Wisconsin’s landscape doesn’t seem ideal for the high-flying sport of ski jumping, but with a strong Scandinavian lineage (especially in western Wisconsin) and plenty of snow, America’s Dairyland is also America’s Ski Jumping Land. In 1922 the Westby Ski Club was founded in Westby, a small town established by Norwegian immigrants in the state’s Coulee region. The club held its first tournament the following year on a jump made of wooden scaffolding (right).
The group changed its name to the Snowflake Ski Club in 1925 and built a new, modern jump in 1960 in Timber Coulee. Today the complex boasts five jumps, including a 118-meter hill that is one of the largest in the country and hosts Olympic-caliber athletes from around the world at its annual tournament (above), this year February 3–4.
While ski jumping has long been a male-dominated sport, women ski jumpers at Snowflake had something to cheer about last year. Men have jumped at the Winter Olympics since 1924, but it wasn’t until last year that the International Olympic Committee announced it was adding women’s ski jumping to the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia, making it the latest Winter Olympic event to hold competitions for both men and women.
