northeastern Oregon, Spout Springs operated from the late 1940s to 2016. The ski area features 13 trails, two chairlifts, lights for night skiing on a select number of pistes, and a vertical drop of 530 feet. There’s also an extensive Nordic ski trail network.
You can read through the proposals here.
Image/Video Credits: Lofted Views (Kent Rifel), Umatilla County, Trevor Abell, Skimap.org
Leave a Reply