Wednesday, March 02, 2005


Holmenkollen Ski Jump, Oslo.
Looking straight down into the "pit" where the ski jumpers land at Holmenkollen Ski Jump. See the little snowplow there on the lower left? It was actually quite huge and it is held in place by a winch and cable system, that pulls it up the near vertical slope (and keeps it from careening down the hill as well). You could not pay me a million dollars to be the guy that drives that thing. (Well maaaybe a million...)
This winter has not had much snow, so just to the left out of frame was a big snow machine that had to lift and blow manufactured snow from the parking lot, over the side of the jump and onto the landing pad. Almost as much snow fell onto the ground as landed on the jump. It remined me of Sisyphus, pushing that damn rock up the hill only to have it roll back down again. The same snow just kept getting blown and then falling down, blowing and falling, blowing and falling. I had to leave, it was driving me crazy to watch this endless task continually repeated.

2 comments:

  1. I've been up there and had to leave for another reason : the whole damn thing was SWAYING in the wind and I was petrified. I have no idea what would possess someone to GO DOWN OFF OF THAT ON SKIS. ;o)

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  2. I know! When you are at the top the ski jump is so steep that you can't actually see it going down. It's like it kind of loops back on itself in its down-ness. You've gotta be some kind of brave or crazy to go off that thing.

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