Copper Peak ski jump looks
for comeback to world stage
It’s been nearly 20 years since athletes soared
into the sky off the Copper Peak ski jump near Ironwood,
Mich. But change is in the air.
By: Andrew Krueger
It’s been nearly 20 years since athletes soared
into the sky off the Copper Peak ski jump near Ironwood,
Mich. But change is in the air.
The board that operates the western Upper Peninsula
landmark is backing a new plan they hope will put
Copper Peak back on the international stage and
attract athletes from around the world for ski jumping
— and not just in the winter.
“This is really big news for ski jumping in the
United States,” said Bryan Sanders, a 1992 U.S.
ski jumping Olympian and member of the Copper Peak
board. “This makes us relevant again on the world
scene.”
Two key components of the plan are transforming
Copper Peak from its present status as a ski-flying
hill to a ski-jumping hill, and bringing summer
ski jumping to the venue by 2016.
Copper Peak, which opened in 1970, features a 267-foot
steel jump structure — that’s about 26 stories high
— built atop a 365-foot rock outcropping about 10
miles northeast of Ironwood.
Ski flying vs. ski jumping
Ski flying is similar to ski jumping but takes place
on larger hills that allow for longer jumps.
Copper Peak had been the only ski flying hill in
the Western Hemisphere — and one of just six in
the world — but it was small for that circuit.
So the Copper Peak board, at the suggestion of and
with backing from the Federation of International
Skiing (FIS), wants to make the transition to the
largest ski-jumping hill in the world.
“We haven’t flown at Copper Peak in a number of
years. Our hill has not progressed in size (as other
slopes) have lengthened their landing slopes,” said
Charlie Supercynski, president of the Copper Peak
board. “So the question is, what kind of a hill
are we? Are we a small flying hill, or do we want
to become a large jumping hill?”
And the answer, backed by a unanimous vote of the
Copper Peak board this month, is to follow the FIS
plan and switch to ski jumping. That will require,
among other renovations, reshaping the hill to meet
FIS ski jumping specifications.
Summer competition
In conjunction with the switch from ski flying to
ski jumping, the plan envisioned by FIS and the
Copper Peak board includes the addition of summer
ski jumping.
How does summer ski jumping work?
The landing zone “is essentially skiing on plastic
— a specially designed surface that looks like spaghetti
that you stack up like shingles on a roof,” Supercynski
said. It approximates snow, allowing skiers to glide
along as they land.
The jump itself would be outfitted with ceramic
tile or a refrigerated ice surface — that’s still
to be determined — that athletes would glide down
to make their runs.
The sport has grown in popularity in Europe because
the warmer weather conditions are more favorable
for fans, and there are fewer variables for skiers
to contend with. Events often feature live TV coverage.
“We follow the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay
Packers,” Supercynski said. In Europe, “they follow
their skiers.”
Copper Peak would become the largest summer ski
jump in the world, so the hope is that it would
become a stop on the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix
circuit, perhaps for its season finale in September
when fall colors would be reaching their peak in
the U.P. There also is talk of making Copper Peak
a national training center for USA Ski Jumping.
All told, adding a summer season would give Copper
Peak the potential to host training and competitions
many more days each year than a winter-only season.
That, in turn, would bring a welcome economic boost
to area businesses.
Plan timeline
Copper Peak’s backers have been working for some
time to bring the venue back to prominence. Since
the last competition there, in 1994, it has hosted
only summer tourists who venture to the top for
a stunning view. There had been plans for an exhibition
event later this winter, but that has been put on
hold for now.
Sanders traveled to Europe in October to discuss
Copper Peak with FIS officials, and an FIS delegation
visited the U.P. earlier this month.
“FIS said it’s a landmark, that we have to make
this happen,” Sanders said.
Getting the new plan in place was the easy part.
Now Copper Peak must raise money for all of the
improvements, which Supercynski said could cost
several million dollars.
The Copper Peak board will start looking to local,
national and international sponsors and sources
for financial support; the process is just starting.
Among early ideas for raising money is perhaps selling
ads on the plastic landing surface.
If all goes well, there could be competitions at
Copper Peak perhaps as early as 2015, otherwise
in 2016.
“There’s a lot of support and enthusiasm from our
board,” Supercynski said. “Can we pull it off? We
hope we can.”
