"The Agony of Defeat"

Just a lad of 11 years in 1965. A snow day from school and a Dad who preached, "Never be afraid of anything."

Me and my friends decided to venture to the huge hill at the end of the Battle Creek Ski Jump. A formidable challenge though after a couple times I was ready for a bigger thrill.

Borrowing my friend's toboggan (I only had a sled) and helmet I began the long ascent to the top of the jump. Reaching the pinnacle I gazed all around and even at the treetops so far below me.

I set the toboggan down. Sitting in it holding the vertical wood braces, I pushed forward and pulled back time and again. Building courage?

"What's a matter, ya' chicken?"

Nobody's gonna call me chicken. A feeling of exhilaration came over me. One final push and I was off.


I kinda heard yelling and clapping while zooming towards the bottom. 1/2 way down and I was paralyzed by the speed. 3/4's of the way down and I'll bet I was doing a 100...Things were just a blur to this kid.

"God don't let me die." Miraculously I hit a clump of snow...knocking me off the missile. Briskly speeding downward I lost sight of the toboggan as I tried grasping onto anything I could, there was nothing.

Another of God's saving graces appeared before me. As the snow was filling my jacket I noticed a missing board from the jump. Sticking my hand in that hole where the board used to be I stopped myself. The first of the wondrous saves from God.

That jump was a thrill to look at and the words from ABC's Wide World of Sports automatically played in my head, "The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" as the downhill skier tumbled off the jump.

Historical Gem of East Saint Paul

In the early 70's as a teen on Upper Afton road, I can remember looking west from our house at 2169, towards the Battle Creek Ski Jump and seeing a small dot of a skier traveling down the bright white snow pack on the jump and disappear into the forest below where the creek can be found.

In summer my teenage friends and I would visit the site.
At that time, the jump was still standing.
We would explore the creek and then climb up the landscape timber styled staircase that followed the north side of the runway
It was a great experience that felt more like a European Alpine location than anywhere in Minnesota.
The close up view of the height and steepness of the hill and the towering jump was unbelievable!
As a downhill skier myself, I cannot imagine skiing down that jump.

I stopped by to re-visit the site in Spring of 2021. It can be found at the south end of White Bear Avenue, past Upper Afton road in a quiet neighborhood park.

Of course the jump is gone but the concrete foundations remain, along with the incredibly steep runway but sadly, I could only see very small portions of the staircase.
The surrounding park is undergoing renovations and the staircase was closed off.
How great it would be if they could restore the stairs and let future generations experience the intimidating hill and the skier's journey to the top (no gondola) knowing that when you reach the summit the skier still had to climb the stairs of the jump itself.

Thank you for posting these photos.

James Morelli
Battle Creek Elementary 1972

I have a piece of this...I think?

I was walking around the location of the old jumb a few years ago and found a long board (10') that very likly could have come from a portion of the jump. Would anyone be able to verify?

I miss grandpa

My grandpa jumped off this bitch

Back in the 1965 while off school for a "snow day" my friend's and I walked to the jump from the Hillcrest area. Our intentions were to take our sleds and toboggans down the hill immediately below the jump, however; I told them I would ride the toboggan off the jump. I made the climb to the top before realizing I made a mistake. I could not back out then and risk being called chicken, could I?

I pushed off and rode the toboggan down. I zipped along so fast, must've been doing a hundred. When I noticed a board missing ahead; I rolled off and hung on. I crawled my way back to the top.

It was a good thing I did roll off because when the toboggan hit the end it shot up into the air, twisted around and came crashing to the ground. When I was an 11 year old kid...

Red Marker in wrong location on Map

The Red Marker showing the location of the former Battle Creek Ski jump is in the wrong place. It should be dropped at a 45 degree angle up and to the left on the OTHER side of the creek. WhiteBear Avenue terminates near there.