Jumping for Joy; soring beyond the K Point

There was one cold weekend in the northeast this winter—and it coincided with the Salisbury Winter Sports Association’s annual Jumpfest. That’s Salisbury, Connecticut.  And yes, that’s Ski Jumping.  The SWSA’s website proclaims that ski jumping is as close to flying as you can get.  They say it is fun, and “surprisingly safe” as the “second safest snow sport after cross country skiing.” (And who hasn’t twisted a knee doing that?)

A northeast US map of ski resorts at onthesnow.com shows 109 alpine ski areas (granted they stretch the northeast with some Pennsylvania hiccups).  In the same region those who want to hurtle down a steep narrow ramp in search of flight have a choice of only six club hills.  There are three in New Hampshire--Andover, Hanover, and Lebanon; and one each in Vermont, New York and Connecticut—Saxtons River, Lake Placid and Salisbury.

A poster or short announcement in the local paper is all it takes to fill youth soccer teams to capacity and create a waiting list of players.  But the US Ski Jumping Team doesn’t fill its junior roster so easily.  Their recruiting video  Invitation to Fly was produced to entice new participants.  And their Jumping in the East slide presentation proclaims that the only skills you need are Balance, Flexibility, Strength…oh, and enough “Ski Skill” to turn and stop after landing.  Anyone can do this!

Today the four basic elements of a jump—In -run, take off, flight, and landing—are performed on plastic and porcelain surfaces for year round training but there was a time when snow ruled the sport.  In Salisbury, it was Norwegian immigrant brothers John, Olaf, and Magnus Sartre who livened up winter by bringing jumping to town.  Brother John demonstrated their hometown sport by skiing from the peak of a barn roof and flying 30 feet in the air before landing safely (or so the legend goes).   The town was hooked and the brothers formed the Salisbury Outing Club which hosted its first ski jump competition in January of 1927.  In 1933 the National Ski Jumping Championships were held in the otherwise quiet Connecticut town.   With only brief interludes the town has been jumping ever since.  In 2011 a new, 65 meter jump and steel tower was completed thanks to donations from over 500 people and the hill again became a site for national competitions.

But back to Jumpfest 2016.  In a winter of extreme warmth and diminutive snowfall, the weekend of the Jumpfest saw 2 days of subzero temperatures while wind whipped the flags on the jump tower.  The bar start was moved low on the hill so that competitors were not blown off their landing.   No observer would detect that the fans risked certain frostbite to congregate at the base of the hill.  Bonfires and hot toddies sweetened with pure maple sugar kept the cowbells of enthusiasm ringing as the jumpers flew, soring to land beyond the K-point.  The original extreme sport tradition offered thrills and inspiration to all who gathered to watch.

The SWSA website claims that “ski jumping builds courage, confidence and character.”  Flying through winter will do all of that for sure!