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Mission Statement
Dedication to upholding a tradition of supporting affordable and accessible year-round mountain experiences centered around our lodge in the spirit of fun and friendship for families, youths, and all mountain enthusiasts.
Club System
DB Version: 2022.04.00
Code Version: 2022.04.00
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Hjalmar Hvam
Inventor of the Ski Binding
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Hjalmar
P. Hvam was one of the country’s top ski competitors in the 1930s, inventor of the ski
safety binding, and a prominent Cascade member. Mr. Hvam immigrated to
Oregon from Kongsberg, Norway, in 1927. He lived in Oregon for the rest of his life.
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Hjalmar
Hvam
"The Man to Beat"
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Mr. Hvam is enshrined
in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
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He built a name for himself as a ski racer in the 1930s on Mount Hood and
operating Hvam Ski Shop in Northwest Portland until he retired in 1962. A longtime
resident of Beaverton and member of the Cascade Ski Club, Mr. Hvam is enshrined in the
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame, the Northwest Ski Hall of Fame and
the U.S. Ski Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Hvam began building his fame as a ski competitor
in 1932, when he won the first U.S. Nordic combined championship Competition at Lake
Tahoe, California, He took first in jumping and cross-country reaching to win the combined
title.
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| Competing
mainly in the Pacific Northwest, Mr. Hvam went on to win 12 consecutive downhill races in
1935-36. He was the first winner in 1936 of the Golden Rose at Mount Hood’s
Timberline Lodge, the nation’s oldest ski race. The Race was started and continues to
be organized by Cascade Ski Club (see other article for more.) Mr. Hvam qualified fro the
U.S. Olympic team in 1936 but declined to compete in Hitler’s Germany. He was a coach
with the 1952 Olympic team. "Hjalmar was always the man to beat," said Bill
Hackett of Portland, a friend of Mr. Hvam for 60 years. "I never came in ahead of him.
I finished second three or four times, but I never beat him." |
He was
the first winner in 1936 of the Golden Rose
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Thank you for
being what you are.
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Mr. Hvam
left his indelible mark on the ski industry after winning his second Golden Rose race in
1937. While showing off with friends following his victory, Hvam landed wrong on a jump
and broke his leg. While hospitalized for his injury, Mr. Hvam used his schooling as
mechanical draftsman to design the first self-release ski binding. Called
Saf-Ski, the
binding was popular around the world into the 1960s. It was used by ski troops in World
War II and as a ski rental binding. His racing binding was called Hvam’s-Hvooms |
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