On the eve of the 124th Silver Mine Ski Invitational, a pair of world-class athletes provided a preview of the weekend's competition with their first runs on the historic Eau Claire hill.

Reigning women's ski jumping champion Lindsey Van and United States teammates Abby Hughes and Karin Friberg shook off sleet and freezing rain for a practice session at Silvermine Hill Thursday night.
All three will compete in the Silver Mine Invitational for the first time this weekend.

As teammates on the U.S. team, both Van and Hughes have competed in plenty of tournaments and jumped at some of the biggest venues on the global circuit. When it comes to Silvermine Hill, both say they're excited for a new challenge, but they'll need some time to adjust to an unfamiliar setting.

"It's a very unique hill, I'll need more than two to get used to it," Van said. "It's fun, I like unique. I like to try and conquer new hills even if it's old and hard, so I'll try my best [Friday]."

Hughes likes the challenge of figuring out the best strategy for her jumps on a new hill.

"Kind of cool, the fact that every hill is different, so this hill feels like nothing I've jumped before," Hughes said. "It's got a different profile, just different dimensions than we're used to. It's just fun to experience a different feeling."