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So Guess What Happened Next On This Snowy Thredbo Megajump?

Thredbo just built the biggest ski jump in the world right now. Cos why not?

Take some snow. Take some more snow after that. Add a whole lot more snow. Then more snow. Keep adding snow. Stick a car there, because you can.

Hope someone left the handbrake on.
Toyota One Hit Wonder Thredbo
Hope someone left the handbrake on.

Sculpt that snow lovingly. Massage that snow. Shape it, rake it, smooth it, groove it, sculpt and shape it some more.

The end product? The biggest, baddest, beefiest, boofiest, berserkest ski jump this side of anywhere. And it's all right here in our backyard in the Australian ski resort of Thredbo.

Colin Levitch

This thing is nuts. Nuts, we tells ya. It's definitely the biggest jump in Australia and the biggest jump in the world right now. The distance from liftoff point to landing zone? Oh, a lazy 35 metres or so.

The jump took two guys in snow cats two weeks to build working full day shifts. Snow was sourced from an area near the top of Thredbo's Cruiser Chairlift where snow collects after blowing in off the main range.

Colin Levitch

This is the eighth year Thredbo has built the jump. It's all part of a festival called the Toyota One Hit Wonder. The OHW is a "gold-ranked big air stop" on the calendar of the Association of Freeskiing Professionals. The AFP is skiing's equivalent of surfing's ASP.

About 15 international skiers have been in Thredbo this week, including the Swiss freeski team. The internationals reportedly love the whole snow and gum trees thing -- and why wouldn't they?

Colin Levitch

And the winner? If you watched the video above, it's the very first jump. Swiss born 17-year-old Alex Hall currently skis for America. He landed a thing called a "switch triple cork 1800" which had never been done before.

The trick included a backwards take-off, three flips, five rotations, a backwards landing ("switch" means backwards in freeski and snowboard speak) and a whole lotta nerve.

Sure mum, I can bring home a loaf of bread. Would you like a cloud or two as well?
Toyota One Hit Wonder Thredbo
Sure mum, I can bring home a loaf of bread. Would you like a cloud or two as well?

The guy who lost the ski was Noah Morrison. Luckily he was OK. Hard to believe, but there you have it.

Oh god, how am I going to land this thing?
Toyota One Hit Wonder Thredbo
Oh god, how am I going to land this thing?
Uh, like this I guess.
Toyota One Hit Wonder Thredbo
Uh, like this I guess.

If you're the sort of person who thinks they might like to try this, our advice is no, don't be silly.

If it makes you want to go skiing, the good news is Thredbo still has snow (as you can see) and will be open until October. There's been a bit of rain around this week, but there's snow on the forecast early in the new week, so all is looking good.

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