What a fantastic season of snow! Thank you again to our volunteer snowmakers and club manager Casey Bingham for all the hours they put into giving us great snow that lasted into March! Read the recaps of all our great winter programs’ seasons, plus news about upcoming programs and events!
Annual Meeting 4/15
The annual meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 15 at 7:00pm in the West Chalet. The meeting will cover the financial highlights for the past year, recap all of our programs and elect board members.
Congratulations to Our Ski Patrol Candidates!
We are excited to recognize Wendy Parsons, Adam Steinert, and James Kokalj for successfully completing their On-Hill Toboggan/Intro to Patrolling course! Their journey continues this July as they begin Outdoor Emergency Care training.
Interested in joining the ski patrol? Our program is open to all adult club members—no prior medical training required. We also offer a Young Adult Ski Patrol program for youth ages 15 and up.
Want to learn more? Email us at skipatrol@blackhawkskiclub.org.
Limited spots remain for summer training—sign up now!
Nordic Ski Season Recap
Nordic Kids wraps up with Cookie Races!
After 2 months of lessons over 150 young nordic skiers skied a 1.2K course with two hills – some did 3 or more laps, some made their first full lap ever! Everyone came through the finish line and was greeted with a cookie-medal. Thanks to our amazing cookie bakers and all of our volunteer instructors!
Blackhawk Nordic Middle School Ski Team brings home the gold!
Middle school boys won the Wisconsin Nordic Ski League title with 2 top 10 finishers. Middle school girls took second place overall. Congratulations to 8th grader Andrew Bertram, who qualified in the Great Lakes Division for the U16 Canada trip!
Blackhawk Nordic Ski Team Alumna Lily Hubanks Wins the Birkie Classic!
BNST alumna and St. Olaf College senior Lily Hubanks was at it again in February!
Lily Hubanks surged ahead of the pack at Hatchery Hill and never looked back to claim her first win of the American Birkebeiner Classic race. This legendary race, in its 51st year, has grown from just a couple dozen skiers to thousands of participants over 4 days of racing. The classic race is 53 kilometers and nearly 4800 feet of elevation gain as it stretches from Cable to Hayward. Lily's race season began in December in Cable and took her to Italy, where she and a teammate raced at the FISU Games. She wrapped up her season in Bend, OR ,where raced with her St Olaf College team at Club Nationals. Lily got her start right here at Blackhawk, racing on the BNST middle and high school teams, and she was also our Outdoor Education intern at one point! Congratulations, Lily, on your Birkie WIN!
First (annual?) Valentine's Day Candlelight Ski A Success
The welcomed fresh snow in mid-February sparked a long-awaited idea to bring skiers of all ages and abilities out to the club to ski by candlelight. We didn't expect the additional 5 inches of snow that fell during the event! It made it all the more magical even though some of our candles blew away or were buried in the snow! Thanks to Gail Rogal, Jill Stevenson, and Amy Grunewald Mattison for hosting the event.
High School Skier Amelia Kydd Qualifies for U.S. Junior National Championshops
Congratulations to HS skier Amelia Kydd on qualifying for the U.S. Junior National Championships at Soldier Hollow in Utah.
Biathlon Season Recap
Biathlon has had an amazing season. Our youth had the opportunity to compete in eight races in Wisconsin this year, including the three race weekends held at Blackhawk. At our last event on March 2, we were honored with having two-time Olympian Joanne Reid participate in our race. Joanne was born in Madison but grew up in California. She spent eight years competing in the World Cup and is a wonderful role model for all our athletes.
In February, Ariens Nordic Center hosted the first ever Master's U.S. National and North American Championships. Blackhawk was represented by a number of biathletes who competed over three days. Two Blackhawk Master's skiers, Mary Stuesser and Ian Olson, were crowned U.S. National and North American Champions, and Ryan Oliver was a second place finisher.
During the week of March 24, seven Blackhawk youth biathletes will be attending the Youth and Senior Nationals in Bozeman, Montana, for three days of racing. Good luck to all those going to Bozeman!
The Blackhawk youth biathlon program will have a limited number of openings for new biathletes for the 2025/26 season. If you have or know of a middle school-aged student who is interested in biathlon, check out the Blackhawk youth biathlon webpage for more information, including whom to contact for more information.
Ski Jumping Season Recap
Local Level
Blackhawk offered three different Intro to Ski Jumping classes this season that taught 26 kids the fundamentals of the sport. It was amazing to watch their progress over just six weeks! Many of the Intro to Ski Jumping kids participated in Blackhawk’s 78th Annual Ski Jumping Tournament on February 15, with five intro jumpers earning medals! Stay tuned for more details about spring and summer ski jumping opportunities, starting in May!
National Level
Our Blackhawk ski jumping team had an impressive season. Several Blackhawk athletes traveled to tournaments in four states and earned podium finishes at every tournament. Two of our jumpers, Simon Walker and Elisa Whiting, qualified for the Central Division Ski Jumping Team. This enabled both athletes to compete at the Junior National Ski Jumping Championships in Park City, Utah, at the end of February. Both Simon and Elisa jumped well, with Elisa earning a silver medal in the Team Competition alongside teammate Kaija Copenhaver from Ishpeming, Michigan.
International Level
Estella Hassrick was officially named to the 2025 Junior World Championship Team, and competed in Lake Placid from February 12-16. This marked her third Junior World Championships representing the United States. Estella also competed in the World Cup Competition held in Lake Placid from February 6th - 8th. This was her second World Cup competition, and it was the first time the women's ski jumping World Cup was held in the United States. Estella, who began her ski jumping journey in Blackhawk’s Intro classes, continues to represent the Women’s U.S. National Team this winter.
BART Update
BART has had a very eventful month! In mid-February, two BART athletes, Orion Wilson and Elizabeth McNamar, qualified to represent Wisconsin at the Western High School National Championships at Grand Targhee! In order to qualify as one of the 24 athletes (12 male/12 female), Elizabeth (Ellie) and Orion each had to place strongly at the state HS ski meet held over multiple days in February. Ellie placed overall in 7th position with finishes of 6th in Super Giant Slalom, 19th in Slalom and 5th in Giant Slalom. Orion placed 11th overall with 6th in Giant Slalom, 22nd in Slalom and 16th in Super Giant Slalom. Both Orion and Ellie race as teammates on the West High School team. Overall, there were a total of 11 BART athletes who competed at the LaCrosse State HS meet--representing Madison West, Middleton teams and two individuals (Addison Dama from Waunakee and Grant Ehle from Verona).
Orion Wilson, Ellie McNamar
Ella Tieman qualified to attend the Rocky/Central U16 Junior Championships in Vail, CO, which took place over several days and included all disciplines (downhill, super Giant slalom, Giant Slalom and Slalom).
Ella Tieman at Snowriver Resort qualifier race in February
Finally on March 1st and 2nd, the BART team concluded our season with WIJARA league where we finished in fifth place overall. We were honored to have one of our senior athletes, Bea Barbouche selected for the 2025 WIJARA Leadership Award that honors athletes across the league for excellence in leadership, sportsmanship, community service and academics. In Bea’s application she shared how much skiing at Blackhawk has meant to her, the amazing friendships she has forged and how she overcame injury her freshman year to participate all four years at the state high school meet at LaCrosse. Bea exudes positive energy and she uplifts those around her. The BART Coaches were thrilled to be able to shine light on her incredible academic accomplishments and positive attitude.
Coach Jenny Dahlberg (left), Bea Barbouche (center), Coach Steve Cohan (right)
Mountain Biking
Mountain bike season approaches! Keep an eye on trail conditions to make sure trails are rideable. Blackhawk and CORP are hiring a Trail Crew member. Read the job description here.
Lost & Found
Reminder that there are many items in the lost & found. It's in the West Chalet on the back table. Or check here.
Upcoming Events
For upcoming events and additional details, keep an eye on our club calendar: https://blackhawkskiclub.org/news/club-calendar