Copper Peak

Copper Peak is a ski flying hill designed by Lauren Larsen and located near Ironwood, Michigan, United States. It was built in 1969 and inaugurated one year later. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971. The site is currently used as a summer tourist attraction.

History

Copper mining In 1845, the Chippewa Copper Mining Company began mining work here, sinking a tunnel into the granite rock. They produced no copper and eventually closed. Around 1900 the Old Peak Company made further explorations, with no production. The 1845 tunnel is still visible.

1969: Built It all started in 1968 when a delegation from Gogebic Range Ski Club from Ironwood, Michigan came to visit civil/structural engineer Lauren Larsen in Duluth, Minnesota.

1970: Inaugurated Built in 1970, Copper Peak remains the only ski flying facility in the Western Hemisphere. In 1994 a K-point on Copper Peak was at , allowing jumps up to . There have been no flights at Copper Peak since 1994. An exhibition tournament was announced for 2014 but was canceled.

Between 1970 and 1994 there were ten competitions sanctioned by FIS and additional two international events were held. The hill record is , set by Matthias Wallner and Werner Schuster (both Austria) on 22 and 23 January 1994, respectively. The hill was expanded in the 1980s, but the profile is still outdated compared to current standards.

Renovation

Copper Peak, Inc., established the Copper Peak Organizing Committee for the purposes of raising funds to renovate the ski flying facility for FIS competition. Some improvements to the facilities were made in 2012.

On 14 July 2015 International Ski Federation announced "Copper Peak shall be reactivated" after an inspection of the facility by FIS Race Director Walter Hofer and Hans-Martin Renn who is the chairman of the FIS subcommittee for ski jumping hills. In October 2015, FIS awarded Copper Peak a Grand Prix Summer Series finale event held in September 2017 and a Summer Continental Cup and a Nordic Combined summer event in 2018. These events were not held due to the modifications unable to be completed.

On 30 March 2022, the State of Michigan granted Copper Peak $20 Million for the re-introduction of international ski jumping events at Copper Peak. As of May 2025, reconstruction of the landing hill has begun and is the construction of the concrete ski jump landing hill and outrun is scheduled to be complete in December 2026. Barr Engineering Co. of Duluth and Minneapolis, Minnesota, designed the landing hill renovations; the construction work is being performed by Engineering & Construction Innovations Inc., and Dykon Blasting. Currently, Copper Peak is open on Sundays during the summer and fall to see the construction progress.

Events

DateCompetitionWinnerSecondThird 28 February – 1 March 1970 Jiří Raška Zbyněk Hubač Rudolf Doubek 3–4 February 1973 Jerry Martin Tom Dargay Minoru Wakasa 2–3 February 1974 Ron Steele Jerry Martin Petter Kongsli 7–9 February 1975 Jerry Martin Jim Maki Shunichi Akimoto 29 February 1976 Hans-Georg Aschenbach Hans Millonig Bernd Eckstein 2–5 March 1978 Henry Glaß Jochen Danneberg Claus Tuchscherer 13 February 1981 Alois Lipburger Andreas Felder John Broman 14 February 1981 Alois Lipburger Andreas Felder Fritz Koch 15 February 1981 strong wind 25 February 1989 Franz Wiegele Werner Schuster Wolfgang Margreiter 3–4 March 1990 Stanislav Vasko Stefan Horngacher Franz Wiegele 22 January 1994 Terje Nyhus Werner Schuster Matthias Wallner 23 January 1994 Matthias Wallner Werner Schuster Frode Håre

Hill records DateLength27 February 1970 Greg Swor 78 m (255 ft)1 March 1970 Zbyněk Hubač 134 m (440 ft)3–4 February 1973 Akitsugu Konno 136 m (446 ft)3–4 February 1973 Jerry Martin 137 m (449 ft)3–4 February 1973 Akitsugu Konno 138 m (453 ft)2–3 February 1974 Tom Dargay 144 m (472 ft)2–3 February 1974 Jerry Martin 144 m (472 ft)7–9 February 1975 Jerry Martin 147 m (482 ft)29 February 1976 Hans-Georg Aschenbach 154 m (505 ft)13 February 1981 Alois Lipburger 154 m (505 ft)3–4 February 1990 Stanislav Vasko 156 m (512 ft)22 January 1994 Mathias Wallner 158 m (518 ft)23 January 1994 Werner Schuster 158 m (518 ft) W. Schuster crashed at 159 m (522 ft) at event on 25 February 1989.

Chippewa Hill

The peak, also known as Chippewa Hill, is a felsite hill about three hundred feet in height. The hill slopes steeply to the north and south, and there is a steep bluff on the east side of the hill. The Copper Peak ski-slide and tower dominates the peak of the hill. The tower sits on concrete footings based in solid rock. An 1845 tunnel and several copper excavation pits are visible on the hill, and are not affected by the construction of the ski-slide.

Mining

The hill, also known as Chippewa Hill and Old Peak, was the site of a mine owned by the Chippewa Copper Mining Company. Work began in 1845, but no copper was produced.

Copper Peak

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