Sports

Ski flying at Copper Peak set to return in 2017

Michigan Public | By Stateside Staff

Published December 14, 2015 at 4:17 PM EST

The back of the postcard reads "Approximate 1,200 feet above Lake Superior stands the world's tallest Ski Flying Tower."

The largest ski jump structure in the world is located, not in Bavaria, not in Switzerland, not even Scandinavia.

It's Ironwood's Copper Peak in the Upper Peninsula. At 469 feet, ski jumpers soar through the air at 65 miles per hour.

Copper Peak was built in 1970. The last ski flying competition happened there in 1994.

But, plans are afoot to renovate the ski jump for a September 2017 contest.

"The World Cup circuit has never fully had a full meet on Copper Peak yet, and this will be the first one," said Bob Jacquart, chair of the Copper Peak Organizing committee.

Copper Peak has become a tourist destination in Ironwood, attracting over 10,000 tourists each summer.

Listen to the full interview with Bob Jacquart.