Address: Copper Peak N13870 Copper Peak Rd Ironwood, MI 49938
Countie(s) trail is located in: Gogebic
Trail Type(s): Downhill Skiing <> Hiking
Trail Measurement:
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There is a nice hiking trail up the mountain to Copper peak.
Copper Peak is a ski flying hill located in Ironwood, Michigan, United States. Built in 1970, it remains the only ski flying facility in the Western Hemisphere. In 1994 a K-point on Copper Peak was at 145 meters (476 ft), allowing jumps up to 158 meters (518 ft). Although there have been no flights at Copper Peak since 1994, there has been some investment in improving the facility to meet the standards of the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Ski flying at Copper Peak involves going much greater distances than normal ski jumping.
History
Between 1970 and 1994 there were ten competitions in the hill. The hill record is 158 meters (518 ft), set by Mathias Wallner and Werner Schuster (both Austria) on January 22, 1994, and January 23, 1994, respectively. The hill was expanded in the 1980s, but the profile is still outdated compared to current standards.
From summer to fall, the public can visit an observation platform 18 stories up the tower of the “highest man-made ski flying hill in the world”. Open on weekends, it presents a view promoted as “the most awesome vista in the Midwest”. Clear days give a northeasterly view of the Porcupine Mountains with the Apostle Islands 35 miles (56 km) to the west. Exceptionally clear days—caused by a Canadian high pressure system moving in—permit a view 85 miles (137 km) across Lake Superior to Isle Royale and Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Year: 1981
Winner: Alois Lipburger
Nationality: 
AUT
Hill Record
Date: 1970
Name: (Czechoslovakia) Zbyněk Hubač
Length: 134 m (440 ft)
Date: 1973
Name: (Japan) Akitsugu Konno
Length: 136 m (446 ft)
Date: 1973
Name: (USA) Jerry Martin
Length: 137 m (449 ft)
Date: 1973
Name: (Japan) Akitsugu Konno
Length: 138 m (453 ft)
Date: 1974
Name: (USA) Tom Dargay
Length: 144 m (472 ft)
Date: 1974
Name: (USA) Jerry Martin
Length: 144 m (472 ft)
Date: 1975
Name: (USA) Jerry Martin
Length: 147 m (482 ft)
Date: 1976
Name: (East Germany) Hans-Georg Aschenbach
Length: 154 m (505 ft)
Date: 1981-2-13
Name: (Austria) Alois Lipburger
Length: 154 m (505 ft)
Date: 1990
Name: (Czechoslovakia) Stanislav Vasko
Length: 156 m (512 ft)
Date: 1994-1-22
Name: (Austria) Mathias Wallner
Length: 158 m (518 ft)
Date: 1994-1-23
Name: (Austria) Werner Schuster
Length: 158 m (518 ft)
Renovation
In 2012 the hill was under reconstruction. They have completed re-profiling the landing zone angle with filling the soil from 41° to 36°. New K-point will be at 170 meters (560 ft), new HS at 180 meters (590 ft), allowing jumps up to 185 meters (607 ft). They have already finished digging a large 2,830-cubic-meter (100,000 cu ft) collection pond at the bottom of the hill and a 710-cubic-meter (25,000 cu ft) at the top of the hill from which they intend to make snow.
The USA Ski Jumping organization announced that an exhibition ski flying event would take place at Copper Peak, February 28 to March 2, 2014, but this event has been cancelled. Instead, the Copper Peak board announced that Copper Peak will be converted to a ski jumping hill, with competitions beginning in 2015 or 2016. The plan is to hold ski jumping in the summer as well as the winter which would make Copper peak the largest summer ski jumping hill in the world.
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References and More Info
- Compass Latitude: 46°35’58.0″N
- Compass Longitude: 90°05’18.0″W
- Numeric Latitude: 46.599444
- Numeric Longitude: ‘-90.088333
- Elevation in Feet:
- Elevation in Meters:
- Trail Measurement:
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