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The origins of winter sports in Wisconsin can be traced back to the early 20th century when Scandinavian immigrants brought their love of skiing and other winter activities to the region. They introduced the local population to cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and other winter sports that were popular in their homelands. Luckily, Wisconsin has plenty of winter to go around!

 

So where can a Wisconsinite go for more information on all these winter activities? We sat down with Bill Arneson and Amy Tork from the Tri-Norse Ski Club, a 501c3 nonprofit organization in Nekoosa, to talk about their organization and a little history of ski jumping.

 

 

 

 

 

Way back in 1931, Bill’s father Ole Arneson along with two of his friends, Gunner Rebne and Ingmar Ingmarson, found what they thought was the highest point in this area. They loved ski jumping, and so they took the all-natural hill and improved on it over the years. The next year, in 1932, they established the Tri-Norse Ski Club. The name comes from the three cities they lived in (Port Edwards, Nekoosa, and Wisconsin Rapids) and the fact that all three of them were Norwegian. Three cities, three Norwegians.

 

And 93 years later, the club is still going strong.

 

In 1932, they joined the Century United Ski Association and held their first jump that year in Syracuse. The idea was to promote the competitive amateur sport of ski jumping, as well as cross country skiing, to local youth. The club has expanded, and the hills have changed over the years, but the spirit of Tri-Norse is the same.

 

They established the competition throughout the Central United States Ski Association, which includes Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota. They offer different hills for training, and Amy says kids as young as four or five are fearless (Bryan says even the kids’ hills look intimidating).

 

The idea behind getting kids into winter sports is to get people outside and more active. Amy says there’s so much land in Wisconsin that simply isn’t used, and some people who have lived in the area for 20 years never knew the hills were there.

 

They hold four different events each year and do outreach through local schools to get kids involved. Tri-Norse currently has around 45 active members, and anybody can join. The only requirement is to be willing to volunteer at the events, and dues are very low at $25 for a family. That gives the whole family full use of their facilities – the chalet, snowshoe trails, cross country skiing trails, and fat-tire biking trails. That’s a ton of room to play!

 

Not sure if you want to become a member? Keep an eye on their website and social media – they open the trails to the public a few times a year so people can see what they’re missing. They’ve also been working closely with the Town of Rome, the Visit Rome Committee, and the Central Wisconsin-Wisconsin Rapids Area Convention Center to get the word out.

 

Modern ski jumping has improved vastly since the 30s and 40s, with improvements in everything from the equipment to safety procedures. Newer skis are far more flexible than the old wooden skis, and modern equipment, trail grooming procedures, and even the design of the hill itself is all made with the skiers’ safety in mind. They have blue and red markings painted on the hill to mark out where the skiers should be touching down and where they are in danger of hitting the bottom of the hill.

 

Safety starts, of course, with knowledge and practice. Tri-Norse has what they call “Triad Days” where they visit schools to promote learning how to ski. They have people on the hill who can teach a beginner how to ski, starting with the basics and moving all the way up to ski jumping. They even have equipment on-hand so nobody has to invest a lot of money in something they’re not sure of yet (well, apart from snow pants and other winter clothing).

 

It's easiest to start young, not just because kids don’t have much of a fear response with ski jumping, but also because they can learn how to move and plan in a way that becomes second nature. It’s easier for them to make their speed, balance, and decision-making second nature. Tri-Norse has had ski jumpers as young as four years old!

 

It’s not just education, though. Their volunteers spend a lot of time grooming the hills. Snow needs to be packed so it’s safe or landing. Snow quality varies with the weather, so they must be ready for anything. Sometimes they have to haul snow into the facility, and that’s a whole process by itself.

 

The volunteers plow snow from the parking lot and any area on the grounds to one area, load it up in a sled, and then drive it up to the top of the hill and manually dump and pack it. There is a pulley system on their 22-meter hill that the sled hooks up to, then an ATV will drive down and pull the sled up.

 

Packing the snow is done with shovels and lots of volunteers. They can pack using a method called side tracking, where volunteers wear skis and stomp up and down the hill. Ideally, they can use a snowmobile to drive up and down the hill, packing snow as it goes. It really depends on the type of snow they’re working with.

 

It’s not all snow and games – they also do a “Mini Mudder” obstacle course for kids in early summer. Since 2018, usually around Father’s Day weekend (though it was mid-August this year), they set up a mile-long obstacle course throughout the entire facility for kids from four to 15 to run, get muddy, and have fun. It’s not timed, and kids can run it as many times as they like. One year they set up a small petting zoo as well!

 

They start with a hill climb 55-meter hill, hiking by themselves or using ropes to help, and about halfway up there’s a mud pit to slide down. Parents are encouraged to join their younger kids, so it really is designed for families.

 

In the fall, the park opens once again for their Colorama event where people can view all the fall colors. There’s hiking, live music in the chalet, local vendors, and, if you don’t feel like hiking to the top of the 55-meter hill, Sand Valley offers UTV rides to the top so people can enjoy the autumn view across four counties. October 19^th, 2024 is this year’s Colorama date if you want to see that breathtaking view yourself!

 

 

Bill has been around Tri-Norse for a long time and has some great stories. His father Ole was on the 1940 Olympic team, but sadly the games were canceled because of World War II. People from all over the world have visited to compete at their facility – he mentions Japan, Norway, and Finland specifically.

 

Olympic skiers as well – either when they were young and still learning, or when they were visiting. John Belfontz set their hill record at the time of his visit, and Billy “The Kid” Olsen from Eau Claire was an Olympic skier who also trained on their hills. Some of their club members have been officials at the Lake Placid Games during the hockey competition when the US team defeated Russia, and more recently at the Salt Lake City Games. The club has been well-represented across many facets of the Olympic games!

 

Speaking of the Olympics, how is ski jumping scored? Judges look at the skier’s form during the jump, as well as distance, with form being more important. Each jumper starts with 20 points, and points are deducted as they come down the hill. The form of their landing (called a telemark landing, with one ski ahead of the other) is what differentiates a good ski jumper from an average jumper. Ski jumpers follow the contour of the hill – they don’t land straight down, but their forward motion conforms to how the hill is shaped. Even though some Olympians can reach 70 to 80 miles per hour downhill, you can barely hear a good ski jumper land, since they touch down in line with the hill and just keep skiing.

 

Not only does Tri-Norse plan to keep up their tradition of coaching and hosting future Olympians, but they want to expand their activities to include more community members. They want to create a tubing hill between the staircases of their 55-meter and 22-meter hills. Walk up; tube down. They would even provide the tubes! It’s a way to get more people involved in the club, since they are 100% volunteer-driven. The more people who enjoy their facility and are invested in the future of the club, the more activities they’ll be able to add in the future!

 

With Nordic and Granite Peak at least an hour away, Tri-Norse wants to be able to offer as much winter fun as possible to their local community. If you’re in the area, they’d love to hear from you! Just email them at [email protected], message them on Facebook, or check out their website for details. If you attend one of their events, they’ll have a form you can use to sign up for their email list.

 

 

Since they’re a 501c3 nonprofit, donations are tax-deductible. Any business or individual can take out an ad in their advertising book, which is distributed each year at their winter tournament, to all area sponsors, local libraries, Visit Rome, and the Visitor Bureaus in Wisconsin Rapids and Adams County.

 

Finally, if you’re not interested in advertising, volunteering, or learning how to ski jump, just visit during one of their tournaments! Ski jumping is a great spectator sport, and who knows? You just might end up on skis after all!

 

Road Trip: Green Bay’s Automobile Gallery & Event Center

 

At the Automobile Gallery and Event Center, the automobile is the art! This Green Bay attraction is a unique and vibrant destination that combines the thrill of classic and contemporary automobiles with a versatile event space.

 

It's located in a historic building, an old Cadillac dealership, and the gallery features an impressive collection of meticulously restored vintage cars, as well as newer models that showcase the evolution of automotive design and technology. Visitors can explore a range of vehicles, from iconic muscle cars to elegant luxury models, providing a nostalgic journey through automotive history.

 

In addition to the gallery, the venue offers flexible spaces for events, making it a popular choice for car enthusiasts and those seeking a distinctive setting for gatherings, weddings, or corporate functions. It's a fancy looking building.

 

The building might look small at first, but they fit a lot of cars in there and hold car shows throughout the year. They boast an executive boardroom overlooking the gallery for business events, and the wedding venue has banquet space for 160 people, with on-site bar service and A/V system.

 

Many of the featured vehicles are from owner William “Red” Lewis’s private car collection, and they usually feature guest vehicles as well. They even accept car donations for their exhibit to make sure it keeps growing!

 

If you want to bask in automotive history, the Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 9 to 3 p.m. every day. Admission is only $10 for adults. And if you know a car enthusiast who’s planning their wedding, this might just be the venue for them!