George Hovland, Jr.

George Hovland competed in the 1952 Winter Olympics, but never really stopped competing. He raced in every American Birkebeiner, save one, since its inception in 1973, and won his age group over 10 times. He also was the first non-European to compete in the Vasaloppet Race in Sweden, over 90 km. An all-around skier in his youth, he was a four-time winner of the Central US four-event championship.

During World War II, Hovland served as quartermaster on a geodesic survey boat in the South Pacific from 1943-1945. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and returned to his native Duluth after the war where he designed homes. Hovland was responsible for building and designing multiple ski areas and businesses, including “The Ski Shop.” He co-owned the Mont du Lac Ski Area, and started Duluth’s first commercial ski hill called Ski Kenwood. He assisted in designing ski trails at Giant’s Ridge, Duluth’s Hartley Park ,and in the Superior Municipal Forest.

Hovland founded the Spirit Mountain Ski Area and the Snowflake Nordic Ski Center, which became his passion. It was a 15-kilometer system of cross-country ski trails, a biathlon range, and a chalet off Rice Lake Road, where Hovland and his wife, Jane, started KidSki, which paired high school skiers with younger children learning to ski.