Ski Jumpers Take To The Air at Snowbird
North American Gelande Championships Saturday and Sunday
Snowbird, Utah - Gelande ski jumping is returning to Little Cottonwood Canyon this weekend as Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort hosts the North American Gelande Championships. The ski jumping event features professional and amateur jumpers using traditional alpine ski equipment to sail hundreds of feet off a man-made jump near the base of Snowbird's Peruvian Gulch.
The gelande will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Lower Willows run in Peruvian Gulch, which is visible from the Alta Bypass Road and trails within Snowbird. There will be food, drink and music in the spectator area. Admission is free.
Who: Local and out-of-state professional and amateur ski jumpers.
What: North American Gelande Championships, a ski jumping competition formerly known as the Alta Cup dating back to 1963. Using alpine ski equipment, jumpers will fly 100-200 feet vying for the national title.
Where: Snowbird's Lower Willows run at the bottom of Peruvian Gulch. Competition is visible from the Alta Bypass Road, Snowbird's Cliff Lodge or at the base of the competition where there will music, BBQ and beverage garden.
When: Practice begins Friday at 10 a.m., competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Snowbird joins five other major venues on the Pro Gelande Tour, all of which are attended by the top jumpers in the country.
Gelande has its roots in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The original gelande event was organized by Alf Engen at Alta as a celebration of spring in 1963 and its popularity has soared since. After years of competition at Alta, the event moved to Upper Bassackwards at Snowbird in the early 1980s. The sport has since exploded and competitions are now held on natural hills and specialized jumping hills throughout the West. The North American Gelande Championships mark the first time Snowbird has hosted a gelande event since 1984.