my intention today was to write about modern ski jumps(e.g. this beauty, designed by zaha hadid and this one from mr2) butthen i came across the photos above and, in an instant, everything elsepaled into insignificance. there’s just so much to love. look at theheight of the thing (165ft by the way). look at the width. look at theamount of scaffolding (14 miles of it). how did people get to the top? imagine actually standing at the top. the mind boggles.
turnsout these temporary ski jumps were all the rage back in the black andwhite days, especially in stadiums, and i’m just so glad because theymade for stunning photos. another case in point: soldier field, 1954…
theenormous slope was covered with tons of crushed ice rather than snow.also, this was the second version of the soldier field jump; theoriginal, built in 1937, was made entirely of wood. here’s afrustratingly miniscule photo of it…
