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The recent cold snap in Central Europe has allowed organizers of the fabled Four Hills Tournament to make enough snow at the four venues to insure that the holiday-time event will be held as expected.

The event which is full of lore and tradition is one of the most sought after titles in the world of Nordic skiing. Champions of the event offer a link into ski jumping’s past. People still talk of the high flying style of men like Sepp Bradl, Toni Brutscher, Manfred Deckert, Jens Weissflog, Bjorn Wirkola, Sven Hannawald, Yukio Kasaya, or Karl Schnabl. Their names are not engraved in stone, but in granite. They are just a few of the past winners, and now we are on the cusp of “Four Schanzen Tourney.” Usually, the top jumpers’ names are well known to all, but there is often at least one surprise. Time to test my thesis.

Obviously, with the first world cup period behind us, we have some pretty clear ideas of who the top flyers are. The script is likely calling for an epic battle between famed Austrian Eagle Gregor Schlierenzauer, and the Gifted Swiss Simon Ammann. Ammann recently won his 11th World Cup victory in Engelberg, Switzerland and thusly he’ll arrive wearing the yellow leader’s bib. He also set a new hill record on his “home hill.” Ammann has had a good vibe going on since he dominated this summer’s FIS Grand Prix. He also has had the longest jump in an official event this season, with a 147 meter leap, giving him the lead in the Adidas Distance award.

Schlierenzauer is a very talented jumper with a smooth yet powerful take off move and a magnificent flight position, and he will be a huge player this year. “Schlie” now has 26 World Cup wins. The deepest, most talented team in the world also backs him up. Joining him are other Austrian jumpers, including last year’s Four Hills winner, Wolfgang Loitzl, Andreas Kofler, Thomas Morgenstern(the reinging Olympic champion), and possibly Manuel Fettner. This bevy of talent is what makes Austria’s Head Coach Alexander Pointner say, “We are going into the tourney with a very strong team.” Read: understatement.

Since half the tourney is held on German snows, on the towers of Oberstdorf and Garmisch, expect huge crowds cheering on a strong DSV team. They are always solid with the likes of Martin Schmitt, Michael Uhrmann, Michael Neumayer, and Andreas Wank. But this winter has seen the birth of yet another huge talent: 18 year old Pascal Bodmer.
Bodmer is no surprise to the DSV program: he emerged from their strong development group, with an amazing second place on the tricky, windy hills of Kuusamo, Finland, right behind Norwegian Bjoern Romoeren. Bodmer had never reached a top-ten finish before. Prediction: Pascal will fly high this year, possibly taking an individual win at home. His fearless and bold nature make him a great crowd favorite.

What’s a ski jumping event without Norwegians? They have a talented, if sometimes inconsistent, team, but jumpers like Romoeren -- a ski flying world record holder who is at his best on the biggest hills -- could win at any stage. They also have Anders Jacobsen, Johan Remen Evensen, and Tom Hilde.

The Finn’s have been having some troubles of late. Their great superstar Janne Ahonen jumped last weekend, but not up to his high standards, and was hospitalized two weeks ago, with a rather severe flu. In fact, the Finnish team is ranked only fifth in the prestigious Nation’s Cup rankings; not what their public is used to expecting. Harri Olli, 24, has huge talent but recently tested some new equipment, reportedly without the approval of Head Coach Janne Vaeaetaeinen. One source said there is “tension between the two.”

The Polish squad has some real depth, including their national hero Adam Malysz who is in his final season. Malysz has carried the flag of Poland proudly for well more than a decade, and his presence has helped mentor the likes of Kamil Stoch and Stefan Hula.

The Japanese team has talent and has been getting some production and points from Daiki Ito, who last week won third place and was his country’s first podium of the winter. He once jumped 145 meters at a Four Hills event -- the longest jump ever at the tourney. My friend Kari Yliantilla is still the Head Coach for the team, and has made definite progress. He’s a Four Hill’s winner and has a stable of additional talent like Shohei Tochimoto and Fumihisa Yumoto. Often times his team is on the road and away from Japan for eight or more weeks, which is never easy.

The French team has also seen a big spike in their results. Most especially coming from Emmanuel Chedal, 26, who placed a strong third on the Olympic jumps at Lillehammer recently. It was the first podium for Air France since Nicolas Dessum had a second place back in 1997.

Those are but some of the favorites in the tourney, yet there are other fine jumpers who could find that sweat spot at the take off, and at that moment . . . talent, boldness, stability, and greatness come together, to set dreams soaring.

It’s sure to be a great tournament............