Copper Peak is a ski flying hill located in Ironwood, Michigan

Ironwood, Michigan

Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the U.S. state of Michigan, about south of Lake Superior. The population was 6,293 at the 2000 census. The city is on US 2 and is situated opposite the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost city in Michigan, situated on the same line...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Built in 1969, it remains the only ski flying facility in the Western Hemisphere

Western Hemisphere

The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

. With a K-spot of 150 meters, Copper Peak has allowed jumps up to 158 meters. 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

International Ski Federation

The International Ski Federation, known by its name in French, Fédération Internationale de Ski is the main international organisation for ski sports...

 (FIS). It is expected to be reopened for competition in the next 2 or 3 years.

History

The ski flying hill was built in 1969, and between 1970 and 1994 there were ten competitions in the hill. H

The hill record is 158 meters, 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 The hill was expanded in the 1980s, but the profile is still outdated compared to current standards. There are plans to expand to a modern profile with K-spot 170 meters, but funds are lacking.

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

Porcupine Mountains

The Porcupine Mountains, or Porkies, are a group of small mountains spanning across the northwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Ontonagon and Gogebic counties, near the shore of Lake Superior. The area is part of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park...

 with the Apostle Islands

Apostle Islands

The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Bayfield County...

 35 miles (56.3 km) to the west. Exceptionally clear days—caused by a Canadian high pressure system moving in—permit a view 85 miles (136.8 km) across Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

 to Isle Royale

Isle Royale

Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior, and part of the state of Michigan. The island and the 450 surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale National Park....

 and Grand Marais, Minnesota

Grand Marais, Minnesota

Grand Marais is a city in Cook County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,351 at the 2010 census. It is also the county seat of Cook County...

.

World Cup

Year	Winner	Nationality
1981	Alois Lipburger Alois Lipburger Alois Lipburger was an Austrian ski jumper who competed from 1975 to 1981. He won a silver medal in the individual large hill competition at the 1978 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti....	AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
	Alois Lipburger Alois Lipburger Alois Lipburger was an Austrian ski jumper who competed from 1975 to 1981. He won a silver medal in the individual large hill competition at the 1978 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti....	AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...