Benzie Ski Jump – Elberta

The Ski Jumping Hill Archive lists this jump in Elberta as having a k-point at 50m and having been operated by the Elberta Mountain WSP.

On Feb. 10&11, 1951, they held the first annual (sic) winter sports festival at the Elberta Mountain Winter Sports Park. The highlight of the weekend was a jump of 97′ from the ski jump by Pudge LaPrarie and Junior Redman of Elberta on a toboggan. They claimed the world toboggan jumping record unless they heard that someone else had out-jumped them. The ski jumping competition was attended by “just about every ski-jumper of known ability” from the lower peninsula. Jumpers competed from The Rochester Ski Club, the KanDaHar Ski Club, the Briar Hill Ski Club, the Kiwanis Ski Club of Iron Mt., and the Elberta Ski Club. Earl Hill and Walter Alexander of the Briar Hill club led the pack with Hill winning with a jump of 151′. They also had toboggan races which were won by Pudge LaPrarie. The high school jumpers competed at Elberta on Saturday and then at Sugar Loaf on Sunday where Roy Price of Elberta, who jumped 133′ on Saturday won the Sugar Loaf contest on Sunday. This from The Benzie County Patriot, Feb. 15, 1951.

4 Responses to Benzie Ski Jump – Elberta

  1. Name of this jump was The Elberta Mountain Winter Sports Park — “Benzie Ski Jump” is incorrect as the ski jump/park’s title.

    • MILSAP says:

      Good point, Joan, but if you read the page, you’ll see that the name of the park is mentioned prominently. The category is called “jumping hills” and in the early days, many were not associated with “parks” or “areas”. Where possible, we have used the name of the jump, if it had one. Articles about meets at this jump usually referred to it as the Benzie Ski Jump, not the ski jump at Elberta Mountain WSP.

  2. Bill Jennings says:

    I never saw the active hill used for ski jumping, as it’s time was past when I found the hill as a teen ager. Yet we wore out many a good motorcycle climbing the landing hill!!!! I heard stories of men as Kenny Rockwell and Bernie Fleetwood(Crystal Mtn. Instructor). Both had jumped on the hill in younger years, as well as Briar Hill in Mesick.

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