27

Nels Nelsen, World Champion jumping 240'
1925
Revelstoke, British Columbia

Credits:
Revelstoke Museum and Archives

28

In 1928, J.H. Munro, a local fur dealer and President of the Board of Trade, offered a prize of a new car to anyone who could break Nels Nelsen's 1925 record. He stipulated that at least 3 outside jumpers needed to attend in order to make the offer valid. This was an attempt by Revelstoke to try and bring more world class jumpers and talent to town. This offer brought an incredible line-up of world class jumpers to Revelstoke including: Nels Nelsen, Henry Hall, Henry Lien, Ivan Knudsen, Alf Engen and others. This was the 14th Winter Carnival and it was a big one. Munro's prize energized the event. The CPR brought in sleeping cars for extra accommodation; the Big Hill had been upgraded and could now take jumps of 260'; the world record had been set on this hill and this would attract top notch jumpers from far and wide; and there would be transportation from town to the Big Hill via horse drawn sleighs.

29

Nels Nelsen won this competition with the most points. It was also in the 1928 tournament that Bob Lymburne made a name for himself in the boys' competition setting a new record of 165'. And it was also in 1928 that Isabel Coursier jumped 103' having not practiced in years! These were exciting times in the ski jumping world.

In these early years of tournaments, Revelstoke was relatively easy to travel to since it was on the CPR's main line. There were up to 8 passenger trains a day going both east and west and steamers plied the waters to the south. Contrary to being "in the middle of nowhere," Revelstoke was the largest of the B.C. interior towns and a transportation hub which made it easy for spectators and competitors alike to visit.

30

Bob Lynburne
c. 1932 (?)
Revelstoke, British Columbia

Credits:
Revelstoke Museum and Archives

31

Bob Lymburne moved to Revelstoke as a child and put on his first pair of skis at age 13. He was nothing if not determined. He built a jump at the farm where he worked and practiced incessantly. In 1926, after one year of being on skis, he entered his first tournament but was a "flop." He practiced even harder and returned in 1927 to win the Class "C" boys' event with 148' jump, 2 feet short of the record. In 1928 he jumped 183' but fell. After falling, he climbed back up and jumped 165' which was a new boys' record. After setting this record, he walked over to the Class "A" jump and jumped off the Big Hill. He had aspirations!

Feb. 4, 1931 was also known as "The Great Fiasco." It was the day of the Dominion Championships, where east meets west. The Dominion Championships were advertised far and wide and this was the first time that they were held in the west. This was the largest event that Revelstoke had hosted and brought spectators in from all over. Judges, however, came from the east, as did many competitors and on the day of the tournament, none of the outside jumpers wanted to go off the Big Hill, even though it was in good shape. They jumped off the Class "B" hill instead. The spectators booed and were incredibly upset. Here were the best jumpers from the east, refusing to jump. It was alleged that the competitors had decided the night before that they were not going off the Big Hill.

After all the competitors went off the "B" jump, Bob Lymburne walked up to the Class "A" jump and effortlessly and beautifully jumped 196'. He jumped twice in defiance of the judges. Judge H.K. Grimsgaard reported to the Revelstoke Review that the judges deemed the hill unsafe and that Lymburne was able to pull off the jumps because he had the confidence of training on the Big Hill. The judges disallowed Lymburne's jumps, stating they were exhibition jumps only. The crowd was irate and stayed that way for a while. This fiasco caused a huge division between east and west.

A few days later, on Feb. 8, 1931, a special tournament was held by the locals to protest that the Big Hill was not "unsafe." Bob Lymburne made 6 jumps, averaging 226', a feat never equaled in the Dominion. This "Day of Vindication" brought out all the local jumpers including Bob Lymburne, Hans Gunnarsen, and Ted Morgan for the Class "A" jump. The Class "B" jumpers performed better than the eastern Dominion competitors of the previous week and even the boys on the "C" and "D" jumps jumped off the "B" hill. The locals were raring to go after being shut down by eastern judges.

It was this year that the Big Hill at Revelstoke became known as "Suicide Hill." This added to the prestige of the jumpers and brought even bigger crowds to the events.

32

Bob Lynburne, leaving the jump
1933
Revelstoke, British Columbia

Credits:
Revelstoke Museum and Archives

33

Bob Lymburne went to the Lake Placid Olympics in 1932 placing 18th overall. He returned to Revelstoke and broke the world record by jumping 269', bringing the honors home to Revelstoke once again. The following year, 1933, Lymburne again gained the World Record with a jump of 287', 6' better than Alf Engen's. Engen had recently snatched the world record set by Lymburne the previous year, and Bob was eager to get it back.

"The crowd held its breath as Lymburne soared in the air, higher than any jumper had ever gone before and landed squarely below the signs that pointed distances under 250 feet. Those in charge of measuring bent to their duties and in a moment Nels Nelsen raised his hat and shouted, 'Ladies and gentlemen, you have seen a new world's record.' When the announcer shouted the distance, the crowd lost control of itself, shouting, cheering and swarming down the mountainside to the flat where Lymburne stood nonchalantly surveying the big hill."

This was Bob Lymburne's final glorious moment in ski jumping. He suffered from a concussion in 1935 and never returned to jumping.

34

Paul Salva speaking on Bob Lynburne
1930's
Revelstoke, British Columbia

Credits:
Paul Salva

35

Hans Gunnarsen
c. 1940 (?)
Revelstoke, British Columbia

Credits:
Revelstoke Museum and Archives

36

Lymburne's toughest local competitor was Hans Gunnarsen. Hans grew up on skis, being the son of Anna and Jorgen. He competed in the combined events as well as Class "A" jumping. He would often be right on Lymburne's tail, striving to overtake his rival. He was often second to Lymburne in jumping but sometimes won the Combined Event of jumping and cross-country racing. In February 1935, Hans won the B.C. Jumping Championship while his brother, Gunnar, made the longest jump of the tournament.
Gunnar, also competed in jumping and the Combined Events and often placed in the tournaments. Their other brothers, Carl and Emil, also jumped and competed in tournaments. Together, the Gunnarsen clan always made a good showing at tournament events between the 1920's through to the 1940's. Hans died in action in World War II in 1944. His brother, Carl, was Hill Captain on the Nels Nelsen Hill into the 1960's.