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A new documentary reveals a largely forgotten chapter on Mount Hood: the fire lookout cabin that was built on the summit in 1915.
Cabin in the Sky: The Mount Hood Lookout is a 10-minute film that documents the history of the cabin, established by U.S. Forest Service ranger Elijah “Lige” Coalman. In the first year, Coalman spotted 131 fires in a six-week period, according to the film.
“It became more than just a fire lookout,” Portland filmmaker Ned Thanhouser says. “That’s the through line in the documentary.”
The cabin’s colorful history beyond fire suppression included becoming a popular wedding destination and, later, a nudist camp. One time someone did a handstand on top of the cabin; in 1916, a climber accidentally gored himself with his own ice ax on the descent and Coalman had to help him get to safety. The cabin stood until the 1940s.
Timberline Lodge, which narrowly escaped major fire damage earlier this month, was constructed starting in 1937 when the lookout cabin was beginning its deterioration.
Thanhouser and fellow mountaineer filmmaker Jeff Thomas have been producing documentary shorts together since 2016, many about pioneering climbers. They got the idea for Cabin in the Sky when researching their most recent film, Ranger: The Canine Alpinist, about a dog that summited Hood 500 times.
Cabin in the Sky will premiere May 10 at the Mt. Hood Cultural Center & Museum in Government Camp. After that, the documentary will be available to the public for free online here: vimeo.com/thanhouser/mthoodcabin.