Snowflake Ski Jump ready for takeoff

La Crosse Tribune, Wis.(MCT)

They are typically small in stature but almost larger-than-life once flying through the air. Yes, it would be fair to call them thrill-seekers.

You can call them a lot of other things, too, but the ski jumpers who will be at Timber Coulee near Westby on Friday and Saturday are clearly something to see.

They travel the world to perfect their skills, and our little corner of the globe gets to see them in action under the lights for the first time on Friday night, and once again the next day.

The two-day event at Timber Coulee is the final stop of five competitions for these daredevils on skis, and Snowflake Ski Club officials are thinking this could be something special.

Here are some reasons why you might want to check out the unique sport of ski jumping.

Near-Olympic competition

The competition level at the Snowflake Ski Jump will be as close as you can get to the Vancouver Olympics without buying a plane ticket.

"Quite a few of them tried to qualify for the Olympics," Snowflake Ski Club publicity chairman Scott Yttri said. "There are a few who just barely missed making their teams. These jumpers are just the next step down."

Yttri said the jumpers, who this year come from Norway, Russia, Poland, Finland and the United States, are between 18-20 years old and compete in international and regional competitions. The Snowflake is a favorite of the European jumpers because of its setting in a steep wooded valley called Timber Coulee.

"That's how all the jumps are set up in Europe," Yttri said. "It reminds skiers of hills they're used to jumping on; the way the hills are formulated and the way the wind picks them up."

Jumping under the lights

Competition on the main (118-meter) hill will be held at night under the lights for the first time in the 87-year history of the event.

There will be 12 portable lights all along the hill and eight at the landing and spectator areas at the bottom of the hill.

"We wanted to do something different this year," Yttri said. "This will probably be the biggest night jump they've ever done. We had them fired up (Tuesday) night and people driving down on County P said the hill looked bigger and closer to the road."

Ski Club tradition

This is more than an annual event for the Snowflake Ski Club and the community of Westby. It is a way of life.

The Snowflake Ski Club, a volunteer organization that, at times, has reached several hundred members, has worked through thick and thin to keep this tournament alive. Before the days of snowmaking equipment, club members and others would haul load after load of snow gathered from the parking lots and unsanded streets of Westby, then dump it on top of the jumping hill weeks before the actual competition.

Hill crew volunteers, wearing specially-designed spikes over their boots, would be positioned up and down the hill to direct the snow with chutes, then pack it.

Hauling and dumping snow on the hill became a thing of the past when the club purchased snowmaking equipment a number of years ago. The equipment is similar to what ski resorts use to make snow.

Jumpers, a number of them former Olympians, from all over the world have competed at Westby. There have been some famous jumpers, too, such as "Eddie the Eagle" Edwards, a zany Brit who competed at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Canada, and came to Westby in 1997. The Eagle certainly didn't soar, as he finished 41st out of 47 jumpers.

Where to watch

It doesn't matter if you are a first-timer at the Snowflake Ski Jumping Tournament or a seasoned veteran, the sight of a ski jumper racing down the inrun and thrusting their body into the cool, crisp air is pretty amazing.

If you are a first-timer, however, there are some places to view the jumpers that you might want to check out. You have the option of sitting right in your car, but you won't get a true feel for the atmosphere and the speed of the jumpers by sitting still.

You are free to walk around the bottom of the landing area and get a good view of the jumpers, but one of the best spots is near the bottom of the hill where the jumpers land. You can get within a few feet of where the jumper's skis smack the hard-packed snow and zoom past you.

Worst nightmare

If you ever talk to a ski jumper or listen to them talk to their coaches or to each other, they are a fearless breed. They think nothing of climbing to the top of a hill, then pushing their way up the scaffold at Timber Coulee, then flying down the inrun before jumping into the air and landing several hundred feet away.

Jumpers don't mind sub-freezing temperatures either. What they don't like, however, is wind. Crosswinds, especially. Crosswinds can blow the jumpers off course -- literally. That, they will quickly tell you, is not a good thing.