Ski jumping was a natural activity in the southwestern part of Wisconsin since it was settled largely by Norwegians starting in 1848. By the turn of the century, there were dozens of small ski jumps throughout Wisconsin and many other states.
It quickly became a popular spectator sport with the advent of automobiles. For a number of years before WW II, the University of Wisconsin Madison had a ski jumping team. The hill was located on Bascom Hill with the outrun on Lake Mendota.
Formed in 1922 as the Westby Ski Club, it boasted over 500 members in a community of only 2,000! The all-volunteer club held the first ski jumping tournament in 1923 southeast of Westby near the town of Bloomingdale. Following several successful tournaments, the club was renamed the Snowflake Ski Club in 1925. After hosting tournaments on three different hills, each progressively larger, the largest and more modern jump in use today was constructed in 1960 with the first tournament held in late January 1961. It is currently the eighth largest hill reach in North America and is considered a “large” hill, which is related to the hill’s design.
Each jumper is evaluated according to the distance traveled in the air and the style performed. The distance score is related to the construction or critical point (also known as the K-point), which is a line drawn in the landing slope which serves as a “target” for the competitors to set as their ideal landing point. Exceeding that point results in a higher score.
The current official record of 130.0 meters was achieved by Fredrik Bjerkeengen of Norway on February 10, 2008. The Snowflake Club complex also has five smaller training hills, with K-points of 5,10, 20, 37 and 65 meters. An active training program includes boys and girls as young as five years of age!
Snowflake hills have at times been used as training sites for the US Olympic ski jumping team, and the current hill has hosted numerous national and regional tournaments including Continental Cups. The Snowflake hill is the “featured hill” on the Annual Five Hill Tour that includes clubs in St Paul, Eau Claire, Ishpeming and Chicago. This tour attracts competitors from around the US and several foreign teams. In addition, the Snowflake complex is also host to an annual regional “junior” tournament on the five smaller hills located adjacent to the large hill.
A nine-hole golf course was built in 1989 to aid in funding the annual ski jumping tournament. It is a relatively easy course and is well used by families and singles alike. The Club billed itself as “The Only Ski Jump in the World with a 9-hole Golf Course at its Base.” The Club has become a year-round destination for skiers, golfers, and those who simply love its natural beauty. The adjacent Rod and Gun facility adds to the entertainment value of the Timber Coulee location. NOTE: The golf course operation and the Club House are leased to an operator who is solely responsible for all maintenance and operation of the course and Club House. He assumes all the risk and associated expenses, and does not share profits with the Snowflake Ski Club.
Today, Snowflake is one of only a few remaining “all volunteer” ski jumping clubs in the world and is believed to be the last in the US.
The Snowflake Ski Club is located four miles north of Westby on County Road P in Timber Coulee. There is a small clubhouse that was originally a small dairy barn across the road from the golf course. It has a bar and serves sandwiches and light meals during the golfing season. There is a food stand on the golf course next to the hill “outrun” that serves hot food and beverages during the tournament. There are some small maintenance and support buildings on the golf course as well, and one large shed next to the clubhouse where larger equipment and tools are stored.
The Club has just received its 501©3 tax status during mid 2021 and formed a “Friends of the Snowflake Ski Club” which does fundraising under that IRS status.
All the club members who maintain the hills and prepare them for practice and competition are unpaid volunteers. Membership is very informal; we do have “members” but many of the volunteers are not members.
Westby is a town of approximately 2,200. It has a consolidated school district, a number of businesses including Westby Cooperative Creamery with world recognized cheeses, Westby Meats with nationally award winning products, Vernon Electric Cooperative, Vernon Communications Cooperative, Westby Cooperative Credit Union, Premier (farm) Cooperative which has recently completed a new feed mill which will be the largest and most modern in a four county area, a number of antique stores and restaurants, three banks, several bed and breakfast establishments, a grocery store, several garages, a concrete plant, a saw mill, and six churches. There are several festivals during the year, but the Snowflake Ski Tournament has always been the biggest drawing event of the year.
Work sessions are scheduled during the summer and fall for normal maintenance of the hill, and actual preparation for the tournament begins as soon as the weather turns cold enough to make snow. All the preparation and actual tournament operations are performed on a volunteer basis.
The tournament used to be held on a Saturday and Sunday with practice jumping on Friday. In 2008 we started holding a Friday evening competition under the lights. We retained the Saturday competition, but dropped the Sunday event. Friday night has been very popular with younger people and couples from LaCrosse and surrounding areas – it is a “party” atmosphere. Saturday draws more families with features such as horse sleigh rides for children. There are bonfires and tailgating both days. Practice jumping is now held on Thursday. Total 2020 attendance was 3063.
Since 2008, with financial support from Don Weber (a Marine Corps Viet Nam veteran) and his company, Logistics Health Incorporated in LaCrosse, we have given all veterans and current military personnel and their families free admission.
On the sides of the hill landing slope, there are colored panels. They are used by the skiers to adjust their landing spot. The dark blue panel marks landing point P which is where the crest of the slope is and above which no points for distance are awarded. The red panels mark the K-point (106 meters on our hill). Below the red panels are two green panels (not shown in this photograph) that mark the HS landing point (118 meters on our hill) where the hill starts to slope up again and beyond which danger to the jumper increases. Landing beyond this point will still earn additional points, but may result in injury
There are also note rows of small pine twigs stuck in the snow and placed approximately every 3 — 5 meters to help the skiers with depth perception and to help spectators judge the distance of each jump. When they come off the tower, jumpers are moving about 57 miles per hour. On a good jump, they can be airborne for up to 5 seconds.
Winds are very important in this sport. Crosswinds obviously can be extremely dangerous and the jumping is delayed or even cancelled when winds are consistently high or gusting. Crosswinds are the most common since the jumps are out into the valley. A wind coming from the east, or up the hill, creates an updraft that is highly desirable and will give the skier a longer ride.
Along the left side of the slope are “markers” who watch each jumper and the location of their heel when they land. If that point is in front of a “marker”, he raises his hand and the judges use his position to determine the length of the jump. For more official “sanctioned” competitions, electronic machines are used to measure the touchdown point much more accurately.
Each jumper makes one trial jump and two record jumps each day.
Standards for hills are set by the International Ski Federation (FIS) and are changed often to keep the sport competitive. Such changes can be very expensive and that is one reason our hill is not currently sanctioned for FIS recognized tournaments. The Westby hill could be modified, but only at considerable expense. Modification remains a long term goal.
