Planica

After visiting the Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo I was determined to look at the Slovenian ski jump at Planica again to compare the two. I had been to Planica several times, the last time a few years ago in winter time to watch a competition (it was winter and cold and I only went because Marko was invited and we had tickets). Otherwise I used to go there in summer a few times as a child. I recall that there were wooden steps that lead all the way up and that it was very scary just to look down where the ski jumpers are supposed to jump.


I examined the ski jump just after my trip to Jalovec, after all the starting point for that hike is the parking lot across from the ski jumps. The steps that lead up are now made of steel and there is no sign of the wooden steps that I remember from my childhood years. There is also a ski lift that carries ski jumpers so they don’t have to walk up there but it seems it only operates in winter. I wonder why they don’t operate the ski lift year round and charge admission to tourists to make some extra income, just like they do at the Holmenkollen where they charge admission for riding the elevator. For now, walking up there is free with a warning that people do so at their own risk.


The steps lead only up to the table where the ski jumpers take off into the air. The rest of the way to the top where they start accelerating for takeoff is closed for visitors. But even looking down from the table is totally scary, the landing area is so far away and behind the slope that it isn’t even completely visible and I can only imagine that from the top where the ski jumpers take off it is so much scarier. I have new respect for the ski jumpers who dare to take off from there.


The one thing that really surprised me is that the table is so low, it seems almost like just a large step. I guess in winter when it is all covered in snow it gives a different impression because I always thought that the jumpers fly so very high up in the sky. I realize now that comparison of Holmenkollen and Planica is not relevant since Planica is a much larger ski jump, to be precise it is not really a ski jump but a ski fly. Vikersund in Norway would be a comparable construction but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see it.