Volunteers working now to ready the ski platform
ISHPEMING -- We're just about a week away from the start of the 125th Annual Ski Jumping Tournament at Suicide Bowl in Ishpeming, and ski club members of all ages are hard at work.
Mother Nature hasn't made work easy for the Ishpeming Ski Club this year. The lack of snow landed the jumpers about a month behind schedule, and now the weather is complicating preparations for the annual ski jumping tournament.
Before the tournament can begin, they've got to prepare a 90-meter jump, and that's no easy task.
"The warmer weather is a bit of a problem 'cause we can't make snow with weather at this temperature," said Tom Petersen, President of the Ski Club. "So we're going to have to kind of be satisfied with the amount of snow we have on the hill."
It's a three-week process to prepare this ramp; now they have to wait until it's below freezing to ice the track down. But despite these speed bumps, the club has stayed on track. The tournament is still on, and it's going to be a big one with members of the United States Ski Jumping Program performing.
"Five of the best U.S. skiers will be coming, which is pretty cool; it's an honor, normally, here," said Ski Jumping Coach Zak Hammill.
Among the locals jumping in the tournament this year will be Coach Hammill. He expects a few thousand spectators to come out and see what some call a flight without wings.
"I get to fly, for three or four seconds, and then all the sudden feel my skis back on the ground," Hammill said.
Despite the unusual winter, it's been a good year for the club. They've installed an intermediate 25-foot hill and put plastic on the hills so the team could practice in the off season.
The tournament will kick off 6 p.m., February 8.
Buttons are available at various retailers in Ishpeming, Range Bank offices, or through ski club members. Admission is $10 per person in advance or $15 at the gate.
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