Do you have to be insane to be a ski jumper?

Not necessarily nuts, just endowed with extra-large cojones. Me, I don’t even like to go on carnival rides.

This was a very interesting HBO documentary about professional snowboarding and how they have to go to higher and higher, and the risks they take. I know your question is about ski jumping, but I’m sure the risks are similar. In the case of the guy Kevin who is featured in The Crash Reel, he did major damage to his brain when he crashed, and so did others who were not as lucky as he was. A great documentary, highly recommended.

Not really. If you have confidence in your skills, like to take risks and aren’t afraid of taking the leap.

You do not start on the 120 meter jump. You start with 5 and 10 meters and build up your skills.

But how is this different from parachute jumping or scuba diving or any of the so-called “extreme” sports? For any of these, you need training, skill, and a lot of guts. And luck

I think it might help! I’m scared of heights so it seems positively foolhardy to me but I admire their bravery and joie de vivre.

Nah, its those awful xmas jumpers that mark you out as crazy.

I forgot to link The Crash Reel:

http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-crash-reel#/

No, you don’t have to be insane but recent studies indicate that it may help greatly if you have a specific generic variant with a high correlation to risk taking behavior.

Obviously, the intricacies of motivatiion for human behavior form a complex dynamic and nature vs. nurture is an ever present open question. But this latest study described was very thorough and presents much food for thought.

Among other things it might help to explain why some people are utterly repulsed at the thought of doing extremely risky things while others are drawn to it like a magnet.

There’s a brief article in The New York Times that speaks to this. It’s about a study done with skiers of all types. It’s titled “The Genetics of Being A Daredevil”.

Fascinating.

Not insane, just insanely ballsy.

I’ve skied since I was a small child. In my teens one year someone had made a jump that shot a person about 20 feet or more into the air. All the kids were doing it, but we had to take turns standing watch to keep the landing area free of other skiers. I was having a blast, and had made several jumps with excellent landings. Then the last time I looked down and below me were some beginner skiers. I had NO control on where I was going to land at that point, and it scared the crap out of me. Fortunately I didn’t hit them, but I never jumped again after that. Safety is the top concern.