Nansen Ski Jump facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nansen Ski Jump State Historic Site |
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The fully restored Nansen Ski Jump, early 2017
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| Location | 83 Milan Road, Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire |
| Operated by | New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation |
| Website | Nansen Ski Jump State Historic Site |
The Nansen Ski Jump is a famous ski jump located in Milan, New Hampshire. It's also known by cool nicknames like The Big Nansen and The Sleeping Giant. Built in 1936, it was once the biggest ski jump in the world!
Today, it's part of the Nansen Ski Jump State Historic Site. This state park also has a nice picnic area and a place to launch boats on the Androscoggin River. The jump was named after Fridtjof Nansen, a brave Norwegian explorer. It's so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the Nansen Ski Jump Like?
The Nansen Ski Jump is just north of the city of Berlin, New Hampshire. The city of Berlin and the National Youth Administration built it in 1936. At that time, it was truly huge!
This amazing structure has a steel frame that stands about 175 feet tall. The entire jump is about 260 feet long. From the top of the tower, skiers would drop about 225 feet! The slope is quite steep, around 37.5 degrees. It's known as a K-80 jump, which means it was designed for jumps around 80 meters (about 262 feet).
A Look Back at the Nansen Ski Jump's History
For nearly 50 years, the Nansen Ski Jump was the biggest ski jump in the eastern United States. It was also one of the most important jumps in the entire country. A local person from Berlin, John Barnard Nichol, designed this incredible structure.
The Nansen Ski Jump hosted many big ski jumping events. In 1938, it was even the site for the first-ever Olympic trials for ski jumping! Imagine the excitement of watching athletes compete there.
When Did the Jump Close and Reopen?
The jump closed down in 1988. Over time, it started to fall apart. In 2011, a special New Hampshire historical marker was placed there to remember its importance.
Good news came in 2015 when work began to restore the site. The goal was to make it look like it did in its glory days. The state of New Hampshire now owns and takes care of the jump as a state park.
In 2016 and 2017, important repairs were made to the jump's main deck. These repairs were done so that Olympic skier Sarah Hendrickson could make a special celebratory jump. She did this early in the morning on March 4, 2017!
In 2019, a group called "Friends of Big Nansen" got permission to keep working on the jump. They also plan to hold new ski jumping events and other activities at the site. It was announced in February 2019 that competitive ski jumping might even return to the Nansen Ski Jump!
