UPDATE ON THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING
Harris Hill Ski Jump
IN BRATTLEBORO VERMONT
December 1, 2007
A few years ago, the Harris Hill Committee took over operation of the Harris Hill ski jump and the annual Harris competition from the Brattleboro Outing Club. Since that time we have seen some great events and watched the hill record push up to 99.5 meters (326 feet).
However a deteriorating tower put the legendary Harris Hill ski jump on Cedar St. out of commission for two years.
Last April, four members of the Harris Hill Committee, Rex Bell, Pat Howell, Kate McGinn and Paul Nasuta, came to the annual spring meeting of Eastern Ski Jumping at Storrs Hill in Lebanon NH, to report on the status of the project to rebuild the 90 meter ski jump in Brattleboro. The report was positive -- the minutes of that meeting report:
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Harris Hill in Brattleboro, VT during the
75th anniversary competition, Feb. 1997.
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" ... they are committed to building a new tower this year and holding a competition in 2008. They had hoped to create a new inrun up to FIS specifications, but have now decided to rebuild an inrun not much different from the present profile, but with all the modern appointments: modern starts, guideboards, deflections walls and new stairs for the measurers. This news was greeted with applause by the Committee!"
Accordingly, the dates of February 16 & 17 were designated for the annual Harris Hill competitions. As so often happens, the work did not proceed as rapidly as the Committee had hoped, and the minutes of the next meeting, last October in Lake Placid, read:
"The Harris Hill group has committed to rebuild the inrun trestle with approximately its old profile, but now it looks like construction will not be completed by winter, so they they have asked that their Feb. 16 & 17 events be removed from the 2008 schedule."
The Harris Hill group has asked Dan Warner to direct the site work on Harris Hill and on Nov. 29, Dan reported that the fall portion of the project is almost finished. He wrote:
" ... I am just back in from Brattleboro. Been working on getting the landing hill up to spec. It was only 13 meters wide and needs to be 20 at the bottom. We ran into some ledge and are waiting for the TNT guys to do their part. Should be finished up shortly. Tower is to be demolished today. The old announcers tower and old judges tower have been removed and hauled off and the brush and garbage and junk that has piled up has been removed. ... We have started working on the new judges tower [right], putting in windows and closing in the rooms for power and heat. That should be finished up next week and then we are done for the winter. They will fabricate the tower over the winter. We have sent our plans to the FIS for approval. It will be a few weeks before we hear back on the final design and placement."
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The new judges stand brings to mind
the traditional Vermont sugar house.
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Some of the phrases excited me, so I wrote back to Dan and also wrote Rex Bell for clarification. In particular "They will fabricate the tower over the winter." didn't sound like a temporary wooden structure. Dan replied:
"The new tower will be the same structure as LP [Lake Placid] a tube design with no natural table. The pillars will be poured concrete and steel frame with wood decking."
Rex Bell assures us that, yes, the Harris Hill Committee has returned to plan-A, construction of a modern FIS inrun.
Rex also sent all of the construction pictures used in this report, but they were taken by Jason. The next two photos suggest that the widening of the landing is being done only on the south side of the hill.
Power Shovel Widening the Dip
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Power Shovel & Bulldozer Higher Up
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Harris Hill with new judges stand and regraded knoll.
The Harris Hill Committee has created a nice New Web Site with pictures and history.
One page explains What You Can Do to make the new hill construction project a success.
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