BERLIN – The oldest ski club in America is hosting its 2023 winter carnival this weekend and they could not have picked a better time as a series of snow storms have helped volunteers working to pack the historic Nansen Ski Jump.
Since 1872 Berlin has had a ski club that has been based on providing healthy winter outdoor experiences for locals and visitors.
The weekend includes the fourth Annual Art Sled Rally in which contestants create mostly cardboard sleds, decorate them and launch them down to the bottom of the ski jump.
The action begins at noon Saturday with the sleds, in which distance down the hill is key and special points go to the best sled design.
On Sunday beginning at 10:30 a.m. the historic jump – which has 80-meter, 39-meter, and 10-meter versions – will be the site of the competition as athletes jump in various categories.
They will use both the 39-meter and 10-meter jumps. This is Eastern Division Ski Jumping and a number of high school teams plan to attend.
Shawn Marquis, who is the president of the Nansen Ski Club, is also the chief groomer for the Milan Hill State Park where there is lots of beautiful cross-country terrain ready to be enjoyed by visitors for the winter carnival.
Marquis said the past three snowstorms “hammered” the Berlin area and while they have been blowing snow to ensure that the jump was ready this weekend, he thinks things are all set.
“It’s a great community,” Marquis said and the efforts are to return the historic love of skiing and the outdoors to local kids who have it in their DNA.
He said the jumping will be the Eastern championships Sunday and athletes from as far as New York State are on their way to compete.
He grew up in Berlin, cross-country skiing on land which became the federal prison, and returned from a few decades in Boston to be a resident again with an eye toward finding outdoor opportunities to stay in shape.
He will begin his day Friday at 3 a.m. grooming the trails at Milan Hill State Park.
Marquis said there is a particular interest throughout the ski jumping community to see Nansen thrive noting that its location in the north allows for snow to stay longer.
Both events, located just north of the city on Route 16 at the Nansen Wayside Park, are free and open to the public. Information and more details about the winter weekend events can be found at the club’s Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/skinansen or at https://www.skinansen.com/post/100th-anniversary-of-the-nansen-winter-carnival.
Email: info@skinansen.com
Phone: 603.787.3097
