The Harris Hill Ski Jump stands like a beacon on the local landscape. Every February thousands gather at Harris Hill to watch athletes from around the world compete for the Winged Trophy. The thrills of this extraordinary event are brought to life in the January episode of the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast as jumpers fly, crowds roar and cowbells ring and three very different voices share their impressions on the hill.
Peter ‘Fish’ Case, a Brattleboro radio and podcast personality and long-time announcer at Harris Hill, says the event is “like nothing else in the world.” Case guides listeners through three brief points of view of the hill including a brief history from a Vermonter known internationally as ‘the voice of skiing,’ an evocative memoir by a local jumper on ‘the art of flight’ and a reflection on the native presence at the Harris Hill site.
Available for free on all podcast platforms, the 20-minute ‘Harris Hill Ski Jump, the Art of Flying’ episode can be list here:
US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Famer and Vermonter Peter Graves, the inimitable ‘voice of skiing’ at Olympics and World Cup Championships for 40 years, narrates the lively history of Harris Hill produced for the Words Trail by Sally Seymour, a dedicated Harris Hill volunteer. Seymour’s exciting sound design brings the festive atmosphere of the event to life and introduces Fred Harris as the man whose vision and persistence shaped this unique Brattleboro event.
Local jumper Chris Lamb narrates an extraordinary memoir he wrote for the Words Trail. Lamb, who is jumping again in 2025, held the Harris Hill record for seven years. The sonically satisfying segment, produced and designed by Reg Martell, viscerally evokes the physical preparation and sensations Lamb experiences during ‘the art of flight.’
Atowi Project and Elnu Abenaki representative Rich Holschuh references an old map depicting the ski jump site as a ‘gypsy ground’ and recounts the ancient Native American presence at this place we now call Harris Hill.
The Brattleboro Words Project is the creator of the Brattleboro Words Trail, a free self-guided tour of sites important in the history of words in the town and surroundings, and the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast. Managed under the auspices of the Vermont Folklife Center, the Project connects the community to the area’s history through the art of storytelling, focusing on work with community members to produce audio pieces which are professionally mastered thanks to Guilford Sound. The Project produced the 278-page book Print Town: Brattleboro’s Legacy of Words,available at Everyone’s Books in Brattleboro. The Trail has won local and national awards for excellence. Through collaboration with artist Cynthia Parker Houghton, Muse Arts, Brooks Memorial Library and HatchSpace, among others, the Trail will be featured at the new Brattleboro Amtrak station scheduled to open in Spring 2026.
For more information on how to participate in telling audio stories for the Trail, visit the BrattleboroWords.org website or email brattleborowords@gmail.com
Jumper Chris Lamb (pictured here) wrote and narrates part of the January episode of the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast ‘Harris Hill Ski Jump – The Art of Flying’. Photo Courtesy of Harris Hill Ski Jump, Inc.
