Olympic Jumping Complex
Does any sport try so hard to defy the force of gravity as ski jumping? At the Olympic Jumping Complex, you'll see up close what World Cup athletes will do to ignore, for as long as possible, that downward pull.
Stand at the base of the K-120 and K-90 meter jumps and watch them tuck down the launch ramp, burst into the air and—seemingly—hang there, suspended, before sticking the landing. Nearby, aerialists will spring off steep kickers on the freestyle hill in a flurry of twists, turns and tumbles.
Ski Jump Tour
For a different perspective, ride the chairlift up to the base of the jumps. From there, take the elevator to the observation deck at the top of the K-120 meter jump. Then look down and remind your heart to start beating again.
The K-90 and K-120 meter towers have been in use for more than a quarter-century, but Lake Placid's jumping tradition reaches back to the 1920s. It wasn't long after Wright brothers took off in North Carolina that the people of Lake Placid began experimenting with flight themselves. Except, they left out the wings and propellers.
