Usually when somebody’s discussing a “dry run” it’s in reference to practicing something before actually doing it. In the case of Christian Høgfeldt’s dry run below, it’s the exact opposite situation. While these kinds of massive jumps are usually done in the winter, with abundant, soft snow, he does it with only sunshine in his eyes and a grassy knoll as his landing pad.
Laughing Squid picked up on the above video, which has racked up more than 8.8 million views. A view count that almost seems kind of low considering just how profoundly gutsy this kind of dry jump seems. While doing this kind of dry ski jump certainly isn’t novel, the size of the jump seems to be. (Keep in mind that, in general, GoPro footage also makes hills seem smaller than they are in real life.)
Although the video is short, most of it shows Høgfeldt readying himself at the top of the jump. He begins by positioning himself on a wood bench and lining his skis up with a pair of parallel slots. After slotting in his skis Høgfeldt proceeds to rise his arms to signal he’s prepared to jump. (Or perhaps to clear some fear perspiration from his pits, we don’t know extreme skiing etiquette that well.)
At around the 50 second mark Høgfeldt stands from the bench and, in the blink of an eye, begins rocketing down the hill. He quickly zips past a fellow skier—who appears to be struggling just to get up the steps—and before the fear can even register, launches from the bottom of the hill into the air. The skier’s then in the air for about as long as he was on the hill before nailing his landing perfectly.
For those who want to keep their BPM above 130, we suggest checking out the other extreme-sport videos we have on tap. If you’re unfamiliar with speedriding, for example, it makes this jump almost look a bit tame. And what skydivers are willing to do with a swing 5,000 feet above the ground is truly heroic.
