SALISBURY — Jumpfest 2025 attracted thousands of guests to Satre Hill for a weekend of ski jumping, traditional treats, bonfires and brews Feb. 1 and 2.
Typically a three-day event, Friday night’s festivities were canceled due to rainy conditions, which made for slick slopes on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday was bright, clear and on the cold side in the mid-20s, with an irregular wind that the jumpers had to be mindful of. Snowflakes were flying when the action kicked off at about 9 a.m. with the youth competitions on the K20 jump.
Youth ski jumpers gather at the landing zone to recognize the national anthem before the Eastern U.S. Ski Jumping Championship began at Satre Hill.Lans Christensen
“It’s very winterlike here at Satre Hill,” said WZBG Radio’s Dale Jones, who once again assumed announcing duties for the competition. Gusty winds had fortunately mostly abated for the jumpers of smaller stature, with windows of sunshine intermittently breaking through the flurries and illuminating the paint-streaked landing hill.
SWSA’s own Caleb Bodwell, who placed 2nd last year, put down a sizable 10-meter jump. Shortly after, Catherine Chor flew 11.5 meters, the furthest of the day so far.
Henry Loher flew farther than any other competitor at Jumpfest 2025, gliding 71meters on Sunday, Feb. 2.Randy O’Rourke
Larry Stone, a ski jumping coach in winter sports mecca Lake Placid, New York and Chief of Competition for the weekend, said that Catherine’s sister Caroline would be one to watch later in the day in the older age group. The sisters train together at their local jumping facility in Hanover, New Hampshire, Stone explained: “They’re a good twosome.”
Temperatures dropped as the day went on, and in response the two bonfires flanking the landing of the big jump kept growing. Lakeville local Fisher Rydingsword was stoking the flames with scrap wood, a picnic table and seemingly infinite pallets. At 16 years old, this is his eighth year tending to the fires, and he likes the work: “It gives me an excuse to play with fire,” he said as he heaved another pallet atop the blaze.
Youth cross-country skiers depart.Alec Linden
The Cook Shack was busy around mealtime, as was the food truck offering pulled pork and mac and cheese.
To wash it down fans could choose between craft beers or hot toddies made with bourbon or rum as the main ingredient. The action was steady here too.
Some fans coped with the wind with tent-like shelters, but most were content to be bundled up and rely on the sun to stay warm. If that failed, there were the usual two bonfires on either side of the main jumping hill and a number of smaller fires in buckets and portable fire pits.
Hot toddies remain a staple treat at Jumpfest, plus SWSA bratwurst from the Cook Shack.Lans Christensen
Salisbury Central School eighth grade students Bryce Salmon, Quin Sheil and Tommy Downey prowled the crowd selling baked goods and handwarmers. The boys were raising funds for the annual class trip to Washington, D.C.
A little before 1 p.m., a well-prepared group were getting in the mood. Steve and Adrienne Fayette from Newtown and Rich and Amy Ferrari of Brookfield had comfy chairs and were well and warmly clad. They were fortifying themselves with salami, cheese and crackers and a bottle of red wine to start. Rich Ferrari said after that they’d get to the sandwiches.
“We love this event,” he said.
Ski jumpers pack into the shuttle truck for a lift back up to the K65 jump on Sunday, Feb. 2.Randy O’Rourke
At about 2 p.m. fans were still coming into Satre Hill. The parking lot was completely full, and people were sticking their cars wherever they could and hoofing it.
Sunday saw less wind and grayer skies for the Eastern U.S. Ski Jumping Championships with temperatures remaining more solidly in the mid-20s. These were good, fast conditions explained Jones, and the jumpers took advantage, putting on a spectacle of flight for the crowd.
The tone of the afternoon, though still joyous, was less boisterous and more focused than on Saturday. As skiers dropped in from their perch high on the tower, a hush would fall over the crowd, broken by cheers and the clang of more cowbells once the skis returned to snow.
Caleb Bodwell lands a jump on the K20 hill.Tom Brown
Salisbury’s own Islay Sheil surpassed 40-meters on her best Sunday jump. Sheil, who is 14, is the first SWSA youth athlete to have jumped the K65 since SWSA coach Seth Gardner jumped it in his early days, Spencer Taylor said.
Colin Delaney, who described himself as the “official/unofficial” coach of the Eastern Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined team, said that Jumpfest is a vital component to the national circuit. “It’s a really important hill size for training,” he said, emphasizing that the event “brings together athletes with different goals in the sport.”
Bonfires keep guests warm on crisp winter days.Lans Christensen
While the Eastern Championship is a wrap, jumping season is far from over. Loher, who emerged from Jumpfest highly decorated, will be competing at the Junior World Championships on Feb. 11, while other jumpers on the team will travel to Park City, Utah for the Junior National Championships on Feb. 22.
Jumpfest 2025 was well attended with an estimated 1,600 guests on Saturday and 1,500 on Sunday.
See 99th Jumpfest competitors soar to great heights for official Jumpfest results.
The SWSA crew maintains the slope at Satre Hill.Randy O’Rourke
A mother bear and her cubs move through a backyard in northwest Connecticut, where residents told DEEP that bear litters are now appearing more frequently.
“We really want to hear from you,” said Justin Davis, DEEP’s bureau chief for natural resources, at the meeting. He said that DEEP is preparing a bear management report in early 2026 that evaluates the challenges the state is facing and the strategies going forward dealing with them. He said the report will include feedback from the public generated at the listening sessions. He urged attendees, however, not to turn the meeting into a discussion about whether there should be a hunt or not.
Davis called the return of black bears to Connecticut a “conservation success story,” but one that now comes with challenges. "They're large animals, they're powerful and they can become comfortable being around people--and they're opportunistic, and they love to eat."
DEEP shared data showing that black bears have been reported in nearly every Connecticut town and that conflicts involving trash, bird feeders, livestock and home entries have increased sharply in recent years. The state’s bear population was last estimated at roughly 1,100 to 1,200 animals, a number that DEEP recognizes has grown since the study was conducted in 2012.
Eric Hammering, the office director of Environmental Review & Strategic Initiatives at DEEP, told the attendees that since 2020 there have been 264 reported home entries in 38 municipalities in northwest Connecticut, citing data from the state's State of the Bears report released in March.
A home entry, he said, is defined as an event when a bear actually goes inside a resident's living space.
Attendees at the DEEP meeting in Sharon on Dec. 3By Christian Murray
DEEP officials stressed that bird feeders and unsecured household trash are the two biggest drivers of bear conflicts. They advise residents to remove feeders entirely and keep their garbage inside or in bear-resistant containers. DEEP representatives noted that once a bear discovers food, it is likely to develop habits and return.
Many attendees said they see widespread noncompliance in their neighborhoods — particularly among part-time residents and short-term rental guests who leave trash out for days. Several said they were frustrated that the people causing the problem are often not the ones who attend sessions like this.
As a result, a number of residents called for stronger statewide enforcement, including fines for leaving trash unsecured and penalties for repeated violations. Without consequences, they said, the same households will continue to attract bears and put neighbors at risk. Others described practical steps to reduce bear activity--including the use of secure dumpsters, food composting stations, and the placement of electric fencing around livestock and beehives.
Again and again, residents emphasized that the underlying issue is human behavior. One attendee summarized it succinctly: “There are 3.6 million people in Connecticut and far fewer bears. Human behavior is the problem.”
Lynn Levine, a Litchfield resident who enjoys seeing bears, said common sense steps are the answer. She said that when she first moved to the area, she mistakenly left her garage down open with a 15-pound bag of shelled peanuts inside. "A bear dragged the bag around the side of the garage, sat down and had a teddy bear picnic." She said she learned not to leave the garage door open, especially with food inside.
Not all the stories were lighthearted. An 82-year-old Sharon woman recounted repeated break-ins that left her shaken and facing thousands of dollars in repairs, including a bear walking into her kitchen while she was washing dishes. A veterinarian described livestock attacks, including an alpaca that was mauled and dragged. A farmer said bears caused about $160,000 in crop losses in one year and that cornfields across the region face similar damage.
Several speakers added that DEEP’s limited staffing means local police often end up responding when bears are struck by cars or behaving aggressively.
From the State of the Bears Report released March 2025CT DEEP
Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway, who attended the session, said afterward that he was troubled by how outdated the state’s population data is.
“My biggest personal take-away was surprise — that DEEP doesn’t have a handle on how many bears are here,” he said. “They said they haven’t surveyed them since 2012. How do you make a plan or policy without doing a survey?”
Ridgway said Cornwall has received about 40 bear-related reports this year, including home and vehicle entries and injuries to pets. “People are frightened by intrusions onto their property,” he said. “These are not happy stories.”
He noted that in 2012 -- when the state said it last did its population count -- “a bear was a novelty,” but sightings today are very common. “Today, most people see a bear every week. It’s no longer a novelty — it’s a real issue.”
Ridgway said he supports developing a statewide management plan and wants Connecticut to examine approaches used in other states, including reducing their numbers.
While most attendees at the Dec. 3 session indicated they opposed a hunt, Ridgway said that is not a true reflection of how his constituents in Cornwall view the issue. “If we had a vote, it would be close as to whether there should be a hunting season.”
Only one attendee — a longtime hunter from West Cornwall — advocated for a controlled bear hunt. He argued that the population is “exploding” and that education and bear-proof containers are “a band-aid.” In keeping with DEEP’s rules, other residents did not respond, and the session took place without conflict.
Much of the remaining discussion centered on unsecured trash, short-term rentals, and outdated dumpsters at state parks that residents say train bears to expect human food. Some questioned why the listening session was not better publicized, and Ridgway echoed that concern, saying it should have also been held at the high school to allow more residents to attend.
DEEP collected comment cards at the end of the session. Staff said all feedback will be reviewed as the agency drafts its statewide bear management report.
