DIXIE SUMMIT — A cherished Grant County tradition is making a comeback after a lengthy hiatus.

The Dixie Rope Tow, which brought local families together to play in the snow for generations, had been out of action for the last seven years and was only open sporadically for several years before that.

Now it’s up and running once again, thanks to some generous early-season snowfall and the dedication of third-generation operator Kevin Rapp of Prairie City.

“My grandfather (Alton Rapp) opened this in 1956,” Rapp said. “He ran it till he passed away. My dad, Gary Rapp, ran it since then. 

“I’ve been coming here since I was a little tiny tot,” he added. “Now I guess it’s my turn.”

On Dec. 29, Rapp was running the rope tow mainly for the benefit of his partner, Kayla Ortiz, and her children, Jose, Emilio and Manuel Galan, who were having a ball sledding and inner tubing down the snow-covered hill served by the rope tow.

Ortiz and her mother, Veronica Griffin, who was visiting from Payette, Idaho, also took a few runs down the slope, chased happily by Rosco the dog.

Before moving to Prairie City two years ago, Ortiz and her family lived in Ontario. The boys loved playing in the snow there, too, she said, “but we didn’t have the little tow rope.”

And that makes all the difference.

Let the rope do the work

Powered by a burly electric motor housed inside a wooden shed, the tow is 1,100 feet of 1-inch nylon rope braided into a continuous loop. When Rapp flips the switch, the motor whirs to life and the rope starts running through pulleys at the top and bottom of the hill, plus another mounted on a big fir tree at the midway point.

It serves the same purpose as a ski lift, but there are no chairs. Instead, you just take a firm grip on the rope and let it pull you to the top of the hill on your sled, inner tube, snowboard or skis, then turn around and let gravity whisk you back down to the bottom.

And with the motorized rope tow doing all the hard work of hauling you uphill, you can play in the snow all day long.

When you’re ready for a break, you can relax inside the warming hut, where a woodstove keeps the temps toasty and parents can keep an eye on their youngsters through a picture window.

The rope tow and warming hut are technically owned by the nonprofit Starr Ridge Winter Sports Club but are operated and maintained by the Rapp family, which relies on revenue from day-use fees and season passes to cover their costs.

“We’re hoping to make enough to cover electric and taxes,” Rapp said, although he added the family usually winds up paying some of those costs out of pocket. 

He could also use some volunteers to help operate the rope tow and keep an eye on things so he can take a weekend off from time to time.

“It’s just me right now,” Rapp said. “I’m trying to recruit some help.”

It took a lot of time and effort to get the rope tow back in working condition, according to Rapp.

“When you leave something sit for that long, there’s a lot of kinks you’ve got to work out,” he said.

But now that it’s up and running again, Rapp wants to keep the momentum going.

“We’re hoping to run it every weekend, from 11 to 5 Saturday and Sunday — that’s the goal,” he said. “If someone wants to come on a different day, we can accommodate that, too.”

There are even lights for nighttime use.

With this season’s early snowfall, Rapp was able to start up the rope tow just before Thanksgiving, and he hopes to keep it running at least through March and possibly into April.

“As long as there’s snow, we’ll run,” he promised.

Doing it for the kids

Even though Sunday’s crowd was small, word already has started to get around that the Dixie Rope Tow is back in business.

“You should have been here yesterday,” Rapp said. “We had more than 50 people out here.”

Many were locals from Prairie City, but there were also visitors from John Day, Long Creek, Dayville and even one family from Redmond.

“It was a great turnout,” Rapp said. 

Now he’s hoping word will continue to spread that the Dixie Rope Tow is back. He’d like to see the crowds keep building so a new generation of families can make memories on Grant County’s local ski hill — just like he did when he was young.

“I’m doing it for the kids,” Rapp said. “I loved it when I was a kid.”

What: Dixie Rope Tow

Where: Dixie Mountain Sno-Park, just off Highway 26 10 miles east of Prairie City

When: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, and other times by appointment, through the end of March or later if there’s enough snow

Cost: $5 per person per day; season passes are $50 for individuals or $75 for families

Parking: A Sno-Park Permit is required

Etc.: For more information, or to volunteer, call Kevin Rapp at 541-620-8414