Skiing backwards down a 24 story ski ramp and then making the jump? That’s mad skills we had to see from Sammy Carlson.
The video in total is more than 5 minutes long, but we’ve linked you to around the 3 and a half minute mark when the epic jump gets going.
A little background on the epic location:
Built in 1970, the ski jump, known as Copper Peak, is the largest ski jump in the Western Hemisphere. Located on Michigan’s upper peninsula and along the shores of Lake Superior, the 24 story, 300-ton steel structure is named for the mineral deposits unearthed during its construction (a 140-pound copper nugget was discovered near the present-day judge’s stand). The ramp itself claims 364-feet of vertical drop and a 35-degree in-run, providing for jumps with distance records stretching over 500 feet.
“When we showed up it was a ghost ramp. It not been hit in twenty years,” said Carlson. “The people helping me from the community where just as committed as I was to hitting the ramp. It was true team effort.”
Although the site has been used as a summer tourist attraction, it hasn’t been used for its intended purpose as a ski jump for a long time.
The vid is part of The Sammy C Project. It’s from Teton Gravity Research and the 7-time X Games medalist and 3-time Real Ski Champion, Sammy Carlson.