128 FOREST OUTINGS 



older skiers whose original interest in competitive skiing turns toward less 

 arduous forms. Ski touring requires clearly marked routes of varying grade 

 through areas of scenic interest and shelters in the '"high country." 



Cross-country skiing without trails on the snow fields and glaciers in the 

 national forests of the West and of Alaska provides high adventure. But only 

 a few are up to it. Trails with shelters are sufficiently dangerous for most 

 people, and especially for those who have passed their physical prime. And 

 still in increasing numbers unprepared people seek untracked snow in the 

 high country previously known to them only during summer travel, if then. 

 With the possibilities of incurring serious injury or meeting sudden storms 

 in the many truly remote places in the national forests, skiing under such 

 conditions may become extremely hazardous and must be done at the in- 

 dividual's risk. This dispersion from concentration areas is a trend of grow- 

 ing importance. It is hard to say how to handle it. A good many people are 

 getting hurt, and a few are smashed to death, or frozen. 



Warming Shelters are more than a public convenience; they are a neces- 

 sity. They range from primitive, three-sided lean-tos built primarily for 

 summer use and providing little more than a windbreak, to Mount Hood's 

 Timberline Lodge in Oregon where the entire lower floor, known as the 

 ski lobby, is maintained for the free use of winter-sports visitors. Intermedi- 

 ate structures are of various sizes and types to meet local needs and are fre- 

 quently used in other seasons as well. Such buildings are located where they 

 will give the greatest public service and are designed to harmonize with the 

 landscape. They are constructed to meet the exacting demands of cold- 

 weather use and heavy snow load. In some buildings, only shelter, sanita- 

 tion facilities, and first-aid equipment are provided. The more extensive 

 structures to furnish other daytime public services, such as refreshments, 

 are usually operated under special-use permit, frequently issued to a local 

 nonprofit organization chiefly interested in furnishing such services as a 

 public convenience. 



The problem of furnishing adequate overnight accommodations is being 

 met, in some part, by arrangements which vary with local circumstances. 

 In the Eastern forests such accommodations are usuallv found sufficiently 



