Tag Archive for: The New England Ski Museum

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Test Your Skiing Knowledge

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Each issue of SeniorsSkiing.com has a picture to help test your skiing knowledge. The pictures are from collections in a variety of participating ski museums, which we encourage readers to visit.

The object pictured here was made in the kitchen, but its nothing you’d want to eat. It was available throughout New England in the 1960s and 70s. One more clue: The image comes from the Maine Ski and Snowboard Museum‘s exhibit, “Made in Maine.” What was the brand name for this useful little object? The first reader to send the correct answer to info@seniorsskiing.com wins a soon to be determined but useful prize.

The Maine Ski and Snowboard Museum shares many stories from Maine and  the state’s role in the development of skiing and snowboarding. Last summer, the museum moved from Kingfield to a new home on the Access Road to Sugarloaf. The current “Made in Maine” exhibit explores the development of skiing and snowboarding through equipment made in the Pine Tree State. If you’re in the area, be sure to visit.

Michael Bannon, Bartlett, NH, was the first reader to correctly identify the picture in the last Test Your Skiing Knowledge. It’s the upper chairlift at Thorn Mountain, Jackson, NH. Thorn Mountain opened in 1949 with two single chairlifts stacked one above the other to give a vertical rise of more than 1,000 vertical feet. Thorn closed about 1956. Michael has been a Level 3 PSIA instructor since 1966. He’s been a SeniorsSkiing.com subscriber for 5 years. Congratulations, Michael! You’ll soon be receiving a container of Slide On, the dry lubricant spray that helps your feet slip in and out of ski boots. One application lasts for a month of frequent boot use. One 2 oz. can is good for the entire season. The picture was submitted by The New England Ski Museum, located in Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire. Admission to the museum is always free.

 

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Mystery Glimpse: More Ski Jumping

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[Editor Note: As the new year begins, SeniorsSkiing.com is again asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.  This year, we have a mix of premiums for different level of donations, including stickers, sew-on patches, our new SeniorsSkiing.com ball cap. All donors will be entered into a drawing for a pair of bamboo Polar Poles to be drawn in late March.  You can donate by clicking here.]

While We’re On Ski Jumping…

Two jumpers? Looks like a long time ago.

Last week, a few readers who know their ski history, nailed the Mystery Glimpse Big Jump as the Big Nansen Jump in Berlin, NH (see below).  Let’s see if anyone can identify what is happening here and where. Hint: Not New Hampshire.

Last Week

The Big Jump is Big Nansen, the venerable jump in Berlin, NH. Some highly knowledgeable SeniorsSkiing.com commentators got the facts exactly right. Built circa late-1930s, Big Nansen dominated US ski jumping for many decades. Here is an excerpt about the jump published in the Journal of the New England Ski Museum (Winter, 2018):.

“Built on steep trusses and towering 171 feet high, the Nansen jump was at the time the largest ski jumping tower in the world. In 1938, the jump’s inaugural winter, the Nansen hosted the Olympic trials. Over the next several decades, it would be the site of the myriad jumping competitions, from Winter Carnival events to four U.S. Ski Jumping National Championships in 1940, 1957,1965, and 1972 before falling into relative obscurity.”

The last competition was held there in 1985. A severe accident to a college-age ski jumper in 1977 had brought a lawsuit to the US Ski Association, the Nansen Ski Club, and others that added to the jump’s decline. However, in recent years, the Friends of Nansen Ski Jump was formed to revive the jump and the sport in Berlin. Red Bull, the energy drink folks, happened to be working on a documentary about US Ski Team Jumper Sarah Hendrickson, and became interested in restoring the jump. In 2017, Hendrickson took off from Big Nansen, the first jump from the structure since 1985.  She went on to compete in the Pyeongchang Olympic games.

The Friends Of Nansen are planning to use the site as a training ground for young jumpers.

SeniorsSkiing.com highly recommends exploring The New England Ski Museum and its well-researched Journal. The Museum has two locations in New Hampshire, one at the base of Cannon Mountain’s gondola in Franconia  Notch, and a newly opened Eastern Slope Branch in North Conway. For more information, consider visiting online and in person. 

Sarah Hendrickson’s jump from a restored Big Nansen in 2017. Credit: Red Bull