I took a vacation today since work has been incredibly stressful over the last month and it just so happens that they're putting up a ski jump in SF! I'll be hopping on BART in about an hour to go check it out!

http://www.sfexaminer.com...kijump.txt

Shaved ice, woodchipper and luck
By Justin Jouvenal
Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO — Snow in San Francisco is like the Republican Party holding a convention in this notoriously liberal city — it doesn't happen very often.

City residents will have to go way back to remember both (1976 and 1964 respectively) and that novelty — along with The City's legendary hills — are the reasons organizers were captivated by staging a ski jump contest in Pacific Heights today complete with 200 tons of snow. But that leaves a burning question: how do you stage a ski jump contest in the middle of a bustling city intersection, with jumpers flying 30 to 50 feet and temperatures predicted to reach a balmy 77 degrees?

The simple formula according to organizers of "Icer Air 2005": watch lots of snowboarding videos, buy nearly all the shaved ice in the Bay Area, requisition a wood chipper and hire an engineer to make sure contestants don't fly through the second story windows of homes along the route.

"The bottom line is that a lot of it is engineering, but a lot of is also a lot of gut instinct," said Jonny Moseley, a former Olympic skier and one of the event's organizers.

About 20 world-class skiers and snowboarders will bomb down a steep, block-long hill on Fillmore Street, hit a nine-foot jump at Vallejo Street and then perform dazzling acrobatic tricks before landing on the block below. But that is where the similarities to other ski jump contests end.

Organizers said one of the biggest logistical challenges was finding enough snow to cover the better part of two city blocks, 12 inches deep. They turned to two unusual sources for the white stuff: Fisherman's Wharf and Los Angeles. The Fisherman's Wharf "snow" is actually shaved ice normally used to pack fish going to the market, while the Los Angeles "snow" is six semitrucks worth of ice blocks. They will be ground up by a machine and then sprayed on the run through hoses, which Moseley said should give it the consistency of a Slurpee.

"The machine is like a wood chipper, but instead of chopping wood you are chopping ice," said Steve Merrifield, owner of the San Rafael store DemoSport and one of the event's organizers.

Organizers said they could not rely the type of snowmaking machines ski resorts use because they require temperatures approaching freezing.

Despite the warm temperatures and sunny weather, Merrifield does not expect the event to be a meltdown. To minimize melting, they will spray most of the snow on the run at 7 a.m. on Thursday morning and Merrifield said there is simply not enough time to melt the snow Thursday even if temperatures hit 80 degrees. Even so, they expect 20 percent to 30 percent of the snow to melt during the day.

Any leftover snow will be scooped into dump trucks and dumped in a lot in South San Francisco.

Have fun!!!
I cant take a day off from Mervyns....Its driving my crazy

enjoy dookie...

i looked down from the top of the ski jump in calgary at the olympic park
and i would have to say those people are insane!!!

This is why I love San Francisco.


Have fun DOOK!!!! Will you be jumping in assless snowboard gear. That would definatley make the papers.


M

Just got back...it was pretty cool...they really couldn't get enough speed so it wasn't as great as I/they had hoped...I didn't stay around to watch Jonny Moseley, however I was right near where he was hanging out at the top and I snapped a quick pic of him with my phone....

this thread is A-W-E-S-O-M-E Sounds like fun though.....they never do stuff like that here.


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[Edited 9/29/05 20:14pm]

ReturnOfDOOK said:

I woulda stayed to watch Johnny

ReturnOfDOOK said:

how did they let a freak like you that close to him??

I've been following this story since it was such a controversy. Was it pretty surreal to see Fillmore Street covered in snow? And wasn't today like one of the hottest days of the year? How goofy.

I still don't understand the purpose of this event but I guess people had fun Just glad it won't impact traffic this weekend!

Evidently one of the snowboarders flew into the crowd and someone had to go to the hospital with a bleeding head. They said it was no big deal though.

Also it was like 80 degrees so the snow was quickly turning into slush.