Nels Nelsen Hill

Nels Nelsen Hill
Big Hill
Bill Hill in 1916
Location	Revelstoke National Park Revelstoke, British Columbia Canada
Opened	1916
Renovated	1961
Expanded	1948
Closed	1975
Size
K–point	K-80, K-60
Hill record	Kjell Sjöberg 94.5 m (310 ft)

Nels Nelsen Hill, originally Big Hill, is an abandoned ski jumping hill located in Mount Revelstoke National Park near the town of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. The original hill, Big Hill, was built in 1916 and was the first permanent ski jump in Canada. By 1933, four world length records had been set on the Big Hill. It fell out of use in 1939, with Revelstoke instead using the Big Bend Ski Jump.

Big Hill was rebuilt to a K-80 hill in 1948 and was named in honor of Nels Nelsen, a local ski jumper who had set two world records on the hill. Among the events hosted there were the annual Tournament of Champions and the 1949 edition of the Western Canada Ski Championships. In the vicinity was a K-60 hill and other smaller hills. The hill record of 94.5 meters (310 ft) was set by Kjell Sjöberg in 1967. The last major tournament was held in 1974. The venue has not been used since 1975 and has fallen into disrepair.

Skiing in Revelstoke started in 1890 with the influx of Norwegian immigrants who brought with them their tradition of home-made skies. By the early 1910s, ski jumping was a major pastime during winter, with small ski jumps being built all around the town. Revelstoke Ski Club was founded in 1914 and reached 102 members within a year. Starting in 1915, the club's annual high point was the Winter Carnival Tournament. The first tournament was held in 1915, and featured competitions in cross-country skiing and ski jumping for boys under 16, and awarded the title of Champion of British Columbia. The inaugurate tournament was won by Nels Nelson.

One of the jury members for the jumping competition, Ambassador Iverson of Norway, helped find a suitable location for a new, permanent ski jumping hill. The hill selected was located in Mount Revelstoke National Park near Revelstoke, British Columbia. It would allow for world-record jumps, and the natural inclination of the hill allowed this to be done without an artificial tower. As the site was located within the national park, a lease was obtained, which was financed through a $1,200 grant from the chamber of commerce and the municipality. Revelstoke was the largest town in the British Columbia Interior at the time, and easily accessible due to its location on the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline.