Plenty of Snow Already for Ski Jump Weekend

SALISBURY — They might be going under the moniker of JumpFest this year but, to longtime fans, they’ll always be known as The Yumps.

That’s what the Salisbury Ski Jumps (Feb. 9-11) were called more than 80 years ago, when John Satre first sailed over the heads of Salisbury jump fans on Main Street in the village. The Norwegian immigrant had been a ski jumper in his native country before coming to America to work for Judge Donald Warner in Salisbury.

The late Jimmy DuBois was a lad of 15 or so on that fateful day (he passed away in 2004 at the age of 93). On the 75th anniversary of the jumps, in 2001, he recounted the day when jumping came to Salisbury in an interview with The Lakeville Journal.

"Us kids had a home-made ski jump by piling up snow right across from the Episcopal church, near the high hedge," Mr. DuBois recalled at his home. "We were going up about 15 feet but it felt like we were going 100."

As they enjoyed the thrills of their hilly handiwork, he said, "this man came up with a big grin on his face and asked if we’d let him ‘yump.’ It was the first time we’d ever heard the word ‘yump.’ So we said, yeah, you can ‘yump.’"

That man was John Satre, and he and his family transformed the face of winter sports in the Northwest Corner.

That little pile of snow led to larger and larger professional-quality ski jumps, first on a hillside off Main Street near Salmon Kill Road, and then at what is now known as Satre Hill, up the road and through the woods behind LaBonne’s market.

For many years now, the jumps have been sponsored by the Salisbury Winter Sports Association, which also trains young jumpers and helps them compete at jump contests across the country. There have been many notable ski jumpers who have grown up on Satre Hill, including Salisbury native Roy Sherwood, who competed in the Olympics in the 1950s.

This year, the rickety old ski tower that has been in use for some eight decades was refurbished and upgraded. And the jump organizers have had the benefit of new snowmaking equipment, making them less dependent on the vagaries of the weather.

Most years, the ski jump organizers have to work around the clock in the last days before the event to ensure that there is enough snow on the slopes. This year, despite the warm temperatures of the early part of the winter, the landing hill and jump tower are already coated with plenty of fluffy covering.

"We’re just about done," announced SWSA President Ken Barker on Tuesday evening. "We should be all done by tomorrow. The hill is done, the tower’s done. We’re early for the firs time in quite a few years, because of the weather. It’s been cold enough to make snow. It won’t matter if it gets warm again, there’s still enough snow."

The annual jump weekends have become one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the year in the Northwest Corner. They feature world-class athletes, who come here to earn their national rankings in the U.S. Eastern Ski Jumping Championships (Feb. 10), and who also take a shot at winning the hefty SWSA silver cup in the Salisbury Invitational (Feb. 11).

And they’re just plain good fun. Spectators line either side of the landing field at Satre Hill, where they are so close to the action that they can sometimes feel the spray of the snow on their faces. Children love to perch on the haybales at the end of the run, and watch the jumpers fly toward them and then gracefully shusss to a stop. Children (and adults) also enjoy eating old-fashioned foods at the Cook Shack, which serves chili, hot dogs, hamburgers, candies and hot beverages.

And everyone, eventually, buys or borrows a large cowbell with which to cheer on the jumpers.

The ski jump activities have expanded out beyond the boundaries of just jumping. There is an ice carving contest all day Saturday on the Green in front of The White Hart Inn. There is a Snow Ball dance party at the inn on Saturday night.

And this year, for the first time, there will be nighttime target jumping at Satre Hill from 7 to 9 p.m. About 30 jumpers of all ages (including many of the nationally ranked competitors who will try to make the longest jumps on Saturday and Sunday afternoon) will jump in the dark and try to land on an illuminated target on the ground.

That evening there will also be an ice-carving demonstration. The Cook Shack will be open. And there will be a short fireworks display to finish off the fun. Admission is $10.

Admission to the jumps on Saturday and Sunday is also $10; kids under 12 are free. Junior jumpers compete on the smaller hills from 8 a.m. Practice jumping for the main event begins at 11 a.m. and the competition begins at 1 p.m. each day.