I was in Innsbruck many years ago (in the summer) and was afforded a view of their ski jump ramp from the top. :eek: doesn’t even begin to cover it. The tour guide made a joke of mentioning that between the takeoff point and the landing point, the jumpers have a bird’s eye view of a cemetary.
I wonder, however, how much danger there really is. It seems to me that the jumpers are never more than 7-8 meters above the ground, in terms of pure vertical distance. That’s break-an-ankle height, not plunge-to-your-death height.
There’s an Olympic-size ski jump in Brattleboro, Vt., and you couldn’t have paid me enough to ski off it and up, up, up into the wild blue yonder. Even with a gun to my head I’d be a tad reluctant.
I give you Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, national hero by dint of not doing anything as vulgar as being successful, or having any trace of tactless natural talent. The lack of ski jumps in temperate Britain, and Eddie’s limited funds, meant that most of his training was done with the aid of home-made wooden contraptions.
The downside is that he pretty much closed the door behind him, as his entry prompted the Olympic committee to tighten up entry requirements in future games.