Ski Jumping

By: Cristina Galdón López and Valentin Karajan

For half a century, Revelstoke was an important place for ski jumping. Its history starts in the 1890s when Norwegian skiers brought skiing to this town.

Click here for a visual presentation of the history of ski jumping in Revelstoke.

Later, the Revelstoke Ski club would be created and at the same time the ski jumps on Mount Revelstoke were established. With events every year and the biggest jump in Canada, ski jumping attracted jumpers from all around the world. Numerous world records were set here, and Revelstoke produced many outstanding ski jumpers including Nels Nelsen, who broke his own record five times and was one of the founders of the Ski Club. Later on, the jump would be renamed in his honour. Isabel Coursier, the first woman who jumped over the big jump was also holder of a world record. Bob Lymburne, who dared to jump over the Big Hill when it was considered too dangerous for a jumper, is now holder of a world record. These were brave, fearless, adventurers in a time when gear was limited, conditions harsh, and few people dared to be so bold in the mountains. These are the spiritual forefathers of the new culture of mountain sports in Revelstoke.

But not everything was smooth in the world of ski jumping. There was a period when the popularity declined. In February of 1974, the last jumping event took place and the massive jump on Mount Revelstoke was closed. That was 56 years ago, and SO much has changed in Revelstoke since then but we continue to be a town with skiing and snow defining our experience.