BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (WCAX) – Ski jumpers from around the world are once again in Brattleboro to compete at the Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition, an event more than 100 years in the making.
If you’ve ever experienced a ski jumping competition firsthand, it may be the sound that is most impressive.
Around 30 up-and-coming athletes from the U.S. and Europe are taking part in the weekend event.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly?
“It’s just a really natural thing. It feels amazing and you just feel like you are really flying,” said Will Coffin of Lake Placid, New York.
“A rush of adrenalin when you are in the air and the feeling of flying is not like anything else,” said Kai McKinnon of Lake Placid, New York.
The 90-meter Harris Hill Ski Jump is the only Olympic-sized jump in New England. This is the venue’s 102nd year.
“It is a huge part of southern Vermont’s culture and history,” said Melissa Gullotti, the spokesperson for Harris Hill.
But with little natural snowfall this year, the hill is entirely covered with manmade snow for the event.
“This year what they did, they looked at the temperature about a month out and stockpiled a massive mound of snow just in case we didn’t get anything from Mother Nature,” Gullotti said.
Thirteen-year-old Will Coffin’s home jump is in Lake Placid.
“A lot of times where we were just ski jumping and landing on sheets of ice,” he said.
“This winter is like a three,” McKinnon said.
I joined Kai McKinnon and fellow competitors on a bumpy ride up the hill. From their perspective– soaring through the air– there is nothing to complain about.
“I mean the hill crew has done a wonderful job,” McKinnon said.
“Oh, really great. I love it. It’s really good conditions right now,” said Fredrik Jevne, who is with a team of seven jumpers from Norway.
I asked Jevne where he’s seen the most snow in his travels.
“Probably Finland or Norway,” he said. “Oh, yeah.”
A new event this year is a target jumping competition under the lights on Friday night.
The jumping continues through Sunday.
