Project Aavasaksa

on 2007-04-22

In northern Finland a project to build up a roofed-over ski flying hill exists

Weather and wind conditions are natural threats of ski jumpers, as also this World Cup season proofs with some cancelled competitions due to a lack of snow and stormy wind conditions becoming some jumper’s fatality. In order to minimize this adverseness, to affront mild temperatures and squalls and, of course, to guarantee equal opportunities in the outdoor sports ski jumping, for some years voice have come up demanding for roofed-over ski jumping facilities. On the occasion of the ski flying weekend at Planica now for a first time a concrete project has been released.

At Ylitornio, community with 5,000 inhabitants in the Finnish part of Lapland, plans have been made for the construction of a ski jumping facility, on which ski jumping on snow would be possible for about 10 months in a year. There two tunnels shall be drilled inside the 242 m high mountain Aavasaksa, in which the inrun trails of a HS 207 ski flying hill and another large hill ski jump HS 140 shall be placed. Additionally the slope of the hill, which offers a wonderful overview of the surrounding area and attracts many tourists in the time of midnight sun, will be shaped about 40 to 50 meters deep for profiling the common landing hill of both ski jumps.

The highlight of the facility will be the roofing of the landing hill, which reaches from the take-off of ski flying hill nearly down to the beginning of outrun. Furthermore along the slope and in the outrun numerous spectator areas will be created, as well as the infrastructure necessary for hosting World Cup competitions.

But there are still some doubts about the realization of this project, since an estimation of costs hasn’t already been made and there are no particulars of materials for the implementation of the roofing over the landing hill. All together there are still many factors, which come before the realization of this ambitious and spectacular project. So we have to wait, if in the nearer future ski flying at a roofed-over Aavasaksa facility can be experienced, or ski jumping keeps an open air sports.

Graphics and information: Presse Release "Skisprunganlage Aavasaksa"