The valley and steep slope where Granlibakken Resort now sits was first used for ski jumping more than 100 years ago, with competitions starting soon after. In the late 1920s, nearby Tahoe Tavern Resort began staying open for the winter and paid professionals to jump for guest entertainment. Then in 1932 and 1936, the US National Championships for ski jumping were held at Granlibakken on what was then called Olympic Hill. Slowly, however, ski jumping fell out of favor and by the mid 1970s the jumps had been removed.
But this past fall, skiers were once again jumping at Granlibakken. This time the goal wasn’t to fly the furthest but to train skiers on the Squaw Valley Freestyle Team, which primarily trains athletes ages 8 to 18 for moguls, big mountain skiing, terrain park, and halfpipe events year-round.
In order to keep its athletes jumping in the off-season, Squaw Free has had to take groups to Utah, where an elaborate ramp allows skiers to fly into a swimming pool. But those trips are time-consuming and expensive and the team has been looking for an easier way to train in the summer, especially after the team purchased an airbag for winter use. Squaw Free also uses Woodward Tahoe’s trampolines, but prefers Granlibakken’s ramp as it allows athletes to use the same skis as they would on snow, something not available at Woodward.
This past summer, Squaw Freestyle head coach Cody Salrin and athletic director Jimeel Ferris took a look at the Granlibakken hill and realized this would make the perfect spot for an off-season jump. Coach Raymond DeVre approached Granlibakken manager Ron Parson, who agreed to the idea. “Ron has been awesome,” Salrin said.
Granlibakken let the team use the land for free. Gary Davis Group and Ryan Group Architects volunteered the necessary engineering work, and a group of parents, along with Salrin and Ferris, donated their time to help build the 200-foot ramp made of Neveplast, a synthetic material. The ramp leads to a 7-foot high jump, which then deposits the skiers onto the airbag. By early September it was up and the Squaw Free athletes were jumping four afternoons a week and all day on the weekends. “Kids are doing crazy stuff. The whole goal of the airbag is to learn how to do the tricks safely and under control,” said Ferris. The jump is used to practice tricks like backflips, twisting folds, 360s, and 720s.
Before jumping on the bag the students are taught safety protocol, and Squaw Free requires the athletes to do 100 attempts for each type of trick before they can be certified on the bag and move on to jumping on the snow. The Granlibakken hill jump has enabled many athletes to advance to the skill level needed to jump on the snow more quickly.
The jump was removed before winter operations started at Granlibakken, but Salrin and Ferris are making plans to install it earlier in the season next summer, and they’re working on plans to expand the program to a summer camp that would include mountain biking and tennis.
For more information on the Squaw Valley Freestyle program, visit squawfree.com or find them on Facebook.
