BCA/NHA Cope-Myers Memorial Hillclimb at Maryhill

The Cope-Myers Memorial Hillclimb at Maryhill is a new take on the original Annual Maryhill event. With different start and finish lines, the hill is a hair longer and has a few extra turns. The starting line is at the 600-foot level with the finish line at the 1500 ft level. The course is adrenaline pumping 2 miles long.

-------------------

Why is it called the Cope-Myers Memorial Hillclimb?

Charles Cope: We lost Charles on December 10th, 2018. Here are some words from his wife:

Dorothy Cope: "Four cars and many years ago, Charles learned about Mary Hill Loops Road. From it’s inception in 2011 until his last checkered flag, he considered the hill climb event at Mary Hill his “baby”. The first time we went to scope it out, he dealt with the long boarders who decided no one else was going to use their hill! Ha! A Challenge evolved!

Surviving rain, fog, fires, crashed gates, heat, cold, wind, cows in the field, timing issues, HANs or no HANs debates, breakfast?, lunch?, dinner?, do we feed the drivers at all?, not enough t-shirts, bees, allergies, who could park where, motorhome madness, tech issues, moving the port-a-potty, camping or no, and having enough people to clean up afterwards, he carried on gallantly until the September 2018 event.

As his back-up typist, go-fer, planner and sounding board, I can assure you he learned a lot about diversity, fairness, and compromise from all of the participants, whom he respected and adored. Even those he had issues with were revered. He created the simple but brilliant, “corner location sheets” which are used to this day by the hill master to keep everyone safe, and he had an entire bookcase of notebooks on how to’s, what not to do’s and how he could make it better. For months before and after, he would confront the issues and vow to make the next one better, which I firmly believe he did.

No matter how many lost vacations, spent print cartridges or two and 1/2 hour trips to make sure all was well, nothing could discourage him from making the event happen. As ill as he was at the last hill climb, he was insistent he needed to be there, even though it was in good hands, and ironically, evacuated due to fire. (Thanks Rob and Deb Riedel, Ryan Haines, and Ryan Davis). The wind turbines on the hill stand as a reminder of a man who absolutely loved that silly place.

Thank you for honoring Charles with this event. He would have been so pleased to be recognized for bringing so many people so much joy! Drive it like you stole it!"

------------------------

Wilke Myers: We lost Wilke on November 13th, 2020. Here are some words from his wife:

Marcy Myers:  "Wilke’s love of racing began in 1963 with a Volvo 545. In 1965 he took delivery of the first Shelby Mustang GT to be delivered in Idaho. From that point on there was no looking back - cars and racing were his passion. He was involved in the startup of the Southwestern Idaho Sports Car Club, the Silver Sage Porsche Club, and the Southwestern Idaho Snake River SCCA.

  When Doc Holverson started the Freezeout Hillclimb in 1964 Wilke was there to help put it together, thus developing a love for hillclimbing. Shortly after starting to hillclimb, he and the “Idaho contingency” would scour the surrounding areas for other hillclimbs to participate in. One day they ran across the Knox Mountain hillclimb in Kelowna B.C. Canada. Well, this sounded like a fun road trip so they made a call to the “powers to be” in Kelowna and asked what it would take to be able to enter the event. They were told they in order to compete they would a competition license. They asked if the license from the Northwest Hillclimb Association was acceptable, after some discussion of what the Northwest Hillclimb Association was about the powers to be in Canada decided it was an acceptable license. So, Wilke and a couple of the other guys went down to the print shop and had licenses made, thus the Northwest Hillclimb Association was born.

  One of his favorite stories is how the bunch from Idaho would go the Lord Ellis hillclimb and they would all be lumped together in the “Idaho Class”. Thus, the Association has strived to work with the clubs to develop uniform classing, and secure insurance. He never missed a Freezeout Hillclimb - even the year he broke his ankle. They strapped him in the car with his leg on the passenger seat and used the seatbelt to secure the leg and off he went."

-----------------------------------

The road ascends 850 feet in a series of curves with a gradient of 5%. In 1998, a 3.6 mile section of the road was completely refurbished. It consists of 25 curves, eight of which are hairpins. A special thanks to the Maryhill Museum for the use of the road and the pit area.

Directions:

Get on I-84 E out of Portland. Take exit 104 for US-97 toward Yakima Bend. Turn left onto US-97 N Entering Washington go 2.5 miles. Turn right onto WA-14 E/Lewis and Clark Hwy. Go 1.2 miles and take the first left onto Maryhill Loops Road.

If you would like to take the Washington Side: Take WA-14 E out of Vancouver, continue for 103 miles. Turn left onto Maryhill Loops Road.

Where to Stay:

• Camping - Space for RVs is limited at this time, there is no guarantee for space. Camping is also permitted where space is available. There are also several Campgrounds nearby. No fires are allowed in the area - this is for your safety, and the safety of others due to the dryness and high fire danger of the surrounding area. ABSOLUTELY NO SMOKING.
• Hotels - Hotels are located in Goldendale (WA), Biggs Junction (OR), and about 30 minutes away in The Dalles (OR).