Historic lodge burns down

SEATTLE – Generations of outdoor lovers mourned the loss of a landmark Friday after learning the historic Mountaineers Lodge at Snoqualmie Pass had burned to the ground.

“It was one of the hearts of the community,” said Steve Costie, executive director of the Seattle-based Mountaineers Club, which has eight chapters across the state. “It’s a loss of an icon.”

The fire at the 57-year-old mountain lodge was reported just after 5 a.m. Friday to the Washington State Patrol by people driving on nearby Interstate 90.

Costie was at home when he got the call about 7 a.m.

“I was just waking up. I kept uttering ‘unbelievable,’ ” said Costie, who watched television reports of the fire. “It’s just down to the foundation. It’s a total loss.”

The lodge was built in 1948 by members of the outdoor recreation club. The three-story, 5,000-square-foot wooden structure – on 20 acres near the Snoqualmie summit ski areas and the Pacific Crest Trail – replaced the original Mountaineers Lodge that also was lost to fire, in 1944, Costie said.

In 2001, the lodge was added to the state Register of Historic Places, he said.

“Generations of volunteers and members have run that lodge,” Costie said. “That sense of loss for the club … we’re talking about loss of an icon.”

Investigators found footprints in the melting snow leading to and from the lodge, Costie said. He did not know when volunteers last visited but figured it would have been within the past week.

“There probably isn’t that much that we’ve lost in terms of personal property,” Costie said. “But there’s a lot of memory that goes up there. That’s what’s gone.”

He estimated the loss to be about $200,000; the Mountaineers Club didn’t carry fire insurance.

Costie said the club’s board of trustees would decide whether to rebuild.

The Mountaineers Club, founded 100 years ago, has about 11,000 members.