For a time back in the 1930s, the world's largest ski jump was just over the hill from Parleys Canyon.
Ecker Hill was apparently also one of the most entertaining jumping hills in its heyday. A 1937 story reported that after the United State Amateur Championships, "officials had a difficult time getting the skimen to quit (jumping)."
Now, a Utah group is trying to find the names of all those who got to enjoy the hill.
A search is on to find the names of all those who jumped on the hill between 1929, the year it was built, and 1967, the last year the hill was used for a competitive event.
"To date," said Alan Engen, who is among those involved in the project, "we have 275 names. We know there are more. We would like to get as many names as possible."
The names will be placed on a new bronze monument that will replace the wooden sign that now stands at the base of the old jumping hill, which is near the community of Pinebrook in Park City.
In its day, Ecker Hill was the Delta Center of ski jumping. It was the big league for ski jumpers.
Cory Engen, the surviving brother of the famed Engen clan — Alf, Sverre and Cory — remembers that skiers came from all over the world to test Ecker "and the Engen brothers."
What they found wasn't what they were used to flying off. Ecker was, he remembered, a big hill that offered a lot of airtime.
"You had to do things differently," he said with the signature Engen Norwegian accent. "You were in the air for a longer time. You really had to press forward to fight the wind. After one or two jumps, the good jumpers would get used to the hill.
"It was a lot of fun, staying up in the air for the longer time. It was a real sensation of flying."
The hill was also a magnet for fans. It was not uncommon to have upward of 10,000 spectators brave the cold and the weather and the narrow two-lane Parleys Canyon road to watch the early fliers.
Cory was 17 when he came to the United States. His older brothers, Alf and Sverre, were already recognized among the world's elite ski jumpers. The two, in fact, were members of the first professional ski jumping team.
Alf Engen would eventually set several national and world jumping records on Ecker Hill. His longest official jump, recalled his son Alan Engen, was 298 feet.
"Unofficially, during practice he once jumped 311 feet," he added.
The names of the 275 jumpers are listed on the Alf Engen Ski Museum Web site — www.engenmuseum.org.
Those wishing to have their names added or know of past jumpers who can be added will be required to show some type of documentation, such as a newspaper clipping or jump program or some other historical proof.
Along with jumpers, the monument will also hold the names of officials and judges who ran the events.
Alan Engen said closing date for submitting names will be May 31.
According to Jon Weisberg, who is also heading up the effort to find the names, donations are being asked by the Park City Historical Society for construction of the Ecker Hill Monument Project.
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