THIS STORY IS PART OF OUR WINTER SPORTS PLAYBOOK. READ MORE HERE.
To start, you slide out onto a wooden beam over the track, three to four stories off the ground.
After the coach gives you the go-ahead, you get into position and start speeding down the hill. Your skis roar as they ride the ice (or in the summer, metal, which is much louder), clattering as they reach sections of the track that aren’t perfectly straight.
When it’s time to jump, you’re suddenly lifted by a wall of air. You’re basically your own parachute. As you descend, the world rushes up toward you. You fall with the hill as it comes down, so you go pretty far even though you’re only 2 to 3 feet off the ground. And it all happens in just two to five seconds. – As told to Laura Bengs
Want to try it yourself? Clubs like Pollard’s Blackhawk Ski Club in Middleton offer intro classes that work up to ski jumping.
