When Susan and Dwight Sheets toured the defunct Santiam Pass Ski Lodge on a rainy October day in 2016 with Willamette National Forest Ranger Terry Baker, they were saddened with the condition of the historic lodge that had been unoccupied since 1986. “The archaeologist wouldn’t come in because it was horrible,” said Dwight. “We were walking on a bed of rat droppings, glass and debris.” Abandoned for years, the Sheets were interested in a possible restoration program for the lodge that held so many memories for so many people.
Built in 1939-40 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), this was the last of six ski lodges constructed in the Pacific Northwest between 1933 and 1941, the others being Timberline, Skyliners, White Branch (on the McKenzie River), American Ridge and Leavenworth.
“We told ourselves that if one of us didn’t want to pursue this, we wouldn’t,” Susan said. “But then we came outside and said it can probably be done and it should be done,” Dwight added.
The lodge stood on the list of Oregon’s Most Endangered Places by Restore Oregon, a nonprofit organization working to save historic buildings in Oregon, just waiting for someone like the Sheets.
And so, it began. The Forest Service helped the Sheets through the permit process and liked the Sheets’ idea to restore the lodge but not change it. “We knew it was going to take a long time and it didn’t scare us,” Dwight said. “We are in it for the long run and it’s getting done and going to happen.”
Work began in 2019, not only to shore up the foundation and walls, but to obtain financial support to pay contractors. To date, the Friends of Santiam Pass Ski Lodge have raised more than $1.3 million, of which nearly 98 percent has gone to restoration work and the rest to administrative costs such as licensing, insurance and promotions.
With a three-phase plan in place, the Sheets moved from Phase One which was to work on the exterior and protect the building from further degradation by rodents and weather, into Phase Two, which focuses on the interior. The final step of Phase One will be installing the 75-plus windows which will go in last because of the unique framing.
Recent improvements included a new septic field, HVAC system, propane tank, trenching to install gas lines, a new well (740 feet deep, replacing the 25-foot-deep one the CCC crews hand dug) and pump, a new roof and supporting timbers and framing in the dining hall, updated electrical service with over 900 feet of trenching to lay conduit and electrical cable beneath Highway 20, a new entry staircase and much more.
With the exterior pretty well buttoned up and with heat and electricity installed, the focus will shift to the interior where wall and ceiling paneling has been carefully removed and numbered to clean out rodent residue and clean up the wood paneling before it is replaced. “We got this machine that’s like a drum sander, but it has a brush which clears up the paneling beautifully,” Dwight said. After cleaning the wood, they apply a sealer to protect the wood.
“When you look at early pictures of the lodge, there were no trees in them because they cut everything and that’s what they used to build the lodge with,” Susan said. Even the stones to build the chimney came from a nearby quarry at the base of Hogg Rock. Because some of the siding wood was in horrible condition, the Sheets were able to obtain about 20,000 board feet of milled lumber salvaged from the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire.
“We’re really grateful to all the people and foundations that have provided support,” Susan said. “They didn’t know us from Adam when we first showed up, but they saw the project and that people wanted this, so we’re really pleased about the support.” Numerous volunteers have also helped out in various capacities, a testament to the many connections individuals have to the lodge.
“With Santiam Pass, we continue to assist Dwight and Susan in whatever way is supporting their needs, like providing non-government letters of support for capital funding requests,” said Restore Oregon Executive Director Nicole Possert. “A lot of times we provide more technical support or specialized trade recommendations as someone is going through their project, but Dwight and Susan are already well positioned to do work and find what they need.”
Though there is still a lot of work ahead of them, the progress to date has been impressive. With a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel and more financial support, the Sheets will tackle interior projects in 2026. “We’re keeping the modern industrial look out,” Susan said. “We want people to walk in and feel like it’s the 1940s when they visit the lodge.”
Friends of Santiam Pass Ski Lodge
santiampassskilodge.org
This article appears in the Source December 11, 2025.
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