Ski jumping, once Washington's most popular winter sport, was introduced
by Norwegian immigrants in the early twentieth century. It began at
Spokane's Browne's Mountain and Seattle's Queen Anne Hill, moved to
midsummer tournaments on Mount Rainier in 1917 and expanded statewide as
new ski clubs formed. Washington tournaments attracted the world's best
jumpers--Birger and Sigurd Ruud, Alf Engen, Sigurd Ulland and Reidar
Andersen, among others. In 1941, Torger Tokle set two national distance
records here in just three weeks. Regional ski areas hosted national and
international championships as well as Olympic tryouts, entertaining
spectators until Leavenworth's last tournament in 1978. Lawyer,
historian and award-winning author John W. Lundin re-creates the
excitement of this nearly forgotten ski jumping heritage.