Ulefoss

Søve

Data | History | Hill records | Map | Comments

Søvebakken:

K-Point:	ca. 50 m
Hill record:	54.5 m (John Jensen , 1934)

Further jumps:	no
Plastic matting:	no
Year of construction:	1922
Year of destruction:	ca. 1940
Status:	destroyed
Coordinates:	59.280662, 9.278469 ✔

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History:

Søvebakken was located in the area of today’s Telemark Energi facility, at the outlet of the Tuftestollen mining tunnel, and its outrun extended across the ice of the Linneståbukta bay on Lake Norsjø. The hill was opened on 26 February 1922 during regional competitions known as Ulefossrennet; the first official jumpers to take off there were twelve-year-old Einar Juliussen and Helmer Høidalen. In the following years, Søvebakken became the main and most frequently used jumping hill in the area. Because the landing took place on the frozen surface of Lake Norsjø, the hill was considered difficult and dangerous, and the local doctor, Dr Oscar Backe, gave it the nickname “Siste Reis” (“The Last Journey”), referring to the numerous falls and the threatening character of the site. In 1934, a jumper from Ulefoss, John Jensen, reached 54.5 m in a trial jump and 52.5 m in the competition – distances regarded as the probable hill record. The dangerous reputation of the hill was further reinforced by a serious accident in 1936, when sixteen-year-old Fredrik Solberg broke both legs and spent a long time in hospital. The hill’s activity ended during the Second World War, when the mining company Søvitt built a road across the landing slope, which made further use of the facility practically impossible. After the war, ski jumping traditions in Ulefoss continued on new hills, primarily Fensbakken (from 1947) and Tuftebakken (from 1949), while Søvebakken gradually disappeared from the landscape.

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Søve

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