More than 2,700 skiers headed up the steep Vallhalla ski hill at the start of the American Birkebeiner ski race at Mt. Telemark near Cable on Feb. 26, 1978.

BE WISCONSIN. 5 ways American ... was the brainchild of Tony Wise, a Hayward-area World War II veteran who built and developed the Telemark Lodge and its corresponding Mount Telemark Ski Area.

In support of preserving the legacy and history of the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race from Cable to Hayward, Johnson Bank of Hayward and Johnson Family Foundation of Racine, Wis ...