Skiers to fly off of Harris Hill ski jump in Brattleboro once again

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 06:34 PM

This is cool. I didn't know there was such a long history of international ski jumping in Brattleboro, Vermont. And now a community effort has brought an aged ski jump back to life.

On February 14 and 15, action returns to Harris Hill, the only 90-meter ski jump in New England and one of only six in the U.S. The 85th(!) annual competition comes after a half-million-dollar reconstruction of the original 1922 jump.

This is a United States Ski Association (USSA) sanctioned event, where you can see some of the world's best ski jumpers on the new jump. These guys are going to fly!

Organizers hope the reconstructed jump (the original once was declared unsafe) will revive ski jumping in New England.

Check out the photos and event details at www.harrishillskijump.org. Harris Hill is on Cedar Street in Brattleboro, five minutes off I-91. Depending where you are headed that weekend, perhaps you could combine a trip to Harris Hill with a ski at Mt. Snow, Stratton, Ascutney or Okemo?

These photos are from Harris Hill. Check out the historic photo of the crowd gathered to watch ski jumping. Quite a spectacle.

Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Cross-country skiing