Cottonwood Butte is a mountain and modest ski area in northern

Idaho Panhandle

The Idaho Panhandle is the northern region of the U.S. State of Idaho that encompasses the ten northernmost counties of Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Shoshone. Residents of the panhandle refer to the region as North Idaho...

 Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, west of nearby Cottonwood

Cottonwood, Idaho

Cottonwood is a city in Idaho County, Idaho, United States. The population was 900 at the 2010 census. Cottonwood is just west of U.S. Route 95, between Grangeville and Lewiston.-Cottonwood Butte:...

. Its summit is at an elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 of 5730 feet (1,746.5 m) above sea level and is the highest point on the Camas Prairie

Camas prairie

The name camas prairie refers to several distinct geographical areas in the western United States which were named for the native perennial camassia or camas, including regions in the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington...

, 2100 feet (640.1 m) above Cottonwood.

Ski area

The summit of the ski lift is 5566 feet (1,696.5 m), with a vertical drop of 845 feet (257.6 m). The slopes are on the northeast flank of the mountain, served by two surface lift

Surface lift

A surface lift is a type of cable transportation system used to transport skiers and snowboarders where riders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill.Types of surface lifts include the Poma lift, J-bar, T-bar, rope tow, and magic carpet....

s: a T-bar

T-bar lift

A T-bar lift, also called T-bar, is a mechanised system for transporting skiers and snowboarders uphill, along the surface of the slope...

 and a rope tow

Ski tow

thumb|right|A rope tow or ski tow.A ski tow, also called rope tow or handle tow, is a mechanised system for pulling skiers and snowboarders uphill....

. The average snowfall is 45 inches (114.3 cm).

The ski area was established in 1967, although skiing had previously taken place on the mountain with portable ski tow

Ski tow

thumb|right|A rope tow or ski tow.A ski tow, also called rope tow or handle tow, is a mechanised system for pulling skiers and snowboarders uphill....

s.

The area operates from 10 am to 4 pm on weekends and holidays, and Friday nights (6-10 pm) in January.

Radar station

During the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, the mountain was the site of Cottonwood Air Force Station

Cottonwood Air Force Station

Cottonwood Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. The radar site was located at the summit of Cottonwood Butte, west-northwest of Cottonwood in Idaho County, Idaho...

, an early warning radar

Early warning radar

An early warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as early as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the defences the maximum time in which to operate...

 installation of the U.S. Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. Construction of the station began in 1956 and it went operational in early 1959. The radar tower was at the summit and the cantonment

Cantonment

A cantonment is a temporary or semi-permanent military or police quarters. The word cantonment is derived from the French word canton meaning corner or district, as is the name of the Cantons of Switzerland. In South Asia, the term cantonment also describes permanent military stations...

 of the station was at 4400 feet (1,341.1 m), about one mile (1.6 km) below the present base of the ski area on Radar Road. The 27-unit family housing area was built in the city of Cottonwood, on Butte Drive in the north end. The radar was significantly upgraded with a new tower in 1962, but the station was obsolete within three years and was deactivated. The buildings of Cottonwood AFS became a Job Corps

Job Corps

Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to youth ages 16 to 24.-Mission and purpose:...

 center in 1965, supervised by the U.S. Forest Service

United States Forest Service

The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...

.

Correctional facility

After nine years, the Job Corps center was transferred to the state of Idaho in 1974, and was converted to the minimum-security North Idaho Correctional Institution.

The state department of lands built a fire lookout at the summit, which also supports various communications towers.

External links

• Cottonwood Butte.org - ski area
• Go-Idaho.com - Cottonwood Butte
• Visit Idaho.org - Cottonwood Butte
• North Central Idaho.info - Cottonwood Butte
• Idaho Ski Resorts.com - Cottonwood Butte
• MSRmaps.com - USGS topo map & aerial photo