Papoose Peak Jumps
{{Short description|Ski jumping hill located at Palisades Tahoe}}
{{Primary sources|date=March 2025}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox ski jumping hill
| hill_name = Papoose Peak Jumps
| nickname =
| image = 250px
| caption =
| location = Little Papoose Peak
| city = Squaw Valley
| country = United States
| opened = 1958
| renovated = 1975
| expanded =
| closed = 1976
| demolished = Yes
| size = 80/60/40
| k-spot = K80
| hill size = K80, K60, K40
| hill record = Jim Denney
(99.0 m in 1976)
| championships =
| olympics = 1960
| world championships =
| national championships = 1976 US National Ski Jumping Championships
}}
Papoose Peak Jumps was a ski jumping hill at Palisades Tahoe in the US state of California. The hill had three jumps with K-points of 80, 60 and 40 meters respectively. It was built on the hillside of Little Papoose Peak for the 1960 Winter Olympics; the 80-meter hill hosted the ski jumping event and the 60-meter hill the Nordic combined event. The jump was designed by Heini Klopfer and opened in 1958. After the Olympics the venue had very little use; it was renovated for the 1976 US National Ski Jumping Championships, but falling into disrepair it was demolished to make room for the Far East Express ski lift.
History
As Squaw Valley was an undeveloped area when it was awarded the Olympics, the organizing committee was free to design a tailor-made Olympic resort.Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 33 Heini Klopfer from Oberstdorf southwest of Munich, Germany was hired to design the ski jumping hills, which he finished in early 1957. He chose to locate it on the hill-side of Little Papoose Peak, opposite Blyth Arena. He described the location as "the type of hill one always seeks but seldom finds".Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 103 The construction contract was awarded to Diversified Builders, who constructed the jumps during the summer and fall of 1958.
Papoose Peak Jumps was the first Olympic ski jump to have three in-runs. Minor flaws were fixed in 1959 and 1960. It was renovated ahead of the 1976 US National Championships.{{cite web |url=http://www.skisprungschanzen.com/EN/Ski+Jumps/USA-United+States/CA-California/Squaw+Valley/0578/ |title=Papoose Peak Jumps |publisher=Ski Jumping Hill Archive |access-date=21 June 2012 |archive-date=18 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018165505/http://www.skisprungschanzen.com/EN/Ski+Jumps/USA-United+States/CA-California/Squaw+Valley/0578/ |url-status=live }} However it fell out of use afterwards and instead the hill was converted to a speed skiing and snowboarding hill. Later the resort's Far East Express chairlift was installed on the hill.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1960/SKJ/ |title=Ski Jumping at the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Games |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=21 June 2012 |archive-date=23 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723202242/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1960/SKJ/ |url-status=dead }}
Facilities
There were three jumps with a common out-run on the hill, each with a construction point (K-point) of 80, 60 and 40 meters respectively. It was located in the central area of the Olympic resort, next to the skating rinks and the Olympic Village. Tall trees on both sides of the hill gave good protection against the wind. The location was also ideal because of the sun was at the competitor's backs. A judges' tower was constructed on the side, which was both accessible by stairs from the bottom of the hill or from the chairlift which ran to the top of the in-runs. The hill had an overall height of {{convert|140|m|sp=us}}, the in-run had a length of {{convert|113|m|sp=us}}. The largest jump had a take-off angle of 8.5 degrees and a landing angle of 38 degrees.
Events
The first competition on the hills was the trial Olympics in February 1959. During the 1960 Winter Olympics, the 80-meter hill was used for special jumping on 28 FebruarySquaw Valley Organizing Committee: 105 and the 60-meter hill was used for Nordic combined on 22 February.Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 106 The special ski jumping event was won by Helmut Recknagel of Germany, who also set a hill record of {{convert|93.5|m|sp=us}}. Finland's Niilo Halonen and Austria's Otto Leodolter finished in sd and third, respectivelyecond an. In the ski jumping part of the Nordic combined event, Germany's Georg Thoma received the highest points ahead of the Soviet Union's Dmitriy Kochkin and Norway's Tormod Knutsen. The cross-country part of the event was held at McKinney Creek Stadium in Tahoma, California on Lake Tahoe.Squaw Valley Organizing Committee: 110 Thoma won and Knutsen finished second with Nikolay Gusakov from the Soviet Union in third place. In 1976, the US National Championships in Ski Jumping were held at the large hill, and was won by Jim Denney.
References
;Bibliography
- {{cite book |last1=Squaw Valley Organizing Committee|title=VIII Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley, California 1960 Final Report |publisher=California Olympic Commission|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1960/1960w.pdf |format=PDF |year=1960 |location=Squaw Valley |access-date=20 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629132958/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1960/1960w.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2011 |url-status=live}}
;Notes
{{reflist}}
{{coord|39.194004|-120.231012|type:landmark_region:US|format=dms|display=title}}
{{1960 Winter Olympic venues}}
{{Olympic venues Nordic combined}}
{{Olympic venues in ski jumping}}
Category:Ski jumping venues in the United States
Category:Sports venues in Placer County, California
Category:Defunct sports venues in California
Category:Tourist attractions in Placer County, California
Category:Venues of the 1960 Winter Olympics
Category:Olympic Nordic combined venues
Category:Olympic ski jumping venues