One of New England’s most important skiing relics made its big comeback over the weekend. On Sunday, the Big Nansen Ski Jump in Milan, New Hampshire hosted a competition on their thirty-nine-meter and ten-meter jumps. The Valley News reported that the event was held as part of Berlin’s hundredth anniversary of their first winter carnival, which featured activities like “a snow sculpture contest, the burning of the greens and the popular Art Sled Rally.” The jumps will host a high school competition on Wednesday night. Thirty-year-old Cooper Dodds won the competition, with two jumps of 43.5 meters.
The Nansen Ski Jump, nicknamed “The Sleeping Giant” was constructed in 1936, opened in 1938, and was the biggest ski jump at the time of its opening. The jump is two hundred and sixty feet in length, has a two hundred and twenty-five vertical drop, and a slope of around thirty-seven degrees. The ski jump hosted many ski jumping competitions in its heyday, including the first Olympic qualifiers in 1938. The last competition was held in 1985, the K-80(eighty-meter jump) closed in 1988, and it quickly fell into disrepair. Thanks to some renovations from Redbull, there was a viral Redbull Youtube video jump from local Olympic athlete Sarah Hendrickson, but it has not seen any major competitions or events since then. A restoration effort is currently underway on the K-80 jump and it could host competitions in the near future.
Image/Video Credits: The Big Nansen Ski Jump, Redbull, USA Nordic
