The Mountain South of Government Camp
Multorpor Mountain History – Multorpor Mountain lies just south of Government Camp, across Highway 26. Today it forms the eastern half of Mt. Hood Skibowl — known as Skibowl East. The name Multorpor feels permanent, firmly attached to the slopes that have hosted ski jumping, skiing, tubing, and generations of winter recreation. In fact, it has not always been called Multorpor.
Long before ski runs were cut into its flanks and jump hills and chairlifts appeared, the mountain carried a different name — Multiple Mountain.
Multiple Mountain
Forest maps as late as 1919 continued to label the peak “Multiple Mountain.” Yet by 1923, federal officials were reviewing the proper designation, and within a few years the name Multorpor had taken hold. The change appears to have occurred in the early 1920s.
It’s not known precisely when the name originated, but it was probably descriptive. The mountain’s rolling ridgelines and irregular summit could easily have inspired early visitors to call it “Multiple Mountain.” But that’s speculation.
By the early-1910s, Multiple Mountain was the recognized name.
The Multorpor Club
At some point, another name entered the story.
In the 1890s, a Portland civic and political organization known as the Multorpor Club, sometimes called the Multorpor Republican Club, was active in the city. Its name was a contraction:
- Mult – Multnomah
- Or – Oregon
- Por – Portland
The club was not a mountaineering society. The Multorpor club was a politically connected civic organization with prominent members including some from the The Mazamas. A Portland Climbing Club. According to a January 22, 1923 article in The Oregon Daily Journal, members of the Multorpor Club made an excursion to the peak some years earlier. In memory of that visit, the name “Multorpor” eventually became associated with the mountain.
But by the early 1920s, the situation was unclear.
A Name at Issue
The 1923 Oregon Daily Journal article reported that forest examiner A. G. Jackson was uncertain about the proper designation of the peak on the south side of Mount Hood. The article noted that the mountain “had become known to visitors as Multiple Mountain,” yet the name Multorpor was also in circulation.
The matter was referred to the United States Geographic Board for clarification.
The tone of the article suggests mild puzzlement. Multiple Mountain was the name commonly used. Multorpor was the name tied to the Portland club. Somewhere between popular usage and official designation, the shift had begun.
The 1919 map still read “Multiple.” By 1923, federal authorities were reviewing the name. By 1928, when ski development began on the slopes, the mountain was firmly known as Multorpor.
The change occurred quietly and was accepted as if it had always been called Multorpor.
From Descriptive to Commemorative
The similarity between “Multiple” and “Multorpor” is striking. The words are close enough in sound that one could easily replace the other without much notice. A commemorative name that echoed the original may have met little resistance.
It is also worth remembering that the Multorpor Club was a civic organization whose members understood how official processes worked. Geographic names in the early twentieth century were often shaped by correspondence, recommendations, and local advocacy. If club members wished to see their organization’s name formally attached to the peak, they would have known how to pursue it.
Whether the shift was deliberate advocacy, administrative preference, or simply the gradual adoption of a similar-sounding name remains uncertain.
What is certain is that the earlier descriptive name — Multiple Mountain — disappeared from maps.
The Name That Remains
By the late 1920s, Multorpor was established. The name would soon become associated with ski jumping, rope tows, and eventually the resort now collectively known as Mt. Hood Skibowl.
Most visitors today have never heard the name Multiple Mountain. Yet for a time, it was the mountain’s identity — practical, descriptive, and rooted in observation.
Place names change. They reflect the people who visit, organize, advocate, and remember. In the case of Multorpor Mountain, a straightforward frontier name gave way to one drawn from Portland civic life — close enough in sound to feel natural, official enough to endure.
And so Multiple Mountain became Multorpor.
Sources
- The Oregon Daily Journal, January 22, 1923. “Official Name for Peak on South Side of Hood at Issue.”
- U.S. Forest Service Map, 1916. Showing “Multiple Mtn.” near Government Camp, Oregon.
- U.S. Forest Service Map, 1919. Showing “Multiple Mountain” near Government Camp, Oregon.
- The Oregonian, various issues, 1892–1894. Articles referencing the Multorpor Club of Portland.
- Mt. Hood Skibowl, “History.” https://skibowl.com/about-winter/history/