Safely Landing a Ski Jump
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Safely Landing a Ski Jump
A ski jump is a feeling of exhilaration that few exercises can match. It is also one of the most dangerous things that people do on skis. The majority of injuries from a ski jump are the result of a poor landing. The landing of a ski jump is difficult to master, but necessary if you want to get the rush without the bruises. The key to safely landing a ski jump is all in the knees.
When you are flying through the air, your impact will depend entirely on how prepared your body is to absorb the shock of the landing. A ski jump does not take place on fresh powder. The hardpack landing zone is as hard as it gets and the impact can be jarring if your knees are not properly bent. Bend your knees together and do what you can to absorb the impact of the landing while keeping your legs equidistant apart. Balance is the other key to landing a ski jump.
Practice your balance by starting with short jumps and moving up to larger ones gradually. If you can make it into the jump, holding your balance through the air can easily be taught. Practice makes for more than perfect when it comes to a ski jump, it also makes for safety.
Comments
2/6/2007 10:24:24 AMNeil Jessen said:
90% of the jump is the takeoff. If the takeoff is good, the landing is assured.
Arms Forward
The skier’s arms should be forward, shoulder height, and slightly wider than the body. This position should be held while ascending the lip, not adopted at the moment of take off. If you suddenly do it while launching you’ll introduce a forward lean that only gets worse in mid-air. The disaster occurs as the ski-tips land first. They act as a fulcrum, whipping the skier head-first into a devastating face plant.
Hold the arms forward at shoulder height on the approach, never wavering from this position until you’re back on the ground.
“Flex into the Hill”
Legs must be evenly pressed against the front of the boot while ascending. This compensates for the backward lean introduced by your ascent. If uncorrected a backward lean will exaggerate while airborne and cause a bad landing. Lean into the bindings — “into the hill”— while ascending and keep the feet as wide as the hips.
Distribute Weight Evenly
Concentrate on flexing each leg evenly, distributing body weight equably over them. Leaning to one side will exaggerate while airborne and cause the jumper to land on one leg. One can recover from a slight tilt, but an acute lean is a recipe for disaster.
Head over Knees
When landing make sure the head is forward of the hips. Perfect placement is directly over the knees. This will put your center of gravity over the landing.
2/19/2007 4:35:08 AM
Troy said:
I agree with Neil. Ascending the hill and taking off is 90%. Always lean forward into the hill or you'll find yourself landing on your back.
If you do have an unrecoverable landing, DO NOT put your arms out to catch yourself. Keep your harms in close to your chest/abdomen when falling. Failure to do so frequently leads to broken wrist, radius, ulna, or clavical bones. And where a helmet. I work ski patrol and like to ski jump, but I don't like picking up people with head trauma.
12/31/2008 8:02:58 AM
TIM age 13 said:
i agree with everyhing else u guys have said but 1 moore tip that works for me is in mid flight try and look ahead to your landings so you no what way to land it .
