Diving Down into What It Takes to Fly So High

It’s a source of admiration how winter sport athletes achieve their mastery on ice and snow.  At another level all its own is the sheer awe generated by watching the flips and turns in the almost unbelievable sport of freestyle aerial ski jumping.

How these athletes flip and twist 60 feet in the air and land on their feet on a steep, snowy incline defies everything we know about the universe. So in an attempt to un-boggle our minds, let’s dive down into this winter sport that flies higher than any other.

Background

The first ever World Cup in freestyle skiing – a category that includes aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air – was held in 1980, the same year of Lake Placid held its second Olympic Winter Games. However, freestyle events were not included in the Olympics until Lillehammer in 1994.

The aerials component of the sport is different from big air and other types of ski jumping because it uses a curved ramp made of snow on which the skiers launch themselves straight up to get in as many twists and turns as possible. Almost like watching high diving into a pool. In fact, in the summer months, aerial skiers train at facilities in which they land in a pool or lake. They also use trampolines, along with bungy cords for safety, to learn their midair twisting and turning maneuvers. Lake Placid’s Olympic Jumping Complex (OJC) is one of only two facilities in the U.S. that have a pool and trampoline for aerial jump training.

The Kicker

Beyond the skills of the athletes themselves, there’s one thing that makes aerial ski jumping the high flying sport it is – something called the kicker. That’s the term the vertically inclined ramp that aerialists use to hurl themselves high into the air to perform their acrobatics. The kicker is essentially a launching pad.

Kickers come in three standard sizes – a single, double, and triple – each designed according to strict international standards to provide athletes a consistent surface that gives them the air they need for their flips and twists. All three of these kickers are basically the same with the exception of their height. The single is an eight foot tall launching mechanism that lets an athlete soar about 20 feet, allowing airtime for two twists and one flip. On the double, athletes reach about 30 feet in height above the jump, allowing about four twists, and the triple gets them up as much as 60 feet in air for as many as five full twists and three backflips.

Below the kicker is the steeply inclined area on which the athletes land. Hopefully, on their feet, allowing them a controlled descent to the finish area where they can stop safely.

In this sport, the flips athletes perform are always full flips. Landing backward and blind on a steep slope after doing twists and turns in the air is simply not an option.

The Other Kicker

For the athletes performing these acrobatics, there is another kicker – their stunningly thin margin of error. Going this high, turning and twisting in the air, and landing safely on a snow-covered slope requires a multitude of things to go right and almost nothing to go wrong.

That means the right weather and landing conditions are among the essentials. A little wind is all that’s needed to wreak havoc on a jumpers’ stability. It can easily result in less height than needed to perform the intended tricks or alter the jumpers’ movements in the air, both of which can result in a poor or potentially dangerous landing.

Because competitions often last through the day and into the evening, temperature changes throughout that time frequently change the snow conditions. Such changes in air temperature can alter the snow and, therefore, the speed at which athletes ski into the kickers. In turn, that changes the height skiers achieve and alter their ability to complete a jump.

Believe it or not, it wasn’t even that long ago that helmets became required equipment for aerials. Skiers now also wear mouth guards to reduce the risk of concussion on impact with the snow. Skis, boots, and bindings are all made of carbon to keep it as light as possible and allow the skiers more control regardless of other factors.

Additionally, crews at Lake Placid’s OJC and at other venues around the world work diligently to keep not only the jumps but the landing surfaces as predictable as possible, too. Landing is tough enough as it is, given the intense forces skiers face when landing, so a simple lump or divot in the landing area can send a skier careening out of control.

In fact, the impact forces measured on the soles of skiers’ feet when they land averages from seven to over eight times their body weight. For an athlete weighing just 140 pounds, that comes out to 1,120 pounds of force on landing. With jumpers’ ankles locked in ski boots, those forces are transmitted through the lower limbs and increase the risk of injury to joint cartilage, the knees, bones, and ligaments. That’s why Lake Placid’s OJC crews carefully groom the landing areas after each jumper to reduce the unpredictability of landing surfaces.

“Safety is a big thing,” says Deb Pica, Olympic Authority Paramedic onsite at the OJC. “I’m here to help create a safe environment and provide first aid when needed. At the Olympic Authority, we take care of our athletes.”

Athlete Training

Repetitions, skills, strength, and fitness are a few things that produce not only better competition outcomes but also reduce the likelihood of injuries.

Strength training is a big key. For aerials athletes, it’s crucial for enhancing performance and reducing both acute and chronic injuries. Competitions last for hours, and for each individual athlete there are gaps between those brief moments of extreme exertion. That makes robust physical conditioning paramount. By boosting strength in the hip, knee, ankles, and core trunk muscles, athletes are better equipped to produce high-quality twists and flips while making consistently safe landings.

Speed and agility are two other key factors that help aerialists perform better while also reducing their likelihood of injury. The primary determinants of success are the quality of the aerial maneuvers and the landings and the capacity to control one’s body and balance on snow during technical movements. Because freestyle aerials is characterized by a very brief exertion during each jump, the ability to execute quick technical moves with a high level of stability is crucial. Coaches, therefore, focus also on athletes’ speed and the quality of training.

Here in Lake Placid, athletes work with athletic trainers at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center to work on strength and conditioning while getting time for aerial repetitions on the trampoline, in the pool, or on the snow jumps.

Over the long term, successful aerialists develop key physical qualities that propel them high and steer them away from injury. These key qualities include greater strength all their limbs, explosive power in the legs, and specialized core strength. They also develop extraordinary levels of speed and agility and overall coordination.

One other critical strength aerialists develop through their time in the air at the Lake Placid OJC is something called spatiotemporal perception. Essentially, that’s an athlete’s ability to know where they are in relation to the ground as they fly high and twist and turn in the air.

Athlete Development Camps

Reality is, there are very few opportunities for interested athletes to practice aerials and gain experience. With Lake Placid’s OJC being among such a small number of venues worldwide, the Olympic Authority’s summertime athlete development camps are vital to both those just getting into the sport as well as those wanting to advance to the highest levels.

Two such camps were held this past summer. These opportunities typically accommodate about 15 athletes at varying skill and experience levels. “We have to limit the number of athletes to ensure each receives the attention and appropriate chances to jump,” says Deb. “Typically, I schedule the pool, so jumpers have a two hour session in the morning and at least an hour and half in the afternoon, which allows us to offer two programs.” They come to Lake Placid from across the nation, and these opportunities are where elite athletes get their start and develop their abilities.

World Cup Competition in Lake Placid

As winter comes on, athletes and fans get excited about Aerials World Cup events around the world. This year’s World Cup schedule began in Ruka, Finland, and soon after the short holiday break, the U.S. Aerials Team, along with the best in the world from all the other countries, will be coming to Lake Placid January 18 and 19.

This is not only the first Aerials World Cup in Lake Placid since 2019 but also, for the first time ever, the Lake Placid World Cup will feature a mixed teams competition on Sunday evening.

Everyone is invited to see the thrills and excitement of these highest flying, gravity-defying athletes perform their magic at the Olympic Jumping Complex. With only eight Aerials World Cup events all winter long, the Lake Placid stop is a rare and rousing chance to see these incredible, daring athletes in action.

Plus, with qualification rounds during the day, the real competition heats up when the sun goes down. Indeed, the main competitions are evening rounds under the stars and lights at the Olympic Jumping Complex, creating an undeniably beautiful and thrilling spectacle as these athletes soar high over the kickers against the night sky. It’s truly a spectacle you won’t want to miss.

Lake Placid Aerials World Cup tickets and details, including the competition schedule, are available here at the Olympic Jumping Complex website. Come join us and watch in awe as these remarkable athletes fly high and do the seemingly impossible right before your eyes.