Howelsen Hill Ski Area’s remarkable heritage is something to celebrate! Howelsen is the home of the century old Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and the training ground for 90 plus (and counting) Olympians. It is the oldest continuously operating ski area in North America and is also the largest and most complete natural ski jumping complex in North America.
Norwegian ski jumper, Carl Howelsen, started the first Winter Carnival in 1914 on Woodchuck Hill (site of the present Colorado Mountain College). Convinced that ski jumping records could be broken if he had a steeper slope, Howelsen led the effort to build a ski jump on the hill near Elk Park, later named Howelsen Hill, for the second Winter Carnival of 1915. Though Howelsen reportedly wrenched his ankle testing out the new jump, after a few adjustments of the sloped landing, the jump was ready to go for competition, and the ski jumping legacy that is alive today took root.
It is no coincidence that the town where the famed skiing Norwegian called home and founded the Winter Sports Club in 1914 would become home to more Olympic athletes than any other town in the nation. It is also no coincidence that several of these elite athletes, particularly our hometown heroes on the 2010 U.S. Nordic Combined Olympic team, would train at the century-old ski jumping complex founded by a world–record holding ski jumping pioneer.
Though few can remember the days from 1948 to 1954 when skiers boarded the “World’s Longest Single-Span Ski Lift” to the summit of Emerald Mountain, many remember Howelsen Hill as an epicenter for after-school fun while learning to ski— “a magic kingdom for kids growing up,” said 1952 Olympic ski jumper Paul Wegeman.
The Tread of Pioneers Museum invites you to experience the history and heritage of Howelsen Hill this winter. Ski there for free on select Sundays this winter, or tour the “Ski Town USA” exhibit at the museum that celebrates the history of “the Hill” and so much more.
Article by: Candice Bannister, Executive Director, Tread of Pioneers Museum | 800 Oak Street
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